In 2009, James Cameron bewitched moviegoers with the release of his newest blockbuster film, Avatar. The film was an immediate hit and is the highest-grossing movie of all time. Not long after the film came out, it was announced that a number of sequel films would be made. Avatar 2 was supposed to be released in 2014, but was seriously delayed, finally coming out in late 2022.
Related: James Cameron Was Inspired by Disney World’s Pandora for Avatar 3
In 2011, after seeing the massive success of Avatar, Disney entered into an agreement with 20th Century Fox (which Disney now owns) for the theme park rights to Avatar. Six years later, Disney opened a stunning new area in its Animal Kingdom theme park in Walt Disney World Resort. That was Pandora: The World of Avatar, which made guests feel like a part of the movie.
Pandora: The World of Avatar is still one of the most popular areas in Animal Kingdom, so in February 2023, Disney CEO Bob Iger announced that a new Avatar experience would be coming to Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It was a short comment and no further details were given.
NEWS: During the Walt Disney Imagineering Lunch & Learn at IAAPA Expo, it was revealed that the Avatar “experience” will be located at Disney California Adventure Park.
NEWS: During the Walt Disney Imagineering Lunch & Learn at IAAPA Expo, it was revealed that the Avatar “experience” will be located at Disney California Adventure Park. pic.twitter.com/zfyPays9lH
— Drew Smith (@DrewDisneyDude) November 13, 2023
It’s been almost 11 months since that announcement, and now we finally know a little bit more!
At this year’s International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) Expo, Disney announced that the new experience will be located in Disney California Adventure Park. DCA is one of the two theme parks at Disneyland Resort and opened in 2002.
Fans were not the only ones excited to hear that Avatar would be coming to the West Coast. Some of the stars from Avatar 2 spoke to D23 — the official Disney fan club — about how happy they were to hear the news.
“Let’s gooooo!” Jack Champion, who portrays Spider, the human adopted son of Jake (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña), told D23. “I’m so excited for Avatar fans to experience the world of Pandora—just like we did—here at Disneyland [Resort]!”
Similarly excited was Trinity Jo-Li Bliss, who plays Jake and Neytiri’s youngest child, Tuk: “Oh my gosh! Avatar is coming to Disneyland [Resort]!” she told D23. “The ‘Valley of Moara’ is my favorite place to visit whenever I have the chance to go to [Walt] Disney World. I’ve always told my friends how amazing it is to be there and how one day they have to experience it themselves! Now with Avatar coming to Disneyland, I can take all my friends and we can experience the world of Avatar together! Woohooo!”
At this time, we do not have any details on what Disney is planning for the new area. Pandora: The World of Avatar has two attractions — Na’vi River Journey and Avatar: Flight of Passage. Disney has not said if either of those rides will be a part of the new Avatar experience. However, Bob Iger has said that the new area will be stunning, just like Pandora.
“If you’ve had a chance to experience Pandora – The World of Avatar at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park, you have a pretty good idea of what Imagineers are capable of.”
Related: Disney Park Dresses Up For Release of Avatar: The Way of Water
We do not yet know where in DCA the new Avatar experience will be located.
Disney’s Ever-Evolving Theme Park
Disney California Adventure Park opened in 2001, almost 5o years after Disneyland Park first opened. Since then, it has undergone some MAJOR changes and looks almost nothing like the original park.
In June 2013, DCA experienced a major experience with the opening of Cars Land. The new theme park area brought with it one of the resort’s most popular attractions, Radiator Springs Racers. It is similar to the Test Track attraction in EPCOT at Walt Disney World, but it has a Cars theme. Guests could also ride Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree, eat at Flo’s V8 Café, and watch the area come to life once the sun goes down.
Then, in 2021, the theme park experienced another major change when Avengers Campus opened, replacing the popular Bug’s Land area. The new theme park area lets guests interact with some of their favorite superheroes, including Captain America, Iron Man, Shang-Chi, Dr. Strange, and Black Widow. They can also sling webs like Spider-Man on WEB SLINGERS: A Spider-Man Adventure.
Related: Disney Finally Reveals Concept Art For New E-Ticket Attraction!
A new Avatar experience is not the only change Disney Imagineers are hoping to make to Disneyland Resort. The Walt Disney Company is currently hard at work on getting everything set up and signed for its DisneylandForward expansion. The new area would be situated behind and alongside Disney California Adventure. There will be around 16 new attractions, new restaurants, and new shopping.
Disney Fanatic will keep readers updated as we learn more about DisneylandForward and the new Avatar experience!
*UPDATE: Disney has denied that they spoke about where the Avatar experience would be located in the Resort.
Are you excited to see Avatar come to Disneyland? Let us know in the comments!
Disneyland should place this in a future third park instead of it being at Disney California Adventure
When Disney’s bid to get Harry Potter failed because of JK Rowling not wanting Disney to get their hands on her baby, they went after Pandora. Considering what Disney has done to Star Wars, she was very right not to let Disney have it.