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

[co10064]

If the coaster is downgraded from RnRC/Everest/TRON intensity to a Slinky or Big Thunder level, I will certainly be disappointed, but I will be even more disappointed if neither of these attractions feature stories with tension.

No one expects (nor has asked for, at least that I’ve read) Alien Encounter or Monsters Unchained, but a storyline with tension like Splash or ToT would be perfect.

 

[co10064]

General idea of how Villains Land could be laid out..

View attachment 909356

Great job creating this. I think this layout is highly possible based on the permits (unless plans are changed).

I struggle with the idea of creating another dead-end. If it was so important to remove RoA to create a path from Big Thunder to Mansion, why would this layout not create a bigger issue?

 

[mickEblu]

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.

So did I but I guess I feel like now the boat ride is going to be the Big Mega E and the coaster is going to be less impressive considering the Isle of Berk coaster comparison. Were folks under the impression that both attractions were going to be mega E headliners before the pivot? That would have been a first no?

 

[Animaniac93-98]

So did I but I guess I feel like now the boat ride is going to be the Big Mega E and the coaster is going to be less impressive considering the Isle of Berk coaster comparison. Were folks under the impression that both attractions were going to be mega E headliners before the pivot? That would have been a first no?

I believe the intial statement was that Villains would have "two major attractions"

Whether "major" meant E-ticket for both was up to interpretation

 

[Jedi14]

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

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

They don’t do that anymore.

 

[Mr. Sullivan]

Yes. I think a LOT of people want to see Disney do another Expedition Everest or Big Thunder Mountain scale coaster at WDW, and perhaps push it a bit further.

I think you hit the nail on the head here. What a lot of people I think are perceiving as people asking for a high intensity thrill coaster along the lines of VelociCoaster, is I think in realott a lot of people actually asking for a coaster that just has a sense of scale and idea to it.

You can absolutely do a family coaster and have it feel big and intricate and complex. Hagrid’s does this very well. Everest does this well. Big Thunder does this well.

Cosmic Rewind is an amazing coaster (their best), but falls short of having thematic and visual scale. Tron has amazing thematic and visual scale, but is not a very good coaster.

It’s been a very long time since Disney had done something coaster wise that is both very fun that also feels big and complex. It does not need to be a massive roller coaster to scratch that itch. It can be a family coaster, it just needs to have some ambition.

Now, they CAN do that with ENG. It is very adaptable to that need. They just have to actually do it.

 

[GenChi]

They are actively trying to court Gen Z.

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.

I agree to an extent. I do think this IP would be strategically chosen because it is a favorite with Gen Z who might be more into Universal IP, and it would get them over the initial hump of it not being a thrill ride. The IP itself not being the largest outside that group does not matter, because if the ride is good people will then get into the IP.

I think the issue here is this idealized mid 20s family with the stable income for a Disney trip largely does not exist. Birth rates are declining because kids are expensive. Gen Z has issues with the increased inflation and job security, housing has been made unaffordable, many are in debt. Living costs take away from vacation funds and there are many now. I would say now that most Gen Z that can make & would make a Disney trip do not have kids, so the thrill level would not matter. That might change when this is complete, but for now this feels like chasing a dream demographic that exists in so few numbers not it does not move the needle

 

[Mr. Sullivan]

Let alone a kiddie coaster in the vein of Slinky Dog Dash in lieu of a major E-ticket Maleficent themed coaster. They were told to think big right? Just like they were told to do for the EPCOT re-imagining.

This is pedantic but:

Slinky isn’t a kiddie coaster. It’s a family coaster. Different ride category.

 

[DrStarlander]

stories with tension

Modern Disney?

 

[Mr. Sullivan]

Please stop making me feel old.

Sorry haha!

If it makes you feel better, I’ve been having a bit of a personal crisis since turning 25 and moving to New York. I don’t generally worry about aging but this is the first time in my life that I actually feel the change that comes with it.

 

[Mr. Sullivan]

I

I think the issue here is this idealized mid 20s family with the stable income for a Disney trip largely does not exist. Birth rates are declining because kids are expensive. Gen Z has issues with the increased inflation and job security, housing has been made unaffordable, many are in debt. Living costs take away from vacation funds and there are many now. I would say now that most Gen Z that can make & would make a Disney trip do not have kids, so the thrill level would not matter. That might change when this is complete, but for now this feels like chasing a dream demographic that exists in so few numbers not it does not move the needle

You’re very right, and I actually think that plays into them trying so hard to get us into their parks. It’s well known this generation is less inclined to build a family, so they need to make sure they’re pulling those that have. They also know that this generation is a bit more inclined to seek experiences that they feel are worth the time and effort over just a general vacation because they can’t afford to just take a trip, it’s gotta be a DESTINATION, and I think that has motivated them to make nostalgia plays.

