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

[Pizza Moon]

That choke point in and out of this land is going to be brutal

Makes me think that’s why it’s the outdated concept. Idk though

 

[mickEblu]

As much as I wanted an “edgier” Villains Land I think this is the right move. The edgier version would have been much more high risk and harder to execute. And probably not the right choice for Magic Kingdom. From a practical standpoint, it also had to be an environment you want to spend time in. Pulling off edgy/ dark and also making it a family friendly place where families want to spend time money in is a tall task.

My biggest question is how the aesthetic changes as the concept art seemed very centered around Maleficents castle/ coaster. As long as Maleficents boat ride feels more like POTC/ HM and less like the corny Villains show at DHS meets Frozen Ever After I’m cool with this.

 

[Mike S]

A dark ride based on one villain is a bad idea. I know people love Maleficent but come on, think of something that lets you use more than one villain in the cornerstone attraction of this area.

All you’d truly need is Maleficent, Hades, Jafar, and various minions as they’re clearly the most powerful. Also a big scene with Chernabog if Disney is willing. The other villains can be used in other ways throughout the land.

 

[Gusey]

Flat ride is a good idea, but the park doesn’t need another spinner. Good god, they don’t need 5.

Ideally it'll be a more thrilling flat ride (like a topspin or like the one at Isle of Berk) as well as a family friendly flat ride, but if it does end up being an Ursula octopus flat ride, I think its unique enough and more thrilling than the other flat rides at MK (the spinning and the up and down as they spin)

 

[Pizza Moon]

Ideally it'll be a more thrilling flat ride (like a topspin or like the one at Isle of Berk) as well as a family friendly flat ride, but if it does end up being an Ursula octopus flat ride, I think its unique enough and more thrilling than the other flat rides at MK (the spinning and the up and down as they spin)

This would be ideal.

EPCOT could use a swings ride and carousel too IMO.

 

[Andrew25]

That choke point in and out of this land is going to be brutal

Part of the problem in that area is the Haunted Mansion's extended queue and stroller parking. Part of the overall expansion to MK will also include smaller initiatives to improve guest flow throughout the park.. Disney knows this.

My assumption is that Disney will dedicate the Liberty Belle's former station as seating for the Liberty Square Market and relocate stroller parking to the current seating area. Pair that with some other adjustments to the area and you can reduce congestion. Haunted Mansion is likely to receive an enhanced extended queue to reduce spill onto main park pathways.

I'm sure when the land first opens, it'll have dedicated one-way in/one-way out operations to improve guest flow at first.

 

[Turtlekrawl]

I favor going big with this coaster, but more important than the intensity are the quality, effects, and LENGTH.

The standard should be Hagrids, BTMR, or cosmic rewind ride time.

No more coasters done in less than a minute.
Tron.

 

[IMDREW]

Why did they need to pivot? The reactions on the announcement and concept art were so positive.

 

[MrPromey]

If true, to me this feels like, "WE are the leaders, we don't want to be seen as copying the competition too much" (with regards to the purported original plans being along the lines of Dark Universe at Epic).

Except according to the article this is all based on, they're now shifted to copying Isle of Burk at Epic instead.

Isle as a land has a lot more going on than Monsters where the vast majority of the effort went to the main attraction which, IMHO really is an industry standout. Isle though, is more kinetic and I'm sure, earns Universal more money because there are a lot more places to spend money. It's also the best land in a park with attractions geared mostly for adults, for families with young children.

In contrast, MK is a park that's just about entirely devoted to families with young children and has an abundance of shopping/spending opportunities already so one section slightly more mature, sort of harneing back to something along the lines of Snow White's Scary Adventure or MTWR that appealed more to teen and older tastes would have added a nice variety for guests. It certainly sounds like this new plan is bolder and bigger when it comes to revenue earning potential, at least.

