Disneyland Resort is in the middle of an unprecedented period of growth as the destination prepares for the future of its two theme parks and beyond. At Disney California Adventure, these major additions include a new ride based on a modern Pixar classic.
Disney just accelerated construction on a highly anticipated ride set to open at Disney California Adventure in the coming years. We have a look at what’s coming, the latest construction photos, and how the current progress compares to where the project was just a few short months ago. Mickey Visit brings you the latest Disney news and planning resources, including an upcoming retro Disney theme parks cookbook and a popular ride overlay returning to Disneyland.
READ MORE – These 10 Disney Rides Are Far Better Than The Ones They Replaced
Disneyland Expanding With New Rides in Disney California Adventure
Future rides coming to Disney California Adventure are in various stages of development and construction. There are four new rides under construction and one that we are focused in on today with update photos.
Among the many projects in the pipeline, an expansion of Avengers Campus will open first. The expansion includes two new rides. Avengers Infinity Defense is a big-budget indoor ride in which the Avengers will take on a multiverse version of Thanos. Stark Flight Lab is a smaller, but still thrilling, ride in which guests will be flung around on a robotic arm.
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.
There’s still a long way to go before the Avengers Campus expansion is complete, but the new building’s exterior is almost done, marking a construction milestone and a positive sign for the rest of the attraction’s installation.
READ MORE – Secret Target in Disneyland’s Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters Gives You 50,000 Points
In addition to the Avengers Campus expansion, Disney California Adventure is developing a new Avatar land. It will include a multifaceted boat ride with both thrilling and gentle moments based on the second and third films in the Avatar series. This new land will replace a portion of Hollywood Land, including Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue!, which will close in early 2027.
Sometime between the openings of the Avengers Campus expansion and the Avatar land, Disney California Adventure will open the world’s first ride based on Pixar’s 2017 hit Coco.
Onboard this family-friendly boat ride, guests will journey to the land of the dead. The ride will feature Audio-Animatronics figures that Imagineers are comparing to the impressive figures in Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion.
Construction of the Coco ride is accelerating quickly, and we have an updated look at the progress of the work. They have hit a major milestone in the construction work.
In developing Walt Disney World in Florida after building Disneyland in California, Walt Disney famously remarked how his team had “the blessing of size” at their Disney World property that the crowded Disneyland configuration never allowed.
This notion remains true today, and Disney often faces limitations relating to size and placement when designing new experiences for Disneyland. This is especially true when that new attraction is truly an addition, rather than a replacement of something old. How do you expand without gaining any new space? The upcoming Coco ride is an example of how Disney still faces this challenge.
Disney is building the Coco ride at California Adventure in a spot belonging to a backstage area and a service road. This section of the property is located behind Incredicoaster and Pixar Pier, and juts up against Disneyland Drive and its pedestrian walkway outside the border of California Adventure.
To juggle all of this, Disney is modifying the shape of the pedestrian walkway on Disneyland Drive. This will allow a slightly bigger footprint for the Coco ride’s building. At any other Disney destination, such a small amount of space might be an afterthought, but given Disneyland’s compact size, every square foot counts.
Here’s an overhead look of where the attraction is going for you to get your bearings. Note the hidden Mickey seen from the sky. This is the sidewalk that is currently closed.
We captured photos of the latest progress of the Coco ride’s construction in late April 2026.
Pedestrians approaching Disneyland Resort on Disneyland Drive from Katella Avenue, are instructed to cross the street to continue their journey. This sidewalk is now closed as it is being demolished for the new attraction.
Here’s a look down the closed sidewalk area toward the parks.
Eventually, we expect this sidewalk access will return, but in a straight line rather than a meandering configuration.
The odd shape of this walkway’s former configuration was because it formed a hidden Mickey with a mirrored walkway on the other side of the street that you can see in the aerial image above.
Many trees have been removed backstage, providing a clearer view of Incredicoaster and Pixar Pal-A-Round. Disney will build the Coco ride between the newly installed large perimeter fence and Incredicoaster.
Behind the construction wall, crews are preparing the land for the work ahead. Construction has not gone vertical yet. As you can seen from the photos, they have hit the major construction milestone of clearing the site. We should see them go vertical very soon.
Before construction, this space contained many trees and an additional service road for back-of-house operations.
The road pictured in the photo above is the backstage continuation of the park’s parade route.
The warehouse-looking building the road leads to is parade storage. It remains to be seen if the Coco ride’s construction will necessitate any changes to those facilities. It’s amazing to note the quick work.
Compared to how this same area looked just three months ago, it’s clear Disney is moving fast!
This is the attraction that we are most excited for coming to the Disneyland Resort. The new addition promises to bring a tell a grand scale story featuring a movie that so many of us love.
Previously we wrote about the expected opening timelines for Disneyland’s new rides. Now that work has begun on Coco and moved forward quickly for Avengers, we can confidently give a prediction on when the new ride will open.
Coco new ride opening prediction – This new ride has the largest range of opening date possibilities. We could see the ride opening in mid to late 2028 just ahead of the new movie debuting. This is the most recently announced project for Disney California Adventure which could signal that it will be the later of those two years.
In our previous Mickey Visit prediction article, we also wondered whether the ride could open with the new Disney Pixar Coco 2 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.”
Overall, we are quite excited about the grand ambitions around the additions coming to Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Seeing visible progress has us quite excited.
What do you think of this planned Disney Pixar Coco ride? Which new addition coming to Disneyland are you most excited for?
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.
