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

[Ichabod Crane]

Are we sure that Disney didn’t intentionally feed them this information to leak so that when they announce the real plans at D23 it makes what they actually do announce look better?

 

[Stripes]

I’ll believe all of this when I see it at D23. Until then, gotta be honest I don’t think this passes the smell test.

And I think @wdwmagic is right on the money with the comment below.

So what do we think about this being a case of testing the waters for which way they should go?

Furthermore, Len and Jim’s comments on the podcast, despite Len being quoted in the article, conflict with what The Wrap is saying.

 

[DisneyHead123]

The focus would be all ages instead of older only. That’s not the same as “targeting” five-year-olds and is in keeping with the rest of the park.

I guess my thought is, as the kids say “But why tho”? How many small children watch Cinderella and want to meet the evil Stepmother? Or insist on wearing their Queen of Hearts costume to school? There is much better source material for an all ages land. If it’s not meant to have a spooky vibe then what’s the point? Put in Frozen or Zootopia instead, that would actually work for all ages without coming across as disappointing to adults but still too scary for kids.

 

[DrStarlander]

I find it weird that people want a scary, ramshackle environment like Darkmoor when most of the Disney villains wouldn’t be caught dead in one. They’re most frequently nobles, dandies, divas, or court magicians, with some obvious exceptions.

Scary and ramshackle are two different qualities. Plenty (most?) of Disney villains lairs are "scary." And it doesn't need to be ramshackle (decrepit, falling apart, jerry-rigged). It needs to be unsettling and eerie and I think that's why they were going for Art Nouveau, because for many it can be unsettling and eerie without being ramshackle:

I also think idolizing villains is not a great mood to set, like these folks are very bad, I mean one literally wants to murder puppies and that's the tamest, it needs to be playful and dark

(Which is sort of concerning to me, as a parent. Soapbox preaching here: Evil is not a functional, self sustaining culture that just happens to be in an amusing land you can visit from time to time. Evil is a broken element within an otherwise functional society. You can say Monsters have a functioning society like Monstropolis because hey, it turns out that scaring people is just their job, one based on their own incorrect biases about children and because they hadn’t discovered laughter power yet. How are you going to explain what binds all these villains together? An affection for goth color schemes or twisty art nouveau architecture? But there isn’t anything actually evil about that! Just like there isn’t actually anything evil about hooks for hands, black capes, or pipe organs. It’s just the “trappings” associated with bad guys. And we risk telling our children (and adults) that if you think this stuff is cool, you like evil. It’s all wrong. Keep the villains as antagonists in the heroes’ rides, not as protagonists in their own. Ok, stepping off soapbox now.)

Who says the land would need idolize them or treat them as protagonists? The entire premise of the land can be that they are recruiting henchman (us) and they are bombastic, narcissistic, selfish, greedy, bragadocious, etc. That's what binds them together conceptually. The limited resource they are competing for (because they're also competitive) is our attention. And ultimately our loyalty in joining them.

And as we navigate the land and their bids for us to join them (in meet and greets, on rides), we can form whatever opinion of them we want, which is unlikely to be idolistic. That is, we are unlikely to "buy into" their inflated self-images because obviously it's not appealing. Which is why it's all a bit funny, and family friendly. Ultimately, when we leave the land, we are rejecting their bids to join them permanently/loyally. And all is right in the world.

 

[Casper Gutman]

I’ll believe all of this when I see it at D23. Until then, gotta be honest I don’t think this passes the smell test.

And I think @wdwmagic is right on the money with the comment below.

The one way they definitely shouldn’t go is making decisions based on the howls of a bunch of armchair imagineers and Disney Adults.

 

[Casper Gutman]

I guess my thought is, as the kids say “But why tho”? How many small children watch Cinderella and want to meet the evil Stepmother? Or insist on wearing their Queen of Hearts costume to school? There is much better source material for an all ages land. If it’s not meant to have a spooky vibe then what’s the point? Put in Frozen or Zootopia instead, that would actually work for all ages without coming across as disappointing to adults but still too scary for kids.

Do a lot of adults find Captain Hook and Jafar scary?

 

[JustInTime]

Hades dining and not part of a ride. There goes the biggest interesting thing they could’ve done in a ride out the window for me outside the Maleficent Dragon.

Disney really doesn’t want my money anymore.

I’d rather see a Hades dining experience than have him in a ride. But I’m kinda doubting these rumors.

 

[DisneyHead123]

Do a lot of adults find Captain Hook and Jafar scary?

I doubt it. Why?

 

[The Leader of the Club]

Or insist on wearing their Queen of Hearts costume to school?

I see kids dress up as Maleficent and Cruella every Halloween. There are definitely kids who vibe with these characters.

 

[Stripes]

The one way the definitely shouldn’t go is listening to a bunch of armchair imagineers and Disney Adults.

Absolutely not. But, certain Imagineers may have a favored direction that conflicts with what the businesspeople are leaning toward. Leaking that direction, if it got positive feedback, would give that team some added credibility when they make their case to management.

I’ve always been of the opinion that execution matters a great deal more than the IP. Could all of this turn out spectacularly if this is the direction? Absolutely. But the logic of the leaks themselves don’t add up. And that’s why I’m skeptical.

 

[doctornick]

Which is why I’m not really worried until we see the final product. Words mean nothing. We get tons of points of comparison that end up making zero sense in hindsight.

