Overview
- Wednesday's updated Disney Parks graphic again lists an “Avatar Experience,” which Disney published before the company’s D23 presentations and earnings materials.
- The graphic’s appearance does not include a press release or construction schedule, so Disney has not confirmed when work would start, when Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue! will close, or when the new land would open.
- Monsters, Inc. was originally set to close in early 2026 but Disney announced the attraction will remain open into 2027 to serve younger families while plans remain unsettled.
- April reporting said Disney had privately discussed rethinking the project and floated Zootopia as a possible alternative, driven in part by weaker 2025 box-office returns for Avatar: Fire and Ash and operational arguments about land and ride systems.
- The Avatar land was first confirmed in a 2023 earnings call and shown at D23 2024 with concept art and a revealed boat ride that has been reported to use a Shanghai Pirates–style boat system, which would require distinct water and engineering infrastructure.