Disney has a trio of projects kicking into high gear this year at Disneyland, and the resort has already started backstage work, filing of new permits, and more. As a result of construction on the Eastern Gateway and Pandora – World of Avatar, DCA had planned on closing of the Monsters, Inc. dark ride in early 2026. That plan has changed. Here are dates, details, and our commentary about the moving piece of construction at DLR.
As basic background, Disneyland President Thomas Mazloum announced a revival of the Eastern Gateway last June during an update with Anaheim on the future of construction projects at the resort. During that, he also revealed the locations of the Avatar and Coco projects within DCA, and that Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue would permanently close early this year to make way for DCA expansion.
Since then, Disney has started filing construction permits in preparation of these projects kicking into high gear in 2026. Work has already begun backstage on Coco, with Disney clearing the site where they’ll squeeze in that show building (RIP giant sidewalk hidden Mickey on Disneyland Drive). These projects are in addition to the major Avengers Campus expansion that began early last year, which hit a major milestone just last week as it races towards a (fingers crossed) 2027 opening.
The latest update comes courtesy of another Disneyland Resort Business Update. We were invited to attend an intimate media gathering with Disneyland President Thomas Mazloum and other leadership from the resort, who shared plans for the future and subtle changes they’ve made over the last year to improve the guest experience (more on that later).
The biggest news out of this meeting was that Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue will not close in 2026.
Mazloum shared that Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue will remain open into 2027. He did not provide a permanent closure date or even season. Meaning that the family-friendly dark ride could close as early as January 4, 2027 or as late as December 31, 2027 (although it’d be kind of wild to close it on New Year’s Eve as opposed to just waiting until a week later).
With such a lengthy delay in the closure, it’s impossible to predict a precise closing date, so we aren’t even going to bother. My guess–and this is just that–is that Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue is safe for at least the next 14 months.
Mazloum also revealed that Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue will remain until 2027 without any impact to other construction timelines. Meaning that Eastern Gateway and Pandora are not delayed by virtue of this news.
He explained that his team worked to shift around the sequencing of the project, and found a way to move around the phases of the projects in order to grant the Monsters, Inc. dark ride a reprieve from closure without delaying Eastern Gateway or Pandora.
Mazloum didn’t explain what this meant in practice, but we take the comments at face value with regard to Eastern Gateway. The permits tell the tale there, and if anything, they suggest that Eastern Gateway is ahead of schedule. Avatar is a different story completely, as we’ll discuss deeper in the commentary.
In elaborating further, Mazloum explained that the decision to delay the permanent closing of Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue was made when evaluating DCA’s needs, and balancing the interests of current guests with future ones. This was shared in the context of the Kids’ Summer 2026 Ticket Deal.
The 2026 Kids’ Summer Ticket Special Offer is the same price for Park Hoppers or base tickets. Meaning you can upgrade to the Park Hopper option for free, which was previously a surcharge last year (and the year before). This makes the deal much better year-over-year, assuming you want to Park Hop. It’s actually a clever move on Disney’s part, since parents will still pay extra for Park Hopping privileges.
Our analysis of this discount is that it is a shockingly good deal, amounting to a discount of as much as $150 to $369 off multi-day tickets (depending upon duration and the extras you purchase, or don’t). That latter number is not a typo–you can save as much as $369 off a 3-day ticket.
For our purposes here, the end result is going to be an influx of families into Disneyland Resort this summer, and the free Park Hopping means they’re going to visit both parks, instead of staying in the more kid-friendly Disneyland.
Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue is one of the few family-friendly dark rides at DCA. It’s a park that otherwise skews older. This is already reflected in wait times, with the Monsters, Inc. dark ride being shockingly popular for what it is.
Point being, Mazloum and his team recognized the practical reality that DCA needs Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue during that Kids’ Ticket Deal, and found a way to keep the attraction open for longer. It’s a fantastic move from our perspective, and one that isn’t the least bit surprising.
Let’s turn to the why of that, which is more or less what we discussed back in December in Disneyland’s 5-Year Plan. We’ll discuss each of the three project puzzle pieces…
Eastern Gateway Unlocks Everything
Before almost anything else can happen, 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.
Officially, no change to this date has been announced. However, we’d add that Disneyland has filed the first permits for Eastern Gateway already, and there are more confidential permits that have yet to be revealed but that are possibly/probably for Eastern Gateway. In addition to this, Disney is already starting to make moves closing off drop-off areas along Harbor Boulevard.
