New lands, rides, or attractions, based on “Black Panther,” “Frozen” and “Coco,” could come to life at the Disneyland Resort, Walt Disney Co. executives teased during an investor summit in Florida this week.
Disney Parks Chairman Josh D’Amaro talked about the possibility of bringing Frozen’s Arendelle, Black Panther’s Wakanda and Coco’s Santa Cecilia to life in some capacity at the “Happiest Place on Earth” and potentially its sister park in Orlando.
“We have a wealth of untapped stories to bring to life across our business,” D’Amaro said.
“Frozen, one of the most successful and popular animated franchises of all time, could have a presence at the Disneyland Resort. Wakanda has yet to be brought to life. The world of Coco is just waiting to be explored. There’s a lot of storytelling opportunity.”
Disney fans have theorized that lands, rides and attractions based on “Tangled,” “Zootopia” and “Tron” and expanded areas based on “Peter Pan” and “Toy Story,” could also be in the works.
Some of the proposed lands potentially coming to Disneyland, such as “Frozen,” will debut at Disney Parks overseas in the coming months.
Disneyland has also teased the possibility of adding an Avatar experience to the resort. News of the potential addition was teased in February, but details on the project have remained limited.
However, it was later revealed that director James Cameron was working with Walt Disney Imagineering on the project.
News of the Anaheim resort’s likely future comes after the city of Anaheim released a 17,000-page environmental study for Disney’s proposed expansion plan, known as Disneyland Forward.
The Disneyland Forward project details how officials want to update and renovate the Anaheim theme park. The project will include new attractions, shops and restaurants within its existing 490-acre footprint, the Los Angeles Times reported.
In 2021, Disneyland officials told media outlets they did not plan to ask the city of Anaheim for more space for the expansion but would instead focus on underdeveloped areas around the resort which the company already owns.
Specifically, officials want to build additions around the two Disney hotels west of the theme parks and on the site of a parking lot east of the resort, the Times reported.
Disney is seeking zoning changes for the expansion. Disney officials previously wanted to add a third entrance to the resort, but those plans never materialized.
The company has not announced how much Disneyland Forward would cost, but it previously stated that the endeavor would be privately funded. Disney hopes to have the project reviewed by the Anaheim City Council and receive approval before the end of 2024.
Disney has previously held community coffee chats for community members to attend and learn more about the proposed project.
A public workshop discussing the Disneyland Forward environmental plan will be held on Oct. 9 at Anaheim City Hall, the Orange County Register reported