Disney Theatrical Group and Lightstorm Entertainment Inc. have licensed AVATAR: Guardians of Eywa, a new immersive walkthrough experience. It will hold its world premiere at Niagara Parks in Niagara Falls, Canada, in May 2027, then continue on to other venues around the world. The Magic Walk production draws on James Cameron’s Avatar franchise and ends with a live acrobatic finale. Moment Factory led the design and creative production, and EMM Williams Productions is producing the show.
AVATAR: Guardians of Eywa World Premiere at Niagara Parks
IN THIS ARTICLE:
- What Disney Theatrical Group and Lightstorm Entertainment Inc. licensed, and why Niagara Parks hosts the world premiere
- How the Magic Walk format is built to continue on to venues around the world
- The opening date, location, and ticket waitlist, plus where Avatar stands at Disney California Adventure
Niagara Parks will host the first performances of a new Avatar experience from Disney Theatrical Group and Lightstorm Entertainment Inc. The two companies licensed the production, which IMMEX developed and EMM Williams Productions is producing. Niagara Parks says the premiere begins a multi-show engagement in Niagara Falls before the production continues on to other venues around the world.
AVATAR: Guardians of Eywa & Magic Walk
IMMEX owns Magic Walk, the format behind the show, and designed it for deployment at venues around the world. The format pairs large-scale storytelling and multimedia with robotics and live performance while keeping one creative vision from venue to venue. EMM Williams Productions introduced the Avatar Magic Walk in May without naming a venue or dates. Now, we know the production will debut at Niagara Falls in 2027. EMM Williams Productions calls the premiere the beginning of a global journey for Magic Walk.
Montreal studio Moment Factory, which counts Disney among its past clients, designed the experience. Moment Factory executive director Jonathan St-Onge thanked Disney Theatrical Group and Lightstorm Entertainment for “trusting us with their iconic story world.” He added that his team studied Avatar closely so the experience would feel authentic to visitors.
The journey opens in two Pandoran settings, a rainforest and a coastal reef. Guests wander at their own pace and interact with installations built around the plants and animals of Pandora. A live acrobatic show follows, telling the Na’vi cycle of life through choreography, cinematic imagery, and large-scale acts. Niagara Parks says no other experience has combined large-scale multimedia environments with live acrobatics in one continuous journey.
The show closes on connection and the spirit of life itself. Guests will leave with a stronger sense of community, according to Niagara Parks. Niagara Parks has shared these details so far:
- Opening date: May 17th, 2027
- Location: a performance site at Table Rock Centre in Niagara Falls
- Performances: scheduled through early September 2027
- Tickets: release dates will be announced in the coming months, and fans can join the waitlist through Fever, the production’s official ticketing provider
Disney Theatrical Group’s Growing Immersive Lineup
Disney Theatrical Group, a division of The Walt Disney Studios, now counts AVATAR: Guardians of Eywa among its immersive attractions. The lineup includes Mundo Pixar Experience, Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas Light Trail, The Rocky Horror Picture Show at Sphere, and Secret Cinema’s Pirates of the Caribbean: The Immersive Adventure. Led by Andrew Flatt and Anne Quart, the group reaches nearly 40 million guests across 300 cities each year.
Angelo Desimini, senior vice president of licensed partnerships and brand management at Disney Theatrical Group, spoke to the franchise’s strengths. He said, “From the beginning, Avatar has been about world-building, emotion, and innovation.” Magic Walk, he said, turns those qualities into a live experience.
Disney and Lightstorm Entertainment have teamed up to create Pandora before. Pandora – The World of Avatar opened at Disney’s Animal Kingdom on May 27th, 2017. It was a collaboration between Walt Disney Imagineering and Lightstorm Entertainment. Guardians of Eywa carries that partnership from a theme park land to a walkthrough theatrical experience built to travel to guests around the world.
What Avatar Immersive Theater Could Mean for Disney California Adventure
Avatar is also headed to Disney California Adventure. Disney confirmed in 2023 that Disney California Adventure will host its Avatar experience. At D23 Expo 2026, Walt Disney Imagineering showed a model that confirms Disney still plans the Avatar destination for the park. Imagineers told us the model represents only a portion of the full land. The complete scope remains unclear until Disney shares more.
In terms of how this particular production could tie into the new land, it could be used to explore how immersive entertainment could live within the land. One of the shortcomings of Pandora – The World of Avatar is the lack of entertainment in the land. While the land itself is certainly on a pedestal, Disney hasn’t been able to figure out where live entertainment fits into the experience.
Back in 2018, Disney debuted the Pandora Utility Suit interactive character. Prior to that, Disney debuted the Swotu Wayä drum circle show. Neither entertainment offering is available today in a land that feels a little devoid of life. Exploring how Avatar can be presented to guests in new ways, such as AVATAR: Guardians of Eywa, could be beneficial to the future of Pandora – The World of Avatar in Animal Kingdom, and the Avatar-themed land coming to Disney California Adventure.
Keep Reading
- Imagineers told us the Avatar destination model at D23 Expo 2026 shows only a portion of the land coming to Disney California Adventure, and our report covers what the model reveals so far.
- Disney first said Pandora was headed west when it placed the Avatar experience at Disney California Adventure, and our original report covers that announcement.
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!