Disneyland Changes in 2026: What’s New, What’s Gone and What’s Coming Next

Updated August 2026 following Disney’s announcements at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event.

Disneyland in 2026 is in a strange position.

The resort has plenty happening. Soarin’ has a new film. Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run has a new mission. Avengers Campus is ripped open for a major expansion. Work has begun on the first Coco attraction at any Disney park. Disney has finally committed to doing something substantial with Tomorrowland.

But most of the biggest things Disney is building aren’t opening this year.

Instead, 2026 feels like the beginning of a construction cycle that will reshape Disneyland Resort over the next several years.

That makes this a very different story from what is happening at Walt Disney World.

In Florida, Disney has already removed enormous pieces of familiar parks. The Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island are gone. DINOSAUR is gone. Muppet*Vision 3D is gone.

California has been more cautious so far.

There are losses and construction walls, certainly. But Disneyland itself remains remarkably intact while Disney prepares some very large changes around it.

And after D23, we finally have a better idea of the order in which those changes are coming.

Disneyland Changes in 2026 at a Glance

Area | What’s Changing
Disneyland Park | Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run received a Mandalorian and Grogu mission; the 70th Anniversary Celebration ended August 9; Disney announced a major reimagining of Tomorrowland
Disney California Adventure | Soarin’ Across America debuted July 2; Avengers Campus expansion is under construction; work has begun on Coco; Avatar remains planned but has been pushed later in Disney’s construction sequence
2027 entertainment | Remember… Dreams Come True and an updated original World of Color return in February; Magic Happens returns in summer
2028 | Avengers Infinity Defense and Stark Flight Lab are scheduled to open
Farther out | Coco, the Tomorrowland transformation and the Avatar destination are all coming, but Disney has not announced opening dates

The Disneyland 70th Anniversary Is Over

Disneyland spent more than a year celebrating its 70th anniversary.

The celebration began in May 2025 and finally ended on August 9, 2026.

That brought an end to the official anniversary period, although some of its entertainment hung around briefly. Paint the Night and Wondrous Journeys continued from August 10 through August 20 before Disneyland transitioned into its Halloween season.

The 70th was a good reminder of what Disneyland does particularly well.

This is a park with enough history that it can celebrate itself without turning the whole exercise into nostalgia for a movie franchise.

Paint the Night came back. Disneyland looked backward at seven decades of attractions and entertainment. Disney California Adventure even created an After Dark event built around 70 years of things guests remembered.

I wish Disney leaned into that institutional memory more often.

Soarin’ Across America Replaced Soarin’ Over California

One of the biggest actual attraction changes of 2026 happened at Disney California Adventure.

Soarin’ Over California returned temporarily for Disney California Adventure’s 25th anniversary from February through June.

Then on July 2, Disney debuted Soarin’ Across America.

The new film takes riders across the United States, including coastlines, wilderness, cities, the Grand Canyon and New York Harbor.

The attraction still uses the same underlying ride system and the basic idea remains intact: suspend people in front of an enormous screen, add motion, music and scents, and convince them for a few minutes that they are flying.

That is a formula Disney never really needed to reinvent.

I still have a sentimental preference for Soarin’ Over California. It belonged particularly well in California Adventure because the subject of the attraction was, conveniently enough, California.

But changing the film is exactly the sort of update this ride system was designed to accommodate. We wouldn’t mind a day when multiple different movies can play more frequently in rotation. Imagine the variable nature of Star Tours in the Soarin’ ride. You never know where you’ll go.

No bulldozers required.

Millennium Falcon Got a Mandalorian and Grogu Mission

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge also received something genuinely new in 2026.

On May 22, Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run debuted a new mission tied to The Mandalorian and Grogu.

This is another good example of Disney updating an existing attraction without destroying it.

The Millennium Falcon ride always had one obvious advantage: Disney built an attraction around a vehicle that can theoretically go anywhere in the Star Wars universe.