Honestly, I was a bit surprised and disappointed not to get an update on Eastern Gateway during our February 2026 meeting with Mazloum. It seems like this project is ahead of schedule, and that work has already started (in the loose sense of the term used by Disney; actual construction has yet to begin).
The important thing here is that Eastern Gateway is a necessary prerequisite to Pandora – World of Avatar.
In order to have sufficient room for the show building and everything that a fully-fledged Avatar land entails, Disney needs to demolish the old bus loops and build into that space. But that can’t happen until the new Eastern Gateway transportation hub is up and running.
Unless Eastern Gateway is now being fast-tracked, it’s unlikely that the space needed for Pandora – World of Avatar will be freed up until 2028. If work were to start earlier, maybe that could be moved forward to 2027. This should partially explain why Disney isn’t really sharing much about the timeline for Pandora–because it’s so remote. (More on that in a minute.)
Why Was Monsters Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue, Rescued?
All of the above is precisely why we wondered why Monsters Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue! was originally going to close in early 2026. Did it really need to close then, or is it a matter of cost-savings to help partially offset construction?
As I wrote last June, I cannot imagine a scenario where that closure needs to happen so early this year, given that Eastern Gateway is a necessary prerequisite to Pandora, and that doesn’t even start construction until Fall 2026.
Accordingly, this struck me as akin to what happened with MuppetVision 3D at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, with the closure coming for cost-savings. It would’ve been especially egregious here given the lack of all-ages attractions at DCA.
One plausible explanation we could come up with to offer a valid justification for the earlier Monsters Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue closure was that the plot was needed as a staging site for Eastern Gateway and other projects. Or that the drop-off area was somehow going to shift into this area once it closes to make way for Eastern Gateway construction.
Another vague possibility was that assets are needed for Monstropolis at Walt Disney World. While I don’t doubt for a second that figures and scenery from this attraction will find its way to Florida, I’m skeptical that would cause an earlier closing. It’s hard to believe Disneyland would’ve gone for that.
It’s also hard to believe Disneyland would’ve pulled from the WDW playbook on operational cost-savings, especially given the state of the DCA ride roster. Which brings me back to the drop-off area or staging site explanation.
With the ART Shuttle ending, maybe they’re anticipating fewer drop-offs? Perhaps they’re able to squeeze the temporary drop-off into a smaller space, or possibly even on the other side of Downtown Disney? I guess we shall see, but my bet is that the drop-off relocation holds the answers.
If it does, and all of my above speculation about Pandora and Eastern Gateway timing is accurate, this opens the door for Monsters Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue to stay open pretty deep into 2027. If they suddenly don’t need that plot for staging or drop-off or whatever, it means they’re using a different parcel for that, and the dark ride could be safe until work actually needs to begin on Pandora in earnest.
Frankly, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if Disneyland brings back that Kids’ Summer Ticket Deal in 2027, and Monsters Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue ends up closing during the post-summer off-season next year.
Pandora Plans Postponed?
Despite Mazloum’s reassurances, fans are going to be skeptical. The narrative that we expect to emerge is that Pandora has been postponed or is being reevaluated entirely.
I don’t know that it’s possible to postpone something that didn’t have any real dates or details attached to it in the first place. Mazloum says that Avatar isn’t delayed, but the fact is that it never had a start date or completion year in the first place.
Here’s what Disneyland has previously said about the Avatar land/experience/whatever: “This project is still in the early stages of development, and additional details will be shared later, including construction timeframes.”
More recently, Disney shared this about Avatar expanding its theme parks presence: “This project is still in early development, and additional details will be revealed at a later date.” (Emphasis added to both.)
This project still feels fairly nebulous to us. That’s doubly true given how much emphasis was placed on ‘shovels in soil’ projects at the last D23 Expo. All of the other domestic projects except for Avatar are now underway; meanwhile, this is looking at a late 2027 start as the best case.
It’s triply-true given that Disney CEO Bob Iger first announced an Avatar “experience” coming to Disneyland back on February 8, 2023. We now have new concept art, a specific park, and even a land within that park where it’ll be located. But we still don’t know a whole lot beyond that, over 3 years later.
It’s no surprise that Disney has repeatedly stated that the new Avatar “destination” is still in “early development.” As discussed above, we strongly believe that Eastern Gateway opening is a necessary prerequisite to construction on Avatar beginning in earnest.
