What’s New & Next at Disneyland & California Adventure in 2026 to 2030
New & reimagined rides, restaurants, lands, hotels, and more are coming soon to Disneyland and Disney California Adventure in 2026, as well as 2027 through 2030. This offers info on what’s new and next as part of Disney’s 5-year plan, opening dates, construction progress, and more.
Let’s start with all of the latest update. Disney has announced the Full 2026 Disneyland Resort Calendar, which features a wide variety of events, big and small. The next two major ones are Lunar New Year (January 23 to February 22, 2026), DCA Food & Wine Festival (March 6 to April 27, 2026).
The year’s biggest celebration is Disneyland’s 70th Anniversary, which is ongoing and runs through Summer 2026. This milestone celebration features new and nostalgic nighttime spectaculars, returning parades, reimagined entertainment, and more. The highlights are World of Color: Happiness, Paint the Night Parade, and Wondrous Journeys fireworks.
After summer and the end of Disneyland70, Halloween Time at Disneyland will start in late August and run until the end of October. The highlight of Halloween is Oogie Boogie Bash at DCA, but there are also ride overlays, decorations, special entertainment & fireworks, food and other fun. For everything you need to know, see our Guide to Halloween Time at Disneyland.
A couple of weeks after Halloween ends, the holiday season begins. Disneyland and Disney California Adventure, the hotels, and Downtown Disney are all decked out for the holidays. Consult our Ultimate Guide to Christmas at Disneyland Resort for everything you need to know.
Now let’s move on to what’s new and what’s next at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure…
What’s New at Disneyland
Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway – Located inside Toontown’s El CapiTOON Theater, this family-friendly experience transports you into the wacky and unpredictable cartoon world. Board a train engineered by Goofy and embark on a zany adventure with Mickey & Minnie Mouse, among other cartoon characters.
Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway now offers a standby line, and wait times aren’t nearly as bad as they were earlier this year due to its high capacity and the ‘new ride smell’ wearing off. Nevertheless, we recommend prioritizing it in your plans, or buying Lightning Lane Multi-Pass to skip the line.
As part of this addition, Mickey’s Toontown has been reimagined with grassy new play spaces. One of the new areas in Mickey’s Toontown is CenTOONial Park, which is anchored by an interactive fountain and dreaming tree play area.
Lightning Lanes – Another recent change is the launch of the Lightning Lane system with paid-line skipping service that replaced free paper FastPass and paid MaxPass. This debuted as Genie+ a few years ago, but had a name change to Lightning Lane Multi-Pass last summer.
Everything you need to know, including ride priorities, where it’s NOT necessary to buy Lightning Lanes, and much more is covered in our Guide to Lightning Lane Multi-Pass at Disneyland and DCA.
Avengers Campus – This Marvel-themed land is the biggest recent addition at Disney California Adventure. Avengers Campus features WEB Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure, an interactive attraction featuring Spider-Man. The other highlight is Pym Test Kitchen, a restaurant with small and large food.
Beyond that, Avengers Campus showcases a variety of character meet & greets, including Black Widow, Ant-Man and The Wasp, Doctor Strange, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Super Heroes from Wakanda and Asgard, and Iron Man.
Avengers Campus also has new limited time meet & greets on a regular basis whenever Disney+ debuts a new Marvel series, which is often. We’ve seen Werewolf by Night, Jane Foster as Mighty Thor, Incredible Hulk in his Quantum Suit, and many more. The highlight of Avengers Campus is Story Time with Deadpool.
San Fransokyo Square from Big Hero 6 – Pacific Wharf has been reimagined into San Fransokyo from “Big Hero 6,” where East meets West, and technology meets tradition. This project features a new look for the area, plus reimagined restaurants with fresh menus, new shops, and a place to meet Baymax.
Although San Fransokyo Square opened at the end of the summer, finishing thematic touches continue on the new area, and it’ll likely continue to evolve.
Tiana’s Palace Restaurant – This reimagined restaurant is located in New Orleans Square, replacing the former French Market on Orleans Street. Tiana’s Palace Restaurant is not a character dining experience–it’s a quick-service dining option.
