EDITOR’S NOTE: Multimedia journalist Taylor Schaub spoke with D23 Expo visitors about the Disney fan convention and the future of the Disneyland Resort. Click the arrow above to watch the video.
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Avatar's Pandora, the first-ever Coco-themed ride, and more superhero attractions are coming to Disney California Adventure.
Meanwhile, Disneyland will showcase the first audio-animatronic based on Walt Disney, its namesake, and has announced the opening date of the much-awaited Tiana's Bayou Adventure.
Across the coast, Walt Disney World will see its most significant expansion, with new lands and attractions, including new themed areas based on Disney's most popular animated films, "Monster's Inc.," "Encanto," and "Zootopia."
As promised, the Walt Disney Co. didn't disappoint when officials said to expect significant announcements at the company's biennial D23 Expo fan festival in Anaheim.
In September, Disney officials committed to doubling its investment in its Experiences division, which includes its theme parks, to $60 billion over the next 10 years.
The announcement comes as Disney's domestic theme park attendance dipped last quarter, a worrying sign of the state of the economy and the high cost for families visiting one of the company's theme parks.
Regardless, in May, Disney struck a deal with Anaheim to change the zoning of their 490-acre properties in the city to mixed-use in exchange for at least $1.9 billion to create rides and experiences to attract more visitors.
And many Disney die-hards on hand see the announced offerings for Disneyland and Walt Disney World as a welcome set of new experiences.
Disney Parks panel
In front of a raucous crowd of 12,000 people at the Honda Center, Disney Parks Chairman Josh D'Amaro made his first bombshell news that a themed land based on James Cameron's "Avatar" — which Disney's CEO Bob Iger has previously announced — would not be built at Disneyland but at its sister park, Disney California Adventure.
"We are fulfilling Walt's promise that our parks will never be complete," said D'Amaro. "We're looking at a future of Disneyland Resort, a future of new stories to tell. And one of the most popular stories ever is 'Avatar.'
"Just as 'Avatar: Way of Water' introduced us to places in Pandora that we have never seen before, this new experience will invite us to explore even further," he added.
It was the first of many surprises.
The scene was unlike other D23 Expo Parks panels. It was the first time the company made it a ticketed event and used the nearby Honda Center instead of the Anaheim Convention Center's Hall D as a venue.
Rather than simply breaking the news, showing the ride's concepts, and interviewing an Imagineer about it, Saturday's three-hour panel was a Disney rock concert sprinkled with theme park news.
It featured plenty of music, a live orchestra on stage, musical numbers and a slew of bands such as Plain White Ts, All-4-One, and Hiatus Mad T Party performing their renditions of a familiar Disney song — either leading or after D'Amaro's parks announcement.
Plenty of stars were in attendance. John Stamos played the piano and sang, "A dream is a wish your heart makes." The voices of Mike Wazowski, Billy Crystal, Meg from "Hercules," Susan Egan, and Indiana Jones' Ke Huy Quan surprised guests, sang, and received rousing ovations. Even Deadpool made an appearance.
Everyone in attendance received a bracelet that would light up in different colors and choreographed and sync with the music.
And unlike years past, when many of the items Disney shared were blue sky concepts, D'Amaro made it a point to tell those on hand that what he was revealing was "in active development."
"Everything we're going to share with you is in active development," he said. "Plans are drawn. Dirt is moving. I just want to be clear about this: We are doing everything you're going to hear tonight."
What's coming to Disney California Adventure?
Ali Rubenstein, a senior vice president of Walt Disney Imagineering, said DCA's Pandora will take guests to a new location of the alien planet. The Pandora area in Hollywood Studios in Florida is a rainforest with floating mountains.
"Avatar: The Way of Water" and future films such as "Avatar: Fire and Ash" inspire the one in Anaheim.
"It would be a scale and level that is worthy of these epic stories," she said. "It will feature an innovative new attraction, all of the excitement and all of the wonder of 'Avatar' in a completely new and thrilling way."
At least one of the two attractions seen in the released rendering is a boat ride.
Visitors, she said, will go on an adventure and join an excursion in search of majestic natural wonders that can only be found in Pandora. They'll discover dense forests and bioluminescence flora before experiencing the wide open seas of Pandora, she described.
"It will be a dynamic, intense and emotional experience on a grand scale," she said.
She did not disclose where it will be housed in DCA.
D'Amaro followed that news by unveiling the first-ever Disney ride based on the hit movie "Coco," also coming to DCA.
Visitors will join Miguel on a trip through the Land of the Dead, he said.
"Imagineers drew inspiration for this attraction from classics such as the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean," said D'Amaro. "You're going to see, hear and feel Miguel's journey to the Land of the Dead and travel through colorful scenes."
Work is underway, with groundbreaking expected in 2026. Its location was also not disclosed.
Since opening in 2021, Disney has said a third ride, a signature E-ticket attraction, would anchor Avengers Campus and complement the Marvel superhero-themed land's existing Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout and Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure Ride.
Well, D'Amaro took it one step further, announcing not just one E-ticket ride but two.
The first, Avengers: Infinity Defense, will be inside the building under the replica Quinn Jet on the campus.
Scott Trowbridge, a senior creative leader at WDI, said visitors would hop on a ride vehicle, team up with Avengers members and travel to worlds such as Asgard, Wakanda and New York City to battle King Thanos and his army.
Construction is slated to begin next year, he added.
The second new attraction will take visitors to Tony Stark's workshop and test a new technology "to defend our world."
Visitors will hop on a two-person pod in Stark Flight Lab and experience a test flight with different heroes and scenarios.
"It's dynamic and fun," said Trowbridge.
Robert Downey Jr., who plays Iron Man in the Marvel movies, will reprise his role and lend his voice to the attraction.
New at Disneyland
The granddaddy of all theme parks that Walt Disney built in 1955, Disneyland will celebrate its 70th anniversary in 2025.
Disney Imagineers are developing the first Walt Disney audio-animatronic for a new show on his life.
"Walt Disney — A Magical Life" will play at the Main Street Opera House at Disneyland park and feature the audio-animatronics figure. After the show's debut run, it will rotate with "Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln," said D'Amaro.
The much-awaited Tiana's Bayou Adventure, a re-theme of the former Splash Mountain, will open on Nov. 15.
Disney officials said the popular log flume ride will open in the Bayou Country, a newly renamed and re-themed area at Disneyland Resort, to kick off the start of the holidays. Bayou Country replaces the former Critter Country.
At Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, Disney Imagineers are working on a new Mandalorian and Grogu mission story line for Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run to align with the upcoming "The Mandalorian and Grogu" film coming out in 2026.
City reaction
Anaheim Spokesman Mike Lyster attended the Disney Parks panel and was delighted with what he heard.
After the Anaheim City Council approved the so-called DisneylandForward 40-year deal with Disney a few months ago, he was anxious about what Disney planned to do with the $1.9 billion the company has committed to spending on creating attractions in the first 10 years as part of the deal. Disney officials were tight-lipped until Saturday night.
"I'm encouraged," Lyster told Spectrum News. "So we heard more investments for both of the theme parks in Anaheim. When we hear investments, we know that's going to generate more revenue for our city, which is vital for us, for our libraries and community centers and police and fire."
Lyster said he thinks this is just the first round of new entertainment and attractions and expects more investments to come as the years and decades go by.
"We heard a lot for Disney California Adventure, some things for Disneyland but we know the biggest part of DisneylandForward is still yet to come in the years ahead," he said.