The Disneyland Resort is making big investments to expand its theme park offerings with four new rides announced and major infrastructure work happening soon. Previously, we got big news about a major milestone for this new expansion. Now, we just hit another key milestone for the construction of the new ride I am looking forward to most.
At Mickey Visit, we are tracking all the latest Disney news, including ride closures and major hotel news. Now, let’s dive into what we just learned about a key milestone ahead of the construction of one of Disneyland’s new rides. See all Disneyland November 2025 ride closures and major changes. Disney just made progress on another big addition and two more new rides.
READ MORE – Don’t Waste Your Lightning Lane On This Popular Disneyland Ride
Disneyland is Making Progress on Major New Ride Addition
In 2024, Disneyland received approval from the city of Anaheim for its DisneylandForward plan. This new agreement rezoned the land already owned by the Disneyland Resort to allow for future expansion. The previous Disneyland president personally told me that this approval was meant to allow for the next 30-40 years of resort expansion. We already know about quite a bit of work that is now allowed to move forward because of the approval.
They have already announced a new 6,000-spot parking structure and a massive new entrance from the Harbor Boulevard side. You can see this and the marquee inspired by the iconic marquee from yesteryear in the concept artwork above. There are also four new rides coming to Disney California Adventure, including an Avatar area, an expansion to Avengers Campus with two new rides, and a new Coco boat ride.
Disney Ride Closure ALERTS, Major Changes, Secrets Revealed
Get alerts on closures, park changes, exclusive discounts, and free printables. Trusted by 100,000+ Disney fans & planners.
Earlier this summer, we shared an update on the Avengers Campus construction, which has really accelerated. See the initial “going vertical” photo below and the crazy progress made since then in our most recent photo update.
The next new ride we are excited about is the Coco boat ride, which is being built based on the Disney and Pixar film. The entrance to this ride will be located at the end of Pixar Pier near the Paradise Gardens area.
Disney previously shared that the ride coming to Disney California Adventure will take guests on a journey alongside Miguel to the Land of the Dead. They also shared that the ride will draw inspiration from Disneyland classic attractions, including Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion. The ride will also feature the latest in Audio-Animatronics technology and the beloved music from the film.
The new Coco attraction is likely to be a huge success at the Disneyland Resort. When the Coco movie opened in Mexico, it was the highest-grossing movie ever there. Disneyland already uses the movie to anchor the Dia de los Muertos celebration and parts of the Festival of Holidays festivities. The new holiday show featuring Coco, as well as some Christmas songs in Spanish that debuted last year, was fantastic. I expect Disneyland will highlight the new Coco attraction as part of a broader effort to welcome and celebrate the many Hispanic families who live within driving distance of the resort.
I have personally always loved the Coco movie – in fact, I called it the “best movie of the year” when the movie debuted, and it was used in the trailer – and personally can’t wait for this new ride.
Earlier this summer, Disneyland revealed that the construction of this new attraction will begin work backstage this fall. That was earlier than the previous announcement that the ride construction would begin in 2026.
Now, Disney has filed a confidential permit with the city of Anaheim that they have confirmed is for the beginning of work on the new Coco boat ride. Disneyland has confirmed that the permit is for initial site prep work for the new Coco boat ride.
The permit is still listed as confidential, but we should get visibility into the contents soon. We don’t know how this will impact the timeline for this new attraction.
In my article on when new rides will open at Disney California Adventure, I wrote the below on the likely timeline for the Coco attraction.
“This new ride has the largest range of opening date possibilities. I could see it jumping Avengers and opening in 2027 or opening in mid to late 2028, just ahead of the new movie debuting. This is also the most recently announced project for Disney California Adventure, which could signal that it will be the later of those two years.”
In the article, I wondered whether the ride could actually open before the new Avengers attractions because it is so hotly anticipated by guests and Disneyland leadership. Based on how the construction progress has moved forward since that initial article, it’s clear that the Avengers attraction will open first. So, I am adjusting my prediction to say that Coco will firmly open sometime after Avengers. We could see the attraction open sometime in 2028.
Here’s a look at where the attraction could land in this tight space behind Pixar Pier. We also wonder whether we are losing the aerial hidden Mickey head along the sidewalk seen below. See details on why that might happen.
In my previous prediction article, I also considered whether the ride could open with the new movie. “Another factor here is considering when the Coco 2 sequel will open in theaters. They’ll want to line this attraction up to the opening year / season for that new movie if possible. While no official date has been announced yet, at the time of the announcement of the new movie, there was an accidental mention that it was going to open in 2029. This could, of course, shift, but that may influence the opening date for this new ride.”
READ MORE – Unlisted Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel Perk You Have to Try
We will have to wait and see how quickly work on Coco begins to progress. Last week, I checked in with Thomas Mazloum, the President of Disneyland, during the fantastic Make-A-Wish event where they granted over 40 wishes in partnership with MrBeast and YouTube. He reiterated how excited he is for the new Coco attraction and that it should drive real interest in Southern California. He also teased that they are hard at work on other exciting new properties for the resort and the overall master plan evolution. Hearing that there is active planning to bring even more to Disneyland has me quite excited.
We will continue to monitor all the Disneyland changes, big and small, here on Mickey Visit.
Don’t Miss the Latest Disney News
Don’t miss the latest Disneyland and Disney World news from Mickey Visit. Join the FREE Mickey Visit newsletter that over 100k readers receive every single week. Mickey Visit is here to help you save money and experience more during your Disney and Universal vacation. See the Mickey Visit guide to Disneyland and the Mickey Visit guide to Disney World for tips.
