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

[CoasterCowboy67]

The current rumor going around on the IU forums is Pokemon is slated for 2030 at USF. The reason for that date is because the company is treating Pokemon for Orlando as a very large scale project. A lot of resources are going into it. Things are being moved around behind the scenes to accommodate it. Ground up attractions are being designed vs the MIB/MK type ride USJ is getting to replace Spiderman.

My hope is if EU saps enough of USF's guests, Pokemon will be fast tracked for 2028.

I can only imagine. Most think it’s an MIB & Springfield replacement, but there’s a whole lot of backstage space between Simpsons and MIB that they must be relocating to pave the way for a huge expansion

And the potential for interactivity and engagement with a Pokémon land is massive

Out of any of Disney’s announced investments, I believe Villains is far and away the most exciting and has the most potential to meet the high bar the HP lands set for immersion and fun. If done with heart. Which I believe they can still do

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Imagine how huge their parks would be as people kept heading to the outer areas to ride “the next big ride”.

They would have to expand all the Florida parks quite a bit to get anywhere close to Disneyland.

 

[Jayspency]

I had a thought. People get mad that Disney keeps replacing rides and not expanding. But could you imaging DIS always expanding the borders of their parks and never replacing their subpar rides (think Dinorama and not things like Splash). Imagine how huge their parks would be as people kept heading to the outer areas to ride “the next big ride”. Imagine the work force they would have to employ. Would guests say “why do they not replace x since no one rides it.” I am not saying I agree with their current philosophy to replace and not expand, but the thought hit me if people would be happy with pure expansion and if the parks could sustain such an undertaking.

More things = more days = more money!

 

[Jayspency]

What villains should be featured in this land? The usual (Ursula, Maleficent, Cruella, Hook, Jafar, Hades)? Or should those already featured elsewhere in rides/parks not have a presence (Ursula, Hook, Gaston, Wicked Queen, etc). Do they go top tier only or feature less known?

I think an E-ticket that features the main baddies would be a hit but too many silly nods (Evil Queen’s caramel apple store), Gaston’s gym, etc would make the land feel cheap.

Thoughts?

Nigel Channing

 

[TheDisneyParksfanC8]

but there’s a whole lot of backstage space between Simpsons and MIB that they must be relocating to pave the way for a huge expansion

Universal already has constructed a brand new set of sprung tents next to MIB so the outgoing ones can eventually be demoed for the Pokemon land.

While I don't think they will demo the backstage warehouses in that area, I do think that can maximize the space they have by going the Infinity Defense/Stark Flight Lab route by doing a multipurpose structure. Have a D ticket TSMM style ride where The Simpsons showbuilding currently is and in the spot occupied by the current sprung tents you can do a battle arena E ticket where you take on Team Rocket and their leader Giovanni.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I will be shocked if Epic sees any expansion in the next 5 years, my guess is it’ll outdraw USF from day 1. After Epic opens they’d be smart to focus on USF before spending another penny on Epic or IOA.

The ironic thing is I’d say the same about WDW, they should prioritize AK and HS, because they draw the fewest people, but most their announcements are going to MK… so who knows, maybe Epic will see expansions while USF remains mediocre at best.

They have a clear list of things they CAN do in USO and IOA after epic opens if they want to keep investing/strengthening…
But will they do it?

Remember: other than springs and pandora…wdw has just moved chairs around at great expense for 10+ years

 

[TheDisneyParksfanC8]

They have a clear list of things they CAN do in USO and IOA after epic opens if they want to keep investing/strengthening…
But will they do it?

Remember: other than springs and pandora…wdw has just moved chairs around at great expense for 10+ years

Supposedly HRRR will be going down at some point after EU opens for the F&F coaster, plus the Simpsons contract lapses in 2028 so they will need to start on Pokemon sooner than later. But other than that, it's an open quest to what comes beyond those two at USF and IOA.

 

[Mike S]

Supposedly HRRR will be going down at some point after EU opens for the F&F coaster, plus the Simpsons contract lapses in 2028 so they will need to start on Pokemon sooner than later. But other than that, it's an open quest to what comes beyond those two at USF and IOA.

Zelda for IoA. These 3 projects are the ones I’ve seen talked about a lot over there.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

The unaddressed elephant in the room is Pokémon going to USF. That could be massive

I feel like we kept seeing the same comments about Super Mario. Was that been a game changer for Universal Hollywood?

 

[TheDisneyParksfanC8]

Zelda for IoA. These 3 projects are the ones I’ve seen talked about a lot over there.

Zelda for IOA appears to be stuck in development hell at the moment per rumblings on IU. There is not even a rumored opening date anymore.

 

[UNCgolf]

I feel like we kept seeing the same comments about Super Mario. Was that been a game changer for Universal Hollywood?

Pokemon is bigger than Mario, although I do think it has the same issue that Mario (potentially) has -- just because people like it doesn't necessarily mean they're going to be drawn to a theme park land/attraction based on it. There's not even a guarantee it will actually translate well into an attraction (I don't think Mario really does -- Mario Kart potentially could, although they botched it).

 

[Centauri Space Station]

The only time this has happened at Disney is universe of energy…. And since wonders of life is still sitting abandoned next door it seems a shame to have lost that pavilion even though it did need an update.

