At D23 Expo, the first ever Coco attraction was announced to be coming to a Disney Park. Breaking ground in 2026, California Adventure will be home to the Pixar film’s ride. In this post, we’ll share the news and add our commentary and reaction. Here’s the news:

At Horizons: Disney Experiences Showcase, Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro took the stage to reveal that an all-new attraction themed to Pixar Animation Studios’ “Coco” is coming to Disney California Adventure in the future.

The attraction will be filled with the characters — and music! — you know and love from the beloved movie, as guests join Miguel on a trip to the land of the dead. This marks the first-ever “Coco” ride in a Disney park!

Walt Disney Imagineering will draw inspiration for the attraction from beloved classics, like Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean. “We’re bringing our skeletal cast of characters to life in a big way through the latest Audio-Animatronics technology,” Josh told the crowd. “These figures will appear in ways you’ll have to see to believe.”

Get ready to celebrate everything you know and love about the movie, and music, with work beginning on the attraction in 2026!

Commentary

This is very exciting news! Coco connects in a special way to Disneyland Resort and I can’t think of a better spot to put an attraction based on that film. I’m encouraged about them already bringing up animatronic figures, as hopefully that means they are already in the works. The 2026 dates is a long ways away for them to start the project. With that being so far away and the news being vague, our commentary will mainly focus on why that date is so far off.

There’s a chance that the next D23 Expo will already take place before we see any progress on this attraction. Heck, there’s a chance that this never comes to light as is always the case with these announcements! But, we’re staying positive because this is good news. Why the 2026 start date though? Well, because we don’t know where they are going to put it.

As we watched the panel at D23, Melissa asked me about this, the Marvel rides and the Avatar announcement. She wondered where they could fit into the park. Frankly, there’s not enough room in the existing footprint for four new rides. Thankfully, DisneylandForward has passed through the Anaheim City Council. I believe that’s where this date has come in.

Disneyland Resort has more room to play with now. Undoubtedly, some of that extra space is going toward California Adventure’s expansions. Parking lots will be shifted around and there will likely be some room toward the back of Pixar Pier to play with. It will take a while to make that room though and I’m choosing to believe that’s why the Coco ride likely won’t be around until about five years from now. That’s both exciting and a little sad, because I think this will be a great addition.

As usual, this is all conjecture. Maybe Coco will go someplace else entirely. But the Downtown Disney lot is very close to Pixar Pier and using some of that space makes the most sense to me. That land as it exists now could use a slow and detailed boat ride like this. Here’s hoping it will find a home in the fitting Pixar Pier.

My last thought on this for now is the interesting inclusion of Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean in this announcement. Those aren’t names to just throw around, those attractions are the very best at what they do. Maybe it’s lip service and just an easy pull for a press release. But matching the feeling (not even the incredible detailed design) of those icons would be fitting of a Coco attraction. That film has a very similar playful but haunting aura. Here’s to waiting with excitement!

Are you excited for the Coco attraction to come to California Adventure? Let us know, along with any questions you might have, in the comments below! Planning a trip to Disneyland? Check out our Planning Guide here. Looking for discount tickets? Check out this site! If you enjoy what you are reading here on Wandering in Disney please share this post with your friends, as well as like our social media pages. You can also subscribe to the blog via WordPress or email. All of those links are on the right side of this page. Thank you for reading, we really appreciate it!