Avatar coming to DCA

[Parkscope Joe]

Happy Avatar is possibly cancelled in DISNEY CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE PARK. If only there was a park next door that could use a land replacement.

 

[Clive]

Happy Avatar is possibly cancelled in DISNEY CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE PARK. If only there was a park next door that could use a land replacement.

As sad as our Tomorrowland is, I'm not sure I want Pandora taking over, either! (I would absolutely accept using it as a DisneylandForward expansion, though.)

 

[DrStarlander]

This is just a quick Photoshop, but the point is: it's an ugly building, so just go with it rather than fight it.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

As sad as our Tomorrowland is, I'm not sure I want Pandora taking over, either! (I would absolutely accept using it as a DisneylandForward expansion, though.)

What about a component of the land?

 

[belloq87]

The latest Avatar movie was only short of the latest Zootopia by $20 million; what’s this insane argument that it’s somehow not popular or clearly less popular than the crappy animal cop franchise?

I think the argument would be that Avatar's popularity is waning, as evidenced by FIRE AND ASH "only" making about 60% of what THE WAY OF WATER made at the box office.

I don't really agree with that analysis, because it doesn't take into account some pretty important context: THE WAY OF WATER benefited from a thirteen-year gap between it and the first movie, giving it time to build up a real sense of anticipation. FIRE AND ASH then came a mere three years later, on a typical sequel timeline, and didn't feel as much like a once-a-decade event.

Just going to leave this here

https://blogmickey.com/2026/03/zootopia-popular-shanghai-disneyland/

1. It's the hot new thing in the park. Let's see the results in five years.
2. China loves the IP.
3. The park doesn't have a Rise of the Resistance or Runaway Railway (either of which, I suspect, would poll higher than Zootopia if it did).

Happy Avatar is possibly cancelled in DISNEY CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE PARK. If only there was a park next door that could use a land replacement.

As sad as our Tomorrowland is, I'm not sure I want Pandora taking over, either! (I would absolutely accept using it as a DisneylandForward expansion, though.)

What about a component of the land?

Might be heresy to some to suggest it... but Avatar taking over the Finding Nemo subs and the Autopia does not strike me as a ridiculous concept. Would have to work around the Monorail.

Avatar, as an IP, would fit fine in Tomorrowland, I think, if Disney was okay with a relatively standalone attraction (probably still with a merch and quick serve component).

 

[Jake S]

Might be heresy to some to suggest it... but Avatar taking over the Finding Nemo subs and the Autopia does not strike me as a ridiculous concept. Would have to work around the Monorail.

[Emphasis mine]

I think that's the big issue. Because otherwise, I think it's a no-brainer. I love the subs, but I can't imagine Disney being too precious about them if they could solve the Monorail problem.

 

[Clive]

What about a component of the land?

 

[alomar]

[Emphasis mine]

I think that's the big issue. Because otherwise, I think it's a no-brainer. I love the subs, but I can't imagine Disney being too precious about them if they could solve the Monorail problem.

I feel like the monorail problem is still a present issue with the DCA location as well. I personally (im sure others do) don't see how you either hide or incorporate the monorail into a Pandora land.

 

[Jake S]

I feel like the monorail problem is still a present issue with the DCA location as well. I personally (im sure others do) don't see how you either hide or incorporate the monorail into a Pandora land.

It's an issue, but certainly not at the same level as it would be at Disneyland. You've got a spaghetti bowl of track around Autopia and the Subs that you just don't have across the way.

 

[PerceptiveCoot]

zootopia is significantly more popular in china than in any other country on planet earth.

This. Pretty much every RedNote post I see in Shanghai Disneyland has more people wearing bunny and fox ears than the mouse ears.

Happy Avatar is possibly cancelled in DISNEY CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE PARK. If only there was a park next door that could use a land replacement.

This an argument that someone like that Japanese guy who thought he was still fighting the war 40 years later would make.

 

[Jake S]

This. Pretty much every RedNote post I see in Shanghai Disneyland has more people wearing bunny and fox ears than the mouse ears.

This piece has a good primer on why it's such a big hit in mainland China, for those interested.