Adding another mission takes advantage of that flexibility.

Disney can give repeat visitors something new while leaving Galaxy’s Edge and the Falcon themselves intact.

More of this, please.

Bluey Moved Into Fantasyland Theatre

Another 2026 addition is Bluey’s Best Day Ever!, which began at Fantasyland Theatre in March.

The family-oriented experience combines Bluey and Bingo with games, music and interactive activities.

I don’t think anyone is planning a cross-country Disneyland vacation around this.

But Disneyland needs things for families to do that are not another 70-minute ride queue, and Fantasyland Theatre has spent too much of its life in recent years waiting for a compelling permanent purpose.

There are worse uses for the space.

Avengers Campus Is Finally Becoming the Land It Was Supposed to Be

The biggest active construction project inside Disney California Adventure is the expansion of Avengers Campus.

The land opened in 2021 with WEB SLINGERS, character experiences and dining, while Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT! sat immediately beside it.

It always felt incomplete.

Disney had originally planned a major Avengers attraction, but plans changed repeatedly.

Now the expansion is actually under construction, and Disney confirmed at D23 that both new rides will open in 2028.

Avengers Infinity Defense

Avengers Infinity Defense will be the expansion’s large-scale adventure attraction.

Guests will travel through multiple Marvel locations as the Avengers battle King Thanos.

Disney says the attraction will feature familiar Marvel actors, including Anthony Mackie as Captain America, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye and Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man.

The attraction appears considerably more ambitious than anything currently inside Avengers Campus.

Stark Flight Lab

The second attraction, Stark Flight Lab, uses two-person pods manipulated by large robotic arms.

The basic premise is that guests are testing new Stark Industries flight technology.

Disney has shown several possible ride programs involving different Avengers, which could give the attraction some repeatability.

Both attractions are scheduled for 2028.

That is still a long wait, but at least this is no longer concept art floating indefinitely through D23 presentations. Construction is underway and Disney has put a year on the calendar.

You can read Disney’s latest Avengers Campus details here.

Coco Is Actually Under Construction

The first Coco attraction at a Disney park is also moving from announcement to reality.

Disney says construction has begun in backstage areas near Paradise Gardens Park and Pixar Pier.

The attraction will send guests into the Land of the Dead with Miguel, Héctor, Dante and other characters from the film.

Disney has repeatedly pointed to Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion as influences on the project.

That gets my attention.

Not because every new attraction needs to imitate something built in the 1960s, but because Pirates and Haunted Mansion understand something modern Disney attractions sometimes forget: a ride can be atmospheric, leisurely and filled with things worth looking at without constantly shouting at you.

At D23 2026, Disney showed new scenes from the Coco attraction and reiterated that work is underway.

There is still no announced opening date.

That is worth emphasizing because it is very easy for an attraction that has entered construction to get described online as a “2027 attraction” or a “2028 attraction” before Disney has actually said any such thing.

For now, Coco is coming.

We don’t know when.

Tomorrowland Is Finally Getting Rebuilt

Then came the biggest Disneyland announcement at D23.

Disney is going to reimagine Tomorrowland.

This may be the Disneyland project I am most interested in—and the one I am most nervous about.

Tomorrowland has needed serious attention for years.

Parts of it still work extremely well. Space Mountain remains one of Disneyland’s best rides. The land has Star Tours. The Monorail still passes overhead.

But large parts of Tomorrowland feel like the remains of several different futures stacked on top of one another.

There are awkward spaces. Buildings that once had major purposes have spent years being used for considerably less interesting things. The land has never entirely recovered from its unsuccessful 1998 transformation.

If there is anywhere inside Disneyland where “leave everything exactly as it is” is not a convincing preservation argument, Tomorrowland is it.

Disney’s Language Is Encouraging

At D23, Disney said the new Tomorrowland will contain:

New attractions

More open spaces

New places for guests to gather

A renewed emphasis on optimism, innovation and possibility

More importantly, Disney has repeatedly talked about respecting the heritage of the land.

