DISNEYLAND NEWS: Monsters Inc Closure Delayed At Disney California Adventure

Disneyland dropped a plethora of announcements today spanning everything from park hopping to operational efficiency. But the one that immediately caught my eye was the announcement that Monsters Inc. Mike and Sulley to the Resuce, the fan favorite attraction located in Disney California Adventure, would be closing sometime in 2027 instead of closing in Spring of 2026. Disney previously announced in June 2025 that the attraction would close this year to make way for the planned Avatar expansion. Disney has reiterated that, while the closing of the attraction is delayed, the Avatar expansion is still pushing through at DCA with no changes to its timeline.

In this post I will dive into my thoughts on the Monsters Inc closure delay, what it means for DCA, and my thoughts and speculations on the Avatar expansion. Believe me, I have a LOT of thoughts.

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Why Did Disney Delay the Monsters Inc Closure?

There are many probable reasons for why Disney delayed Monsters Inc’s closure. The first reason that sticks out in my mind is that maybe Disney did not want to take out another attraction aimed at children from Disney California Adventure.

DCA already skews more adult, with rides like Incredicoaster and Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout aimed primarily at older guests.

There are also so many attractions at DCA that have height requirements. 8 attraction have height requirements, almost making up 50% of attractions at DCA. Monsters Inc was one of the only family-friendly attractions in DCA, so closing it would mean one less thing for families to do at the park.

With the Bluey show opening at Disneyland in March, families will be more incentivized to go to Disneyland instead of DCA. This would be exacerbated if DCA lost one of its hallmark family attractions.

Now following this train of thought, it seems like Disney would likely wait until the new family-friendly Coco attraction opens at DCA before closing down Monsters Inc. I don’t see this happening, but I do see them trying to ensure that the timeframe between the closing of Monsters Inc and the opening of Coco is as short as possible. This would allow them to operate with one less family ride for a shorter period of time.

But while I think this was a reason as to why the Monsters Inc closure was delayed, I think the more realistic reason has to do with the changes coming to the transport center and esplanade in the years to come.

Is the Eastern Gateway to Blame?

It’s not a secret that Disneyland is building a new Eastern Gateway. This new structure will have over 6,000 parking spaces, as well as bus stops for transportation that can take you all over Anaheim. This structure will be constructed on the other side of Harbor Boulevard and will be connected to the Esplanade via a long bridge.

They’re doing this, primarily, for the Avatar expansion. The current Harbor Boulevard entrance, along with all the current bus stops, is going to close to become the new Avatar expansion. This land is right behind Monsters Inc, and would give DCA the space they need to fully realize the Avatar experience in the park.

Now the thing is, construction on the new parking structure and bridge won’t begin until Fall 2026. This means that the area that will eventually be used for Avatar-land will not be available for construction until after Fall 2026. The timeline suggests that the area will only be properly set up for construction in 2027.

This makes delaying the ride closure the logical choice for the park. Why would you close a pretty popular attraction when the land to expand isn’t readily available? Might as well keep it open for a bit longer to maintain guest satisfaction rather than letting it sit there closed while waiting for the land to be ready.

That being said, I have a secret hopeful wish about all of this: maybe Disney decided to cancel the Avatar plans altogether.

What Does this Mean for Avatar at DCA?

I will not hide the fact that I don’t think Avatar fits in DCA. For one thing, it doesn’t fit at ALL into the theme of California. Pandora is as far from California as you can get. I don’t see the point of replacing a land that fits in the park with a land that doesn’t thematically fit within the the park.

Disney parks are special because of how they interpret and expand on their themes. While I admit that the theme of California is a bit narrow in terms of what attractions you can come up with to fit that theme, Disney spent thousands of dollars in the late 2000s and early 2010s to make DCA more California.

It’s a shame that DCA seems to be regressing from those improvements and is becoming just a huge IP dumping ground. Pixar Pier and Avengers Campus were the first signs of this, and now this Avatar-land may be the final nail in the coffin.

At this rate, they should just change the name of the park. If they can’t commit to the California theme, there’s no reason why the park should still be called Disney California Adventure.

The park is slowly losing its identity, at a time when other Disney Parks around the world (the biggest offender being Disney Adventure World) are losing their identities and themes as well and becoming more generic in theme and story. But maybe, just maybe, this closure delay could mean Disney is realizing that they need to course correct.

Even if they’ve said that the closure will not affect the Avatar expansion, I do think that something must be happening behind the scenes for the closure to be delayed. Maybe details of the plan are changing, maybe Disney needs more time to refine their ideas, or maybe, and this is partially wishful thinking on my part, they’ve changed their minds and want to replace Monsters Inc with something more in line with the California theme.

I know what you’re thinking. I must be crazy in thinking that Disney would change their plans like this. Well, if rumors are true, this wouldn’t be the first time in the last few weeks that Disney leadership has told imagineers to come up with better ideas.

Is the Monsters Inc Closure Delay Connected to Villains Land at Magic Kingdom?

If you have been out of the loop with Disney news recently, it was rumored a few days ago that Josh D’amaro, the incoming Disney CEO, told the Imagineers to re-think the plans for the Villains Land coming to Magic Kingdom. He reportedly told them to “dream bigger” and to really bring the land to the next level.

Now I’m just speculating here, but it is possible that maybe Josh D’Amaro told the imagineers to dream up new ideas not just for Villains Land, but for this expansion coming to DCA as well. Maybe the Monsters Inc closure delay was enacted to give imagineers more time to think about what they can do with the space given to them.

Now again, I don’t know this for a fact, but I wouldn’t be shocked if this was the case. Delaying a ride closure by over a year seems extreme to me and not something that is “normal” by any means. It indicates that there are serious conversations happening behind the scenes.

I hope that Josh D’Amaro, during his tenure at Disney as CEO, makes changes that stay true to the spirit of the parks. Filling every Park with single IP themed lands that don’t mesh together cannot be the future of Disney.

Now I know this veered pretty far from just being about a simple delay, but you’ve got to read between the lines and realize that this small change could indicate many different things. For DCA’s sake, I hope it doesn’t lose out on more of its identity. Or if it must, I hope it changes identities to better suit the future of that park.

Conclusion

Again, personally, I’m glad this delay is happening if it means Disney is rethinking its strategy for the parks. In addition, I’m glad that this means that I’ll have one last chance to ride Monsters Inc. Mike and Sulley to the Rescue. It’s one of my favorite attractions in DCA and is one of the few remnants remaining of DCA 1.0. I’m sad to see it go, but happy and optimistic for the future of the Disneyland Resort. If they can stick to the theme, that is.

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