 

[PerceptiveCoot]

Another reason why I'd be surprised about Zootopia replacing Avatar (especially if it includes a straight port of Shanghai's ride) is that, based on the reporting around Villains Land, Lightning Lane seems to have changed the financial calculus justifying why and how rides are greenlit in the American parks*. According to Drew Taylor, one of the primary motivators behind the changes to the Villains Land lineup was to ensure that the Magic Kingdoms' new rides would have to be

A. Family-friendly enough to ensure that the whole family will choose to purchase Lightning Lanes
B. Great enough to ensure that those Single Ride Lightning Lanes were the most popular Lightning Lanes in the park

Zootopia: Hot Pursuit certainly fulfills the family-friendly part of that equation, but I'm not sure the ride as it currently exists is that different from a slew of other rides at the Disney parks. Does it matter at all if the latest DCA attraction is merely "just as good" as the litany of other advanced dark rides at the Resort, or does it have to be exceptional to drive secondary purchases? And if so, does the Lightning Lane justification for what and how rides are built actually matter within the context of the Disneyland Resort, or is it more of a concern for WDW, whose existing capacity constraints facilitate the environment where rabid demand for Lightning Lanes can grow?

* An ironic development given that ride expenditures were probably justified with similar logic during the E-ticket, D-ticket days.

 

[Tobias]

If the rumor on the whole thing is true, part of me feels it's a combination of things which led to it.
This is just me spit balling things of course...

So the plan was a new ride and land of Avatar, but as @Clive mentioned it felt more like an idea when they announced it, nothing really set in stone yet and we've seen time and time again how things can change in development. That could be a potential issue if Disney was hoping to open something in a particular timeframe.

Secondly, merch. Avatar is not an IP that really moves merch. It is what it is, and depending on the situation, I don't think it's much of an issue...but it does depend on the third factor...R&D.

If a land/ride etc. is bought by multiple parks and they pitch in for R&D, I think it's reasonable to assume it's given a better chance to be built as they're taking out a good hurdle for it, and they don't have to lean on merch to help it out. But here's the thing with Avatar, I do recall in the past it was shopped around to the other parks...and no one else bought it. If DL has to foot the bill for R&D...I can see how some folks might be hesitant to do so for something that doesn't really move merch.

Now compare this to Zootopia which already had its R&D taken care of thanks to Shanghai. You want it? Put the money down, make the space for it and it's yours in a reasonable amount of time.

-----

As for Zootopia potentially coming to DCA, I'll admit it's one of the stateside parks where I'd be fine with it. I see this like Spider-Man and Transformers in Universal Orlando, while obviously Transformers was made for parks that don't have Spider-Man...ultimately they're located in separate parks.

And as for DLR, RotR and MMRR are in Disneyland...and Zootopia would be in DCA which currently doesn't have a trackless darkride.

Another reason why I'd be surprised about Zootopia replacing Avatar (especially if it includes a straight port of Shanghai's ride) is that, based on the reporting around Villains Land, Lightning Lane seems to have changed the financial calculus justifying why and how rides are greenlit in the American parks

Regarding the changes to WDW's Villain's Land, from the sounds of it the changes were imposed by ops at Magic Kingdom who didn't want the big E-Ticket to be an outdoor coaster which'll most likely shut down during inclement weather which happens often in Florida. In ways, that's a Florida-specific issue and I don't think that would be the case if that was being built here in Cali.

 

[PerceptiveCoot]

And as for DLR, RotR and MMRR are in Disneyland...and Zootopia would be in DCA which currently doesn't have a trackless darkride.

It's less that the ride is a trackless dark ride for me and more that Avatar was supposed to be the last grand addition to this latest spate of investment in California Adventure. Zootopia doesn't strike me as being nearly as ambitious as the Avatar plans. Does something like the Shanghai Zootopia ride rank above RSR, Avengers, and the Coco boat ride? We don't know, but something like the Shanghai boat ride would have been a more impressive and grand statement within the park.

That's ultimately why I would prefer Monstropolis over Zootopia in the backlot. It meets the concerns of retheming the theater space, efficient use of R&D, and thematic integration with the Monorail, all while anchoring the land with an impressive, modern attraction that has, in the lift mechanism, a technological wow moment on par with the First Order hangar.