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

[HMF]

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

In the actual movie Hades literally has an actual body of water in his domain, Seems like a more logical connection.

 

[HMF]

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.

That's largely because the target audience of "Princess and the Frog" can't ride it because of height restrictions.

 

[AidenRodriguez731]

In the actual movie Hades literally has an actual body of water in his domain, Seems like a more logical connection.

I would also put it into a reason why the Villians are all ready to rise up. Hades is collecting them from the Underworld to take over the Magic Kingdom or something would be a fun storyline.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

After catching up on the news:

- That The Rescuers was even considered at one point is very intriguing to me. Sounds like they were thinking of using Devil's Bayou as a way to transition from Tiana to Villains, but with Cars and BTMRR in-between I'm not sure how that would have worked.

- The reason Cinderella Castle Mystery Tour worked was that all the villains featured shared a similar gothic aesthetic and scary tone which suited the dungeon setting of the attraction. Prince John is a villain who lives in a castle, but would have been wildly out of place, ditto for Madame Mim just for being a witch. The villains area and attractions need to pick and choose who compliments each other, not just throwing whoever together for the sake of inclusion

- Disney building an Emperor's New Groove ride here instead of their Central/South America land in AK, much like building Indiana Jones there instead of DHS, further illustrates how interchangeable all these lands, IPs and parks have become. The themes are all superficial and really just boil down to "Disney"

- Have they already forgotten the Villains character dinner at 1900 Park Fare? I realize that was 20ish years ago at this point (?) but like trying to make Alien Encounter family friendly by having it be about Stitch I fear WDI may not understand that there's something inherently intimidating about these characters and types of settings for younger children. Even Haunted Mansion still comes with a warning label and has a chicken exit. Doesn't Fantasmic have a reputation for scaring younger children as seen in reviews in the Unofficial Guide? Villains in a parade is not the same as being in a dark, spooky place, no matter how humorous the tone may be. How family friendly and young are they trying to appeal to? and at what point does that stop being realistic?

 

[BrianLo]

Thrill level. It’s night and day. I’m not asking for velocicoaster. But come on. You’re doing a dark ride that’s accessible to all. I don’t get why we can’t have both. 48 inches opens things up to like 7 year olds and above. Is that really so bad with two other rides in the land?

They just added a 48 inch coaster to Magic Kingdom, though. I also vaguely suspect we’ll be getting a Space Mountain rethink. As a devils advocate, a family coaster makes more sense given the focus of WDW’s broader pipeline.

 

[HMF]

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

She wouldn't be the only one these days. These days it gets you major positions.

 

[HMF]

That Disney is spending hundreds of millions of dollars on two lands that have been pitched by every two-bit Armchair Imagineer is itself a big red flag..

This has supposedly been in the pipeline since the late 90s according to some sources.

 

[Andrew C]

They just added a 48 inch coaster to Magic Kingdom, though. I also vaguely suspect we’ll be getting a Space Mountain rethink. As a devils advocate, a family coaster makes more sense given the focus of WDW’s broader pipeline.

So? There is also big thunder, space and goofy all below that. I doubt we will even get something on the level of hiccup is these reports are accurate.

 

[brb1006]

It is almost like they are once again getting nervous about doing something too edgy at MK. If the reporting is to be believed.

Wish Walt Disney World would fully embrace the Disney Villains being scary like Hong Kong Disneyland's Halloween events.

 

[brb1006]

It's bitten them every time they've tried it.

Edgy doesn't belong at the MK. It's also the realization that you really can't make anything edgy when at most Disney Villains are PG rated.

I think it's the weird fantasy of some Disney Adults hoping that they can experience a "Dark" Disney that in reality never existed throughout their story telling.

The closest a Disney Park got to being Dark and Edgy was The Nightmare Experiment Attractions that used to run at Hong Kong Disneyland.

 

[Mr. Sullivan]

To those asking why ENG, i’m going to rewrite the same thing I said when they announced Monstropolis:

They are actively trying to court Gen Z.

Emperor’s New Groove is incredibly popular with Gen Z and the Yzma coaster is a popular idea as a result. I would also say it’s notable for being one of the very few films from the 2000s WDAS that continued to resonate with that audience too, alongside Lilo and Stitch, because that was the era of Pixar outpacing. There’s not a lot that they can pull from from WDAS that would appeal the market they’re very clearly chasing now.

