News 'Beyond Big Thunder Mountain' Blue Sky concept revealed for Magic Kingdom

[Advisable Joseph]

Didn’t an Imagineer say the IP that didn’t fit MK but was being considered for BTM was Zootopia?

I think Jim Shull said that.

Shull mentioned Zootopia in Magic Kingdom, but he didn't say that was the mystery IP, since he wasn't part of that particular discussion (as far as we know).

However, I can see how a Zootopia-like city, with some room for other talking animals perhaps, could be an urban component of Critter Country. A sort of Critter Country Capital.

 

[Sectorkeeper71]

Grizzly River Run, perhaps...

But I don't know if they'd want two rapids rides overall.

Would also be kinda weird to have two water rides next to each other on the same side of the park.

Though in theory I’d love something like GRR at WDW somewhere. Kali is so short and pales on comparison to GRR and Popeyes at universal

 

[SplashJacket]

Would also be kinda weird to have two water rides next to each other on the same side of the park.

IoA has three “get soaked” rides right next to each other.

Personally, I think it’s amazing as it creates a whole unique dynamic of a “mini water-park” within the larger park. Maybe not what they should do, but an approach they could do without detriment.

Definitely unique and not an approach meant for all parks. Studios could benefit most from a water ride.

 

[Sectorkeeper71]

IoA has three “get soaked” rides right next to each other.

Personally, I think it’s amazing as it creates a whole unique dynamic of a “mini water-park” within the larger park. Maybe not what they should do, but an approach they could do without detriment.

Definitely unique and not an approach meant for all parks. Studios could benefit most from a water ride.

That’s a good point. And it would take some heat (pun intended) off of Tiana on a summer day.

 

[imagineer97]

Shull mentioned Zootopia in Magic Kingdom, but he didn't say that was the mystery IP, since he wasn't part of that particular discussion (as far as we know).

However, I can see how a Zootopia-like city, with some room for other talking animals perhaps, could be an urban component of Critter Country. A sort of Critter Country Capital.

It just so happened that on the same day I heard from my source about this "mystery IP that doesn't fit," Jim Shull posted about Zootopia. My source is not Jim Shull, and I thought this was an interesting coincidence. If I had to guess it's Zootopia or Cars.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Maybe they'll move It's A Small World back there.

It doesn't fit Fantasyland.

 

[Touchdown]

Maybe they'll move It's A Small World back there.

It doesn't fit Fantasyland.

Have you watched the news lately? iasw is sadly an extremely well fit in FANTASYland.

 

[Bocabear]

I would prefer them putting Zootopia in Disneyland Paris and leave it out of WDW...But DHS would be a better location for an urban setting like the city of Zootopia...Certainly not behind Thunder Mountain....

 

[sedati]

Cars certainly wouldn't fit in a park that has a modern Indianapolis speedway acting as transition between Tomorrowland and Fantasyland.

 

[EricsBiscuit]

I would prefer them putting Zootopia in Disneyland Paris and leave it out of WDW...But DHS would be a better location for an urban setting like the city of Zootopia...Certainly not behind Thunder Mountain....

It’s the possibility of an addition like Zootopia land to DLP that makes me glad they haven’t made any significant additions to DLP in the last 20 years.

 

[Bocabear]

LOL So true... Disneyland Paris is such a beautiful park...

 

[JohnD]

I would prefer them putting Zootopia in Disneyland Paris and leave it out of WDW...But DHS would be a better location for an urban setting like the city of Zootopia...Certainly not behind Thunder Mountain....

I'm okay with a Zootopia land in MK but definitely not AK. Alright, I'll tolerate a movie that you have to make an effort to get to under the Tree of Life, though.

 

[Bocabear]

I just think the aesthetics of Zootopia would look terrible in the Magic Kingdom... There is nothing else in the park in that cartoon style...But in DHS they could create a whole space for it...

 

[TheIceBaron]

Bear with me because this is quite left field speculation.

If we think of the point of view of a Disney exec they want to maximize guest spending at the most popular park on the planet. So they likely want to go big with this expansion. The new expansion would have multiple paid lightning lane attractions, shops, food locations, meet and greets etc.

If it’s a mystery IP that doesn’t fit well in Magic Kingdom, but could potentially be quite the draw and check boxes for a massive land then it’s probably not the traditional Disney or Pixar animation franchises. Which would make me think Lucasfilm or Marvel or even Fox owned franchises would be there.

Except that Star Wars and Marvel have had quite a few studios misses recently and already have their own dedicated areas. So what property could fit? Lord of the Rings.

But Disney doesn’t own Lord of the Rings! Ah yes my dear reader they do not. But Warner Bros is desperate for cash and has not been doing well. Disney also announced a partnership with Warner Bros with respect to streaming rights this week. With the new lord of the rings movies down the pipeline and past Disney efforts to acquire the property, this could make sense. The possibilities of a lord of the rings land would be endless and could possibly give Universal quite the run for its money.

