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

[Stupido]

I think I would be more okay with them positioning this as their answer to Berk if they weren't already building their answer to Berk right down the street.

A Kids Coaster that seems more intense than it is (launch vs suspended track)
A highly immersive land with animatronics bringing creatures to life (dragons vs monsters)
Unique viral dining options (mac n cheese cone vs harryhausen's)

It just feels like they're building the same land twice with reskins. They pitched this as their ability to run wild with "twisted inspiration", but this sounds like the least inspired thing they've done in a while. And with the claims of thinking "bigger and bolder", this doesn't sound like either. A Maleficent coaster -> Yzma coaster is a downgrade. I'm a millennial, and while ENG is popular with some pockets of us, the majority of my peers have zero idea who Yzma is. She deserves a place in the land no doubt, but to have one of only 3 attractions dedicated to her seems ludicrous. Especially when Aladdin, Lion King, and Hercules still have zero (meaningful) attractions dedicated to them.

We'll see how this develops I guess..

 

[monothingie]

Dear WDI, you've really screwed up recently, like really bad, but you have an opportunity to completely redeem yourself with Kronk and Yzma

I know he's waiting...

 

[Mike S]

When I say edgy, I don't mean adult edgy. I mean appealing more than to the 5 year old. They have an opportunity to make this really cool...not cheesy.

A Monsters Unchained style ride with the Disney Villains wouldn’t even be that edgy because the change in characters is already a lowering in tone just by itself. I honestly don’t know what they’re thinking changing the tone of the land to match Berk.

 

[doctornick]

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.

Yeah. Is there some sort of central storyline for Fantasyland? We really don’t need to have a more coherent plot for Villains beyond a bunch of them got together.

 

[MisterPenguin]

With all the iconic villians they have to choose from I have hard time believing they are going to do a ride based on The Emperor's New Groove.

If it's a "Villains Coaster," it may have more than one IP villain in the mix. For whatever coaster drop or water ride chute, all that is needed from The Emperor's New Groove is "pull the lever Gronk."

Maybe if TENG is being tapped for this, we'll then see Gronk/Yzma in Tropical Americas some time in the future.

 

[Ichabod Crane]

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?

Yeah there’s just way too many inconsistencies with these new rumors for me. The timelines, the fact that very little in this proposal was actually “plussed” as the initial rumor suggested.

To be blunt, the rumors presented here read like an old pitch for the land that were scrapped awhile ago.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Tom C. not only vigorously denies there's been any change, he just made a video to reamplify his position in a self identified "rant."


If this is all true, look forward to a permit to put entertainment past the berm. That's technically "bigger" in "think bigger."


"More family-friendly" strikes me as par for the course with MK. It's like the original debate over the original Haunted Mansion whether to be adult scary or cartoonishly scary. It's the same lesson with The Extraterrorestrial. Not even Stitch could make that family-friendly enough.

If true, I'm sure that there will be some adults saddened it's not scary-scary. But, making it family-friendly, like Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, is best for MK.

 

[Jack Torrence]

I think my biggest problem with all of these plans isn't even in the attractions themselves, it's what was said about the new tone of the land. "Brighter, more family friendly" sets off alarm bells for me. Disney has been doing this thing recently where they're really, really afraid of making it seem like you're in any sense of peril on any of their attractions (see: Tiana's, Tron, Encanto, Guardians, etc.). A land based around villains, frankly, SHOULD have the more Darkmoor or Nocturne Alley aesthetic attached to it. Personally, I don't even believe Monsters Unchained is even slightly frightening and would be a great tone for a villains ride to hit (I actually think Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey is much scarier). Making Villains Land into just New Fantasy Land with black paint and Captain Hook walking around wouldn't differentiate it enough. I hope they're using Berk as a reference point for scale and not vibes too.