Tiana’s Palace Restaurant is currently the most popular counter service restaurant in all of Disneyland, and it’s also the best. Soak in the lively culture of New Orleans through new menu items inspired by the flavors of the Crescent City––including Southern comfort dishes and plates with a Cajun and Creole twist.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure – Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is the Princess and the Frog reimagined ride that replaces Splash Mountain at Disneyland. Although the attraction is completely different and arguably a downgrade as compared to its predecessor, it’s still fun and one of the better rides in the park. The Disneyland version is also better-paced and more action-packed than its counterpart at Magic Kingdom.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure uses the exact same ride system as Splash Mountain and is structurally and stylistically similar. It’s a log flume with an outdoor section, interior show scenes featuring advanced Audio Animatronics figures, and several smaller drops culminating in one big 50-foot drop. Same idea, different story and substance.
The highlights of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure are the incredibly advanced human and animal Audio Animatronics, along with a range of memorable music that brings the ride to life. The lowlights are a confusing story, dark and dead spots in the scenery, and low stakes.
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Enhancements – At Disneyland, characters from Star Wars shows Disney+ were incorporated into Batuu with bounty hunter Boba Fett and mercenary Fennec Shand. Other characters have appeared from time to time to promote new streaming shows or movies.
The highlights are Din Djarin (also known as the Mandalorian) and Grogu (also known as “Baby Yoda”). This duo has journeyed to Batuu and is appearing in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland. In case you’ve been under a rock the last few years, the Mandalorian and Baby Yoda can be seen in the first two seasons of “The Mandalorian” on Disney Plus.
In addition to these new characters, there’s also the new Batuu Bounty Hunters game. This gives guests missions, promising credits in reward for catching criminals of a galaxy far, far away. It works in tandem with physical park infrastructure, the Play Disney Parks app, and MagicBand Plus. Speaking of which…
MagicBand+ – Disney’s next generation wearable, the MagicBand+, recently made its debut at Disneyland Resort. The new iteration features interactive elements that guests can use all around the Disneyland Resort. Here’s everything we know about MagicBand+ at Disneyland Resort, including firsthand thoughts from our experience using MagicBand Plus.
After years of being available at Walt Disney World, this marks the first time the popular MagicBands are available at Disneyland Resort. The MagicBand+ offers hands-free convenience and interactive elements that engage with nighttime spectaculars and other park features in fun new ways.
Disneyland Hotel DVC – Disneyland Resort has added a 350-room Disney Vacation Club tower as part of Disneyland Hotel, which is now open. The new 12-story Disneyland Hotel DVC tower is located between Goofy’s Kitchen and the Frontierland Tower.
We’ve already stayed in the new tower and share a look in Photos & Video of the New Rooms at the Villas at Disneyland Hotel.
Pixar Place Hotel – This reimagined resort officially opened way back in January, but it’s actually not totally finished–work remains ongoing in converting guest rooms to the new style (common areas are finished and have been all year).
Pixar Place Hotel weaves the artistry of Pixar into its contemporary setting, including areas for everyone to enjoy, like the Finding Nemo-themed splash pad area. Pixar Place Hotel has also welcomed the team from Southern California local favorite Great Maple, which operates food & beverage locations throughout Pixar Place Hotel.
We’ve stayed at Pixar Place Hotel a couple of times already. See our full Pixar Place Hotel Review for everything you need to know.
What’s Coming to Disneyland in the Next 5 Years
Bluey’s Best Day Ever – Beginning March 22, 2026, and continuing through the year, “Bluey’s Best Day Ever!” at the Fantasyland Theatre in Disneyland will celebrate the heart and humor of the critically acclaimed Disney+ animated series, Bluey.
Fantasyland Theatre will transform into the grounds of Bluey’s school, where guests can join the fun of Bluey’s best day ever. Throughout the day, Bluey and her sister Bingo will appear live on stage, joining a troupe of comedic actors and musicians. Together, they will bring to life the popular music and games that are emblematic of beloved Bluey episodes, inspiring young families and guests of all ages to participate.