I know wild speculation but maybe it’s a bold move to reinvigorate the Walt Disney company with yet another merger or at least partnership and this is one of the pieces of the puzzle. I would still reserve this for a dark horse speculation however.

 

[Fox&Hound]

Bear with me because this is quite left field speculation.

If we think of the point of view of a Disney exec they want to maximize guest spending at the most popular park on the planet. So they likely want to go big with this expansion. The new expansion would have multiple paid lightning lane attractions, shops, food locations, meet and greets etc.

If it’s a mystery IP that doesn’t fit well in Magic Kingdom, but could potentially be quite the draw and check boxes for a massive land then it’s probably not the traditional Disney or Pixar animation franchises. Which would make me think Lucasfilm or Marvel or even Fox owned franchises would be there.

Except that Star Wars and Marvel have had quite a few studios misses recently and already have their own dedicated areas. So what property could fit? Lord of the Rings.

But Disney doesn’t own Lord of the Rings! Ah yes my dear reader they do not. But Warner Bros is desperate for cash and has not been doing well. Disney also announced a partnership with Warner Bros with respect to streaming rights this week. With the new lord of the rings movies down the pipeline and past Disney efforts to acquire the property, this could make sense. The possibilities of a lord of the rings land would be endless and could possibly give Universal quite the run for its money.

I know wild speculation but maybe it’s a bold move to reinvigorate the Walt Disney company with yet another merger or at least partnership and this is one of the pieces of the puzzle. I would still reserve this for a dark horse speculation however.

At MK? Oh I hope not. DHS maybe but still seems like a huge stretch.

I really want villains but at DHS! I bet Carsland comes to MK. Has zootopialand been a success so far?

 

[Magicart87]

Clearly it's going to be a land based on the Jim Henson/Lucasfilm's cult classic movie, "Labyrinth" staring David Bowie. For added synergy the movie will be streaming on Disney+ with the land set to launch in late Summer 2026 celebrating the film's 40th anniversary.

 

[Roger_the_pianist]

The mystery IP that won't fit in at MK is....

SPRINGFIELD.

They will just use cranes to get all of The Simpsons stuff from Universal over to beyond Big Thunder when that contract is up.

The new weenie for this area will be giant nuclear plant smokestacks and a massive Lard Lad on top of a donut shop.

 

[Stupido]

If we're throwing out random guesses for ridiculous IP's that will never happen, let me throw in Kingdom Hearts. It has enough ties to different princesses that it could work in a castle park, while still reaching an older demographic to possibly get a couple of thrill rides into MK. Could also segue into a villains land, as Disney villains have had a huge role in the series. Plus if Universal is tripling down on video game IPs with Mario, Zelda, and Pokémon, why not join the video game scene?

Plus I've seen more and more guests wearing kingdom hearts merch in the parks, sometimes even full cosplays.

Fun to dream about

 

[imagineer97]

Hmmm...just occurred to me, what about Wakanda? I don't want it there, but it certainly fits the bill of not fitting MK at all.

 

[Rosso11]

Bear with me because this is quite left field speculation.

If we think of the point of view of a Disney exec they want to maximize guest spending at the most popular park on the planet. So they likely want to go big with this expansion. The new expansion would have multiple paid lightning lane attractions, shops, food locations, meet and greets etc.

If it’s a mystery IP that doesn’t fit well in Magic Kingdom, but could potentially be quite the draw and check boxes for a massive land then it’s probably not the traditional Disney or Pixar animation franchises. Which would make me think Lucasfilm or Marvel or even Fox owned franchises would be there.

Except that Star Wars and Marvel have had quite a few studios misses recently and already have their own dedicated areas. So what property could fit? Lord of the Rings.

But Disney doesn’t own Lord of the Rings! Ah yes my dear reader they do not. But Warner Bros is desperate for cash and has not been doing well. Disney also announced a partnership with Warner Bros with respect to streaming rights this week. With the new lord of the rings movies down the pipeline and past Disney efforts to acquire the property, this could make sense. The possibilities of a lord of the rings land would be endless and could possibly give Universal quite the run for its money.

I know wild speculation but maybe it’s a bold move to reinvigorate the Walt Disney company with yet another merger or at least partnership and this is one of the pieces of the puzzle. I would still reserve this for a dark horse speculation however.

It’s an interesting theory. At this time Warner Brothers does not own the theme park rights. Embracer Group does who actually bought them last year when they purchased most of the Tolkien rights. But, Embracer bought them for the video game rights which is why they quickly made a deal with Warner Brothers for them to make future movies. With Embracer now holding the Theme Park rights and not in the theme park business I would be surprised if they weren’t sold to someone soon. So you might be on to something. I still think it’s going to wind up at Universal but more than likely the theme park rights are in play at the moment. However you are right in the fact that If anyone wants to use the WB version of characters in their parks I’m sure they would have to bring in WB as well and make a three way deal. So it will be interesting to see how this plays out. It’s a lot of moving parts with these rights.