People seem to forget this is the company that bent over backwards to try turning Splash Mountain into an un-serious princess ride when the IP they changed to had PERFECT elements to retain that slight edge and they somehow managed to dumb down both the attraction AND the IP they used in it.

Honestly, this is what I expect from Disney which is why people getting excited about the news that they were shifting away from the plan that had never been announced to a new plan was a good sign in terms of what a lot of Disney adults seemed to be looking for.

 

[dlfan1313]

No matter what they build, and I'm sticking with my bold it's at least 10 years out if ever prediction, building a kiddieland is the wrong choice. Whoever pointed out that this was geared around maximizing Rube Express (copyright) sales hit it on the head. Every decision made is now based on monetizing every aspect of your time.

 

[Starship824]

Honestly as long as all of these are incredibly themed and well executed I don't have a problem. I love emperor's new groove and if the boat ride is on the same level as Shanghai pirates I don't think anyone will complain. I'm more worried about the overall aesthetics of the land. If its a sort of dark and twisted fantasy land then i don't have any complaints. I want more similar aesthetics to Dark More. I really want an alternative fireworks viewing area.

 

[mickEblu]

All you’d truly need is Maleficent, Hades, Jafar, and various minions as they’re clearly the most powerful. Also a big scene with Chernabog if Disney is willing. The other villains can be used in other ways throughout the land.

Some Horned King please. Also no Old Hag or Ursula? I’d say no Captain Hook or Cruella

 

[mickEblu]

I’m hoping for a Hans and Bad Weather scene. Two of the greatest Disney villains from Frozen and Moana 2.

 

[HauntedPirate]

Why did they need to pivot? The reactions on the announcement and concept art were so positive.

Because the original "plans" announced were so tilted towards a particular demographic that it would have been considered a financial failure within probably 3 years? Unless Villains-obsessed Disney Adults are going to float an entire land's LL sales in perpetuity.

 

[ToTBellHop]

Like others, I hope they go bigger than SDD. Hopefully, that’s the ride intensity goal but the ride itself is longer than SDD.

 

[Casper Gutman]

After reading all your comments over the past few pages, I've decided that you must be one of those people who just hates roller coasters and wants them nowhere near a Disney park. You're mad because you like Muppets and now they're on a roller coaster you won't step near. I'm not sure if it's just a disdain or a hatred of them, but the moment you hear that something is upping the thrill, you shut down. That's the only thing that makes sense with how you've responded to anyone who's said that shifting to a more family-focused approach is a bad idea.

It's okay to have a thrill coaster in Magic Kingdom, especially in a location tucked away in the back of the park. As someone else said, if you're designing a Villains Land but you aren't putting any tension into it whatsoever, you're designing a land for no one. Kids aren't going to want to wander back there if they're scared of villains and adults aren't going to want to wander back there if it's just a plussed Fantasyland made to appeal to eight year olds.

Hi! You’re entirely wrong and you’re making an assumption about me in order to shut down debate and mask the fact that you don’t have a good rebuttal - the one you have here is nonsense. I enjoy thrill coasters a lot. I love RnR. I regularly visit thrill parks, from both Busch Gardens to Dollywood to Cedar Point to Hershey - heck, even a bunch of Six Flags. The fact that I like a thrill coasters, however, doesn’t dull my critical thinking abilities- I’m able to at least try to separate my personal taste from my judgement of a situation. The fact that I like RnR does not make putting the Muppets there a good idea - it’s a bad IP/ ride system mix that will exclude a lot of guests that the Muppets appeal to and doesn’t leverage the strengths of the IP.

Your attempt to rebut my argument demonstrates why you started with an ad hominem attack. You make the assumption that no thrill coasters means no tension, a completely unfounded leap in logic - a thrill coasters doesn’t induce tension. Tension will come from the design and aesthetic of the land and the show elements on the rides. Your suggestion that it’s ok because the ride will be tucked away in the corner of the park is silly, as though an attractions distance from the park hub lessens the need for it to be intelligently designed in a way that aligns with the philosophy of the park. You also suggest the land should appeal to adults because children are inherently terrified of and deterred by the very appearance of Captain Hook or Gaston, a very silly position that the current state of the parks, with villains present in many areas, belies. In fact, that’s an argument in favor of a family-oriented park being careful about how it presents any spooky elements to avoid alienating children, not that an area should be built only to appeal to adults like you!

