Earlier this week, we only got a small taste of some of the new attractions coming to Disney theme parks around the world at the Walt Disney Imagineering Pavilion at D23, the company’s biennial fan expo in Anaheim. But on Saturday, Disney packed the Honda Center to unveil its juiciest announcements yet – which, for Disneyland, included an opening date for its Kiss the frog-themed redesign of the former Splash Mountain, a handful of brand new rides and a whole Avatar Country.
The Avatar The Disneyland Resort expansion was first announced during a company earnings call in early 2023, but Saturday night’s arena-sized event provided a much more spectacular stage to reveal some of the first details about what park-goers can actually expect there.
First of all, the land will be built specifically in Disney California Adventure Park. The concept drawings do not provide any indication Where in the park it will go, but it shows a rugged, watery area that seems to be inspired by habitats Avatar: The Way of Waterthe upcoming Avatar: Fire and Ashes and future parts whose title is still unnamed.
At its core, you can expect an “innovative new attraction,” which Ali Rubinstein, CEO of Walt Disney Imagineering, summed up onstage as “a journey in search of majestic natural wonders” and a “dynamic, intense emotional experience on a grand scale.” Concept images show what looks like a boat traveling through a bioluminescent forest, an open ocean and an eerie swamp-like environment.
This is not the only new attraction for California Adventure: Josh D’Amaro, Chairman of Disney Experiences, announced that the park will break ground on a new coconut-inspired ride set in 2026. The musical attraction has been touted as something in the style of “Haunted Mansion” and “Pirates of the Caribbean,” where you follow Miguel into the land of the dead and through “colorful, expansive scenes” featuring the “latest audio-animatronic technology.”
Additionally, the company has finally provided an update on the Avengers ride, which was first announced in 2019. Now titled Avengers Infinity Defense, it will seat riders in a ship that jumps through portals to multiple Marvel destinations (Asgard, Wakanda, and New York City were specifically mentioned) to hunt down King Thanos. Construction is set to begin next year.
It’s not the only new attraction coming to the land: Stark Flight Lab requires you to test out various superhero technologies—and each ride can result in a different hero pairing. A concept video for the attraction shows two-person pods being grabbed by a robotic arm and then hurled and twisted in all sorts of directions. And perhaps most notably, Robert Downey Jr. (who was photographed testing the ride technology with Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger) reprising his role as Tony Stark. Along with the other new Marvel attraction, it will double the size of Avengers Campus, according to general manager Scott Trowbridge.
At Disneyland Park, which celebrates its 70th anniversary next year, the Main Street Opera House will present a new show featuring an animatronic of Walt Disney himself. The show, titled “Walt Disney – A Magical Life,” will transport you to Walt’s office where he reflects on his life and the future at the time. The D23 presentation only showed an illustration of the animatronic, but D’Amaro noted that it was a “huge responsibility” to get it right (he specifically mentioned that Walt’s great-nephew Roy P. Disney was “so moved” by a preview) and that they “had to wait for innovation to catch up with our dreams.” (For you, fans of Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln: Don’t worry, this six-decade-old show will continue to rotate.)
On the other side of the park, Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run will feature a new mission with the Mandalorian and Grogu. The rework of the star Wars: The Galaxy’s Edge attraction will premiere at the same time as the upcoming film, The Mandalorian and Groguin 2026.
And finally, in the very near future, on November 15, 2024, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will open – in what was once Critter Country, and is now Bayou Country – as Darren Criss and Skylar Astin announced as part of a surprisingly self-deprecating medley of park-related announcements.
Check out some more photos from the D23 announcements below.
