In unexpected news tonight, Disney revealed the location for two upcoming projects at California Adventure. The two additions, based on Coco and Avatar, were announced officially at last summer’s D23 Expo. This is the most substantial news on the projects since that event. In this post, we’ll share the details on where the projects will go before adding our own commentary. Let’s get to the news!

Updates on the Location for the “Coco” Attraction

As new experiences are added to Disney California Adventure, the company is excited to share that the upcoming attraction themed to Pixar Animation Studios’ “Coco” will be built near Paradise Gardens Park and Pixar Pier, in areas that are predominantly backstage today. Construction on this attraction is set to begin backstage this fall (2025)!

Avatar Experience Location Details

Additionally, the company is looking forward to transforming a portion of the current Hollywood Backlot area into the Avatar destination in Disney California Adventure. This project is still in the early stages of development, and additional details will be shared later, including construction timeframes.

To make way for this new experience, Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue! will close in early 2026.

Commentary

These two bits of news, along with a revitalized Eastern Gateway Project, were not on my Disney bingo card for the week. That’s especially true since both pieces of information about where these expansions will happen are somewhat ambiguous.

To start, I’ll say that I’m very excited for both Avatar and Coco to come to California Adventure. The latter will be a needed addition to the Pixar Pier area, adding some substance beyond Incredicoaster and Toy Story Mania. Including one of the best animated movies of the 21st century in a Pixar area is a no-brainer.

Meanwhile, the Avatar expansion in Animal Kingdom has been one of the biggest successes for Imagineering in the last 15 years. The land is absolutely stunning. While I have questions about the California Adventure fit, I’m excited to see what a new take on Avatar could look like. Both additions featuring boat rides is also exciting, as both franchises fit that ride system.

As far as location goes, both are in the areas I expected and honestly hoped for. Not that I’m some sort of genius because I’m honestly still confused about where they’re going even after the news. Building ‘near Paradise Gardens Park and Pixar Pier’ and ‘a portion of the current Hollywood Backlot area’ isn’t especially clear.

The Eastern Gateway Expansion will be used to add parking and infrastructure for the resort. I believe the project will directly influence Avatar, as Eastern Gateway will give Disneyland a new bus loop. Once that happens, I expect part of an Avatar show building to take up some of the current bus loop space. Maybe the plans are different, as that would explain why the Monsters Inc. attraction is closing so soon. But the easiest path forward for an Avatar area is in that space where the bus loop currently is. Be warned, if that is the plan then this Avatar expansion would be lucky to open before 2030.

A quicker timeline for the Coco attraction seems feasible, I’m just not exactly sure where it is going. Much of Pixar Pier is up against roads, so there isn’t a ton of room to add an attraction. In fact, the backstage areas mentioned in the news are hard to pinpoint. There’s some room behind Incredicoaster in areas. There’s also Boardwalk Pizza & Pasta, Paradise Garden Grill and Goofy’s Sky School. I wouldn’t describe any of those three as ‘predominantly backstage’ though.

Assuming that’s not the space, then we move closer to Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind. This makes a lot of sense, as it would stay out of the parade route and would be, again, ‘predominantly backstage’. All this to say, we still don’t know where this will actually be! But we should find out soon enough if work is beginning in a few months. I’m hoping that the attraction is fast-tracked and could come to DCA by 2027.

We’ll be sure to update with any new details on these two exciting projects!

Are you excited for these two new expansions to come to California Adventure? Let us know, along with any questions you have, in the comments below. If you are planning a trip to Disneyland Resort then check out our planning guide. Looking for discount Disneyland 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. You can do all of that on the right side of this page. Thank you for reading, we really appreciate it!