With the Monsters, Inc. closure delayed, the Pandora project will almost certainly reach its 4th anniversary without visible progress having been made. The better question, quite honestly, is whether it’ll reach its 5th anniversary without any visible progress.
From the outside looking in, the Pandora project strikes us as the one most likely of being cancelled or changed. It’s not a high likelihood, just higher–relatively–than any other announced project. Probably still less than 51%.
There are a few possibilities here, beyond the timeline of the Eastern Gateway (discussed above). The first is that Disney is waiting to see how Avatar: Fire and Ash performs at the box office, just wanting to triple-check that the franchise actually has staying power.
Although I find the “Avatar is actually unpopular” narrative to be exhausting, we can’t help but point out that the franchise has had diminishing returns, especially at the domestic box office. How it’s performing in China is irrelevant at a park where over half of guests come from California.
The second is that Disney CEO Bob Iger spoke off-the-cuff about the Pandora expansion at Disneyland way back in 2023, announcing a project that was not in active development at Imagineering. Or at least, wasn’t ready for a reveal. That they’ve been scrambling since to figure out something, and that process isn’t fast.
The third is a variation of the second point, with Disney and Imagineering leadership recognizing the reality that a CEO change is right around the corner. That would provide a clean, face-saving break for Avatar to be quietly killed and replaced by a different project as the new CEO aims to make their mark. (Zootopia? Monstropolis? Something else entirely?)
It’s pretty obvious that Pandora is a pet project of Bob Iger, who has extra affinity towards Avatar. Josh D’Amaro does not seem to share that sentimentality. His signature project at this point is Villains Land at Magic Kingdom. Earlier this week in 11 Great Changes Josh D’Amaro Could Make at Walt Disney World for Big Wins as New CEO, we discussed how it’s common for CEOs to make major changes to set the tone and legacy build.
If making that same list for Disneyland, replacing Pandora with a different project would make the cut. Again, I don’t think there’s a 51% or greater chance of this happening, but I do think it’s double digits.
The final possibility, and the one that strikes me as most likely, is that Pandora is really-for-real project that will come to fruition, but won’t open until 2030 or later. Because the second point above is probably accurate, and because work can’t begin in earnest until Eastern Gateway gets going.
Equally significant, since Pandora involves outside input from known perfectionist James Cameron. And speaking of Cameron, there’s a not-insignificant chance that D’Amaro won’t want to “pull a Chapek” and alienate Cameron by making one of his first moves killing off a project that is near and dear to Cameron.
We’ve more or less been down this road before with Pandora – World of Avatar at Walt Disney World. It was announced very early in development, nothing happened for a few years, fans assumed it was cancelled, and then the full reveal happened. It was built as announced and is still a smash sensation, almost a decade later.
It’s worth noting here that Pandora – World of Avatar is the #1 ranked land at Walt Disney World in terms of guest satisfaction. From that perspective alone, it makes sense that Disney would want to build a lavish version of Pandora – World of Avatar in DCA.
However, it’s possibly also worth noting that Zootopia is #1 in terms of guest satisfaction at Shanghai Disneyland. Zootopia has been a smash success for that park, and it recently had a sequel that performed incredibly well at the domestic box office.
The argument could be made that there’s more upside for Disney to build that in California as opposed to a second Avatar destination. Perhaps “why not both?” will win out, with Zootopia coming as part of the 10-year plan.
Ultimately, our assumption is that Disney is going to bet big on Pandora West. That it’ll feature a blockbuster attraction utilizing the same ride system as Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure at Shanghai Disneyland. That it’ll be a smaller destination than the Animal Kingdom version, but one with a potentially better and more popular headliner attraction. It’s almost criminal that ride system hasn’t been used anywhere else a decade later, and Avatar seems pitch-perfect for it.
There’s also the simple reality that you never bet against James Cameron. Even if the franchise is seeing diminishing returns at the box office, it’s still hugely popular! A ton of people still went to see the latest film, it just had a huge budget to make back. The existing Pandora has already demonstrated staying power, with Avatar Flight of Passage always having long lines and high guest satisfaction. Going big on Avatar at Disney California Adventure just makes sense, even if this seems to be the project about which Disneyland fans are least excited…for now.
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 many other SoCal cities!
Your Thoughts
What do you think of Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue staying open into 2027? Thoughts on the timelines for these projects? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? 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!