From entertaining live musical show moments that seamlessly segue into iconic games like Keepy Uppy, to interactive adventures in a life-sized Gnome Village and Fairy Garden, it’s a special time when play is welcomed and memories are created by all. Guests can step into the fair at Bluey’s school with the Grannies, Chattermax, Unicorse and delight in select themed fave foods at Troubadour Tavern, inspired by the animated series.
Mandalorian Mission in Millennium Falcon – Mando and Grogu have a new adventure on the horizon coming to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. Join the Mandalorian and Baby Yoda on brand-new adventures coming to Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run in celebration of the new Star Wars film “The Mandalorian and Grogu” coming to theaters in 2026. This new mission will open on the same date as the film, May 26, 2026.
I have consistently and repeatedly been advocating for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge to have a soft reboot. I’m not going to rehash all of that here, but the bottom line is that I’d like to see Batuu break the sacred timeline and use the setting of the land as a jumping off point for new adventures. (See Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Needs to Break the Rules for my take on all of that.)
Soarin’ Across America – In celebration of America’s 250th anniversary, the fan-favorite attraction Soarin’ will receive an all-new airborne adventure across the U.S. beginning at Disneyland Resort on July 2, 2026.
The attraction will be titled Soarin’ Across America, and the new bi-coastal offering will showcase the United States—from sea to shining sea—highlighting some of the country’s natural beauty and iconic cityscapes.
Soarin’ Across America will be brought to life with the iconic elements that make Soarin’ unforgettable – the flight, the sights and score, even the scents! Walt Disney Imagineering is hard at work capturing more than a dozen breathtaking locations for the new flight.
Avengers Infinity Defense – Avengers Campus at Disney California Adventure will be expanding with a third attraction, Avengers Infinity Defense, featuring a brand-new story that will bring guests into battle alongside their favorite Marvel super heroes. In this new epic family adventure attraction, where you’ll get to team up with more of the Avengers and their allies to battle King Thanos.
The new King Thanos Marvel Multiverse attraction is expected to use the same ride system as Peter Pan’s Never Land Adventure at Tokyo DisneySea. Construction is now underway, and will likely take a few years. The show building for the previous attraction was never built–all that exists below the Quinjet is a facade.
My guess is that this opens between Christmas 2027 and Summer 2028. Here’s hoping that’s wrong, and Disney finds a way to condense its construction timeline. Maybe in a different multiverse, Disney builds faster than Universal!
Stark Flight Lab – Ready to save the world and galaxy? Well, suit up, because another new Avengers experiences are coming. Avengers Campus will double in size with the addition of two new attractions: the aforementioned Avengers Infinity Defense plus the newly-announced Stark Flight Lab. If Stark Flight Lab has decent capacity, this will be a big and much needed win for DCA.
This is a simpler attraction than Avengers Infinity Defense and it could, in theory, open as soon as late 2026 if Disneyland so desires. We suspect that they do not. Disney has likely learned the hard way that bifurcated land openings pack less of a punch, so we suspect the doubling of Avengers Campus will open all at once in 2027 or 2028.
Coco Boat Ride – Travel to the Land of the Dead with Miguel and his skeletal family from Pixar’s “Coco” in this all-new attraction coming to Disney California Adventure.
Walt Disney Imagineering will draw inspiration for the attraction from beloved classics, like Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean. Construction is now underway and will likely take a few years; on a positive note, this project has been fast-tracked.
The Coco boat ride is being built backstage behind Incredicoaster. It will impact the parade route (likely taking it out of commission for the next few years), but that’s about it. Our expectation is that the Coco boat ride opens in 2028.
Eastern Gateway – Before construction on Pandora – World of Avatar (see next entry) can commence, the first piece of the puzzle is the Eastern Gateway transportation hub.
The new Eastern Gateway transportation hub at Disneyland Resort will be built on a portion of what’s currently the Manchester Cast Member parking lot. This new area will provide approximately 6,000 parking spaces, shuttle and rideshare areas, security screening and dedicated access for traffic off of Disney Way, improving parking and traffic flow throughout the resort area.