Tomorrowland is particularly important because this is the Tomorrowland Walt Disney himself knew.

Disneyland Resort says it wants to preserve what guests cherish while creating something that once again represents an optimistic future.

That is exactly the right sales pitch.

Now they have to build it.

What Disney Hasn’t Told Us

Almost everything else.

Disney has not announced:

Which existing Tomorrowland attractions will remain

Which will close

What the new attractions will be

Whether the land will close all at once or in phases

When construction begins

When the new Tomorrowland will open

So this is a real project, but still a very early one.

I am cautiously optimistic.

I would love to see Disney create a Tomorrowland that feels coherent again rather than treating the land as a convenient shelf for whatever science-fiction intellectual property happens to be popular.

The test will be whether Disney actually means what it says about optimism and possibility.

Tomorrowland should be about tomorrow.

It does not need to become Marvel Land II.

Disney’s announcement is here.

Tomorrowland Has Moved Ahead of Avatar

D23 also quietly changed the expected order of Disneyland’s enormous construction program.

Disneyland Resort leadership now describes the sequence roughly like this:

Avengers Campus expansion

Coco

Tomorrowland

Avatar

That means the planned Avatar destination at Disney California Adventure has moved farther into the future.

Disney has not canceled Avatar.

Its own current development page still lists the project and says it will transform part of the Hollywood Backlot into a destination inspired by Avatar: The Way of Water and future Avatar films.

But Disney also says the project remains in an early stage and that construction timing will be announced later.

Tomorrowland now comes first.

I think that is the correct priority.

Disneyland has been waiting for a real Tomorrowland overhaul for decades. Fixing an aging land inside Walt Disney’s original park strikes me as a more urgent use of capital than removing more of California Adventure to add another movie-based land. There may also be a structural need behind it. After all, Tomorrowland may have been updated several times, but some of the buildings are decades old.

And Monsters, Inc. Is Still Here

This creates an interesting consequence.

Disney previously said Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue! would close to make way for Avatar.

That closure did not happen on the original timetable.

With Avatar now moved behind Tomorrowland in Disney’s development sequence, Monsters, Inc. has received an unexpected stay of execution.

I’m happy about that.

It isn’t one of Disney’s great dark rides. Nobody is going to confuse it with Pirates of the Caribbean.

But California Adventure already has a shortage of relatively gentle rides that families can experience together.

Keeping one around while Disney spends years building several thrill-oriented Marvel attractions seems useful.

If Avatar eventually requires Monsters, Inc. to disappear, we’ll deal with that when Disney actually gives the project a construction date.

Until then, Mike and Sulley live to scare another day.

The Avatar Project Still Looks Enormous

When it eventually happens, Avatar is not supposed to be a copy of Pandora at Animal Kingdom.

Disney’s concept art depicts a different part of Pandora inspired particularly by Avatar: The Way of Water and subsequent films.

The centerpiece is expected to be a substantial water attraction through an elaborate Pandoran environment.

The project would transform part of the Hollywood Backlot area of California Adventure.

I remain less convinced about Avatar as a thematic fit for California Adventure than I am about Coco.

Coco can at least connect naturally to California, Mexico, music, family and the culture of the American West.

Pandora is Pandora.

California Adventure has long since abandoned the strict California theme of 2001, of course. Cars Land helped prove that breaking the original premise could produce something much better than what it replaced. Cars Land did still fit into a broader theme of what California Adventure promised. It felt like a tribute to parts of America, while still being themed to intellectual property.

But once a park stops having an organizing idea, it becomes very easy for it to turn into a collection of expensive lands that happen to sit next to one another.

I hope Imagineering has a better answer than “Avatar is popular.”

Disney California Adventure Is Becoming a Construction Park

The next several years could be awkward for California Adventure.

Avengers Campus is already under construction.

