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

[Casper Gutman]

Does MK need another family level coaster? Doesn't Big Thunder Mountain and Mine Train meet that criteria.

MK doesn’t need another coaster at all. If Disney is determined to build them, and they are, better to have them be as accessible (and heavily themed) as humanly possible.

 

[Bleed0range]

Maybe Disney should’ve just made Villains a 5th gate and then they could have both the adult oriented attractions and the more family friendly side.

 

[Incomudro]

I don't think anyone is naive enough to think Disney wants to go *dark*, but I do think they can gear some rides toward teenagers and not children. It's okay for the premier ride of Villains Land to be intense. It doesn't have to be Velocicoaster, but it can be a thrill that doesn't chase a seven year old's affection. They have an entire park to do that in. IMO, it should be on the level of Fantasmic in 'scaryness'. Little kids get scared and cry at Fantasmic all the time because their imaginations run wild (ironic), but that doesn't mean it's necessarily scary to the average person.

Plus, this is a new land.
It would be ok for its vibe to be darker

 

[Jack Torrence]

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!

The issue with this is assuming that people only want the land to appeal to adults or children. People are saying it should appeal to older children. It can appeal to children without being "New Fantasyland 2: Electric Boogalo - Now Featuring Black and Purple Paint!". It should be aiming for something a little different than the youngest crowd, but when you hear that it is going to have the same tone as the villains show in Hollywood Studios, I think that is a very valid concern considering how corny that ended up seeming. They're going from featuring the more serious villains in the Disney catalog (Maleficent, Evil Queen, Jafar, Scar) to the ones that are goofy (Yzma, Captain Hook, Hades). The other issue is by doing this, the younger ones STILL may be too scared to enter the land. It's trying to capture too broad of a tent and that may prevent it from being what it could be.

 

[mickEblu]

Another thing to consider there is so much more you can do with a Maleficent boat ride. An immersive coaster is much harder to pull off. Something like the Yzma / pull the lever is kind of shallow enough to where expectations are likely to be met/ surpassed. Also considering MK has the worst POTC in the world a state of the art boat ride sounds like a nice idea for the park. There are a lot of half glass full ways you can look at this pivot.

 

[DrStarlander]

This is a great time for Disney to also announce that Disney Hollywood Studios is getting a very dark and creepy Tim Burton's Halloween Town.

 

[Mike S]

A Hagrid level coaster including the Yzma “pull the lever!!!” scene but also having small scenes of the other “lesser” non-god like, non-sorcerer type villains (Hook, Cruella, Gaston, etc.) could very much work paired with a Shanghai boat ride that focused on the spectacle of villains like Maleficent, Hades, Jafar, and Chernabog.

 

[Casper Gutman]

I think people may need to rewatch some Disney films. Hook, Gaston, Cruella, Facilier, Yzma, Ursula, Hades, Queen of Hearts - they aren’t “dark and twisted,” they’re flamboyant and excessive. They get the big showtunes and the funny lines. A few, like Ursula or Gaston, get darker in the last ten minutes, but that’s not the element of the character people like or remember. Posters here and elsewhere want a tone that doesn’t match the IP and would mangle the things that make the characters work.

 

[MrPromey]

Add in a couple fantasyland style dark rides featuring a different villain in each… and I’d feel set.

Boat ride makes sense for Hades over Maleficent, but they can make it work.

I need the coaster to be substantial, even if family friendly. It needs to be Big Thunder or Space Mountain length. If you’re gonna build us that moment from that film, do it right. It’s gonna be mostly appealing to Millennials …

Honestly, if they're not willing to go all-in with a teen+ concept, I'd rather have a handful of moderately priced flat dark rides basically built in a classic Fantasyland manner with modern effects that cover a combined range of characters than a big budget boat ride, coaster, and yet another spinner.

It would increase capacity/variety and would probably age better in a multi-generational nostalgia sense. That way, we could have a SWSA or MTWR style attraction in there amongst all the rest and everyone would be happy... except Disney of course since they won't get a new ILL to up-charge for out of it.

 

[Agent H]

I hope the dark ride does end up having a a lot of villains. I’m not sure how interesting a whole ride with just Maleficent and her henchmen would be even if you have her turn into a dragon at the end.

