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

[FigmentFan82]

I hear that the rumored Red Light District is now off the table.

Nobody tell Roxanne

 

[britain]

Nobody tell Roxanne

"Moulin Rouge!" Dinner Show CANCELLED!?

 

[Jack Torrence]

I think Haunted Mansion level spooky is what’s needed for this to be effective. Approximately, at least. I’m not sure what’s being referenced with this new supposed leak, but what I’m envisioning is Gaston‘s Tavern level of “scary“ throughout the entire land. If they’re going that route, that’s where I really think they should just bring in a different IP. But who knows if that’s correct or if this story is even true at all.

I think this is my fear is that it'll be the tone of the villains show in Hollywood Studios and not the dark/creepy tone the concept art was originally. I'm afraid it'll be kitschy instead of spooky.

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.

Agreed completely All you need to do is look at the wait times for something like Guardians to show how people react to big coasters. The general public LOVES them. I would venture to say if they put a big coaster in Magic Kingdom, it would get the longest wait times in the park.

Something in their internal number crunchings induced them to shy away from anything remotely scary or perceived as too scary. Which is fine - completely get it, especially in MK.

They did: It's the LL revenue. If little kids can't ride it because it's too scary, a whole family may skip it. Disney doesn't want to miss out on that revenue (from a business sense, could you blame them?) so they figure if they tone it down, that'll bring in more money. The issue with this becomes is that after all that, children will probably still be scared of the giant fire breathing dragon, and it wont be thrilling enough for the older kids. By trying to create something for everyone, you've cerated something for no one.

 

[RobbinsDad]

What do you mean by "serious" and what do you mean by "needs"? The park obviously genuinely needs no single attraction type; it's the most visited park in the world and has had a variety of attractions sufficient to entertain guests for 50 years. There are also already plenty of coasters that are wonderfully themed in the park, which is what I would consider serious, though I suppose you're actually referring to a certain amount of intensity which, again, the park has been fine without for ages.

Agreed. Intense coasters can be found anywhere. I like Cedar Point for what it is, but I'd rather ride FOP when I'm at Disney. I would not be opposed to a thrilling Villains land coaster but the theming would be a lot more important to me than the Captain Coaster score.

 

[Andrew C]

"Moulin Rouge!" Dinner Show CANCELLED!?

This could work...just don't get handsy

 

[monothingie]

I hear that the rumored Red Light District is now off the table.

My dear sweet naive little penguin, we all know Disney would never cut off a potential revenue source.

 

[doctornick]

Is anyone really upset about building a mega e ticket boat ride vs a roller coaster? Seriously? Who cares about a roller coaster. Disney is all about the dark rides.

A mega e ticket boat ride (or other dark ride mechanism) absolutely should be done in this land. I’d agree that needs to be the top priority. But there should also be a high quality e ticket level second ride and a good coaster would fill that. Mind you, the coaster doesn’t have to be very intense but it needs to be high quality/immersive.

 

[wdwmagic]

I think this is my fear is that it'll be the tone of the villains show in Hollywood Studios and not the dark/creepy tone the concept art was originally. I'm afraid it'll be kitschy instead of spooky.

I think that is exactly where it is heading at this point.

 

[Andrew C]

Agreed. Intense coasters can be found anywhere. I like Cedar Point for what it is, but I'd rather ride FOP when I'm at Disney. I would not be opposed to a thrilling Villains land coaster but the theming would be a lot more important to me than the Captain Coaster score.

I think a Villains theme calls for a decent coaster above the level of Slinky. To bring some energy into the land, it makes sense. Villains are unpredictable and crazy, just like coasters. Having a proper coaster with a great theme and a really solid dark ride is what this land deserves.

 

[mattpeto]

If I had to guess, I'd say Len got the advanced scoop on this article and ran with this rumor. It's not to discredit him at all, the article got published after all.

