There are a lot of changes coming to the Disneyland Resort. With the passage of DisneylandForward, the focus has changed from what possibly could be coming to The Happiest Place on Earth to specific changes. This includes the upcoming Eastern Gateway project, a new attraction based on the Pixar Animation Studios’ film Coco, and an attraction based on Disney Legend James Cameron’s Avatar franchise. With the new things coming to the Disneyland Resort, some things will have to say goodbye. This includes Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue! This attraction brings to life the story of Monsters, Inc. as a dark, family-friendly ride. The attraction was originally slated to close in early 2026. This is no longer the case. The attraction will now be closing sometime in 2027.
On Thursday, February 19, 2026, Daps Magic was invited to be a part of a small group of members of the media that spent the morning with Disneyland Resort President Thomas Mazloum and his team. Throughout the morning, Mazloum and his team shared about a wide range of things that go into how the Disneyland Resort is run. This included the more forward-facing things like entertainment and hospitality initiatives, and also the mostly invisible efforts made by engineering teams. All of these discussions were built on a common theme of trying to give the most guests the best experience possible when they visit the Disneyland Resort (Daps Magic will be getting into this more in a future feature).
One of the focal points of guests is young families. These are people who are often just getting started in life. Anyone who has taken a young child to Disneyland knows how magical it can be. The world isn’t getting any easier. However, Mazloum wants to make it easier for young families to visit the Disneyland Resort. During the morning, at one point, he discussed meeting a family at an event in Anaheim. Their kids were meeting Disney characters for the first time, and Mazloum learned that they had never been to Disneyland before. This led to last year’s popular Anaheim resident ticket that was offered. Mazloum is taking a similar approach towards families with young children, and efforts have been made to make tickets more affordable to families with kids and those in California. All of these offers can be found at Disneyland.com/offers.
The focus on family is going well beyond affordability. It also includes the entertainment and experiences for families throughout the parks. While looking toward the future of Disney California Adventure, it was realized that the park would be short on attractions for young ones. Mazloum tasked his team to see if there was a way to keep Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue! open longer. This seemed like an insurmountable task. However, Disney is the company that has made a business out of making the impossible possible. Ultimately, work schedules were changed that will allow this family-friendly attraction to remain open throughout 2026.
At this point, it isn’t known exactly when this attraction will close. What is known is that fans will have all of 2026 to enjoy it one more (or more than one) time! What is also known is that this didn’t change internal timelines (that were not shared with the media). The bigger picture of the future of the Disneyland Resort continues to be one of growth and new offers. Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue! will ultimately close to make way for Disneyland Resort’s own Avatar attraction/area. Fans will just have a little bit longer before this happens.
Throughout the morning, Mazloum shared his principles, focal points, and vision for the Disneyland Resort. It wasn’t necessarily glamorous, but it was a fascinating discussion. It provided insight into how the current President of the Disneyland Resort thinks, plans, makes decisions, and even leads. There will be several more posts on this in the near future. Be sure to subscribe to Daps Magic and follow along on social media so as not to miss any of these updates.
What do you think about Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue! remaining open longer? Are you excited about this update? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!
