Avatar Coming to the Disneyland Resort
For over a year now, Disney fans have been speculating where an Avatar Experience or Land will be located at the Disneyland Resort. Bob Iger initially announced that an Avatar Experience would be coming to Disneyland during the 2023 Q1 Earnings Call. At that time, it was believed that this may only be an Avatar single attraction or some sort of walk through experience. However, about a week ago during a Morgan Stanley Conference, Bob Iger stated that an Avatar Land was coming to the Disneyland Resort. But where is it going to be located?
Where is the Land Going to be Located?
There are a lot of speculations going around on the internet with everyone sharing their ideas and opinions on where the land will go in blog posts and YouTube videos. Last November, Walt Disney Imagineering stated that the Avatar Experience was being developed for Disney California Adventure Park. However, shortly afterwards, the Disneyland Resort stated that the exact location had not been finalized yet.
DisneylandForward
I personally feel like the exact location of the new land has been determined but The Walt Disney Company does not want to announce a physical location yet because they are on the final stretch of getting the DisneylandForward project approved and don’t want to “rock the boat” by making a concrete announcement about any new attractions or lands until the DisneylandFoward project is approved.
The Anaheim City Council will meet on April 16, 2024 to cast a final vote on approval of the DisneylandForward project after the project was approved by the Anaheim Planning Commission in a vote of 5 to 1 earlier this week.
Location, Location, Location
Many fans have speculated that the new Avatar land will be taking over Grizzly Peak or the Hollywood Backlot in Disney California Adventure Park. Other fans have speculated that the new land will replace Autopia and Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage. But, my number one objection to most of those locations is that Bob Iger has stated time and time again that they want to increase capacity. So, removing Grizzly River Run, the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail and Soarin’ and replacing that area with a new land would not really increase capacity. Nor would removing Autopia and Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage. By replacing these attractions and areas in either park, the Disneyland Resort would actually decrease capacity because those attractions and areas would have to be closed for 2-3 years during construction of a new land. And not only would it decrease capacity but it would also affect the guest experience by offering less attractions in the theme park.
Also, while a new Avatar Land could occupy more guests than the current areas do if developed correctly, the additional capacity would not be enough to justify the cost and capacity of removing existing attractions and closing a large area of the park during construction.
So, where do I think the new Avatar Land will be located? Well, I have made my prediction of where the new land will be located but I also have an idea of where I think the new land should go.
My Prediction of Where Avatar Land will be Located
As I stated a few days ago in another blog post, I predict that the new Avatar Land will take over the Hollywood Backlot along with absorbing a portion of the current bus terminal area just behind the Hollywood Backlot area. This area is under utilized, has two abandoned Sound Stages and has a large area of land in front of and behind those Sound Stages. The problems I see with this area becoming Avatar Land are the popularity of the “Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue!” attraction currently located in the area and the Monorail that passes through the area. But the highest priority I see with Avatar Land replacing the Hollywood Backlot is theming the new land, or more importantly the entrances to the land, to make it fit with the rest of the park.
First, the Monorail could easily be hidden by simply having it go through a long tunnel that is inside a show building or the floating mountains so that guests in the park would not even see the Monorail as it passed through the land and guests riding the Monorail would see some sort of lights or artwork as the Monorail passes through the tunnel.
Next, since “Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue!” is such a popular attraction, Disney could either move the attraction to the area behind Pixar Pier or build a new “Monsters, Inc.” attraction based on the films. Honestly, I think the popularity of this attraction is not because of the ride experience but because fans like “Monsters, Inc.” and because there is a lack of available attractions at Disney California Adventure Park for guests to experience during their visit to the park.
And finally, there’s theming. Right now, the Hollywood Backlot is a huge open area that looks nothing like an Avatar Land. Nor does the area around the Hollywood Backlot. And if Sunset Boulevard stays as is, how would the theming of going from a California Street to a forest on another planet be set up? With Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland Park, this theming from one land to another was easily accomplish with trees, plants and tunnels. But that would be a lot more difficult in the Hollywood Backlot area. So while I feel like this is the area that Disney is planning on using for the new Avatar Land, I really have a hard time imaging the theming from one land to another – especially to an Avatar Land.
I think the Hollywood Backlot area would be better suited for a continued expansion of Avengers Campus or a Zootopia Land. Personally, I would most like to see the area re-imagined as Zootopia because I think going from a California Street to an area populated by animals who have evolved to human-like beings is much more believable than going into a forest on another planet. Zootopia would fit perfectly in the Hollywood Backlot area of Disney California Adventure Park and would increase capacity of the park assuming new attractions were part of the land as they are at the new land that just opened at the Shanghai Disney Resort.
Where I would like to see Avatar Land
Before I go into where I would like to see Avatar Land located, I wanted to start by saying that I would prefer that Disney did not build an Avatar Land at the Disneyland Resort at all. I am really not a fan of the franchise and feel like there are a lot more Disney films and stories that fans would enjoy coming to life at the Disneyland Resort over Avatar. However, if Disney and Bob Iger are set on building an Avatar Land, I know the perfect place for it.
Imagine that you taking the trail beside the Hungry Bear Restaurant to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. But, after walking under the Disneyland Railroad bridge, you see the current path going to the right that leads to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge but there is also a new path going to the left. The new path to the left takes guests behind the Hungry Bear Restaurant and Critter Country to a new land based on Avatar. This area already has a forest theme with rocks and mountains all around. And it is a backstage area of the Disneyland Resort where construction would not affect current capacity or guest experience. There is already a shop behind Tiana’s Bayou Adventure that would separate the new land from Critter Country. Plus another entrance to the land could be constructed between the Critter Country merchandise shop and Tiana’s Bayou Adventure (formerly known as Splash Mountain).
The land would continue behind New Orleans Square and could potentially touch the edge of the Downtown Disney District behind Splitsville Luxury Lanes. The land would be narrow but long. Of course, I am not sure if this area has enough land for what Disney has planned, but in my opinion, it is the perfect location for Pandora theming. And by utilizing this space, Disney would be adding capacity without taking out other attractions or affecting guest experience during construction.
There is also another idea that I have had for a while which relies on the DisneylandForward Project approval. With an enclosed bridge over Harbor Blvd., an attraction building could be constructed in an area of the employee parking lot currently behind Harbor Blvd. The bridge would connect Tomorrowland at Disneyland Park to the show building across the street. But, while the current DisneylandForward project does include bridges over Harbor Blvd, none of those bridges are described as enclosed bridges so I doubt this is something Disney is considering.
That’s a Wrap!
I would love to know exactly what Disney has in mind for an Avatar Land at the Disneyland Resort but I feel like we may not hear an official announcement until August during D23 The Ultimate Disney Fan Event.
I’ll keep you posted news from the Disneyland Forward project. And as always, I’ll “see ya real soon” Mouseketeers!