It sucks that the coaster is being tamed down, as I expected it to be more on the levels of Guardians, but it makes sense if that's not the e-ticket anymore and the dark ride is. I hope the Maleficent ride is a little more intense and is something along the lines of Dinosaur, Monsters Unchained or Tower of Terror and not something where they don't want to even vaguely creep people out. But, I also understand that the real reason they won't go that way is they're afraid of missing out on LL revenue if someone as young as 5 is too scared to ride it. IDK, I think it's okay to have stuff that scares kids (heck, it's some of my best memories and times I've laughed the hardest about looking back), but I understand not everyone feels that way.

 

[doctornick]

I’d be happy with the themes I’ve heard. But that’s just me.

This is the most important post on the thread today. And it gives me hope.

 

[Casper Gutman]

Looking at reactions across multiple sites, a lot of adult Disney fans seem to have forgotten what the parks are supposed to be. They want the parks to cater to them personally to the exclusion of others and a lot seem to want more “mature” content, at least in part, I suspect, because at some level they’re self-conscious about being really into something a lot of people stigmatize as childish.

If these new plans are real, it’s a good thing. The bad thing is height-restricted coasters based on Muppets and Monsters, Inc.

 

[co10064]

I think I would be more okay with them positioning this as their answer to Berk if they weren't already building their answer to Berk right down the street.

A Kids Coaster that seems more intense than it is (launch vs suspended track)
A highly immersive land with animatronics bringing creatures to life (dragons vs monsters)
Unique viral dining options (mac n cheese cone vs harryhausen's)

It just feels like they're building the same land twice with reskins. They pitched this as their ability to run wild with "twisted inspiration", but this sounds like the least inspired thing they've done in a while. And with the claims of thinking "bigger and bolder", this doesn't sound like either. A Maleficent coaster -> Yzma coaster is a downgrade. I'm a millennial, and while ENG is popular with some pockets of us, the majority of my peers have zero idea who Yzma is. She deserves a place in the land no doubt, but to have one of only 3 attractions dedicated to her seems ludicrous. Especially when Aladdin, Lion King, and Hercules still have zero (meaningful) attractions dedicated to them.

We'll see how this develops I guess..

100% agree.
“Bigger and bolder” but down-grading the coaster?

If the Shanghai Pirates rumors are true, that attraction has no height requirement but gets amazing reviews. Why not use that ride system for the dark ride but keep the coaster thrilling?

And I thought the whole point of the Cars area was two approachable/marketable attractions for families to offset the more thrilling or intense attractions of Villains.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

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.

That’s what you want - a mix of A-E attractions that will appeal and be accessible to all different guests.

Flat rides also add kinetic energy - it’s why the carousel is always centered so you see it moving beyond the castle.

 

[Casper Gutman]

I think I would be more okay with them positioning this as their answer to Berk if they weren't already building their answer to Berk right down the street.

A Kids Coaster that seems more intense than it is (launch vs suspended track)
A highly immersive land with animatronics bringing creatures to life (dragons vs monsters)
Unique viral dining options (mac n cheese cone vs harryhausen's)

It just feels like they're building the same land twice with reskins. They pitched this as their ability to run wild with "twisted inspiration", but this sounds like the least inspired thing they've done in a while. And with the claims of thinking "bigger and bolder", this doesn't sound like either. A Maleficent coaster -> Yzma coaster is a downgrade. I'm a millennial, and while ENG is popular with some pockets of us, the majority of my peers have zero idea who Yzma is. She deserves a place in the land no doubt, but to have one of only 3 attractions dedicated to her seems ludicrous. Especially when Aladdin, Lion King, and Hercules still have zero (meaningful) attractions dedicated to them.

We'll see how this develops I guess..

Monsters Land isn’t remotely comparable to Berk. It’s a poorly conceived coaster surrounded by a budget-minded repainting of an existing area.

 

[ManicMillennial]

I have a theory about what is happening in this article. I think someone got ahold of some random bits of information and ideas that may or may not have been scrapped and pasted together what they heard into a vision of what is happening in villain’s land.

I think saying they want it more like Isle of Burke is about scale instead of theme (although I do think Villain’s will be more campy than anything else)

I suspect one of the rides will have a drop possibly like the one in the Hagrid coster that will be triggered by a Ysma “pull the lever” moment but it won’t be a completely Emperor’s New Groove themed ride.

