Overview
- On Wednesday, Disney posted an updated graphic that still lists an “Avatar Experience,” and multiple outlets treated that line-item as a rebuttal to April reports that the California project had been canceled.
- Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue! will remain open into 2027, a delay Disney has said preserves family offerings while leaving the planned closure and construction schedule unsettled.
- Reports in April said Disney was reconsidering the project and exploring Zootopia as an alternative, with former Imagineer Jim Shull publicly arguing the company should pivot to the more currently popular franchise.
- Public details remain thin: Disney did not provide start-of-work or opening dates, and concept art and reporting suggest the centerpiece boat ride could use the Shanghai Pirates: Battle for the Sunken Treasure system, which would require special water treatment infrastructure.
- The broader context includes the Avatar franchise’s softer box-office returns and California’s limited park land, both of which factor into operational and financial trade-offs that D23 may clarify.