Disney is apparently having second thoughts about a land at one of its theme parks.The Walt Disney Company is preparing one of the biggest theme park investment cycles in decades. Led by new CEO Josh D’Amaro, Disney has pledged roughly $60 billion toward its parks, cruise ships, and experiences division over the coming years, with a major portion earmarked for Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resort.Credit: DisneySeveral projects are already underway. At Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, Magic Kingdom is set to receive a new take on Cars Land, plus an area inspired by Disney Villains that D’Amaro has allegedly requested Walt Disney Imagineers to take to the next level.Animal Kingdom is also undergoing a dramatic overhaul. The park’s DinoLand U.S.A. is being replaced with Tropical Americas, a new area inspired by Encanto and Indiana Jones, marking one of the most significant thematic shifts in the park’s history. Meanwhile, Disney’s Hollywood Studios is set to receive a Monsters, Inc. land, with The Muppets taking over Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster after being controversially ousted from Muppet*Vision 3D.Credit: DisneyOver at Disneyland Resort, Disney California Adventure has its own expansion plans in motion. The Avengers Campus area is set to grow with two new attractions based on Marvel characters, including the long-delayed Avengers: Infinity Defense ride.Yet one expansion Disney once seemed confident about may now be less certain.Disney previously confirmed plans to build an Avatar-themed land at Disney California Adventure, intended as a West Coast counterpart to Pandora — The World of Avatar at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. But recent reports suggest that the company may now be reconsidering that plan.Credit: DisneyDisney Rethinks Pandora Expansion in CaliforniaAfter a somewhat disappointing performance for Avatar: Fire and Ash (2025), the future of the Avatar franchise is uncertain.While there are very tentative release dates for the fourth and fifth Avatar films (December 2029 and 3031, respectively), insiders told The Wrap that conversations are being had about how to make future Avatar movies cheaper and shorter, to make the investment less risky should they move forward.“It’s all about compare-and-contrast – ‘Fire and Ash’ made half of what the first movie made. And ticket prices in 2009 were not what they are in 2025. That’s the level that James Cameron and the ‘Avatar’ films are operating in,” said Paul Dergarabedian, head of marketplace trends at Comscore.Credit: 20th Century Studios“When an $89 million domestic opening weekend and almost $1.5 billion worldwide would be seen — in any stretch — as a disappointment. That’s why there’s that perception. These are high-class problems to have.”Some of those discussions reportedly extend beyond film production. According to The Wrap, Disney could also be reconsidering the planned Avatar expansion at Disney California Adventure.The Avatar expansion at Disney California Adventure was originally announced as a companion to the hugely successful Pandora land at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Construction was expected to begin in 2026. However, the land designated for the project has become a subject of debate among theme park insiders and former Imagineers.Former Imagineer Jim Shull has suggested that Disney could instead pivot to another franchise entirely.Credit: Disney“Disney doesn’t do anything without a reason. The reality is that ‘Avatar 3’ did OK but as a cultural force, it’s exhausted. Nobody is demanding to see more. They like what they have and if they really like it, they can go to Florida and see it,” Shull told The Wrap.“California does not have a lot of land. If ‘Avatar’ had been a huge success and people were demanding ‘4’ and ‘5’ and beyond, that would change the equation. But there’s not a lot of demand.”Alternative Franchise Suggested for Disney ParkShull believes a Zootopia-themed attraction could be a stronger fit for the park.“‘Zootopia 2’ exceeded expectations in terms of money and laid the groundwork for more ‘Zootopia,’” Shull said. “If I were Josh D’Amaro, in the seat, looking at the stock, I know that I could go to the board and say, ‘I’ve changed my mind for the stronger property,’ and there would be no pushback.”Credit: DisneyThe lack of visible progress on the project has also raised questions.“The only time you do something like that is when you have second thoughts,” Shull said.Operational factors may also be influencing the conversation. According to one source familiar with Disneyland Resort planning, park operations teams favor the Zootopia attraction because it uses a ride system similar to Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway.That similarity could make the attraction easier to maintain. By contrast, the proposed Avatar ride was designed as a boat attraction that would require its own water-treatment infrastructure.Credit: Disney Parks BlogDisney itself has recently highlighted Zootopia’s success in the parks. A company press release noted that Zootopia: Hot Pursuit, the Zootopia attraction at Shanghai Disneyland, is the park’s highest-rated ride, with “one in four guests” reported to visit Shanghai Disneyland specifically to experience the land.Meanwhile, construction timelines around the Disneyland Resort expansion have already shifted. The closure of Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue has been pushed back to 2027, suggesting that Disney may still be reassessing what will ultimately occupy the space.Even if the California project changes direction, the Avatar attraction concept may not disappear entirely.Credit: DisneyShull suggested the ride could potentially be relocated to another Disney resort. One possible option is an expansion pad behind Pandora — The World of Avatar at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, a park long criticized for its lack of rides.Other possibilities include future international parks. Shanghai’s rumored second gate, known internally as Project Atlas, has reportedly shifted from a science-focused concept toward a park built around major Disney adventure franchises such as Avatar.Tokyo Disney Resort is also rumored to be exploring a third gate, referred to as DisneySky, where the attraction could potentially find a home.Do you think Disneyland Resort should axe its Avatar expansion?The post Disney Reportedly Axing ‘Avatar’ Land, May Replace With ‘Zootopia’ appeared first on Inside the Magic.