The DisneylandForward plan that has been full of promises but vague on specifics throughout the three-year approval process is finally starting to come into focus with a themed land based on the World of Pandora set to become the first project to break ground.
Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed during the MoffettNathanson Media and Communications Summit on Wednesday, May 15 that an Avatar themed land is coming to the Disneyland Resort.
“We have just gotten approval from the city of Anaheim for the biggest expansion of Disneyland since we opened DCA in 2001,” Iger said during the presentation. “It’s a huge expansion. We haven’t been specific about what’s going to be in it, except for Avatar.”
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The Anaheim City Council gave unanimous final approval in early May to the $1.9 billion DisneylandForward proposal that updates a 1990s city plan to allow for a mix of theme park, hotel, retail, dining and entertainment on the eastern and western edges of the Disneyland resort. The newly approved plan goes into effect in early June.
An Avatar themed land had been dangled as a tantalizing possibility during the extended DisneylandForward pitch that also floated potential themed lands based on Tangled, Frozen, Peter Pan, Zootopia, Toy Story, Black Panther, Coco, Tron and Encanto as potential expansion projects in Anaheim.
Iger has been teasing an “exciting Avatar experience” for the Disneyland resort since February 2023.
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What will Disneyland build first in theme park expansion?
Concept art released in April of the Avatar themed land proposed for the Disneyland resort shows jutting rocks and floating mountains amid gushing geysers and alien flora as a boat filled with riders passes through an aqua-green lagoon heading toward a cascading waterfall.
At the time, Iger described the concept art as “creative inspiration” for a potential Avatar experience being designed by Walt Disney Imagineering. Disney’s creative arm is teaming up with “Avatar” filmmaker James Cameron on the new land.
The 12-acre Pandora — The World of Avatar themed land that debuted in 2017 at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Florida features the $2.3 billion film franchise’s signature floating mountains and bioluminescent plants. The land includes the Avatar Flight of Passage 3D flight simulator, Na’vi River Journey water ride, Satu’li Canteen quick service restaurant and Windtraders gift shop.
