Disneyland Expansion Comes into Focus

With the conclusion of the successful DisneylandForward negotiations, Disneyland Resort is ready to build. As Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro recently noted, all the announcements at this year’s D23 event are underway. 

D’Amaro succinctly stated, “Dirt is moving” on all these projects. So, the Disneyland expansion comes into focus in the aftermath of D23. 

Avengers Campus Will Add Two Rides 

One of the concerns when Disney announced Avengers Campus was the lack of space. Fans wondered whether Disney would have enough room to make the themed land worthwhile. Thus far, Avengers Campus has focused heavily on experiences such as the new Story Time with Deadpool.

Currently, this themed land hosts two attractions, Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission: BREAKOUT! and WEBSLINGERS: A Spider-Man Adventure. At D23, Disney officials confirmed that they would double that total.

One of the attractions is the so-called King Thanos experience Disney announced at the 2022 D23 Expo. On this ride, you’ll board a Wakandan vessel that will allow you to traverse the multiverse. You’re seeking to assemble a group of Avengers capable of stopping The Thanos Who Won. 

In this reality, the Avengers were unable to undo The Snap, allowing King Thanos to rule the realm. Disney has named this attraction Avengers Infinity Defense, and it will eventually anchor the area.

However, that won’t be the only new attraction at Avengers Campus. In a bit of a surprise, Imagineers revealed details regarding Stark Flight Lab. Tony Stark’s robotic arm in the Iron Man franchise, which he calls Dum-E, provides the inspiration for this attraction. 

This two-person ride cart looks like a giant robotic arm. It will pick up the guests and whirl them around. In the above video, you can see pictures of Bob Iger and Robert Downey Jr. testing this ride. Also, Downey will appear on this ride and other upcoming Marvel experiences!

A Coco Ride Will Debut at DCA 

Notably, Avengers Campus isn’t the only recipient of upcoming expansion attractions. At a different part of Disney California Adventure, Disney will introduce a Coco boat ride. 

Described as part Haunted Mansion and part Pirates of the Caribbean, this attraction will take guests on a nautical journey through the Land of the Dead, as seen in the movie Coco. Disney indicates that the Audio-Animatronics during this ride will also be state-of-the-art, and Coco should start in earnest in 2026. 

Walt Disney Will Host a Show 

On the Friday, August 9th edition of Good Morning America, Bob Iger performed an interview with one of the hosts. While Disney’s CEO didn’t say it on camera, he told GMA’s staff that a special Audio-Animatronic (AA) was coming to Disneyland Park. 

Fittingly, the AA in question is Walt Disney himself. Yes, the creator of Disneyland, the person who once gleefully showed off the nascent AA tech in the early 1960s, will now become one himself. 

Walt Disney Imagineering worked with members of Walt Disney’s family, including one of his grand-nephews, to ensure that this AA would honor the founder’s memory. While the thought may prove divisive to some, D’Amaro assured the audiences that Imagineers are reverential about this experience.

Soon, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln will become part of a two-show rotation at Disneyland Park. The other attraction is the new show, Walt Disney: A Magical Life. Disney indicated that this experience will debut in 2025, and it’s already a media sensation. 

The Avatar Themed Land Adds a Timeline

Disney finally answered an open question about whether Avatar is merely just a ride or a themed land. While Imagineers continued to use vague messages, the scale models of the upcoming Avatar experience described it as a themed land. 

This new location won’t be a duplicate of Pandora – The World of Avatar at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. As Imagineers indicated, that film uses the timeline from the original Avatar. This new locale will reside at Disney California Adventure and employ a later setting.

Since Disney is liaising directly with James Cameron on the project, the next iteration of Avatar will take place around the same time as Avatar: The Way of Water and Avatar: Fire and Ash, the latter of which will debut in theaters in 2025. 

We know that the anchor attraction here will be a boat ride. Alas, Disney didn’t offer many new details beyond the setting. So, there’s still an element of mystery here.

Disney Confirms Two Other Updates

During the parks panel, D’Amaro and his team added two other significant updates regarding Disneyland Resort. The first involves Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.

At Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, Disney will introduce a new story soon. For those of you tired of stealing coaxium, this will be welcome news. Fans of the Star Wars shows on Disney+ are in for an even better treat, though.

The Mandalorian and Grogu will appear in a new iteration of the ride! Disney is leveraging its new partnership and partial ownership of Epic Games to commission a new ride video. Since the Unreal Engine already powers the current version, it’s a simple change akin to new sections during Star Tours – The Adventures Continue. 

Park officials described this update as complementary to the current one rather than a replacement. So, Smugglers Run will apparently add some variance to its ride experience soon. 

The other big news is that we finally have an opening date for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Disneyland Park. The Splash Mountain replacement will debut on November 15th, 2024! 

Finally, D’Amaro indicated that the company will host several celebratory events for Disneyland Park’s 70th anniversary in 2025. Disney displayed the logo, but that was about the extent of it. 

The filings for DisneylandForward indicated plans for up to 16 entirely new rides at Disneyland Park. Technically, we only learned about four of them during the parks panel, which means there’s still plenty yet to be revealed. So, stay tuned!