Disneyland has been promoting an upcoming Avatar land for years now and has even taken the first steps toward construction, but the project was recently deprioritized in favor of getting something else finished first. Despite the schedule shift, Disney says Avatar is still coming eventually and shared a new sneak peek.
A major new look at the land’s upcoming ride was quietly released, following the project’s postponement. We have insight into what was shared and what to expect from the timeline of Disneyland’s construction projects going forward. Mickey Visit brings you the latest Disney news and planning resources, including changes for Disneyland’s Christmas season and Disneyland 2027 tickets and hotel bookings now available.
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Avatar Coming to Disney California Adventure
A new land based on James Cameron’s Avatar films is coming to Disney California Adventure at Disneyland Resort. The area will be based on 2022’s Avatar: The Way of Water and 2025’s Avatar: Fire and Ash, the second and third films in the series, which focus on Pandora’s aquatic locales. A towering, mountainous structure will be the visual centerpiece of the project. The headliner attraction will be a boat ride going both indoors and outdoors, featuring thrilling and calm moments.
In August 2026, Disneyland officials shared with Mickey Visit directly that the priority of Disney California Adventure’s Avatar land will take a back seat to the recently announced overhaul of Disneyland Park’s Tomorrowland. Executives said their reasoning for this shift is that Disney California Adventure is already receiving two other significant additions in the coming years: the Avengers Campus expansion and the Coco boat ride. They believe it’s time to invest in something in “Walt’s park” next door, but still say Avatar is coming later. The project is not canceled, just postponed.
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To communicate loud and clear its intentions to still build Avatar, a model of the architecture and some new concept art were shared on the show floor at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event 2026. This included the image above, created by Dylan Cole, production designer of the Avatar film series. Cole also made the artwork pictured earlier in this story, which Disney previously shared.
This new piece of artwork depicts an outdoor scene for the boat ride, as indicated by the two onlooking guests on a pathway in the bottom right. The boat seems to be passing in front of the base of the waterfall that descends from the top of the mountains. The entire river glows with Pandora’s bioluminescence.
Look closely to spot some of Pandora’s wildlife, including adorable otter-like creatures! I hope these will be Audio-Animatronics animals.
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We also got a look at a maquette for the boat ride vehicle, which will contain six rows.
With the recent announcements, here’s the new order of new rides opening at Disneyland Resort:
- Avengers Campus expansion, 2028
- Coco boat ride, TBA date
- Tomorrowland overhaul, TBA date
- Avatar land, TBA date
Avatar was already at least a few years from opening, even before Disney prioritized Tomorrowland over it. Before the postponement, we predicted Avatar would open in 2030 or 2031 at the earliest. With the new delay, we’re now looking at even farther away than that.
The Avatar project will be located on a very specific parcel of land that is currently used for two different purposes. A portion of the property belongs to the family-friendly Monsters, Inc. dark ride and several empty soundstages inside Disney California Adventure. The rest of the parcel is currently occupied by the Disneyland Resort transportation hub, used for pick-ups and drop-offs by parking lot shuttles, nearby hotel buses, and rideshares.
To make room for Avatar, Disney is building what will be known as the Eastern Gateway, east of the theme parks, on what was previously a cast member parking lot. The Eastern Gateway will include a 6,000-space parking deck, security checkpoint, a drop-off/pick-up spot for shuttles and rideshares, and a bridge traversing over Harbor Boulevard, connecting the new facility to the front entrances of Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure. Disney just officially broke ground on the transportation hub, unlocking the future construction steps that will eventually follow for Avatar.
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