Avatar and a new Tomorrowland—here’s a look at what’s coming to Disneyland in the future

It’s that time of the year—well, every other year—when thousands of Disney fans descend upon the Anaheim Convention Center to see what the entertainment company has been cooking up. The D23 fan expo covers everything from films to toys to live theater, but it’s inevitably the company’s globe-spanning assortment of theme parks that serves some of the most visually-enticing teases.

We scoped out the Walt Disney Imagineering pavilion on the convention center show floor to get a firsthand look at what’s in store here at Disneyland, and kept up with Saturday night’s theme park–focused presentation at the Honda Center as well. While there was really only one new major Disneyland announcement, there were plenty of tantalizing details shared in updates to the 2024 edition of the expo’s slate of announcements.

So let’s start with that big new announcement—but also the one we know the least about. Toward the end of Saturday night’s arena show, Disney Experiences chairman Thomas Mazloum revealed that Tomorrowland, a then-forward-looking land when Disneyland first opened in 1955 and now a kind of hodgepodge of space-themed rides, will soon begin to be reimagined with “optimism” and “wondrous ideas” at its core, and will host “new attractions, more open spaces [and] new places for you to dream about the future.”

No timeline was given, but Mazloum—referencing the promise of Disneyland’s entry plaque, which proclaims “Here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow and fantasy”—said that “as we approach Disneyland’s 75th anniversary with an eye towards the horizon and the park’s centennial, I think it's time to renew that promise once again in a way that deeply honors the original and imagines the future with optimism. And that starts with Tomorrowland.”

As for updates to all of those previously-announced projects, though it was the splashiest-looking project on display on the show floor, the Avatar addition to Disney California Adventure only received a passing mention during Saturday night’s presentation, when senior vice president Ali Rubinstein noted that “we have Avatar coming in the future.”

The Imagineering pavilion on the show floor, on the other hand, at least offered some pretty precise visuals: Simply referred to as “Avatar destination,” the exhibit sported a reel of concept imagery for the bioluminescent boat excursion and its surrounding environment, a mountainous model of which sat on display; the ride vehicle, which also had its own model on display, was visible in the waterfall-backed lagoon. A 2025 announcement about Disneyland Resort’s larger expansion plans noted that Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue! would have to close to make room for the Avatar experience; the monorail, which runs right by that existing ride, was visible along the side of the Avatar model. Concept art released during the 2024 edition of D23 teased an entire Avatar-themed land, but this year’s show seemed to focus on just one section of that initial artwork.

Imagineers also shared a few more concept images from the upcoming Coco attraction at Disney California Adventure. The musical boat ride finds Miguel, a year after the events of the original film, recounting his journey into the Land of the Dead. You’ll enter the attraction through a museum dedicated to the music of his great-great-grandfather Héctor Rivera, who appears in guitar-wielding statue form at the center of a charming courtyard. The ride will have no height requirement, and though no opening date was given, construction is already underway (it’s situated near Paradise Gardens Park and Pixar Pier).

The most fully-detailed project by far, both on the show floor and at the arena show, was the pair of Marvel-themed rides set to double the size of Disney California Adventure’s Avengers Campus. The company shared more models, concept images and behind-the-scenes footage of the two attractions—and announced that they’re both set to open in 2028.

The centerpiece here is Avengers Infinity Defense, which will recruit riders on a superhero-aided mission as they board a ship, blast through portals and bounce between Wakanda, Asgard and New York City to chase down King Thanos. We’d previously only seen a few concept images for the attraction—which was first announced in 2019 and retitled in 2024—but Saturday night’s presentation revealed some footage of what appeared to be massive, under-construction props of a Black Panther statue and Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir. (Imagineer Brent Strong revealed that these sets will be blended with media scenes.)

We also got a look at the Marvel Cinematic Universe stars set to reprise their roles for the ride, including a preshow with Iman Vellani as Ms. Marvel, and on-ride appearances from Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, Anthony Mackie as Captain America, Chris Hemsworth as Thor and Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man.

Mackie and Downey will also reprise those roles in the neighboring Stark Flight Lab, which features Brie Larson as Captain Marvel, as well. The superheroes will act as flight instructors on the twisty simulator-like attraction. Footage on the show floor at D23 teased a pair of seats that hurtle along a track that are then picked up by robotic arms that’ll lift and fling riders about. From the scale model, it appears that the ride will be outdoors—perfect for folks who don’t quite think they have the stomach for the thrill ride but nonetheless want to gawk at it in operation.

Finally, on the entertainment side of things, a pair of returning favorites will take over the two parks’ nighttime programming starting in February 2027. At Disneyland, you’ll be able to see a “refreshed version” of “Remember… Dreams Come True,” the 50th anniversary, Julie Andrews–narrated fireworks show that celebrates the park’s iconic themed lands and attractions and will now sport—in addition to the projections on Sleeping Beauty Castle—new projections up and down Main Street as well as at the Rivers of America and on the front of “it’s a small world.” (Daytime parade “Magic Happens” will also return that summer.) Meanwhile, Disney California Adventure’s colorful fountain show will welcome an “updated take” on the original “World of Color.”