MK Villains Land Announced for Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom

[Andrew C]

but also want a VelociCoaster level coaster themed to a character from Sleeping Beauty.

I missed this...who said that?

 

[bmr1591]

I think it’s hilarious that people argued tooth and nail that Princess and the Frog shouldn’t be the theme of a thrill ride, but also want a VelociCoaster level coaster themed to a character from Sleeping Beauty.

One is focused on the Villain of a movie. The other is focused on the princess of the movie and completely removes the villain from even appearing.

 

[Andrew C]

It's not going to happen, but I really was imagining a roller coaster like Hagrids, but a little more intense. Intentional slows for show scenes and such. It could have been a story of the villains coming together with a plan to invade Fantasyland and take control of the Magic Kingdom. You could have had an assortment of villains in tow, each attempting to carry out their part of the plan (with all the silly hijinks that includes). You could have had the drop with 'WRONG LEVER!', while also rushing through an enclosed tunnels "underwater" with screens showing Ursula enacting her plan all around you. And as you reached the climax of the ride, the massive Maleficent Dragon animatronic arises and it seems they're going to be successful. Then Mickey saves the day or something. But that would let you showcase a ton of different villains in a somewhat cohesive story on a thrill ride.

I don't understand why some on here are so adverse to thrill rides in Magic Kingdom. I get that MK appeals to families with young kids, but they've got 95% of the rides already appealing to them. It's not a sin to have something that appeals more toward an older market.


Also, if you're going to make an Emperor's New Groove Coaster, put it in Tropical Americas. It makes way more sense there.

Hagrid's level means a 48 inch height requirement...and apparently they want it accessible to more. I honestly cannot blame them. But it also should go beyond Slinky, so I hope that was just a poor example in the article.

 

[The Leader of the Club]

I missed this...who said that

It was a comment on BlogMickey’s Twitter post.

 

[Casper Gutman]

What would “edgy” look like here? Frollo’s L*st-O-Coaster? (Today I learned this site blocks the word Lu*t.)

And basing a ride on an underutilized IP is great! It’s second only to original IP rides in things we should want.

 

[DrStarlander]

This land should ABSOLUTELY NOT be a “horror” land. What Disney films have people been watching?

I think you're arguing against a straw man. I have never seen anyone argue for a "horror" land.

The land needs a central and consistent relationship-context between the guests and the villains, an aspect of continuity which transcends across our interactions with all villains. For example, they're all trying to kill us, or they're all trying to recruit us. (And they should do the latter not the former). Each villain would do this central thing in very different ways based on their personalities, but the consistency of "the relationship" would make the land interpretable by guests. It would be a framework that makes sense of everything and why we are there and creates enough expectation, yet leaving enough open until we've experienced it. It provide fodder for all the character meet-and-greet interactions, and all the times characters address us directly on attractions.

The main attraction should be the battle for our loyalty writ large (epic, you might say) and they could either recruit us in the queue -- literally we go into different villain-specific pre shows -- or at the end we choose a villain to be loyal to by exiting through a villain-specific exit with a walk-through scene coda.

 

[Bleed0range]

Personally I think it should be an attraction that focuses on all the villains with a classic Disney emphasis like Fantasmic the ride with Maleficient at the center.

This just sounds like a big mistake. I mean, Emperors New Groove? Lately imagineering feels like they’re looking at the internet fan community who will sometimes post things like the picture of Kronk and whatsername on the coaster and say “I’d love a real roller coaster of this…” just because the movie features a coaster gag.

Personally, I don’t think that film carries enough weight for its own main attraction.

 

[Casper Gutman]

I think you're arguing against a straw man. I have never seen anyone argue for a "horror" land.

The land needs a central and consistent relationship-context between the guests and the villains, an aspect of continuity which transcends across our interactions with all villains. For example, they're all trying to kill us, or they're all trying to recruit us. (And they should do the latter not the former). Each villain would do this central thing in very different ways based on their personalities, but the consistency of "the relationship" would make the land interpretable by guests. It would be a framework that makes sense of everything and why we are there and creates enough expectation, yet leaving enough open until we've experienced it. It provide fodder for all the character meet-and-greet interactions, and all the times characters address us directly on attractions.

The main attraction should be the battle for our loyalty writ large (epic, you might say) and they could either recruit us in the queue -- literally we go into different villain-specific pre shows -- or at the end we choose a villain to be loyal to by exiting through a villain-specific exit with a walk-through scene coda.

