An ongoing expansion of Disneyland Resort in California is bringing new rides and upgraded infrastructure to Disney’s theme parks and public spaces in a way that will radically change the guest experience in the years to come. The impact of some of these projects is so far-reaching that they’re impacting this year’s holiday entertainment.
Disneyland Resort is expanding with several new additions. In this story, we’ll check in on construction progress for all of them. This follows a previous construction update. Mickey Visit brings you the latest Disney news and planning resources, including a new Disney Gift Card deal and new perks for Disneyland Magic Key annual passholders.
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Avengers Campus Expansion
Avengers Campus at Disney California Adventure is expanding with 2 new rides. Avengers Infinity Defense will merge physical sets with huge screens to bring guests into the middle of a battle between the Avengers and Thanos.
Stark Flight Lab will fling riders in the air on a robotic arm, simulating superheroes’ flight patterns.
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Both of the rides will share a massive new building currently under construction across from the Pym Test Kitchen quick service restaurant.
The shell of the building is in place, as seen in these photos from our October 2026 visit. A banner for Stark Industries playfully positions the construction as an in-universe project. Keeping with the storyline of Avengers Campus to recruit and train potential new superheroes, the wall displays phrases like “Building a legacy, inspiring the future” and “For the next generation of heroes.”
For now, hotels on Harbor Boulevard are visible through the construction from inside the park, but we anticipate Disney will block these views eventually.
The new documentary Disney Worldbuilders on Disney+ provides a peek inside the building, where there is still lots of work to be done before it resembles a theme park attraction.
At an offsite warehouse, Disney is building huge props depicting a Wakandan panther and Thor’s hammer. Crews will later disassemble these, transport them to Disneyland, and rebuild them.
Meanwhile, a cast of Marvel actors are reprising their well-known superhero roles for the rides, and recently shot new footage exclusively for the attractions.
Avatar Land
A new land based on the Avatar movies is coming to Disney California Adventure. The marquee attraction here will be a boat ride with both indoor and outdoor segments. The centerpiece of the area will be a huge mountain range with waterfalls.
There is a long way to go with the Avatar project, and Disney even recently reprioritized other expansion efforts to happen before Avatar. That being said, work is already underway that is related to the new Avatar land, even if it might not seem connected at first.
The new Avatar land will be located on a piece of property that currently serves 2 purposes. Part of the space belongs to a portion of the Hollywood Land area, including Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue!, a family-friendly dark ride. A few other soundstages are currently in this area as well.
The other portion of Avatar’s future real estate is currently designated as outside of Disney California Adventure’s borders, and belongs to Disneyland’s transportation hub, including drop-off and pick-up spots for rideshares and buses. There is also a security check here. In the photo above, you can see how the soundstages inside the park are very close to the security check outside the park.
Disneyland cannot move forward with Avatar construction until its facilities on this eastern side of the Disneyland Resort entrance are relocated. To prepare for this, a new security check is under construction farther back from the current one, closer to the main entrances of Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure.
From this elevated viewpoint, captured from the Disneyland Monorail, you can see the location of the new security check in relation to the current one. The front entrance of Disney California Adventure is at the top right.
As for the replacement of the transportation hub, Disney is building a new parking structure across the street, which will include a dedicated area for rideshares and buses.
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Here’s a look at recent progress for that future complex, which will be known as the Eastern Gateway. Disney recently closed a cast member parking lot and broke ground on the parking deck. The project will eventually also build a pedestrian bridge over Harbor Boulevard, connecting the deck to the Disneyland Esplanade. Our friends at Element by Marriott Anaheim captured this video for us.
Inside Disney California Adventure, the Monsters, Inc. ride remains open. It will eventually close, but Disney has not announced a date. They postponed the early 2027 closure timeframe, which itself had been postponed from early 2026.
Coco Boat Ride
A family-friendly Coco boat ride is coming to Disney California Adventure. It will be located behind Incredicoaster in what was previously a backstage area.
The above view, captured in October 2026, shows how Disney has cleared what were formerly trees, roads, and trailers as workers prepare to construct the new building. Piles of beams are on site, indicating the building could go vertical soon.
Inside the park, themed construction walls with marigolds tease the attraction yet to come.
Compare the first photo to the one above, from April 2026, to see a few months of progress. There was a lot to clear out of the way before Disney could pivot to building.
The photo above shows what this area looked like when work was just getting started in January 2026, with the trees, sidewalk, and trailers still intact.
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Bountiful Valley Brews
Bountiful Valley Brews is a new dining kiosk coming to Disney California Adventure. It will serve light bites and drinks. It will be located between Carthay Circle Restaurant and the entrance to Cars Land.
Here’s a look at construction as of October 2026. The kiosk is positioned out of the main Performance Corridor thoroughfare and behind walls, so we couldn’t get too close, but the basic structure is in place and painted.
Downtown Disney Restaurants
3 new dining locations are under construction at Downtown Disney. Arthur & Sons Steak and Bourbon will be a table service restaurant.
Pearl’s Roadside BBQ will be a quick service restaurant. Arthur & Sons and Pearl’s will share the same building.
The future home of Arthur & Sons and Pearl’s is under construction on the former site of Tortilla Jo’s, which closed in 2024 and has since been completely torn down. Workers are building the new restaurants from the ground up.
Compare the progress above from October 2026 to the photo below from July 2026.
On the other side of Downtown Disney, closer to the parks, another big project is underway.
Porto’s Bakery & Café will open a huge, 2-story location close to the front entrance of Disney California Adventure.
Construction for Porto’s currently commands 2 adjacent sites, leaving a sliver of a pathway for guests to walk through between the sets of construction walls. The green building in the background is Soarin’, showing how close Porto’s will be to the park.
Tomorrowland: No Progress Quite Yet
In an article about the future of Disneyland, we’d be remiss to not mention the upcoming Tomorrowland overhaul. Imagineers are preparing to transform this classic theme park area with new and refreshed attractions inspired by Walt Disney’s original vision from 1955.
In terms of construction, though, there’s nothing to speak of on the Tomorrowland front just yet. Work has not begun, nor has Disney even revealed the specifics of what the Tomorrowland overhaul will entail. All of Tomorrowland’s attractions remain open and unchanged.
We did, however, hear from Imagineers about their inspirations for the Tomorrowland overhaul project and from Disneyland President Jill Estorino about her excitement for the original Disneyland Park being home to a large-scale expansion project.
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