Disneyland’s Coco Ride May Be as Big as Pirates of the Caribbean: What the Construction Reveals

Last Updated on May 11, 2026

The construction site for the upcoming Coco attraction at Disney California Adventure just revealed something most fans were not expecting. The show building is not going where everyone assumed. It is going somewhere bigger.

Aerial observation from the Disneyland Monorail, ground-level reporting from Disneyland Drive, and Google Earth measurements now paint a much clearer picture of what Disney is building behind the Incredicoaster track, and the scale of the available space suggests this ride could rival Pirates of the Caribbean in size. Here is what we know.

The Show Building Location Has Shifted

Since the Coco attraction was announced at D23 in 2024, the prevailing assumption was that the show building would be built in the footprint of three existing backstage buildings located behind the Incredicoaster, near the parade storage area. The expected plan was that Disney would demolish at least one of those buildings, clear the space between them, and drop the ride’s show building into that gap.

That does not appear to be what is happening. Based on the scale and location of the land clearing now visible from the Monorail and from Disneyland Drive, the show building appears to be going into the large stretch of dirt that has been cleared on the other side of the Incredicoaster track, running parallel to Disneyland Drive. This is the area where trees were removed, ground was leveled, and heavy equipment has been staged over the past several weeks.

The three existing backstage buildings appear to be staying intact, at least for now. The cleared space between those buildings and the Incredicoaster track may serve as queue space, a walkway, or a visual barrier rather than housing the ride itself. The actual show building footprint is further out, closer to Disneyland Drive, occupying a significantly larger area than the original backstage building footprint would have allowed.

1.4 Acres: Bigger Than Expected

The cleared construction site, measured on Google Earth from the left edge of the Incredicoaster track to Disneyland Drive, encompasses approximately 1.4 acres. That number becomes meaningful when you compare it to existing Disneyland dark rides.

Pirates of the Caribbean’s show building at Disneyland occupies roughly 1.25 acres. It is one of the largest enclosed dark rides in the world and houses a 15-minute boat ride plus the Blue Bayou restaurant. The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Undersea Adventure show building at DCA is approximately 1 acre and houses a reasonably sized modern dark ride.

The available Coco construction site at 1.4 acres is larger than both. Disney may not use the entire footprint for the show building, and some of that space will be dedicated to infrastructure, backstage access, and utility systems. But even using two-thirds of the available acreage puts the Coco ride in the same size class as Pirates, which is dramatically larger than what most observers were expecting based on the assumption that the ride would be squeezed into the smaller backstage building footprint.

This is not going to be a compact ride. The available space, the enclosed water ride format, and the Audio-Animatronics commitment Disney made at D23 all point to a major attraction, not a modest addition.

Disneyland Drive Is Being Torn Up

The most visible recent development is happening on Disneyland Drive itself. A lane has been closed near the construction site, orange barrier fencing runs along the edge of the roadway, and an excavator has been observed removing blacktop from the road surface. The sidewalk that previously ran along this stretch of Disneyland Drive has already been fully demolished.

The palm trees and landscaping that lined the sidewalk in this area have been completely removed. The cleared zone extends from the construction perimeter to the edge of the remaining road surface, creating a continuous work area that connects the ride construction site to the public infrastructure along Disneyland Drive.

Permits filed with the Anaheim Public Works department confirm that the approved work includes modifications to sidewalks, curbs, gutters, trees, planters, landscaping, irrigation, and fencing along Disneyland Drive and Katella Avenue. This is infrastructure-level work, not cosmetic landscaping, and it signals that the Coco attraction’s footprint extends all the way to the edge of Disneyland Drive.

What Kind of Ride This Will Be

Disney has confirmed that the Coco attraction will be a boat ride, enclosed in a show building, drawing inspiration from classic Disneyland dark rides. At D23, Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro described it as follows: guests will follow Miguel into the Land of the Dead, hear the movie’s iconic music, and encounter a large cast of skeletal characters brought to life using the latest Audio-Animatronics technology.

The “enclosed water ride” format and the Pirates of the Caribbean inspiration are consistent with what the construction site now suggests. An enclosed boat ride in a 1-acre-plus show building with Audio-Animatronics is the same fundamental format as Pirates, which has been operating at Disneyland since 1967 and remains one of the most beloved attractions in theme park history.

The Coco film’s visual world, the Land of the Dead with its towering neon-lit city of the deceased, its marigold petal bridges, and its vibrant musical performances, is tailor-made for a boat ride that moves guests through large, immersive scenes. The enclosed format also allows Disney to control lighting, sound, and atmosphere completely, which is critical for recreating the film’s dramatic shift from the world of the living to the land of the dead.

The Timeline

Construction prep began in late 2025 with permit filings and initial site clearing. Visible construction accelerated in early 2026, with tree removal, ground leveling, heavy equipment staging, and the Disneyland Drive infrastructure work all advancing rapidly over the past several months. As of May 2026, the site is fully cleared, foundation prep including water runoff, sewage, and electrical conduit is underway, and the lane closure on Disneyland Drive suggests active utility work connecting the site to the surrounding infrastructure.

No official opening date has been announced. Based on the construction timeline and comparison to the Encanto attraction at Disneyland (which began prep in early 2025 and is targeting a 2027 opening), a 2028 opening for the Coco ride is a realistic estimate. Disney may also time the opening to coincide with or precede the release of Coco 2, which has been announced for 2029 but does not yet have an exact release date.

Why This Matters

Disney California Adventure has been criticized for years for lacking a true anchor dark ride on the scale of Disneyland Park’s best attractions. Radiator Springs Racers is the closest comparison, but it is a different ride format. A Pirates-scale enclosed boat ride with modern Audio-Animatronics, built from the ground up in a 1.4-acre footprint, would be the most significant new dark ride addition at the Disneyland Resort since Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance opened in 2020.

The fact that the construction site is larger than previously assumed, that the show building appears to be going into a more expansive footprint than the backstage buildings would have allowed, and that Disney is physically tearing up a public road to accommodate the infrastructure suggests this is not a modest investment. Disney is building something substantial.

For Coco fans and Disneyland visitors watching the construction from the Monorail, from Disneyland Drive, or from the Pixar Pal-A-Round, the picture is getting clearer every week. This ride has the space to be something special.

Plan Your Trip

For the complete strategy on visiting the Disneyland Resort while construction is underway, including how to work around closures and which attractions are affected, the Enchanted Insider Disneyland Itinerary Guide covers everything. For the best rates on hotel and ticket packages near the resort, Get Away Today is the travel partner we use and recommend.

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