Avatar Updates, New Parking, and More News at Disneyland

From time to time, Disney likes to keep us posted on plans. Recently released details cover the locations of the previously announced Avatar and Coco rides, a closure to accommodate them, and exciting news for Disneyland regulars – more parking!

Avatar Experience Update

After years of speculation about just what the Avatar experience would be, we learned last year at D23 that it would be an entire area based on Avatar: the Way of Water, with a brand new ride.

Disney has announced that this new land will be in Disney California Adventure, partly overlapping with the current Hollywood Backlot area. As part of the transformation, Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue! will close in 2026. More details on construction timelines will be shared later.

Coco Attraction Timeline Moved Up

At that same D23, Disney announced a Coco-themed attraction for Disney California Adventure. Construction on this ride, which lets you take a trip with Miguel to the land of the dead, was originally announced as beginning in 2026. Not even “early 2026”, just “some time in 2026”. Well, now it’s beginning, even earlier – in the fall of 2025!

More stuff, sooner? Yes please. Plus, there was more great news for this ride. It will be built near Paradise Gardens and Pixar Pier, which means it will tie in nicely to Disneyland’s seasonal Plaza de la Familia event. And the space for the attraction will be taken from areas that are mostly backstage today, so no closures have been announced to support the construction.

All-New Parking and Transportation Hub

If you’re a Disneyland local, you are not walking to the gates from your resort. So parking and the arrival experience are pretty important, and it’s not a frictionless process today. Disney is developing plans for an all-new parking structure and transportation hub on the Eastern side of the resort. And good news for non-locals: the project includes a pedestrian bridge over Harbor Boulevard that will provide convenient public access by foot, with an “all-new esplanade arrival experience”.

The planned parking structure will provide approximately 6,000 new spaces, on top of the 20,000 or so spaces already available in Disneyland’s daily visitor lots and garages. In addition, the hub will offer shuttle and rideshare areas, security screening, and dedicated access for traffic off of Disney Way. The multi-year project is expected to kick off in the fall of 2026.

Are you looking forward to these changes? Let us know in the comments!