Disneyland reveals plans for new Avatar land based on ‘Way of Water’

11.08.2024 05:56

DailyNews.com

Disneyland is ready to move forward with plans for an Avatar themed land teased for the Anaheim theme park resort based on the $5 billion action adventure fantasy science fiction movie franchise.

Fans of “Avatar: The Way of Water” that grossed $2.3 billion at the box office may soon be able to board a boat and explore the Pandoran oceans seen in the blockbuster film if Disneyland moves forward with plans for an Avatar themed land teased for the Anaheim theme park resort.

The new themed land will be built at Disney California Adventure, Disney Parks Chairman Josh D’Amaro announced on Saturday, Aug. 10 during the D23 fan event at the Honda Center in Anaheim. D’Amaro said the new land is in “active development” but no opening date for the attraction was announced.

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An artist’s rendering of a new ride based on “Avatar: The Way of Water” coming to Disney California Adventure. (Courtesy of Disney)

Also announced Saturday night: A new Marvel E-Ticket ride that has been in the works at Disney California Adventure’s Avengers Campus will be called Avengers: Infinity Defense. A second new ride called Stark Flight Lab will also be added to Avengers Campus. No further details or optening dates were announced.

D’Amaro announced plans to build a new ride at Disney California Adventure based on the movie “Coco.” The ride, scheduled to open in 2026, will be inspired by Pirates of the Caribbean and music will play an important role in the attraction, D’Amaro said.

Artist’s rendering of a new ride based on the animated film “Coco,” coming to Disney California Adventure in 2026. (Courtesy of Disney)

In addition, Disneyland will unveil a new show about Walt Disney, featuring an audio-animatronic figure of the icon. The show, titled, “Walt Disney — A Magical Life,” will play in rotation with “Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln” at the Disneyland Opera House.

An Artist’s rendering of an audio-animatronic Walt Disney that will appear in the new Disney show, “Walt Disney – A Magical Life,” coming to the Disneyland Opera House, was displayed Saturday at the D23 fan event. (Photo by Brady MacDonald, Orange County Register/SCNG)

As part of the presentation, Disney revealed that Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, the revamped version of Splash Mountain that is currently under construction at Disneyland, will open Nov. 15.

Also at Disneyland, The Mandalorian and Grogu will fly aboard the Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run ride in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, though no futher details were released Saturday.

Concept art of the proposed Avatar themed land shows jutting rocks and floating mountains amid gushing geysers and alien flora. A boat filled with riders passes through an aqua-green lagoon heading toward a cascading waterfall.

ALSO SEE: What will Disneyland build first in theme park expansion?

Disney executives had tied a potential Avatar themed land to the approval of DisneylandForward in recent statements.

A D23 blog post promised the Disneyland resort’s Avatar experience would rival Pandora — The World of Avatar themed land in Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Florida.