Coco Construction at DCA

Could this be Coco at DCA?

It’s July 2026, and there’s no summer break for the construction team in Anaheim building the Coco attraction at DCA. 

Coco has been popular at DCA for years, and we’ll get to that shortly. But first, let’s return to Coco at Paradise Pier. The project site is relatively small, but there is a lot happening.

Roads, landscaping, service roads, parade routes, and access to the parade building have all been affected. Without that work, Coco could not happen. Only once the construction site is clear can the real build begin. A new road will be needed to connect with the parade route. For the ride and a possible comparison, consider the River of Time building in the Mexico Pavilion at Epcot. When you look at it, it’s easy to see why it offers a useful point of reference.

Concept art for Mexico in World Showcase.

We don’t know whether Coco will look like this, but that’s part of the fun of playing Imagineer. It’s a Small World is a classic Disneyland water ride, but it was not Disney’s first. In 1955, the park opened with Canal Boats of the World, later renamed Storybook Land. Still, Disney did not invent this ride system. In 1901, Kennywood in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, opened the Old Mill.

Entertaining guests since 1901.

When Canal Boats of the World opened in 1955, it was modest, but it had enough appeal that Disney chose to move forward with it. It eventually became Storybook Land. Canal Boats worked because each boat had a motor controlled by an onboard operator. By contrast, it’s a Small World used water pumps alongside the flume to create a current that carried the boats through the show building. The exact ride speed was somewhat unpredictable because it depended on the combined weight of the vehicle and its guests, but the system was efficient, inexpensive, and reliable. For proof, we can look to Epcot’s Mexico Pavilion and the River of Time.

Just like the real Mexico except for the air conditioning.

The Mexico Pavilion at Epcot is unique among the World Showcase pavilions because it is entirely indoors. Step inside, and you leave the Florida sun and humidity for a cool, dark Yucatán rainforest. From the dining area, you overlookthe water, with an active volcano in the distance and remnants of an ancient civilization nearby. Below, boats drift with the current toward the pyramid. What lies beyond is something you have to experience from the ride itself. The ideaendures to today. 

Coco is a seasonal part of DCA and Paradise Gardens.

We don’t have to wait for Coco’s ride to open at DCA, because the character has already been part of Paradise Garden for years. When I designed the area, I never intended it for Coco, but DCA brought Coco into Paradise Garden, where it became a hit. Each year, Coco now has a presence there, and I’m sure that will continue—especially once the ride opens and the footprint becomes much larger. As for the ride itself, it will draw on lessons Disney has learned from Small World,the River of Time, and Frozen Ever After. Disney knows how to build a water ride: where to place the water treatment plant, how wide the ride path needs to be, and how to design the boats, whether fiberglass or rotomolded. Still, building Coco at DCA is a major challenge because the site, while sizable, is already crowded. It includes a service road, a parade route, and vehicle access to nearbywarehouses. New roads will be added, accommodations will be made, and people will still be able to move through the service areas while parades continue to operate.

Could Monstropolis come to the Hollywood Backlot at DCA?

That’s simply what happens when new rides are built. And speaking of new rides, let’s take a moment to consider one more possibility. This is pure speculation, but it is based on the clues we have—and the questions that remain. So, let’s talk about the third attraction coming to DCA. It is planned for the Hollywood backlot and was announced as Avatar.

The Door Coaster as designed fits on the available site.

But here’s another idea: what if Monstropolis went there instead? What if DCA added the door coaster now being built at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida? First, would it fit? Yes. It would take some work, but the ride would not need to be redesigned.

You could simply call and say, “I want one more of those.” Honestly, it would complement Coco well because Coco is a water ride—and as Walt Disney said, “You don’t follow pigs with pigs.” Whatever happens, Coco is coming. It will occupy this site, and it may even resemble this concept. When it opens, it will bring a village setting and a very different, expanded Pixar Pier. We know it is coming, and we know it is coming soon—maybe not in 2026 or even 2027, but soon.