The mention of Berk in the article doesn’t even really make sense.

Berk seems to be used as a template for the attractions: water ride + roller coaster + flat ride + show. My take is that they are aiming for a more complete land, which if true would be a nice change compared to under built lands of late.

 

[tissandtully]

Absolutely not. But, certain Imagineers may have a favored direction that conflicts with what the businesspeople are leaning toward. Leaking that direction, if it got positive feedback, would give that team some added credibility when they make their case to management.

I’ve always been of the opinion that execution matters a great deal more than the IP. Could all of this turn out spectacularly if this is the direction? Absolutely. But the logic of the leaks themselves don’t add up. And that’s why I’m skeptical.

Quite possible they are trying to find the leaker lol

 

[Nickm2022]

im doubting this rumors too because I 1. really doubt that the coaster out of all things would be the family attraction 2. we really doing another spinner? 3. isn't there enough water rides at this side of the park. personally this sounds more like the original idea that required josh to ask them to dream bigger then it does like a new bold idea

 

[britain]

I'm not sure if I believe that article, but I'm just going to put this out there in case Josh or any important Imagineers are reading:

If the main ride is just based on one character and not some crazy, zany, and extremely fun ride including as many Disney Villains that you can.... I'm going to be pretty p***ed. And I think I might be speaking for many others.

Actually, now that I’ve caught up and read this report, it’s working better for me.

It’s sounding more like a straightforward expansion of Fantasyland, with separate stories staying in separate attractions. We know this works, it has worked for 70 years.

None of this ridiculous “summoning of random bad guys from different places across centuries and geography into one single adventure.”

Just like we’d think an attraction with Peter Pan, Alice, Tarzan, and Roger Rabbit would be a lousy soulless corporate-cash-grab, an attraction with Hook, Queen of Hearts, Clayton and Judge Doom would be as well.

I approve of what seems to be happening here (though the Ursula spinner has always seemed like a stupid idea whenever it come up).

 

[Nickm2022]

I’m kind of surprised by the reaction here to a potential Yzma coaster. That always seems to be ride pitched when people are giving their concept of a Villain Land/Park.

id rather have a Peru pavilion at EPCOT or an addition to to Tropical Americas for ENG then it replacing a bold high thrills Malificent coaster

 

[ChewbaccaYourMum]

100% agree. I hope this is just a rumor because it sounds like a worst of both worlds situation. Who is a land like this supposed to be for? If you're worried about scaring kids, create a land that isn't scary for kids!! Just go with a totally different theme. Don't create a land that's literally full of childhood nightmare fuel and then try to make it "nice" so that kids coming from Bippity Boppity Boutique don't freak out. Again, who is the target audience for that?

Here's my take. When it comes to kids, they are weird, weird little creatures. One never knows. They are blissfully talking about murderous animatronics a la Five Nights At Freddie's one minute and rolling around on the floor screaming because a tiny insect landed on them the next. They're gleefully discussing Poppy's Playtime and Baldi's Basics and then a flip switches and they're screaming that they can't use the potty alone because they're afraid of Skibidi Toilet (who seems far friendlier than Poppy and Baldi, quite frankly). They find murderous Grimace shakes fascinating but jack-o-lanterns terrifying. The takeaway - if you don't want to scare kids, just don't roll those dice. Don't have anything that could remotely be considered scary in there, because trying to "nice-ify" it isn't going to work.

When it comes to adults - the target vibe for spooky stuff would really seem to be Haunted Mansion, Pirates, Tower of Terror (my son, in kindergarten, is next level obsessed with Tower of Terror at the moment). These are the iconic vibes that launched 1,000 gothic style Etsy dresses. Not terrifying, not Fantasyland-in-greyscale. Intriguing, tantalizingly evocative of another world, mystical-not-magical. A Villain's land that is basically a big extension of Gaston's Tavern should really just be some kind of Fantasyland Part 2.

I couldn't have said it better myself.

No one was expecting this to be Halloween Horror Nights, but if it's not even going to be to the level of Haunted Mansion, then don't even bother Disney.

 

[DarkRideGuy]

Quite possible they are trying to find the leaker lol

Could definitely be true

 

[JD80]

Absolutely not. But, certain Imagineers may have a favored direction that conflicts with what the businesspeople are leaning toward. Leaking that direction, if it got positive feedback, would give that team some added credibility when they make their case to management.

I’ve always been of the opinion that execution matters a great deal more than the IP. Could all of this turn out spectacularly if this is the direction? Absolutely. But the logic of the leaks themselves don’t add up. And that’s why I’m skeptical.

My first inclination after reading this was that this can't be real. I'm skeptical as well.

 

[DisneyHead123]

I see kids dress up as Maleficent and Cruella every Halloween. There are definitely kids who vibe with these characters.

Sure, a few, for Halloween. Young kids as a group are not buying up villains stuff the way they buy Woody figures and princess dresses though. They are clearly not the target audience for villains.

 

[danlb_2000]

I’m gonna call bull on the Yzma coaster. While it’s not a terrible idea, she’s admittedly a weird choice. I kinda want an anchor villain ride for the land.

A maleficent water ride is also strange I actually would flip it and make her the coaster. I have no issue with a Hades show.

Sounds like an entire ride built around the "pull the lever" gag.