Old or new? Vote for your favorite Disneyland attractions
Old Disneyland attractions or new? Vote on whether you prefer new rides like Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance or the classic experiences they replaced — and hear what Disney executive Josh D’Amaro has to say about changes at Disneyland.
‘If we’re going to change anything …’
Josh D’Amaro, chairman of Disney Experiences, recently stated of Disneyland, “If we’re going to make a change in anything, we must create something that’s even better than what was there before.”
D’Amaro gave these remarks during his presentation titled “Dream to Reality: How a Disney Story Comes to Life” on Sept. 18, 2024 at Inbound, a conference hosted by business software company HubSpot in Boston, Mass. (We’ve transcribed more of D’Amaro’s thoughts on this subject at the bottom of this story.)
This got us thinking: Do our readers believe Disneyland’s latest attractions from the past decade or so are “even better than what was there before”? Vote below and let us know!
Vote for old or new Disneyland attractions
Disneyland’s Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge — complete with Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run — is mostly located on land that was previously backstage facility areas. However, the project did replace one onstage Disneyland attraction: Big Thunder Ranch, a frontier-themed outdoor area featuring a quick-service barbecue restaurant, petting zoo, and flex space for special events, which closed in 2016.
Photo by Jeff DePaoli
Photo by Jeff DePaoli
Photo courtesy of Disney / Matt Stroshane
Photo courtesy of Disney / Richard Harbaugh
Soarin’ Over California debuted with Disney California Adventure on opening day 2001. The film switched to Soarin’ Around the World in 2016 (though the ride system remained the same, and the original film occasionally returns for limited engagements).
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror opened at California Adventure in 2004 and operated until 2017. Just a few months later, the drop attraction reopened with a new story (and less scary, more jubilant tone) as Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission – Breakout!
Photo by Banks Lee
Photo by Blake Taylor
The California Screamin’ roller coaster debuted with California Adventure in 2001. Come 2018, the original version closed and reopened several months later as Incredicoaster, now themed after the Pixar film “The Incredibles.” Collectively, the area surrounding Incredicoaster (formerly known as Paradise Pier) became Pixar Pier.
“It’s Tough to be a Bug!” was an opening-day 3D film at California Adventure in 2001, and was later added onto with A Bug’s Land, including Heimlich’s Chew Chew Train, Tuck & Roll’s Drive ’em Buggies, Francis’ Ladybug Boogie, and Flik’s Flyers. A Bug’s Land closed in 2018 to make way for Avengers Campus, which opened in 2021, complete with Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure, Pym Test Kitchen, and a (recently closed) Doctor Strange outdoor show.
Photo courtesy of Disney
Photo courtesy of Disney
Photo by Blake Taylor
Photo courtesy of Disney / Ty Popko
Tarzan’s Treehouse (itself a revamp of the former Swiss Family Treehouse attraction) opened at Disneyland in 1999 and closed in 2021, reemerging in 2023 as Adventureland Treehouse.
Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel officially became Pixar Place Hotel in 2024 after a series of gradual rebranding changes. That being said, the building initially opened in 1984 as the Emerald and the Pan Pacific, a non-Disney establishment. It became the Disneyland Pacific Hotel in 1995 and subsequently Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel in 2000.
(Dates sourced from “Disney A-Z: The Official Disney Encyclopedia.”)
What’s next for Disneyland attractions
As we look to the future, Walt Disney Imagineering has ambitious plans for Disneyland, some of which include saying farewell to longstanding attractions.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will open Nov. 15, 2024, replacing Splash Mountain and thus christening the area currently known as Critter Country into its new monicker, Bayou Country.
A show called Walt Disney – A Magical Life will debut in 2025 inside the Main Street Opera House at Disneyland with the first-ever Audio-Animatronics figure of Walt Disney. However, affirming D’Amaro’s aforementioned remarks, the attraction will rotate engagements with Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln rather than replace that classic presentation.
Two new Marvel attractions — Avengers Infinity Defense and Stark Flight Lab — will evict the backstage barn for California Adventure’s Red Car Trolley, thus forcing that ride to close altogether.
Photo by Blake Taylor
Image courtesy of Disney
Image courtesy of Disney
Further into the future, an “Avatar” land and a “Coco ride” will both eventually open at California Adventure, though Disney has not revealed specifically where within the park these projects will be located, or if anything will close in preparation for their arrival.
Disney is also preparing for an expansion known as DisneylandForward. It is unclear at this time if “Avatar” and/or “Coco” are part of this initiative, or separate.
Meanwhile, in Florida
Disneyland isn’t alone in its era of major changes. Over on the east coast, Walt Disney World near Orlando, Fla. will soon close Tom Sawyer Island and the Rivers of America at Magic Kingdom, as well as DinoLand, U.S.A. at Disney’s Animal Kingdom (“Cars” attractions are replacing the former, “Encanto” and Indiana Jones the latter).
Additionally, the fate of Muppet*Vision 3D remains unclear following the news of a “Monsters, Inc.” roller coaster being built at an undisclosed location within Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Rounding out Disney’s four Florida parks, Epcot recently replaced a long list of former attractions during a multi-year “transformation,” as Disney called the project.
Not everything new kicks out something old, though. The upcoming Villains Land at Magic Kingdom, for example, is an expansion in every sense of the word, increasing the footprint of the park rather than replacing existing attractions.
D’Amaro discusses Disney changes
Here are more of D’Amaro’s remarks form his presentation at Inbound about changes to Disneyland attractions and the Disney theme parks at large:
Disney fans, they take their fandom very, very seriously. As I said at the beginning [of this presentation], they’re so incredibly passionate about our company. And you know what? I love that. It’s such a point of pride that we’re held to such a high standard.
In many ways, Disneyland is their park. We just stand here as the caretakers.
Our guests sometimes spend their lives in our worlds.
If we make a change, some of our fans feel like we’re altering part of their personal story, and I know that because I’m actually one of them. I told you about my experiences on Peter Pan and Soarin’ with my family. These are powerful, powerful memories. They’re handed down from one generation to the next. So as we build for a new generation, we make these decisions very, very carefully.
D’Amaro then described the Disneyland team’s attention to detail when closing Big Thunder Ranch in preparation for the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge attractions, right down to each individual tree. He went on to say:
Walt faced these challenges, too. He was constantly evaluating everything, always looking for ways that he could improve. That’s why I always remind my team: If we’re going to make a change in anything, we must create something that’s even better than what was there before. We may not always get this right, but I believe Walt would’ve wanted us to try. He would’ve wanted us to be courageous. Walt, he was an adventurer. He was a risk-taker. This is the standard that we all live up to today.
D’Amaro’s full presentation is viewable on the Inbound YouTube channel. (The comments above are stated around the 37:30 mark.)
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Why don’t you wait until the Disneyland expansion before you put in new rides and attractions? The same with WDW?