I’ll also note that you got some likes from posters who claim to want conversation but are lying. It’s particularly funny in this thread because the fact that I’m the one being positive about Disneys plans demonstrates that what a lot of people want isn’t positivity, it’s mindless agreement.

 

[Casper Gutman]

The direction matters.

Villains as a concept would work. There’s a million approaches.

If it isn’t Shanghai pirates Maleficent ride with all the villains like hades jafar and Ursula AND. Very thrilling coaster that the park just doesn’t have like Taron or Hagrid’s they’d drop the ball.

They’re making the kids rides for Cars, and a villains land would obviously have shows and entertainment they could enjoy too.
I’d imagine a boat ride wouldn’t have a height restriction over 32”-40”, or maybe none at all.

I’m not asking for VelicoCoaster but the overlap of people wanting an actual ride like a Hagrid’s at Disney is huge.

Look at the queue times for that ride still, makes Rise look like a step down because in a way it sort of is what the speeder bike or podracing coaster should’ve been. And Disneyland should’ve gotten it in their Star Wars expansion.

Absolutely, they should give MK its one at last.

If they weren’t doing cars I’d agree, but they are.

An Yzma laughing goofy ride would work in its own way with the right budget, but it’s like nowhere near what they should be doing. It is catering to younger audiences instead of respecting that kids will grow into it.

You have all of these TikTok and Instagram reels like this online. Sometimes Disney should listen to the fans (ie. anctually incorporate Luke Skywalker, Han, Leia, Darth Vader, etc. into the land).

This, however, is not the best approach. Sometimes Disney management gets it wrongs and sometimes the fans do. It takes a good CEO to differentiate the two, Iger couldn’t, let’s see if Josh can:
View attachment 909335

Pardon the crudeness, but in picking this.View attachment 909337

Stop with the AI!

This is Taron in Phantasialand with a dragon badly placed on top. It adds nothing to this conversation.

 

[Dranth]

Assuming any of this is true, I am really surprised by a lot of the reaction. After all, we are talking about the MK here. The park that does campy, not scary and campy is the correct route for a land in the MK.

Also, the fact that they reference Berk is very promising assuming they take the right lessons. If this means a more complete land with lots of little animatronics and interactions in the environment, then I am 100% on board.

As for the coaster, how is a SDD level of coaster a bad thing? SDD level theming yes, that would be bad, but I took it as more a way to indicate the desired intensity level. That would put it above BTM in terms of thrill level so something around that (maybe a little higher) but well themed to an IP that wasn’t released in the last 10-15 years no less, sounds like a win for the park.

Obviously all this would depend on execution (and the article even being accurate) but it sounds like good changes.

 

[MrPromey]

I think a spinner is fine in MK. The filler attractions are something that the other parks desperately need. Of course all this redesigning will mean this likely is 2029 or even further out at this point.

2029?

That's only three years away and they're still using the land it will be built on as staging for something else that's not even remotely close to completion. I'd say there is zero chance it opens this decade at all.

2030 seems insanely optimistic at this point unless they opt for something at the level of Toy Story Land.

 

[doctornick]

Like others, I hope they go bigger than SDD. Hopefully, that’s the ride intensity goal but the ride itself is longer than SDD.

That’s the question. Assuming the article is even correct with the characterizations, is the goal a SDD level intensity or overall quality. I have no problem with that level of intensity for this coaster (though I’d tend to aim higher more to the Everest level) but even if it’s mild like that, it has to be far better themed. Villains land really call for intensive theming and engaging ambiance if nothing else.