Dear Disney: Please Don’t Ruin Disneyland with Your New Mega Expansion

Without a doubt, Disneyland NEEDS to be expanded…but that doesn’t mean we aren’t worried about the changes coming to the resort.

Some MASSIVE Disneyland expansion plans are already underway at the resort, including the already announced Avatar Land, Avengers Campus expansion, and addition of the new Coco ride, all in Disney California Adventure. While exciting, we do have concerns about these projects and other future Disneyland projects…for good reason!

While theme park expansion is certainly exciting, Disney has made what is considered a very big sin among the Disney fandom by indulging in the practice of REPLACING rides when expanding on both coasts.

From Rivers of America in Magic Kingdom, to DinoLand U.S.A. in Animal Kingdom, to Muppets Courtyard in Hollywood Studios, to Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue! and the Hollywood Backlot in California Adventure — Disney is unafraid to get rid of fan-favorite attractions and lands.

Disneyland Park, especially, is packed with rides that would cause riots if removed. Disneyland purists would lose their minds if the Rivers of America was gutted or if Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride was scrapped. Disney’s first theme park caters to a ton of locals who are passionate about the resort’s history, and uprooting attractions and lands comes with a certain amount of scrutiny that just isn’t matched anywhere else.

The counter to all this is that Disney really can’t expand Disneyland Park — at least not in the ways it can with California Adventure — as it has incredibly limited space to play with. To add big new lands or attractions, it would either have to completely remove beloved lands, or create new space. If Disneyland Park does ultimately get an expansion, the project could ultimately be placed in the park’s surrounding, non-themed areas…at least we hope.

In 2024, DisneylandForward was approved. Disneyland’s decade-plus-long expansion plan allows the resort to make way for tons of new entertainment, attractions, dining locations, shopping options, and lodging experiences. We already know about several projects in the works, but there are so many more on the horizon that have yet to be announced.

The big expansions so far are happening in California, which is already seeing the beloved Monsters, Inc. ride go in 2026 to make way for the new Avatar Land. Fortunately, we’ve now seen two other expansions — the Coco ride and the latest Avengers Campus expansion — that do not require the removal of any existing guest experience, making these expansion projects stay true to the purest definition of expansion.

Hopefully, we’ll see more of this kind of change as the resort grows — addition WITHOUT subtraction. Maybe we’ll even see a smaller third gate open (fingers crossed). Either way, our hope is that the Disneyland Resort continues to grow without sacrificing anything along the way.

We’ve been keeping up with Disneyland expansion plans since day one, and we’ll continue to bring you all the latest updates.

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What are your concerns and hopes about Disneyland’s expansion plans? Let us know in the comments, and continue to follow us here at AllEars for all the latest Disneyland coverage!

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