We are about to see some HUGE changes coming to Disney Parks.
We recently learned about some plans that Disney has for both Disney World and Disneyland, as well as learned a little more about some new offerings coming to Disney Cruise Line. Then, Disney decided to blow everyone’s minds by announcing it was going to spend $60 billion in the Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products segment of the company over the next 10 years. So what could Disney do with all that money? Let’s take a look.
The past 10 years
Let’s look at what Disney has done in the Parks, Experiences, and Products segment over the past decade on about HALF the budget it’s talking about here. Both Disney World and Disneyland both got HUGE expansions with Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, featuring two new attractions. Hollywood Studios also got two new attractions with Toy Story Land. Pandora — with its two attractions — was added to Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
Both Disneyland and Disneyland Paris also got Marvel-themed expansions with Avengers Campus (and a new attraction is headed to Avengers Campus in Disneyland in Anaheim). A reimagined area, San Fransokyo Square, just opened in Disneyland. A Frozen-themed land will be opening soon for Hong Kong Disneyland, with a similar land coming to Disneyland Paris and Tokyo DisneySea. Tokyo DisneySea is also getting a huge expansion.
EPCOT has undergone a massive transformation. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is coming to Disneyland and Magic Kingdom. Several Disney hotels AROUND the world are getting reimagined. Disney Cruise Line has added one new ship, the Wish, with plans to add more.
Whew — that is a lot — and we didn’t even mention EVERYTHING. But like we said, the budget this time around has more than doubled.
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What’s next?
Disney has made a statement about its big investment: “The Company is developing plans to accelerate and expand investment in its DPEP segment, to nearly double, as compared to the previous approximately 10-year period, consolidated capital expenditures for the segment over the course of an approximately 10-year period to approximately $60 billion in aggregate, including by investing in expanding and enhancing domestic and international parks and cruise line capacity, prioritizing projects anticipated to generate strong returns, consistent with the Company’s continuing approach to allocate capital in a disciplined and balanced manner.”
Disney also shared in a report that there are more than 1,000 acres of land available for future expansions at its theme parks, spread out across the world. The land available could equal a total of seven new Disneylands.
Disney has made some announcements as to what’s coming next in Disney Parks and for Disney Cruise Line, and some of the things we’ve already mentioned as coming soon could be part of the $60 billion expansion. So let’s look at what’s already been confirmed for Disney Parks in the future. We’ll start with the Magic Kingdom expansion that Disney says will be the largest expansion EVER for Magic Kingdom.
The new expansion will be on a scale similar to Pandora and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, with new shows, attractions, and restaurants. Disney has previously floated around “Blue Sky” ideas for the expansion, including Encanto, Coco, or a Disney villains-inspired expansion. However, the Encanto idea might be reserved for the reimagining of DinoLand, U.S.A. in Animal Kingdom, a project that was also confirmed by the company. The theme will be the Tropical Americas.
Disneyland will also be getting a new Marvel-themed attraction, as we previously mentioned, but now that the DisneylandForward project is moving forward, Disney is teasing a potential Frozen land for that resort. A Wakanda/Black Panther-themed project has also been mentioned as a possibility for the West Coast.
This could be an opportunity for Disney to bring in some attractions and updates that were previously announced, but either postponed or potentially canceled. That includes a Mary Poppins attraction in EPCOT, Wondrous China, and an update to Spaceship Earth, all of which which were initially planned as part of EPCOT’s transformation.
That could also include Reflections — A Disney Lakeside Lodge that seems to have been canceled (although recent permits filed could suggest otherwise). Disney may also already have plans on what to do with the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser Hotel that’s closing soon.
Disney also has HUGE plans for Disney Cruise Line. Three new ships are on the way, plus a new private beach club. One of those new ships will be the first Disney ship to sail from Singapore and throughout Southeast Asia. Each new ship will bring a variety of new restaurants, entertainment, and more to Disney Cruise Line.
Finally, we know how everyone would love for Disney to announce a fifth park at Disney World. With the Magic Kingdom expansion already being planned, will we get another park? Well, if we want to speculate, it COULD happen, and this budget would certainly help Disney see through a project as big as that. However, we’ll say the focus seems to be on adding to existing parks, so we won’t be holding our breath.
Disney Teases NEW Details on HUGE Magic Kingdom Expansion
So where will all that money go? Well, beyond what Disney has already announced and confirmed, we can’t be sure. However, Disney’s theme parks and Disney Cruise Line are about to see a lot of new things over the next ten years, and that has us really excited.
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What do you think Disney will spend all that money on? Let us know in the comments!
beautiful gorgeous says
I vote for ride maintenance. It’s disappointing for the rides to break down for hours or not open at all while you are on vacation. On one occassion, my family spent 3 hours in line for rise of the resistance that broke down 3-4 times while we were in line. My family begged me not to get out of line. The next we were there it broke down while we were in line for 20 min, everybody looked for the exit doors that time.
Jack Savedge says
I thought Disney had taken the position that they weren’t investing another dollar in Florida as long as Ron DeSantis was the Governor of Florida. Last thing Florida residents knew was that Disney was that they were looking in North Carolina.
Todd says
I’d rather see existing attractions updated (eg. the announcement related to Test Track) and improved maintenance/refurbishments to worn out attractions (eg. People Mover) as opposed to expansions. Let’s improve or fix what’s there rather than add new lands and structures (eg. abandoned Wonders of Life) DinoLand is the exception to this for me as that area has needed a reinventing since the day it opened.
I’m concerned that any expansion in Magic Kingdom will only make an already crowded park feel more crowded. Just think about the mess for fireworks and parades in the hub if the overall park capacity were to increase. That sounds like a recipe for a miserable guest experience.