The reality is that GenZ is now old enough to be having families and paying for their own vacations. If they want to continue this cycle of getting kids hooked on their parks, then they have to entice the parents to bring them. So they’re picking IPs that will attract the kids (such as Encanto) but also the ones that’ll attract their parents (ENG, Monsters Inc).

There’s of course lots of room to love and hate that depending on what you’re personally more inclined for. But I think it’s rather obvious that this pursuit of that newly mid 20s with a family and disposable income of their own that is obsessed with nostalgia generation is a core tenant of their current decision making process.

Now that’s all to say if this is all true. It’s very possible that Josh may want to abandon this pursuit and all of this is not accurate information.

 

[HMF]

The reality is that GenZ is now old enough to be having families and paying for their own vacations.

Please stop making me feel old.

 

[Nickm2022]

ok im not reading 20 pages because I am so exhausted from this week, but IDEA! I doubt they would do this but it would make me happy, what if we were getting both what was announced plus this. Like what if its we are still getting the crazy adult Malificent / chernabog coaster and a dark ride but we are now also getting a ENG coaster, a small spinner, and a boat ride.

Like what if we got 5 rides ...

 

[Mr. Sullivan]

Complete and utter waste of potential. Can’t wait for the 3 animatronics.

May I ask why it wasted potential? An anchor attraction full of a bunch of different villains that have nothing to do with each other. It sounds like potential for a gigantic mess of an attraction.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Side note, yes to more dinner shows at WDW in general

Broadway at the Top, the Luau, Mickey's Backyard BBQ, Diamond Horseshoe (if you want to count it) all gone

They didn't build the dinner show in Galaxy's Edge and now the one they did build for the Starcruiser is gone too

If they want to add one to Villains, I'm fine with that. For a resort this big, there's room for more than just one

 

[Centauri Space Station]

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

MK had a decent mix of coasters. From least to most intense:
Barnstormer- the only true kiddie coaster
SDMT
Big thunder
Space Mt
TRON

... Do people think Tron is an intense coaster?

If it were any longer it would be too intense for me but it’s the perfect length for me not to get nauseous

 

[DrStarlander]

I’m surprised by everyone who thought the former roller coaster was something it wasn’t.

I don't care how intense the coaster is, myself, but for what it's worth, I did interpret these as inversions, maybe others did too.

 

[co10064]

Considering the coaster is the secondary ride I wouldn’t expect anything near the scope/ scale of Hagrids unless they’ve indicated otherwise?

That’s because most people don’t really know what’s best. MK needs a weather proof high capacity mega e ticket dark ride more than it does a high intensity roller coaster. If someone wants thrills, let them go to Six Flags.

I’m surprised by everyone who thought the former roller coaster was something it wasn’t. It never seemed pitched as terribly intense, it seemed pitched as Hagrid. Slinky dog just seems to affirm a smoother and more family friendly profile and unlike some comments to the contrary, is horrendously LL compatible.

I realize the first concept art was more “Blue Sky,” but inversions were featured, which lead many of us to believe this coaster’s intensity would rival RnRC, Everest, or TRON.

Josh also promised “two major attractions,” so a high-thrill coaster (like the art clearly showed) plus a dark ride is what we expected.

 

[Sorcerer Mickey]

May I ask why it wasted potential? An anchor attraction full of a bunch of different villains that have nothing to do with each other. It sounds like potential for a gigantic mess of an attraction.

They could make an attraction where, instead of SCOOP from Spider-Man, you're riding in a cauldron. All of the villains from the Magic Kingdom have been banished to this dark corner of the world. The villains have invited you in to their domain with Magic Mirror as your guide on the ride vehicle. At some point, it becomes clear the villains have ulterior motives, and Magic Mirror swaps sides to help you escape. Chaos ensues as the villains chase you out with some getting individual seasons, again a la Spider-Man. Your final encounter is with the giant demon guy from Bald Mountain, which would make a sick animatronic.

I'll wait for my imagineer checks.

 

[Touchdown]

First I’ll turn him into a flea!
A harmless little flea,
Then I’ll put him in a box,
Then I’ll put him inside another box!
Then I’ll mail it to myself and when it arrives,
ILL SMASH HIM WITH A HAMMER!
[evil laugh] It’s Brilliant, Brilliant BRILLIANT I say!
Or to save on postage, I’ll just kill him with this!
Feel the power Kronk! (Oh I feel it)
Our moment of triumph is drawing near,
ITS DINNERTIME!