Disney testing ‘Avatar’ water animatronics for California Adventure?
Imagineers are testing new aquatic robotics, which we think might be used for the “Avatar” land coming to Disney California Adventure.
Above graphic composite by Attractions Magazine
Aquatic robotics coming to California Adventure’s ‘Avatar’ land?
Clips of Disney testing new animatronic technology appeared in the Nov. 24, 2025, episode of “We Call It Imagineering” on the Walt Disney Imagineering YouTube channel.
The clips showed two artists in Imagineering’s Research & Development (R&D) department maneuvering three prototype aquatic robots under water and above the surface. These robots were of varying sizes, and were built and programmed to bio-mimic real sea creatures, such as a dolphin in the case of one robot, for example.
“Now that we’ve got the tech in a good place, we’re trying to see how far we can take it, how far we can push it, and how to tell a compelling story with whatever character we’re developing for it,” said Jonathan Becker, R&D Imagineer principal at Walt Disney Imagineering.
The episode didn’t reveal which characters or even which project the aquatic robots are intended for, if there is a specific purpose in mind for them at all. The project could simply be a research exercise, which is common for Imagineering.
That being said, we think these robots might be tests for the upcoming “Avatar”-themed land coming to Disney California Adventure at Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, Calif. The new area will be based on 2022’s “Avatar: The Way of Water” and 2025’s “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” which have a huge focus on aquatic life and the sea.
(Disney has not announced the land’s name or opening timeline for California Adventure’s “Avatar” land, but has said it will be completely different from the existing Pandora – The World of Avatar at Disney’s Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Fla.)
Tests for jumping Minnie Mouse and dancing Rocket Raccoon?
The aquatic robots weren’t the only R&D tests revealed in this episode of “We Call It Imagineering.” Elsewhere in the video, Imagineers tested a free-roaming animatronic programmed to dance a pirouette. The technicians didn’t reveal which character this is a test for (or if any particular character is in mind at all), but they referred to the robot as “she,” and the animatronic has several mouse-ear shaped carvings in its infrastructure. Could a dancing Minnie Mouse animatronic come to the Disney theme parks in the future?
The episode also contained brief footage of an animatronic with the face of a raccoon jumping onto a table. Might this be a test for something related to Rocket Raccoon from “Guardians of the Galaxy”? (Though to be fair, the figure could easily be swapped with any face.)
Animatronic with front-projected face
Also in the realm of R&D, Imagineers tested a front-projected face, capable of not only facial expressions but different textures and effects such as blood, tattoos, and tears.
Front-facing projections involve a projector directly in front of the animatronic, as opposed to rear-facing projected animatronics, which involve a projector inside the back of the animatronic head projecting toward the front. Rear-projected faces are the kind used in Frozen Ever After at Epcot, and are currently on their way out in the Disney parks.
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