Coco construction is underway.

Avatar remains farther out.

Disney is also building major new arrival infrastructure, including a parking structure and transportation hub, to support future expansion under DisneylandForward.

That is a tremendous amount of capital going into the resort.

It is also a tremendous number of construction walls.

The long-term result could be a much stronger park.

The short-term experience may occasionally feel like paying Disneyland prices to visit a very nicely themed job site.

Some Familiar Entertainment Is Coming Back in 2027

D23 brought another announcement I like quite a bit: Disney is bringing back several established Disneyland entertainment offerings in 2027.

Remember… Dreams Come True

A refreshed version of Remember… Dreams Come True returns to Disneyland in February 2027.

The fireworks spectacular originally debuted for Disneyland’s 50th anniversary and is essentially a musical tour through the park’s attractions and history.

That makes it unusually appropriate for Disneyland.

The Original World of Color Returns

An updated version of the original World of Color will also begin performing at California Adventure in February 2027.

I like that Disney is willing to revisit the original show rather than assuming every piece of entertainment needs an entirely new brand attached to it.

Magic Happens Returns

The Magic Happens parade returns to Disneyland in summer 2027.

These aren’t billion-dollar additions.

They don’t need to be.

A theme park is partly made out of rides, but it is also made out of music, parades, nighttime shows and things that unexpectedly happen while you are walking somewhere else.

Disney World’s removal of so much atmosphere over the years is exactly why I appreciate Disneyland continuing to invest in this category.

What’s Actually New at Disneyland in 2026?

If you are visiting this year rather than studying Disney construction schedules, the practical list is shorter than the future-project announcements make it sound.

The most notable 2026 additions and changes include:

Soarin’ Across America

The Mandalorian and Grogu mission on Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run

Bluey’s Best Day Ever!

Disney California Adventure’s 25th-anniversary offerings earlier in the year

The conclusion of Disneyland’s 70th Anniversary Celebration

Seasonal entertainment, including the current Halloween season

A lot of visible construction around Avengers Campus and future expansion areas

That’s a respectable list.

It is not the same thing as opening a major new land or headline attraction.

What’s Coming After 2026?

Project | Current Timing
Remember… Dreams Come True | February 2027
Updated original World of Color | February 2027
Magic Happens | Summer 2027
Avengers Infinity Defense | 2028
Stark Flight Lab | 2028
Coco attraction | Construction underway; opening date not announced
Tomorrowland reimagining | Announced; opening date not announced
Avatar destination | Still planned; now later in Disney’s project sequence; construction date not announced

Disneyland Is Changing More Carefully Than Disney World

For the moment, that is my biggest takeaway.

Both American Disney resorts are spending enormous amounts of money.

But the changes feel different. Disneyland has always paid more attention to the history than Disney World. This is not surprising because of the other differences between the two parks.

At Walt Disney World, several of the most important new projects are being built directly on top of things I wish Disney had preserved.

At Disneyland, Avengers Campus is expanding. Coco is largely using backstage land. Tomorrowland genuinely needs help. Even the delayed Avatar project has not yet claimed Monsters, Inc.

That does not mean everything Disney builds in California will be an improvement.

But so far, the balance between addition and subtraction looks better.

The Most Important Disneyland Change Hasn’t Happened Yet

For all the rides, construction walls and concept art, I think the biggest Disneyland news of 2026 is simply this:

Disney has finally committed to rebuilding Tomorrowland.

That land contains some of Disneyland’s best attractions and some of its most obvious wasted potential.

If Imagineering really can create a place built around optimism, invention and a plausible idea of the future—while respecting the parts of Disneyland history worth keeping—it could be one of the most important projects the original park has seen in decades.

If it becomes another collection of recognizable characters standing in front of vaguely futuristic architecture, it will be a tremendous missed opportunity.

For now, Disney is saying the right things.

And unlike some recent Disney announcements, I find myself looking forward to seeing what comes next.