 

[Bleed0range]

I think people may need to rewatch some Disney films. Hook, Gaston, Cruella, Facilier, Yzma, Ursula, Hades, Queen of Hearts - they aren’t “dark and twisted,” they’re flamboyant and excessive. They get the big showtunes and the funny lines. A few, like Ursula or Gaston, get darker in the last ten minutes, but that’s not the element of the character people like or remember. Posters here and elsewhere want a tone that doesn’t match the IP and would mangle the things that make the characters work.

I never actually thought the land was going to be “scary,” from the get go. I just thought it would look that way in a fun way. And those characters would simply inhabit it.

What is the visual for “villains” then, if not maleficents castle? That seems the obvious choice so then what is the architecture going to be?

I would still argue that the fun of it is the place looks spooky but the villains are silly (as always)… and perhaps they’re inviting you into their safe haven to see it’s not so bad being bad.

 

[Mike S]

I think people may need to rewatch some Disney films. Hook, Gaston, Cruella, Facilier, Yzma, Ursula, Hades, Queen of Hearts - they aren’t “dark and twisted,” they’re flamboyant and excessive. They get the big showtunes and the funny lines. A few, like Ursula or Gaston, get darker in the last ten minutes, but that’s not the element of the character people like or remember. Posters here and elsewhere want a tone that doesn’t match the IP and would mangle the things that make the characters work.

This is actually kind of what I’m thinking with the coaster idea I posted right above you though I didn’t specify it. That ride would be a bit more light hearted and show some funny interactions between the “lesser” villains.

The Shanghai boat ride that would include Maleficent, Hades, Jafar and other more powerful threats would be less lighthearted but nothing terrifying. Just more of these guys meaning a bit more business.

 

[Bleed0range]

This is actually kind of what I’m thinking with the coaster idea I posted right above you though I didn’t specify it. That ride would be a bit more light hearted and show some funny interactions between the “lesser” villains.

The Shanghai boat ride that would include Maleficent, Hades, Jafar and other more powerful threats would be less lighthearted but nothing terrifying. Just more of these guys meaning a bit more business.

All the rides should feature multiple villains. It shouldn’t be an Emperors New Groove coaster, it should be a coaster in this land they live in and Kronk pulls the wrong lever to start the coaster. But the coaster and boat ride both pass other scenes of villains just doing their thing.

 

[Incomudro]

What the heck is going on here… why am I more positive than most of the posters in this thread? That’s not how this is supposed to work!

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

No one is saying "horror land."

 

[SirLink]

I think people may need to rewatch some Disney films. Hook, Gaston, Cruella, Facilier, Yzma, Ursula, Hades, Queen of Hearts - they aren’t “dark and twisted,” they’re flamboyant and excessive. They get the big showtunes and the funny lines. A few, like Ursula or Gaston, get darker in the last ten minutes, but that’s not the element of the character people like or remember. Posters here and elsewhere want a tone that doesn’t match the IP and would mangle the things that make the characters work.

That is why the Horned King should of been the main inspiration

 

[britain]

they’re flamboyant and excessive. They get the big showtunes and the funny lines.

Hmm...

 

[Jedi14]

I kinda hope the dark ride does end up having a a lot of villains. I’m not sure how interesting a whole ride with just Maleficent and her henchmen would be even if you have her turn into a dragon at the end.

I’m hoping it’s something like The Queen and some of the other villains need us to retrieve something from Maleficent. So it is Maleficent focused, but the other villains have a role.

 

[IMDREW]

This feels like Tianas Bayou Adventure all over again. From first concept art to final result. We all know how that went. Back then people also said Disney wouldnt mess it up because they knew how important that one was.

 

[Mike S]

All the rides should feature multiple villains. It shouldn’t be an Emperors New Groove coaster, it should be a coaster in this land they live in and Kronk pulls the wrong lever to start the coaster. But the coaster and boat ride both pass other scenes of villains just doing their thing.

Yes that’s what I’ve said lol

 

[Casper Gutman]

I never actually thought the land was going to be “scary,” from the get go. I just thought it would look that way in a fun way. And those characters would simply inhabit it.

What is the visual for “villains” then, if not maleficents castle? That seems the obvious choice so then what is the architecture going to be?

I would still argue that the fun of it is the place looks spooky but the villains are silly (as always)… and perhaps they’re inviting you into their safe haven to see it’s not so bad being bad.

You highlight a key point here - people’s conception of this area seem to be that it will be “Maleficentland,” with most of the aesthetic taken from that one character. That’s not unreasonable, because that’s largely what the art we’ve seen has shown. It just isn’t very interesting and shortchanges the more entertaining villains.