No, the land doesn’t need any of that. It needs a bunch of rides based on Disney villains with a broadly unified aesthetic. You’re doing the post-Potter thing where every land needs to be based on a single IP with coherent lore. That’s not how the Disney parks were built.

 

[Surferboy567]

I will say though, it’s a weird choice for the coaster and I wouldn’t have picked it personally.

The Mal boat ride I think is fine, it’s just weird if the land has two rides and they picked…Yzma as the headliner when so many more villains exist that is definitely strange

 

[nickys]

The author is Drew Taylor from Fine Tooning, btw.

And is he known as an insider, is he reliable with news like this?

He seems to be giving very specific information, but is it credible? I’m very uncertain about this now that I‘ve read through it.

 

[co10064]

Ironic that as Disney has loosened the central themes of each park, they have double downed on attraction styles/intensity levels.

Why not give MK something more thrilling?
Why not give DHS something more family-friendly?

I’m sorry, but a coaster on the thrill level of SDD is so disappointing in the MK. BTMRR, SDMT, and SM all already hover around that level. Why do we need another coaster of that intensity? Why not try to pull some weight off of TRON?

I never expected horror, jump scares, or genuinely frightening moments within this land, but tense moments à la ToT or even Dinosaur would’ve been appreciated.

 

[Casper Gutman]

I will say though, it’s a weird choice for the coaster and I wouldn’t have picked it personally.

The Mal boat ride I think is fine, it’s just weird if the land has two rides and they picked…Yzma as the headliner when so many more villains exist that is definitely strange

Yzma and Kronk are funny, visually unique characters from a strong film that isn’t represented in the parks. It’s a good choice. I’d rather have, say, a Mad Madame Mim ride then one based on overused character.

My anticipation would be skyrocketing if it weren’t for Lazy pointing out some very troubling red flags.

 

[Casper Gutman]

And is he known as an insider, is he reliable with news like this?

He seems to be giving very specific information, but is it credible? I’m very uncertain about this now that I‘ve read through it.

Marni liked the post.

 

[Ichabod Crane]

All I’ll say is, I don’t find it particularly likely that about two months ago, Imagineers were told to totally rework the land with budget secondary to make it bigger and bolder

……and they finish the plans in less than 2 months and the only major changes were the coaster was downgraded and the dark ride was slightly enhanced.

The timeline just isn’t adding up nor is the central rumor of the land getting a balls to the wall upgrade.

 

[JD80]

I like what I read, I just don't understand th Emporers New Groove as a choice. Maybe it's wat more popular than I think it is.

Hades restaurant sounds great and the boat ride sounds exciting too.

 

[Casper Gutman]

Ironic that as Disney has loosened the central themes of each park, they have double downed on attraction styles/intensity levels.

Why not give MK something more thrilling?
Why not give DHS something more family-friendly?

I’m sorry, but a coaster on the thrill level of SDD is so disappointing in the MK. BTMRR, SDMT, and SM all already hover around that level. Why do we need another coaster of that intensity? Why not try to pull some weight off of TRON?

I never expected horror, jump scares, or genuinely frightening moments within this land, but tense moments à la ToT or even Dinosaur would’ve been appreciated.

The Disney parks should not be thrill coasters parks. The idea that a land based on Disney animated films should have a thrill coasters is silly.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Is there any hope that a river with a working steamboat could be added to the land?

A dream is a wish your heart makes

 

[Timothy_Q]

Also makes zero sense that according to this report, the request to change the plans happened post holidays, so im assuming January, and it hasn't even been 2 months and they already have ALL these details about the new plans?

 

[doctornick]

Hagrid's level means a 48 inch height requirement...and apparently they want it accessible to more. I honestly cannot blame them. But it also should go beyond Slinky, so I hope that was just a poor example in the article.

Yeah. I think BTMRR is the level to aim for here. It can have launches instead of lift hills but should have length and theming on par with Thunder Mountain

 

[rle4lunch]

Was there any mention to the 'spinner-esque' ride they were planning for Piston Peak getting plussed up? Because, hey, what's a 6th (count dumbo x2) spinner gonna hurt?

There's a reason why luigi's dumb dance party and maters junkyard jamboree are nearly always less than 15 min wait and why RSR is always a 90 min wait.