Disneyland surprise reveals stunning new “Avatar” land concept art: 'This is just the beginning'

Joey Nolfi
·3 min read
1

The "inspirational artwork" serves as a preview of potential development in the California-based resort amid the DisneylandForward project.

The way of water leads to Disneyland, as the California-based resort has unveiled stunning concept art for a new Avatar-themed land.

Disney revealed Wednesday at its 2024 Annual Meeting of Shareholders webcast event the "inspirational artwork," which includes heavily themed locales inspired by director James Cameron's multibillion-dollar film series.

The art shows park guests traversing an outdoor lake in boats that pass by a large waterfall, with creatures from the fictional Pandora locale scurrying nearby. Large rock work can also be seen in the image, mirroring the floating island-style aesthetic that opened alongside Disney World's Pandora: The World of Avatar themed area at Animal Kingdom in 2017.

"We are excited about the stories our guests could experience at Walt’s original theme park destination after approval of DisneylandForward — including the chance to experience all-new Avatar adventures with a visit to Pandora," wrote Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D'Amaro in a post on the Disney Parks Blog. "Avatar is the latest example of how we are looking to create new and innovative ways to bring our powerful stories to life. Over the past decade, we’ve delivered massive, immersive experiences at our destinations around the world, including new lands and attractions based on Star Wars, the Avengers, Pixar and more."

<p>Disneyland Resort</p> Disneyland reveals 'Avatar' land concept art

Disneyland Resort

Disneyland reveals 'Avatar' land concept art

D'Amaro continued, noting that the Avatar project "is just the beginning" and that "there are so many stories in our library yet to be explored" as his team prepares to fast-track development at its parks worldwide.

The company announced in September that it would invest $60 billion in its parks over the next decade, amid the approval of its long-gestating DisneylandForward expansion proposal that was first announced in 2021.

Though nothing concrete has materialized from DisneylandForward, concept art for the proposal appeared to include rides and attractions based on Tangled, Frozen, and Black Panther.

Other developments include the reopening of the former Splash Mountain flume attractions at both Disneyland and Disney World later in 2024, after the company announced plans to re-theme the rides to remove controversial Song of the South aesthetics and replace them with imagery and characters lifted from the 2009 animated movie The Princess and the Frog.

<p>Disneyland Resort; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures / Courtesy Everett </p> 'Avatar' land heading to Disneyland

Disneyland Resort; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures / Courtesy Everett

'Avatar' land heading to Disneyland

In November at the grand opening of Hong Kong Disneyland's World of Frozen area, D'Amaro teased to Entertainment Weekly a long-rumored Indiana Jones revamp of Animal Kingdom's Dinosaur ride.

"I think I actually played some music, didn't I?" D'Amaro joked, referencing his Destination D23 presentation in September, which saw him reveal artwork showing off an Indy-inspired temple in place of the existing Dinosaur thrill ride, all while John Williams' iconic score played overhead.

"We've got so many stories to tell, we have so many things we want to make even better in the theme parks. My plan is to continue to share that with the guests," he continued. "I know people are like, 'My gosh, I can't believe he's saying this. Is he serious, is he not?' The answer is, we are absolutely serious."

See Disneyland's Avatar land concept art above.

Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.

Related content:

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.