The DisneylandForward plan, full of promise but vague on details throughout the three-year approval process, is finally starting to come to fruition with a themed land based on the world of Pandora becoming the first project to break ground.
Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed at the MoffettNathanson Media and Communications Summit on Wednesday, May 15 that an Avatar-themed land is coming to Disneyland Resort.
“We just received approval from the City of Anaheim for the largest expansion of Disneyland since DCA opened in 2001,” Iger said during the presentation. “It’s a huge expansion. We haven’t been specific about what will be in it, with the exception of Avatar.
ALSO WATCH: What will Disneyland build first in theme park expansion?
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 parks, hotels, retail, restaurants and entertainment on the east and west ends of the Disneyland resort. The newly approved plan comes into effect at the beginning of June.
An Avatar-themed land had been presented as a tantalizing possibility during DisneylandForward’s extended pitch which also proposed 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.
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 full of riders passes through a lagoon green water towards a cascading waterfall.
At the time, Iger described the concept art as “creative inspiration” for a potential Avatar experience designed by Walt Disney Imagineering. Disney’s creative arm is teaming up with “Avatar” filmmaker James Cameron in this new territory.
The 12-acre Pandora – World of Avatar-themed land that debuted in 2017 at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Florida features the iconic floating mountains and bioluminescent plants from the $2.3 billion film franchise. The land includes the Avatar Flight of Passage 3D flight simulator, the Na’vi River Journey water ride, the Satu’li Canteen quick-service restaurant and the Windtraders gift shop.
California Daily Newspapers