The new Eastern Gateway parking & transportation hub will also feature a pedestrian bridge over Harbor Boulevard, leading to an all-new esplanade arrival experience. This pedestrian flyover will also provide convenient public access to and from Harbor Boulevard.
These enhanced parking, transit, and arrival offerings are the first step in Disneyland Resort’s next phase of construction, creating the infrastructure necessary to prepare for future growth and to welcome more guests as new experiences are added. The multi-year construction of the new Eastern Gateway arrival experience is slated to begin in Fall 2026. Our expectation is that it opens approximately two years after construction begins, sometime in 2028.
Pandora – World of Avatar – Travel to a whole new corner of Pandora, inspired by “Avatar: The Way of Water” and future Avatar films at Disney California Adventure. No timeline has been given for construction or the opening of this expansion, but we’re expecting the Avatar area to debut between 2030 and 2031.
This new and thrilling excursion will bring all the action, excitement, and wonder of Avatar, taking guests all the way to the wide-open seas of Pandora. This is going to be a dynamic, intense and emotional experience on a grand scale that we know our guests will love. The excursion will take guests in search of majestic natural wonders that can only be found on Pandora, discovering dense forests, and more along the way.
The innovative attraction is rumored to use the same ride system as Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure at Shanghai Disneyland. That’s an excellent ride, arguably top 10 in the entire world. From a technological perspective, there aren’t many attractions that approach Shanghai Pirates–probably Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, but that’s about it. It’s actually the perfect ride system for combining the vibe of Na’vi River Journey and Avatar Flight of Passage!
Downtown Disney Revitalization – Downtown Disney District continues its evolution as a premiere venue for innovative shopping, dining and entertainment experiences. A slew of new restaurants and retail have opened in the last few years. Standouts include Din Tai Fung, Salt & Straw (the best ice cream at Disneyland Resort) and Black Tap Craft Burgers & Shakes.
Continuing the momentum, this multi-year project will transform the former AMC Theatres site and adjacent area into a stunning new lifestyle space. Drawing inspiration from Southern California mid-century modern architecture, the area will be a beautiful blend of vibrant color palettes, multicultural design elements and patterns, an open lawn for relaxation and future events, and an even broader collection of dining and shopping.
DisneylandForward – The last project to showcase is DisneylandForward. Actually, “project” is a misnomer here, as there are no concrete details to this. DisneylandForward was approved by Anaheim and now will result in a decade of development between now and 2035.
The possibilities of DisneylandForward are really exciting. However, it’s really all about paving the way for future developments of an uncertain nature by giving Disney more autonomy over land use by relaxing the DRSP. Disney is essentially saying, “give us authority to build whatever we want, then we’ll tell you what, if anything, we’re going to build.” In all likelihood, Disney won’t build anything (aside from a parking structure) on the land that encompasses DisneylandForward until the 2030s.
Planning a Southern California vacation? For park admission deals, read Tips for Saving Money on Disneyland Tickets. Learn about on-site and off-site hotels in our Anaheim Hotel Reviews & Rankings. For where to eat, check out our Disneyland Restaurant Reviews. For unique ideas of things that’ll improve your trip, check out What to Pack for Disney. For comprehensive advice, consult our Disneyland Vacation Planning Guide. Finally, for guides beyond Disney, check out our Southern California Itineraries for day trips to Los Angeles, Laguna Beach, and tons of other places!
Your Thoughts
Which additions at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure in 2026 and beyond are you most excited to experience? Are you delaying your next trip to maximize seeing ‘new stuff’ or moving it forward to see these new attractions, lands, and restaurants? Anything you’re not looking forward to? Do you agree or disagree with our assessments? Any questions? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
I think Story Time with Deadpool ended a few weeks ago?
I would love to have the avatar ride from Florida in Disneyland, it was our favourite when we visited dw
With construction timelines being historically so long, do you think any of these projects will be fast-tracked so that they have 1 or 2 big attractions opening for the LA Olympics in 2028?
