As the resident theme park expert here at CinemaBlend I visit parks as often as I can and try to go to as many of them as possible. However, since I don’t do nearly as much international traveling as I would like to, most of my direct experience is limited to domestic theme parks. I know far more about the best food at Disneyland in Anaheim than I do about the food at Disneyland in Paris. Visiting Disney’s international parks has always been on my bucket list because there are experiences that you can have at other parks that simply are not available at Disneyland or Walt Disney World.
At least, that used to be the case. As recently as earlier this year, I have argued that Disney Parks should bring attractions recently opened at Tokyo DisneySea to Disneyland. While technically that isn’t happening, or at least not yet, it does appear that several of the new Disneyland attractions announced for the resort may be bringing the best parts of popular international rides.
Several Upcoming Disneyland Attractions Look To Be Based On Rides From International Disney Parks
At the D23 event in August, Disney Experiences confirmed several new attractions were on the way for Disneyland Resort. An Avatar land with two attractions, a Coco ride and the long-awaited Avengers Campus E-Ticket are on the way, with the latter scheduled to break ground as early as 2025.
Nothing has been officially revealed about most of these attractions beyond the most basic details, so we don’t know what form they will take. We don't even know where in the park, or possibly in the planned Disneyland expansion, these attractions will be located. What evidence we do have seems to indicate that three new attractions coming to Disneyland Resort will essentially be re-themed versions of popular attractions in Asia.
While that might not seem exciting, it actually is because it could mean that attractions design we haven't seen in North America could be on the way. For those of us who have never been to an international Disney park, it will be our first chance to experience these rides.
Disney California Adventure’s Avatar E-Ticket Looks Like Pirates of the Caribban: Battle For The Sunken Treasure
Before Rise of the Resistance, and possibly even after it, the gold standard in Disney theme park attractions was Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle For the Sunken Treasure. The Shanghai Disneyland ride was very different than the versions in other Disney parks. It was entirely based on the Pirates of the Caribbean film franchise rather than being the attraction that inspired the films. Jack Sparrow and Davy Jones were both major characters. What really set the ride apart, however, was the impressive blending of physical sets and screens for a boat ride that made you feel like you were on the water alongside massive pirate ships. Even the boat ride itself functioned more like a trackless dark ride than a traditional boat attraction.
Based on the fact that we know that the anchor attraction for the new Avatar land at Disney California Adventure will be primarily inspired by Avatar: The Way of Water, and will be a boat ride that will see guests floating alongside the massive whale-like tulkun, it seems all but certain that this new attraction will be built on the frame of the Shanghai Pirates attraction. Guests will travel through an area inspired by the second Avatar film and will be part of a story that will be told through physical sets as well as screens.
Avengers: Infinity Defense May Use The Ride System Of Tokyo DisneySea’s Peter Pan Ride
From the day that Avengers Campus at Disneyland Resort was first announced, guests were promised a major E-Ticket attraction would come as part of a second phase in the land. Years, and a pandemic, later, we all started to wonder if this fable ride would ever happen, but at D23, Avengers: Infinity Defense was confirmed to begin construction in 2025.
Beyond concept art, one of the things that we know about Infinity Defense is what the ride vehicle will look like. It’s a fairly large and high-capacity vehicle, but its unique design looks familiar, as it's very similar to the ride vehicles used as part of the new Peter Pan’s Neverland Adventure attraction in the new Fantasy Springs expansion at Tokyo DisneySea. This would make the ride a trackless dark ride that combines physical sets and screens to take guests through the multiverse adventure that is being promised.
The New Coco Attraction May Be Inspired By Rapunzel’s Lantern Festival
Another attraction that was promised at D23 was a boat ride based on Coco. It seems likely this new ride will be located somewhere in the existing Pixar Pier area, or possibly close by. We know from concept art that it will be a boat ride, and Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro promised the attraction would use the most advanced animatronics available.
There’s another boat ride that includes incredibly advanced animatronics that recently opened at another Disney Park. Rapunzel’s Lantern Festival is a Tangled dark ride that is beautiful and colorful, and taking that same concept and transforming it into a Coco attraction makes a lot of sense.
I Still Want To Visit All The Disney Parks, But Being Able To Have These Rides Is The Next Best Thing
Certainly getting an Avatar ride that is very similar to Shanghai’s Pirates of the Caribbean or an Avengers Ride that uses similar concepts as Japan’s new Peter Pan ride is not the same as being able to actually ride those original attractions. And I certainly still want to do that. I won’t be taking a world tour of Disney Parks off my bucket list anytime soon.
But until the opportunity actually happens, if these new Disneyland rides do end up being based on these previous existing attractions, I will at least be able to experience something like them. I won’t have to simply wonder what those rides are like.