Malifacent will likely be the main villain of the dark ride but not the only villain. She’s probably the star of the main narrative that strings all the scenes together.

 

[Jack Torrence]

Tom C. not only vigorously denies there's been any change, he just made a video to reamplify his position in a self identified "rant."


If this is all true, look forward to a permit to put entertainment past the berm. That's technically "bigger" in "think bigger."


"More family-friendly" strikes me as par for the course with MK. It's like the original debate over the original Haunted Mansion whether to be adult scary or cartoonishly scary. It's the same lesson with The Extraterrorestrial. Not even Stitch could make that family-friendly enough.

If true, I'm sure that there will be some adults saddened it's not scary-scary. But, making it family-friendly, like Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, is best for MK.

I'm with this. I mean I'm disappointed and think that if you're doing villains land it should probably at least be spooky and somewhat intimidating, but you will miss out on the lightning lane revenue from families with young kids. Part of me feels like this would have been a much better fit over in Hollywood Studios where they could have pushed a little further. I don't think it needs to be Alien Encounter scary, but it would have been nice for it to be the same tone as Darkmoor, which I think isn't too dark for kids at all (well... besides the vampire restaurant haha).

 

[doctornick]

That’s what you want - a mix of A-E attractions that will appeal and be accessible to all different guests.

Flat rides also add kinetic energy - it’s why the carousel is always centered so you see it moving beyond the castle.

I’ll add that Maters is pretty much a perfect example of a solid complimentary flat ride. I’d love to see a “third ride” in Villains beyond on par with that.

 

[doctornick]

100% agree.
“Bigger and bolder” but down-grading the coaster?

I’m hoping they are aiming for less intense/lower height restriction as opposed to not as immersive. You can be “bigger and bolder” without it being scary or fast.

 

[Casper Gutman]

100% agree.
“Bigger and bolder” but down-grading the coaster?

If the Shanghai Pirates rumors are true, that attraction has no height requirement but gets amazing reviews. Why not use that ride system for the dark ride but keep the coaster thrilling?

And I thought the whole point of the Cars area was two approachable/marketable attractions for families to offset the more thrilling or intense attractions of Villains.

If you want thrill coasters, your local Six Flags is more than happy to supply them. Heck, if you want thrill coasters in beautifully themed environments with great hotels and strong service, Universal is right down the road.

 

[FigmentFan82]

Love the idea of a Hades show. Hate having it behind a paywall of food. This is Starcruiser again (though more affordable). Have a great food place but the show should be separate and available to all. If they want to go with a food + show setup, something more like how they used to do Diamond Horseshoe in the early MK days would be good.

I actually think WDW needs more dinner shows. To me dining and entertainment feel very WDW and kind of a shame there’s only one currently available. If anyone can make a reservation if available it’s not really behind a paywall (except for the theme park ticket obv)
The Starcruiser dinner show was behind the paywall of the hotel, severely limiting who could get a reservation.
I would greatly welcome a dinner show in MK. And put the Star Wars one in Galaxys Edge while they’re at it!

 

[Jack Torrence]

Looking at reactions across multiple sites, a lot of adult Disney fans seem to have forgotten what the parks are supposed to be. They want the parks to cater to them personally to the exclusion of others and a lot seem to want more “mature” content, at least in part, I suspect, because at some level they’re self-conscious about being really into something a lot of people stigmatize as childish.

If these new plans are real, it’s a good thing. The bad thing is height-restricted coasters based on Muppets and Monsters, Inc.

Got it, so according to your logic, Tower of Terror, Expedition Everest, Indiana Jones, Rock n' Roller Coaster, Guardians of the Galaxy, Dinosaur, Tron, Space Mountain, and Incredicoaster are all bad rides and additions because they're coasters, semi-intense rides and have height restrictions? Not everything should be a Fantasy Land style dark ride, it's okay to appeal to multiple audiences with tone and thrill level.