I think the Avengers Campus expansion will open by the LA Olympics. And honestly, that’s probably the smart approach–put the big new draw in the second gate and let Disneyland speak for itself–it doesn’t need anything to appeal to international guests visiting California for the first time!
I wish and pray that they bring the guardians roller coaster (cosmic rewind) to California. Best ride ever!!
I would love it if they would give Tomorrowland some love! Star Tours needs to move to Galaxy’s edge, and DCA would be a better home for Buzz Lightyear, in my humble opinion. Bring back the People Mover with some fancy new cars/trains. Let’s bring in some space exploration, planetary travel and rockets! I miss the days when Tomorrowland was about science and the future. Now it seems to be more about movie franchises. And what about that circular theater?? Do something cool with that, make it a rotating spaceport or something! So much potential!!
When I was there last year, NO JOKE, we went on and on about how perfect Rogers the Musical would be. I would absolutely instantly go to DLR for this production.
Rogers: The Musical makes no sense. I cannot fathom the confusion it would cause to do a Hercules show without the Alan Menken songs.
Agreed, I don’t think it is Hercules. The fact they mention a composer who hasn’t written any of the films makes me think they are either adapting a non-musical film into a musical (like they did with Finding Nemo), OR that this isn’t a one to one adaptation of any single film/property, which seems most plausible to me. I think it will be some kind of montage show with the new song acting as either a bookend or through line linking the disparate sections. Think something like Mickey and the Magic Map from Disneyland Paris.
Correction: I meant makes MORE sense. Maybe I shouldn’t leave comments when holding sleeping children.
Phew, glad we’re on the same page. Gotta admit I was a little deflated when reading your comment.
I do think Rogers: The Musical would be an odd and potentially risky choice…but that’s precisely why I hope they do that. Hercules or a random montage show is more likely to be good, whereas Rogers has more risk-reward IMO.
Just visited Disneyland in September and I have a few suggestions for Disney leadership, mainly, maintenance issues are out of control. I’ve been visiting the Disney parks on both coasts since I was 4 and I have never seen so many problems at one time. Literally, every major ride was down at some point of our 3 days in the California parks. It was impossible to use Genie because there were so many down rides it couldn’t keep up. And, I’m not talking 5-10 minute closures, I’m talking 1,2,3 sometimes 4 hours. Maintenance is obviously overwhelmed and it’s apparent the management isn’t too concerned, just look at the latest price increase. Maybe instead of all the “planned projects” , it would make sense to care for what’s already in place, Then, move on to new areas and rides. I enjoyed the visit but I won’t make my way out west again until something changes.
Totally agree. We were also there in Sept. and the closures were an absurd number. We started making bets on how long AND how many times in the day a ride would go down. Never have I experienced so many rides down. There were so many I was speculating Disney was doing it on purpose to save money. It was not a “happy” time.
The problem isn’t a lack of maintenance. It’s a lack of supply chain reliability. Finding the appropriate parts to fix things has become a nightmare. Sometimes you’re waiting a week just so you can get a part in from across the globe to fix a minor issue that keeps causing a ride to go down. The routine maintenance is still happening.
I’m not sure how credible this is since it came from a couple of Cast Members who aren’t in maintenance (but ‘adjacent’ to it), but I was told that staffing is also a serious issue. According to them, many of the older CMs did not return when recalled, and that has created difficulties in getting things done as efficiently as before.
In any case, the downtime isn’t to save money. It accomplishes the exact opposite of that.
I was there in September also and was in some of those lines for 45 minutes or longer to be next in line and the ride breaks down. It happened more than once. It was 100 degrees each day I was there and never found a working drinking fountain forcing you to pay near $6 for a bottle of water.
I visited Avenger Campus about a month ago. I found it totally lacking substance. An overly rated restaurant. A tiny gift shop. And a few Marvel characters that come out and wave to you from above. Nothing to bring me back. Also I found Star War Land lacking also. Just a mountain range and a few shops. In 3 trips thru the land, I only saw Chewbacca once. No other characters. They need to have more activities happening. You watch the star war movies and there is a lot of activities going on around the cities. But in this park, it is barren of people and activities going on. But the ronto roaster was fantastic. A lot of what’s happening in the park requires a phone. The Disney App was not working on my phone so quite a few activities could not be booked.
