Walt Disney Imagineering is working with director James Cameron on a new Avatar experience planned for Disneyland Resort.
Disneyland Resort president Ken Potrock provided an update on the concept during an OC Forum event on May 18, the Orange County Register reported.
The event, held at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel, allowed Disneyland officials to share their plans for Disneyland Forward with Orange County business and city leaders.
Disneyland Forward is a plan detailing how the resort intends to update and renovate the Anaheim theme park if zoning changes are approved.
The project will include new attractions, shops and restaurants within its existing 490-acre footprint, the Los Angeles Times reported.
News of the Avatar experience surprised Disney fans and company officials alike when CEO Bob Iger announced it during a company earnings call in February following the success of “Avatar: The Way of Water,” the long-awaited sequel to “Avatar.”
“Our Imagineers are working with Jim Cameron and his team,” Potrock said during the OC Forum event. “We’re going to share lots more details as they become available. By the way, as I become aware of what the heck we’re going to do. But stay tuned; it’s going to be really exciting. We’re thinking bold.”
Details about the new addition to the resort have remained limited.
In addition to welcoming an Avatar experience to the Disneyland Resort, Imagineers working at Disneyland and Walt Disney World in Florida will soon transform Splash Mountain into the highly-anticipated “Princess and the Frog” themed attraction.
While the attraction itself isn’t getting torn down, it will undergo a complete makeover and re-emerge as “Tiana’s Bayou Adventure,” which is scheduled to open in late 2024.
Splash Mountain’s last day of operation will be on May 30 and the ride will officially close on May 31, Disneyland officials announced in April.
Disneyland also recently opened Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway attraction during its Disney 100 celebration. The ride is the first stand-alone Mickey and Minnie ride at Disneyland and features classic characters many have grown to love, but they are depicted in a new animation style similar to the modern Mickey Mouse shorts.
The attraction takes guests on a journey filled with nostalgic memorabilia but also implements modern technology, such as a trackless ride system.