Disney revealed exciting plans for Disneyland at the D23 Expo, including plans for a Coco ride, an Avatar-themed land and more as part of their billion-dollar expansion.
During the Disney Experiences Showcase at D23 on Saturday, August 10, Josh D’Amaro – Chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products – unveiled several new rides and attractions coming to Disneyland in Anaheim as part of the DisneylandForward expansion project.
Highlights included plans for an Avatar-themed land at Disney California Adventure. In addition, D’Amaro announced that Disneyland will have its first attraction based on Coco. In another update, D’Amaro revealed details of a new show that will take place at Disneyland’s Main Street Opera House. For the first time, this attraction will feature an animatronic figure of Walt Disney himself.
“Tiana’s Bayou Adventure,” inspired by “The Princess and the Frog,” is also scheduled to open at Disneyland on November 15.
According to People, this $1.9 billion expansion project, approved on May 7 with unanimous support from the Anaheim City Council, is expected to improve rides, attractions, space, accommodations, entertainment, shopping and more over the next decade without increasing the overall square footage.
D’Amaro has previously hinted at possible themes that could be brought to Disneyland over the next decade, including Frozen, Tangled, Coco, Black Panther, Peter Pan, Zootopia, Tron, Toy Story and more. Now the West Coast is getting James Cameron’s world of Avatar.
Imagineer Ali Rubinstein spoke about the new land for Avatar, explaining that it will represent a brand new area of Pandora, according to The Wrap. Unlike its Florida counterpart, which is set in a rainforest among floating mountains and represents the first film, this new destination takes its cues from Avatar 2 and future films like Avatar: Fire and Ashes.
Rubinstein promised a brand new attraction that would immerse guests in everything they love about Avatar, but in a way they’ve never seen before. She said, “It will be on a scale and level worthy of these epic stories. An innovative new attraction will bring all the action and excitement of ‘Avatar’ in a new and exciting way. Along the way, we’ll discover dense forests that will lead us to the vast open seas of Pandora. But while this world can be beautiful, it can also be dangerous if we get lost.”
She added: “This will be a dynamic, intense and emotional experience on a grand scale.” She promised that this highly exciting and emotional experience of epic proportions will captivate guests from start to finish.
ALSO READ: D23 Expo 2024: All announcements from Walt Disney Studios and Pixar with Mufasa: The Lion King, The Incredibles 3 and more
