Disney just dropped TONS of huge news, but they left out a couple of super important details!
Hey there, Cinderella Castle!
We didn’t hear anything about the Starcruiser hotel and what might fill in that space after it closes, and Disney was also quiet about the specific opening date for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure in Disney World and Disneyland. However, there was one HUGE announcement that everyone REALLY wanted Disney to make…but they didn’t. 😢
We’re STILL waiting for more news about the VILLAINS land in Magic Kingdom that Disney teased back in 2022 at the D23 Expo!
Mother Gothel
At the D23 Expo, some Disney executives talked about “potential expansion opportunities” for Magic Kingdom. All of the things they discussed were “Blue Sky” ideas, meaning there weren’t any solidified plans in place — Disney was just speculating and brainstorming. One of those ideas was for a villains-themed land!
Maleficent dragon
Disney talked about the “other side of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad” as being the main point of expansion, with lands themed to Coco, Encanto, and/or Disney villains.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Jennifer Lee (Chief Creative Officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios) said, “We love to hate, and sometimes love to adore, obsessively love to adore…our villains.”
In 2022, Disney warned that these projects were in the VERY early stages of development, but Josh D’Amaro (Chairman of the Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products) said, “We are not up here daydreaming. It’s important to me that you know that these things…they are very real.”
Chairman, Disney Parks, Experiences and Products Josh D’Amaro
Naturally, everyone got SUPER excited about this villains-themed land, and we’ve been anxiously waiting for more news ever since. We expected to hear more about it at this year’s Destination D23 event, which took place from Saturday, September 9th, through Sunday, September 10th.
During this year’s event, Disney talked about a Magic Kingdom expansion, but they completely left out any mention of the villains-themed land. Bruce Vaughn (Chief Creative Officer of Walt Disney Imagineering) said that the future expansion plans for Magic Kingdom are the “largest ever” for the park and reiterated that they’re focusing on the area “beyond Big Thunder Mountain.”
Magic Kingdom
However, Vaughn didn’t give too many other details. He just said that the expansion will be on a similar scale to the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge land in Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Pandora – The World of Avatar in Disney’s Animal Kingdom. It’ll bring new attractions, restaurants, shows, and more.
Galaxy’s Edge
So WHEN will we hear more about a villains land? Well, the project that was mentioned back in 2022 is just a “Blue Sky” project, so there’s nothing guaranteed at all. Disney might be working on plans behind the scenes, or they may have scrapped it altogether to go a different direction.
We can still dream, though, right? When the concept art for this new land came out, we did a deep dive to see what we could learn from it.
The concept art shows different lands, including a Coco plaza and an Encanto area. But look towards the back, and you’ll see the villains portion!
Possible Land Expansion in Magic Kingdom
It looks like there might be a big gate at the entrance, with lots of foliage and landscaping. There appear to be some buildings and spires in the distance, with a big one right in the middle. Could that be Maleficent’s castle on the Forbidden Mountain?
Villains Land Teased
There’s a spooky green haze over the whole area, which is definitely on brand for our favorite villains.
Click here to go on a DEEP DIVE with us into the Magic Kingdom expansion concept art!
We’ll be waiting to hear when/if Disney decides to move forward with the villains land theme, and we’ll for sure be keeping our fingers crossed!
A Villains-themed land?!
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I wonder. Am I the only one who isn’t interested in a Villains Land?
Would love to see a Villian’s Land! Fingers crossed!
Well, I suspect that you are in the minority. But that’s okay, it leaves more room in a Villain’s Land (if it ever happens) for me and some other folks. I hope that one of the new portions will be very exciting for you.
I’m not particularly interested in Villains’ Land either. What I want is a return to the 180-day ADR window and the dropping of the Prix Fixe menu at the California Grill
What I am waiting impatiently to hear from Disney is that they are making a change to the Genie Plus. They will either eliminate it completely or keep it as is but give us the opportunity to choose three rides a day at all parks well in advance of our arrival. Disney will still make their money on the Genie Plus and we will all have the convenience that we have been asking for. What does everyone think about this option?
Never going to happen. It was just talk in reaction to Universal’s new park soon opening.
Disney’s underlying problem that won’t go away is that the company is totally void of creative vision these days. It shows in everything they do, not the least of in their rehashing of their intellectual property and horrible quality of their MANY recent productions. These guys can’t do anything right these days.
Heck, they even pre-judged and fired Johnny Depp from their ONLY successful live action franchise in recent history…because of their woke leanings.
I have a hard time getting excited by anything announced at D23. There have been so many times when something new was announced and then it didn’t happen (aka Mary Poppins ride at GB in Epcot). I know that a global pandemic really hurt a lot of future plans, but I get the feeling things are just mentioned to see what kind of feedback they get.
Call me cynical, but until the ugly construction walls go up, I’m not holding my breath on what’s announced at D23. Well… unless they announce a retro-fit of Journey into Imagination to something close to its original, then I might get a bit excited.
Maybe they got rid of Johnny depp because he was in court so much fighting with his girlfriend. I was really hoping that park hopping would go back to normal. The covid virus is here to stay; get used to it. They don’t close the parks each year due to the flu and that kills a lot of kids and adults every year (I’m speaking as a nurse). Park hopping would bring us back to normal and bring back the magic.