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

[HMF]

Sorry, 2 of those are gone for that reason, and pirates is not scary, it’s all tongue in cheek. I would add so is Mansion in part

The entire first half of the Disneyland version takes place in a cave full of skeletons and the town portion is quite scary when you think about the implications. You literally see someone being essentially waterboarded and they literally arson a town which we know has people who live there, and it also is implied at the end that the pirates blow themselves up by shooting at explosives, of course the Jack Sparrow Treasure Room scene added much later seems to undercut the original idea and of course there were two scenes which probably went a bit too far even for 1967. I will admit different people have different definitions of "scary"

Pirates of the Caribbean

Changing Times or PC Overreach?

vocal.media

 

[HMF]

I’ve always hated the idea of a villains land. I think its appeal is too limited to Disney nerds, kind of like how galaxy’s edge only really appeals to Star Wars nerds.

A lot of Star Wars nerds wish it was set during the trilogy that isn't divisive.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Disney will never win the IP battle for these gens when Universal has Nintendo, HP, etc.

The Disney parks, and especially Walt Disney World as an IP has already won the battle over universal theme parks. as long as Disney continues to bring the quality that they are currently bringing they have nothing to worry about.

Disney has to be careful with how they expand castle parks. At Disneyland, Indiana Jones and star tours were successfully added, but galaxies edge has been a pretty big miss, and really could have just been rise of the resistance with a few shops as an extension past hungry bear, and they could’ve kept more of the rivers of America, the petting zoo, the horse stables, etc. and not had to have spent as much money on changing infrastructure.

 

[HMF]

That's a good point. Could you really picture Malificent teaming up with Cruella? Wouldn't Shere Khan and Scar be more likely to EAT the human villains than team up with them?

There are quite a few continuity problems with this because it implies that different characters from different movies with different art styles and ostensibly from different self-contained settings have somehow teamed up. Star Wars Galaxies Edge was really the first time WDI put that much thought into continuity, and it hasn't gone that well.

 

[HMF]

The difference is that this land, by definition, is named and based on a bunch of different unrelated characters. That itself has no precedent. The entire premise is that somehow we have been transported to some town/valley/gorge/whatever where all the Villains have congregated. This has to be to the case, as I cannot imagine them attempting to justify Maleficient’s castle next to the Andes for the Yzma ride and Greece for the Hades dinner show…if we’re to have 3 perfectly self-contained IP rides as you describe. So, if you’ve brought us to this land where all the Villains are meeting, why *wouldnt* the anchor attraction then allow us to experience why they have all gotten together and what it is they’re doing?

We rarely think about the fact that tinker bell who is from Neverland flying from atop a French castle tied to Cinderella and have it make sense during the fireworks shows do we, never mind why does the Beast appear as a walk-around character when he is turned back into a prince at the end of the movie?

 

[Jedi14]

That's a good point. Could you really picture Malificent teaming up with Cruella? Wouldn't Shere Khan and Scar be more likely to EAT the human villains than team up with them?

The villains team up all the time.

 

[GenChi]

One last thing. I’m surprised/saddened that we are finally potentially getting a Florida version of SDL Pirates tech and 90% of the chatter is just about a roller coaster.

I think because the planned major dark ride is around what we expected & people are very positive on it. A flagship dark ride with a great theme idea which might become the best out there if they pull it off right. That is very exciting.

Even with the campy Disney villain theming, I thought that was the expectation the whole time from the onset. It is Disney dark not horror dark.

People are discussing the mild coaster because for many that is the part of the plan that is not holding up what was expected, and their is disagreements what the best direction for that would be. Disagreement always gets more discussion.

 

[Tha Realest]

Disney opened a ride based on 1944's The Three Caballeros in 2007

They can pull a deep cut reference if they want to

"Villains" being the IP means they can draw from a wide variety of sources

A standalone Kronk coaster would probably not happen, but part of a larger land with higher profile characters? Yes

Im not sure why people are so incredulous they would make a Rescuers dining area but think an Emperor’s New Groove e-ticket makes total sense.

Those films are on the second (or third?) tier in terms of impactful or interesting villains, and, in an odd bit of coincidence, have made approximately the same amount at the box office (despite respective initial release dates in 1977 and 2000).

 

[HMF]

The site that shall not be named has essentially called this BS. Honestly, he does make a good point at how ridiculous a Madame Medusa restaurant would be versus a big hitter.

There is a reason it can't be named.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

have made approximately the same amount at the box office

I’m quite certain that Emperors has made significantly more in merch sales and gets a lot more Disney+ streams.

Even then, I doubt we actually see an Emperors E ticket - I still think it could be a family coaster that is a small addition - not a major part of the new land.

 

[HMF]

Agreed on all fronts. My fear is that they give us another Seven Dwarves Mine Train type womp womp. When they announced it and showed art, everyone was excited for another Big Thunder with cute fun storytelling. Instead we got Barnstormer with rockwork.

It was originally planned to be longer and have more actual show scenes.

 

[HMF]

If Walt could have the Imagineers build a boat flume in the basement intended for a Pirates walkthrough, they can take this cleared land with only the power and sewer lines settled upon and build around those very minor parameters.

To be fair Walt was less reluctant to open his pocketbook than current Disney management.

