Some pretty massive changes are coming to Magic Kingdom.
Villains Land Concept Art
©Disney
Disney has confirmed two new lands are coming to Magic Kingdom — a Villains Land and a Cars Land! These new lands will undoubtedly include multiple new attractions, restaurants, and tons of new merch. Now, even though they’ve confirmed a TON, there is one attraction we’d love come to these new expansions as well!
As we were saying, at the Destination D23 event in September 2023, Josh D’Amaro, the president of Disney Experiences, confirmed that Disney would be bringing both a Villains Land and a Cars Land to Magic Kingdom. So, let’s look at what has already been confirmed for these lands and then we can get into what we’re hoping Disney will bring to the park too!
About the Villains Land, Disney has shared that TWO major attractions, along with new dining and shopping experiences will be presented “on an incredibly twisted grand scale.”
©Disney — Will this be where the new dining and shopping experiences will be?
We’re still waiting for all the official deets on the new attractions, restaurants, gift shops, and more, but that didn’t stop us from trying to do a deep dive into the concept art for all the tasty tidbits we could find. Now as to where it’ll be located, Disney shared that “guests will be able to venture Beyond Big Thunder Mountain into an all-new land dedicated to Disney Villains.”
RCID Comprehensive Plan map and map of Magic Kingdom’s Frontierland
So, yes! We finally got confirmation that it’ll be past Big Thunder Mountain Railroad!
Now, let’s go over what’s confirmed about the Cars Land.
©Disney
This new land will bring with it two NEW Cars attractions! For the first attraction, we’re going to race through the mountains on wild terrain along mountain trails as we dodge geysers and splash through mud holes. The second ride will be geared toward “smaller racers” and will be fun for the whole family!
As to where this land is going to go, Disney shared that this new land will be replacing Tom Sawyer Island and the Rivers of America in Frontierland.
Map of where the new Cars area will be
While we don’t have an official timeline for when the Cars expansion will open, Disney has already confirmed that work on the area will begin in early 2025, and we saw that the first permits were filed in August 2024 to start the process.
Now, both of these lands sound great and all, but let’s talk about what we’re dreaming of for Magic Kingdom: A proper villains dark ride. Let’s go over some of the ideas we had for this ride:
- A “Fantasia” Villains Dark Ride: Could you imagine stepping into the swirling, mysterious world of Fantasia’s dark elements? Picture the Night on Bald Mountain scene, with Chernabog towering over you, summoning spirits and flames. The whole thing could be this eerie, orchestral experience with stunning visuals and immersive special effects. In our opinion, Fantasia is iconic, and honestly, it deserves to get its time in the spotlight.
©Disney
- A Trip to the Underworld with Hades: We need a ride that lets us take a trip to the Underworld, guided by none other than Hades himself, right?? Can you imagine his sarcastic one-liners as he takes you on a wild, fiery adventure through the realm of the dead? The humor, the fire effects, the possibility of run-ins with some of the most iconic Disney villains? Yes, please!
©Disney
- Maleficent’s Lair: Let’s not forget about the queen of all Disney villains — Maleficent. What if there was a ride that took us deep into her forbidden fortress, with thorns, fire-breathing dragons, and, of course, that iconic transformation scene? We’re all here for it, right?
©Disney
These baddies aside, these new lands are really going to change the look and feel of Magic Kingdom forever!
Until then, stay tuned to Disney Food Blog, where we will continue to monitor any news about the construction that will happen in Magic Kingdom.
When Is Villains Land Opening in Disney World?
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I want a coaster going to Izma’s secret lab! Pull the lever, Cronk! Wrong lever, why do we have that?
I agree with Beautiful Gorgeous!
Yes! Izma’s lair. Exactly. That one struck me as being written so it could be turned into a ride almost as much as the “doors” scene in Monsters.