Flags:

1. Using Emperor's New Groove as the theme for the coaster in a Villians Land? How does this work with "Conjured architecture"?
2. Making the coaster more family-friendly - maybe I can buy it a tad - but I expect it to bit more like Tron/Guardians/Everest level here. Is an updated Slinkly going to drive "intent to visit" themed out of ENG? (No). Look I'm not expecting 25 inversions - that's just not WDW targeted market, but this has to be a thrill.
3. Inspiration from Isle of Berk? I mean - it's the best land at Epic for sure, but I would expect Disney to get it's inspiration from what works in their current lands (Pandora, Galaxy's Edge) and what doesn't work.

The dark ride sounds great. Sign me up.

I still expect this to be closer to the vibe at Mickey's Not So Scary. Not quite Dark Universe (and hopefully not Werewolf - that ride is awful). Maybe a tad campy - but mostly family friendly.

This isn't it.

 

[monothingie]

I think that is exactly where it is heading at this point.

Spooky would never work in the MK. It has to be something that pokes fun at itself.

Imagine families with terrified 3-9 year olds refusing to enter the land, bawling their eyes out. You've instantly kneecapped a large portion of your guest base from ever entering the land.

 

[Gusey]

Think this is some unreleased concept art (at least I haven't seen it before) of the Ursula Spinner from the cancelled Villains overlay of DCA?

 

[Jack Torrence]

It's also possible that this is more about Dark Universe not clicking than it is about Berk being the inspiration. Maybe Josh visited Epic, felt what it was like in both places, and said, "Hmm... large dark ride with a bunch of villains that don't quite go together hidden within a huge ornate building, and an outdoor coaster, and... a specific vibe that some people enjoy in a Halloween way, but not necessarily making hoards of kids happily want to buy stuff... We may need to make a U-turn here, while still leveraging all that villain popularity with the fans."

I don't think Dark Universe hasn't clicked, Monsters Unchained has been lauded as possibly the best ride in any park on the planet. It's just highly efficient and doesn't break down so the wait is short. It's arguably a much more successful land as a whole than Berk in terms of rides. If they're going for the scope of Berk, I can't blame them, its stunning walking through. The rides in Berk though are much worse than the rides than those in Dark Universe. If they're aiming for something like the tone of Berk and that demographic appeal, that's where there's going to be issues when creating villains land.

 

[WowFactor]

I stand by my approach. Villains are in the park to celebrate, not to scare. Okay, their celebration is a little twisted – Hook, for example, likes to push people off the plank of the ship

Oh, and if you don't know the approach I'm referring to, take a look here:

Villains Village by Wow Factor

docs.google.com

 

[doctornick]

They need an actual serious coaster.

Maleficent, Chenabog, even a Cave of Wonders Jafar coaster.

We do not need a Cosmic Rewind fun ride for the land.

They’ll finally kiss the mark in favor of appealing to toddlers.

Disagree. A Cosmic Rewind level attraction- in terms of quality and intensity - and the “second” ride would be incredible

 

[Stripes]

So, let me get this straight, the original plan included a Madame Medusa restaurant from the Rescuers, but she was nowhere to be seen on the Villains that would inspire the land?

 

[SirLink]

I think that is exactly where it is heading at this point.

They are going to take something cool and turn it into trash but that is the modern Disney company for you. I think I'm at the point where I wish they would just close WDI and just have multiple outsourcing companies they bring into design rides for them.

 

[Pizza Moon]

Disagree. A Cosmic Rewind level attraction- in terms of quality and intensity - and the “second” ride would be incredible

But isn’t the choice a Shanghai Pirates style ruse and a coaster?

If we got three rides I wouldn’t care. Bring on Izma if we get a Night on Bald Mountain Fantasia coaster!

 

[monothingie]

Think this is some unreleased concept art (at least I haven't seen it before) of the Ursula Spinner from the cancelled Villains overlay of DCA?

Tentacle lovers be like...

 

[Jack Torrence]

Spooky would never work in the MK. It has to be something that pokes fun at itself.

Imagine families with terrified 3-9 year olds refusing to enter the land, bawling their eyes out. You've instantly kneecapped a large portion of your guest base from ever entering the land.

The Haunted Mansion exists. I don't think anything featuring the villains should be aimed at those in the 3-7 year old age range and should be aimed at the 8-13 year old age range.