 

[HMF]

The Disney parks, and especially Walt Disney World as an IP has already won the battle over universal theme parks. as long as Disney continues to bring the quality that they are currently bringing they have nothing to worry about.

It's a pity that modern Disney seems to be more focused on imitating Universal than being the unique experience it used to be.

 

[AidenRodriguez731]

This is ultimately one of many different reasons why I think making this coaster Slinky Dog 2 instead of something like Velocicoaster is a misfire.

Disney will never win the IP battle for these gens when Universal has Nintendo, HP, etc. They have to win by better, grander experiences for those rides. For many a Slinky Dog level thrill for a villains coaster, even for a ENG coaster based on that scene (that has a 90 degree drop and high speed) will be underwhelming for the guest expectations. Expectation for a coaster in a villains land is not another tame experience similar to what exists in MK.

On that, talking with Gen Z who went to Disney & don't beliving the magic meme, Magic Kingdom is usually put as the worst park they went to (sometimes under AK) due to small size and lack of perceived older age attractions. They much preferred Hollywood Studios and Epcot for older-geared experiences. Perhaps unfairly MK is seen as watching your toddler have fun & having almost nothing else if you have no kid, and remember Gen Z largely is not having kids. Being the flagship that stigma extends to the resort as a whole. A extreme, potential top 5 coaster in the world (like Velocicoaster usually is ranked) + top in the world villains dark ride would go such a long way in breaking that stigma & make Gen Z think it is worth the high admission. It would cost the same if not less than this Slinky 2 coaster.

This is the most visited theme park in the world, so maybe they simply do not care for good reason. But this would permanently put MK and indirectly the resort in that uncool, toddler only image to Gen Z and beyond, vastly different from Universal's many experiences for all ages image. If they cannot gear one ride older for a villains land they never will, and why should this gen & younger care for them vs Universal? Not like their nonexistent kid will beg to go.

New Gen here. Disney dogwalks Universals IP in my local circles. I don't rememeber the last time people talked about an actual Universal IP. Universal's IP is either very weak or they can't/don't do anything with it which is shown by how half of their brand new park is not even based on their IP and why they had to use HP 3 times in a row.

HP is huge but losing a lot of favor with my demographic due to the author. Nintendo is... still pretty big but also routinely seen as a greedy mega corporation who is very antigamer/anticonsumer. Nintendo is probably too big to actually go away but both of these IPs have major hits to their reputation in my local circles. Not to mention that their spin offs (especially HP) have failed.

 

[AidenRodriguez731]

It's a pity that modern Disney seem s to be more focused on imitating Universal than being the unique experience it used to be.

I mean, this was exactly the play back in Eisners Era, he made a bunch of stuff to hit at the competition specifically. You don't get MGM without Universal first.

 

[CoastalElite64]

I mean, this was exactly the play back in Eisners Era, he made a bunch of stuff to hit at the competition specifically. You don't get MGM without Universal first.

I believe it was Eisner who lost the Potter deal. It really goes underreported how much Eisner liked live action IPs. Almost to the detriment of us missing out on many renaissance era attractions.

 

[HMF]

I believe it was Eisner who lost the Potter deal. It really gets underreported how much Eisner liked live action IPs. Almost to the detriment of us missing out on many renaissance era attractions.

Personally, I think it was a good thing Disney lost Potter. Being affiliated with Potter isn't exactly popular with a good number of people right now.

 

[EPCOTCenterLover]

New Gen here. Disney dogwalks Universals IP in my local circles. I don't rememeber the last time people talked about an actual Universal IP. Universal's IP is either very weak or they can't/don't do anything with it which is shown by how half of their brand new park is not even based on their IP and why they had to use HP 3 times in a row.

HP is huge but losing a lot of favor with my demographic due to the author. Nintendo is... still pretty big but also routinely seen as a greedy mega corporation who is very antigamer/anticonsumer. Nintendo is probably too big to actually go away but both of these IPs have major hits to their reputation in my local circles. Not to mention that their spin offs (especially HP) have failed.

I have four children in your demographic. They and all their friends are still big HP fans in spite of the author. And they come from across the spectrum of lifestyles. And Nintendo? Still a smash.

 

[Mr. Sullivan]

Most casual guests expect characters from the Original Trilogy not the poorly written sequel characters.

I think you’re greatly overestimating how much thought the average person is really putting into Star Wars, especially in a theme park sense. And I say thar as a born and raised die hard fan of the franchise. They just want to ride Rise of the Resistance.

 

[Mr. Sullivan]

I have four children in your demographic. They and all their friends are still big HP fans in spite of the author. And they come from across the spectrum of lifestyles. And Nintendo? Still a smash.

I think the key difference between Universal and Disney though is that the most historically popular attractions they have are based on IP that doesn’t actually belong to them with the exception of Jurassic Park. That does change the dynamics of Universal’s parks in a way that might not be immediately noticeable, but runs quite deep. I love them, I think they’re wonderful, but there is a noticeable lack of true connection and permanence and legacy to their parks that I do think guests notice.

I also think many are really underestimating what the long term damage JKR has done to Harry Potter. Right now it’s not a crushing blow, but I also think it’s because the generation that broadly cares the most about it is also not old enough yet to be making a noticeable financial impact on the franchise.

If the gargoyle continues on, and I suspect she will with increasing severity, in a decade or so I think there’s gonna be a much different air surrounding Harry Potter.