Seven scenes from the upcoming Coco attraction’s story sequence have now been revealed, giving the clearest look yet at how the ride will actually take guests through Miguel’s journey into the Land of the Dead. We first covered this attraction when it was announced alongside Avatar’s expansion into Disney California Adventure, and this is the most detailed picture Disney has given of the ride since.
Thanks to Drew The Disney Dude for sharing this with us, check out his full video below.
The Eight Scenes, Confirmed So Far
- Ernesto’s Mausoleum: Miguel is cursed after playing Ernesto’s guitar, which he’s accused of stealing
- Land of the Dead: The reveal of the stunning city itself
- Un Poco Loco: Miguel and Héctor perform together to win Ernesto’s attention, with Miguel hoping to earn his blessing
- Inside the Mansion, “The World Es Mi Familia”: Miguel finally meets Ernesto
- Inside the Mansion Hallway: Ernesto is exposed by Héctor, in a scene that may lean on animatronics, projected movie media, or both
- The Cenote: Miguel and Héctor confirm they’re family, great-great-grandfather and great-great-grandson
- The Finale: Miguel appears in his mariachi outfit for a performance of “Proud Corazón”
More scenes are believed to exist beyond these seven, and Disney hasn’t confirmed the full sequence yet.
What’s Still Unknown – A handful of real questions remain open even with this much of the story confirmed. It’s not clear whether the ride uses a circular or continuous-loop format, or how many boats will run per scene to maximize hourly capacity, a detail that matters a lot for a ride expected to draw crowds on the scale of Frozen Ever After. Disney also hasn’t said who will voice Miguel for the attraction, and an opening date still hasn’t been confirmed, though speculation has centered on 2029 based on the current construction timeline.
The Coco attraction was first announced in 2024, with Josh D’Amaro revealing concept art and confirming the ride would take guests into the Land of the Dead, built with the same kind of storytelling ambition behind Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean. Disney has said the ride’s skeletal cast of characters will come to life through the latest Audio-Animatronics technology, with D’Amaro telling the D23 crowd, “These figures will appear in ways you’ll have to see to believe.” The attraction is being constructed behind Pixar Pier, in the backstage area near Paradise Gardens Park.
At D23 2026, Ali Rubinstein and Emily O’Brien took the Horizons stage to confirm the ride is open to the entire family, with no height requirement. The story picks up about a year after the original film, and Imagineers are working closely with Pixar to weave in nods to both the original movie and the upcoming Coco 2. The queue welcomes guests into a “casa museo” dedicated to the music of Miguel’s great-great-grandfather, Héctor Rivera, before guests join Miguel and travel by boat through his memories of the Land of the Dead.
Back in October 2024, just months after the ride was first announced, a segment of the Imagineer That video series caught a glimpse of Imagineers actively planning the ride’s storyline, including a wall of scene concepts that was otherwise kept hidden from cameras at the time. That same footage included mentions of Pepper’s Ghost effects and Pepita, Imelda’s alebrije, hinting at some of the Audio-Animatronics work now being confirmed two years later.
What stands out most about this reveal is how far ahead of opening Disney is willing to lay out the actual scene structure. Most attractions this size get a vague thematic pitch years out and the real story beats only show up close to opening. Getting an eight-scene rundown this early suggests Imagineering is confident enough in this story, and protective enough of what made the film work in the first place, to let fans see the shape of it well before a single boat is running.
