The future of Disney seems to be an exciting one as far as the theme parks are concerned!
Cinderella Castle
Disney CEO Bob Iger recently participated in aQ&A session at the MoffettNathanson Media, Internet & Communications Conference. Here, he shared some insight on the Disney Park expansions as well as what theming those might entail.
Over the course of the lengthy discussion, Iger touched on numerous topics including changes to the company’s streaming strategy, the importance of theme parks to their overall financial bottom line, the increased usage of IP in said theme parks, and even took the time to take some shots at his once successor-turned-predecessor.
©Disney
Iger went on to stress that Disney is going to “turbocharge” their parks in the next decade or so, with a goal of integrating new intellectual properties at a quicker pace, a strategy inspired by recent success. “For quite a long time, new attractions and lands at the parks were based on, essentially, either very old IP or no IP — just an attraction. And, starting really with Carsland and Toy Story and a few others… we decided that almost all of our investment in the parks in terms of attractions and lands would be using that IP. And it’s very very clear what that delivered.”
Slinky Dog Dash in Toy Story Land
So, now that Iger has confirmed that future refurbishments and expansions will be IP-based, it got us thinking about the rides that we could see at Disney World soon. We already know that Disney’s Animal Kingdom will soon see a DinoLand, U.S.A. re-theme, and a Magic Kingdom expansion is also in talks.
DinoLand U.S.A.
As for the Animal Kingdom re-theme, we know that Disney is theming it to the Tropical Americas with IP like Encanto, Coco, and we could even see Zootopia. We realized that a major hint at what we could expect to see here — and all the Disney Parks in general — could be found in researching Disney’s most popular IP!
©Disney
IMDBPro has a curated list of all of Disney’s highest-grossing movies and franchises in the United States and Canada as of 2023. Wouldn’t it make sense for Disney to expand upon the franchises they already know perform well financially?! That being said, let’s take a look at some of the things that COULD be put at Disney World based on the dollar signs.
©IMDB
So…what do we think could come to Disney World soon, you ask?
Zootopia
When it comes to Zootopia, we’re kind of cheating. While the data above does support the idea that Zootopia could be a good choice when it comes to bringing revenue back to the parks, Disney also shared that the “It’s Tough to Be a Bug” attraction at Animal Kingdom could be re-themed to Zootopia.
©Disney
Based on the fact that the movie grossed over $341 million, we’d say there’s a pretty high likelihood of this actually happening. Shanghai Disney opened its own Zootopia Land in December of 2023…could Disney World follow?
Big Hero 6
Big Hero 6 is Disney’s 5th-highest grossing movie as of 2023, and its popularity seems to be on the rise, especially since Disney California Adventure now has theming from the movie. Based on its performance in the box office and whether or not it continues to perform at DCA, there’s a chance that we could see IP at Disney World!
San Fransokyo Square
It could go in the Japan Pavilion of EPCOT, in a Magic Kingdom expansion, the possibilities are endless. We’ve seen quite a bit more Big Hero 6 merchandise at Disney World recently to, so this could also point to the fact that we could be getting something bigger!
Tangled
We will scream it until we are blue in the face. TANGLED DESERVES MORE THAN A BATHROOM IN MAGIC KINGDOM. The film saw major box office success and has grossed more than $200 million in its lifetime. The film got its very first ride at Tokyo DisneySea’s Fantasy Springs, and based on the success at a smaller-scale park, we could see it arrive to Disney World.
It’s so beautiful!
This is another attraction that could go in numerous places. Hopefully, though, we can see it show up eventually. The Tokyo attraction was gorgeous, and it needs to happen in the United States FAST.
While the numbers point to these things happening at Disney World, and these are the things that we’d honestly LIKE to see happen at Disney World, Disney is in the business of surprising us. We keep up with Disney news 25/8, so make sure to follow along with us here at DFB so that you’re always in the loop.
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Progress. Great news.
I agree 10000% Tangled deserves more than just a bathroom
I also think that HS should turn Animation Courtyard into a 90’s movie area. Little Mermaid is already in progress. Then maybe an indoor dark ride for Aladin (We all wanna travel through the cave of wonders!). Something Lion King themed or Beauty & The Beast. Or whatever other 90’s movies I’m not thinking of.
I just think that area needs a general theme. It’s currently home to a hodge podge of things that don’t go together. Since it’s called ANIMATION courtyard, make it a new home for all the much loved 90s movies.
If Disney wants to do IP stuff, I’d like to see them not only use newer stuff, but go back to some of the classics as well. Just like Tangled deserves more than a bathroom, Aladin deserves more than magic carpets & spitting camels