I think Marvel could definitely use more but I found the FOUR shows there to be fantastic and well-done. Spiderman was a solid ride and fun, but no ROTR for me either. I still like the land but I am a big MCU fan and they need to do more with it for sure.
I totally agree that Avengers Land needs something more. I think a 4D “uber-panavision” “Super Dolby THX” movie experience like Mickey’s PhilharMagic would be perfect. I have no idea what’s going on in Avengers HQ but I think it should be that.
Just for clarification, the Westin is no longer a Category 5 Marriott but a 7. Bummer – can’t use free night certs.
Hi Tom, any thoughts on when extra magic hours for hotel guests will resume? Thank you!
We live in California, but visited WDW last year and have magic bands from that trip. Will we be able to use those magic bands at Disneyland?
If they are MagicBand+. That is the only tech they are using. Regular magicbands and magicbands 2 won’t work.
I look forward to returning to Disneyland next week. I am excited given I haven’t been in a few years! Please know that I am going and bought a park hopper so these comments are just sharing. I am sadden to know that shows -for example Fantasmaina (sp) can’t be shown -wish with less people there was a way to have distance seating and more than one showing. Plus it is outside anyway
Also sad that some way to hold a parade hasn’t been done -maybe if the parade was several times throughout the day with distance seat/standing to make it possible? Or when you buy your ticket, make reservation, and then you pick time to attend? Or Have several parades and shorten them-plus show up on Big Screens throughout the park for those who don’t mind observing in that mode? Just ideas of which I am sure Disney has explored…
That is my only sadness -finding some other answers to some classic Disneyland activities that aren’t rides.
Still happy to go and enjoy the atmosphere of course!
“April to December” was my favorite as a kid. I used to stand watching it change while my brother yelled at me to hurry up to the ride. Lol. I am really happy to see it return.
I am looking forward to the new Magic Happens Parade as long as they dont exclude the classic movies from Walt’s era or utilize less fur characters. If the parade is similar to Festival of Fantasy at WDW, I will be fine. The final unit of Festival of Fantasy parade is my favorite and makes the parade worth watching.
The other stuff will not draw to me DL in 2020 or beyond because they will already exist in my home park (WDW) plus I have no interest in Marvel. As long as their is a hotel room at Grand California and they dont get rid of Splash Mountain, Thunder Mountain, Pirates, Mr Toad, or other Fantasyland dark rides, I’ll keep coming back.
I’ve been obsessively planning my trip to Disneyland feb 2, 2020. I am very happy to hear you will be at ROTR to tell me everything I need to know! Have olgas booked for 1 pm, figuring that is a decent mid day break. This is my first trip to Disneyland in over 20 years, so I hope Indiana is running. Got a three day pass, two for land, and one for California. I am so thankful you have provided such comprehensive guides for me!
I am really looking forward to seeing Galaxy’s Edge and I am excited for Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway. (I also look forward to a refresh of ToonTown, which is one of my favorite areas)
I want to be more excited about the Avenger’s Campus, but unless something is revealed that blows me away it is probably the project I am least interested in.
“I want to be more excited about the Avenger’s Campus, but unless something is revealed that blows me away it is probably the project I am least interested in.”
Same. I really hope to be wrong, but it seems like (another) half-baked project for DCA that doesn’t advance the park in the right direction–it feels like more squandered potential after Cars Land and Buena Vista Street perfectly positioned DCA for the future.
It’s also concerning to me that this two-phase Marvel project seems like the only plan for DCA between now and ~2023. Hopefully a redevelopment of Hollywood Land is announced once the first phase of Avengers Campus opens. The park needs more help.
I agree with you . I am a huge avengers fan and was very excited to here about the academy. It does seem to lose excitement when the openings are years apart. Hollywood land is hurting and needs so much help! I have been thinking of going to Disneyland in November hoping more Avengers would be done. So I don’t know. Thanks for the update!