 

[Pizza Moon]

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.

It doesn’t need to be Dark Universe / Halloween Horror Nights, but it should be more like Phantom Manor than Haunted Mansion…

 

[Tha Realest]

One more thing…The Wrap article stated the the core project group was based in Glendale and the satellite group in Orlando.

But I remembered that LinkedIn shows that both the Executive Creative Director and Executive Producer for Villains are based in Orlando…

So, this reporter couldn’t even get @lentesta name right and hasn’t bothered to fix it since being notified. What else did he get wrong?

You do realize Drew Taylor and Len Testa know each other quite well, don’t you?

 

[Pizza Moon]

I dont think you are being unreasonable. But then early concept art can always be iffy, especially since D23 Expo has pushed Disney to announce things that they really aren't ready to announce.

There is something else that will likely surface soon that is perhaps even bigger.

Thinking about it more, I’ll eat my words, but the probability of doing an Yzma attraction to Emperor’s New Groove, is flat out ZERO.

What they could do, is have multiple villains featured and Yzma is one of them, but including her would likely make the tone more lighthearted than Dark Universe went for.

 

[Phicinfan]

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

I am shocked anyone ever thought Disney would go dark. I never ever believed it would be scary, that’s not Disney.

I love the Kronk coaster if done well, and hopefully the dark ride is a water ride and goes tongue in cheek with many villains. I secretly hope this ends up Shanghai tech boat ride.

I also love the spinner for smaller kids.

But there simply has to be a full service dining or that is a huge miss

 

[BrianLo]

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.

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

I might very well be interpreting something out of nothing. But I did not take away from the comments this is no longer a major attraction. I think perhaps the analogy was bad.

A ride like Hagrids can still be achieved with the family friendly accessibility of SDD.

And we are splitting irrelevant hairs, but I also didn’t interpret that concept art as inversions, but it’s so no specific it’s a bit irrelevant. The conversion seems more about softening intensity and fright than softening scope. The rumour from Len wasn’t at all that scope was being cut back. So the messaging being taken away from the SDD comp seems to be miss-messaged to me.

 

[gorillaball]

Super edgy or not as edgy.
Thrill rides or wider audience focused rides.
Rumors this way and that and all we really have is some old concept art.

None of the above or anything we know will determine the success of the land. It’s all about execution, and that we probably won’t truly know for quite some time.

My one strong opinion, more rides, period. If they are planning 2 big rides and a flat - it needs more, simple as that.

I would say if you get 5 total rides out of Piston Peak and Villains, that is absolute minimum.

Bigger, bolder, supercharged.

 

[Pizza Moon]

Does MK need another intense coaster? Doesn’t Tron meet that criteria?

Being less flippant, I think a ride the intensity level of BTMRR - but with a very different theme and ambiance - would be fine. Such a ride would be popular and well received. That said, assuming the boat ride is all ages then I’d probably aim for something around the intensity of Everest/Cosmic Rewind for this land’s coaster but hopefully themed on the level of BTMRR (and Everest)

TRON is not an intense coaster

Just because it goes fast, does not make it intense.

Maybe for the bubble on here on these forums, but it doesn’t have drops, loops, nothing.

It’s great but the point is it’s a motorcycle, it’s not a typical rollercoaster by any means.

Guardians is honestly, despite spinning, far more traditional in the way the layout is with banks, curves, drops, and quick turns.

It’s also obviously on a MUCH larger scale, all the best coasters in the worlds are, length matters.

TRON by being so short just isn’t on the same caliber as rides like Hagrid’s or Expedition Everest, they also feel like a headliners while TRON feels more like an E-ticket despite the grand entry.

So no, MK doesn’t even have a Hagrid’s thrill OR scaled coaster, much less an actually thrilling one like VelicoCoaster.

 

[Pizza Moon]

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

100%.

People don’t understand this happens in business and politics all the time.

I don’t think the land needs to be outright scary, but it needs to balance Haunted Mansion with Monsters Unchained.

It cannot simply pull a Tiana’s, Star Wars, Frozen, and Runaway Railway where they keep dumbing down all of these rides for toddlers.

 

[BasiltheBatLord]

I don’t really understand why people seem to assume there are only two extremes this land could take: mature and frightening or campy and family friendly.

It could be gothic and dark without being "scary" (which Disney was never going to pursue anyway). That’s what I was expecting and hoping for. This report now has me worried that we’re just getting a villian-featured Fantasyland.