Since Disney feeds on classic charm and nostalgia…. Sometimes the “mediocre” has more to offer than an “amazing ride”

I mean YMMV but i’d say the decaying backlot tour, Streets of america, Camp Minnie Mickey, Circle of life, Maelstrom were nothing great nor better than what they replaced IMO.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I mean YMMV but i’d say the decaying backlot tour, Streets of america, Camp Minnie Mickey, Circle of life, Maelstrom were nothing great nor better than what they replaced IMO.

circle of life was an update, like the Canadian and China movies, etc.

Maelstrom was a better attraction and a better fit for the park but frozen has a better q

Camp Minnie Mickeys prime attraction FOLK was moved elsewhere.

Backlot / Streets of America - if we could plop rise next to star tours and still have Osbourne lights it would be worth it. The tour needed help, but catastrophe canyon was sooooo good.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I feel like we kept seeing the same comments about Super Mario. Was that been a game changer for Universal Hollywood?

Universal Hollywood doesn’t have any room. That’s the difference in the comp

 

[CoasterCowboy67]

I feel like we kept seeing the same comments about Super Mario. Was that been a game changer for Universal Hollywood?

USH grew attendance 15% in 2023 when Mario opened. Hollywood's Super Nintendo World is noticeably smaller than Tokyo (no Yoshi), and I wouldn't be surprised if many US or Europe-based families who wouldn't make the trek to Japan have just been waiting a couple years for the much bigger iteration to open in Orlando

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

Well, then Disney and Universal should be peppering the rest of the US north of Georgia with full world-class theme parks to take advantage of that untapped market.

Now that’s an idea I can get behind.

 

[Brer Panther]

Universe of energy is the poster child

But it handles less people and is behind a paywall

Is that “better”?

At least Universe of Energy had animatronics. That's more than you can say for Cosmic Rewind.

What villains should be featured in this land? The usual (Ursula, Maleficent, Cruella, Hook, Jafar, Hades)? Or should those already featured elsewhere in rides/parks not have a presence (Ursula, Hook, Gaston, Wicked Queen, etc). Do they go top tier only or feature less known?

That's one of the reasons I'm not sure a Villain's Land could work. Most of the popular villains are already featured in the Magic Kingdom - it'll be really strange, for example, having a Gaston's Tavern but NOT having it in the Villain's Land. Plus, I think a lot of the villains work better as part of attractions based on their movies as a whole.

There are also a lot of villains who don't lend themselves well to solo rides (Bellwether, Hans, King Magnifico), which makes things more complicated.

Maybe they could have a Bob Iger ride. He's the biggest Disney villain of all.

 

[LSLS]

I had a thought. People get mad that Disney keeps replacing rides and not expanding. But could you imaging DIS always expanding the borders of their parks and never replacing their subpar rides (think Dinorama and not things like Splash). Imagine how huge their parks would be as people kept heading to the outer areas to ride “the next big ride”. Imagine the work force they would have to employ. Would guests say “why do they not replace x since no one rides it.” I am not saying I agree with their current philosophy to replace and not expand, but the thought hit me if people would be happy with pure expansion and if the parks could sustain such an undertaking.

Not sure anyone has ever said there should not be some replacement at the right times, but a park where you have single digit attractions desperately needs more, not replacements. I've said this in Muppets, but I get the idea of replacing it (I have attachment to it so I would hate it, but I could understand with it at it's age). BUT, it makes no sense to axe it when you have entire areas of the park that need to be developed. Same goes for DAK. I don't mind Dino getting replaced (personally I'd just redo Dinorama, but whatever). BUT, this is a park with LEGIT 9 total things listed for Lightning Lane MP. Replacement isn't important in the least for that park. Sure, dino is not the most popular or the most well done, but it still is a thing for people to do.

 

[Ichabod Crane]

I feel like we kept seeing the same comments about Super Mario. Was that been a game changer for Universal Hollywood?

Actually yeah it has done very well for Hollywood and that’s with the land being significantly reduce in size and scope from its Japan and Epic counterparts because of Hollywood’s extreme special restrictions.

 

[Purduevian]

I would rather have the list on the right vs the list on the left. And it’s not very close.

Major attractions that have opened at each resort since 2010.
View attachment 823312

Doing it all:

Walt Disney World	Universal Orlando
Major Additions
Seven Dwarf	Transformers: The Ride-3D
TRON Lightcycle / Run	Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts
Tiana's Bayou Adventure	Hogwarts Express
Frozen Ever After	Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey
Remy's Ratatouille Adventure	Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind	Jurassic World VelociCoaster
Slinky Dog Dash	Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry
Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run	Hiccup's Wing Gliders
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance	Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge
Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway	Mine-Cart Madness
Avatar Flight of Passage	Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment
Test Track V3	Stardust Racers
Medium Additions
Enchanted Tales with Belle	Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem
Under the Sea	Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon
Festival of Fantasy	Fast & Furious – Supercharged
Happily Ever After	The Bourne Stuntacular
Disney Starlight Parade	Illumination's Villain-Con Minion Blast
Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana	CineSational: A Symphonic Spectacular
Luminous The Symphony of Us	DreamWorks Imagination Celebration
For the First Time In Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration	Trolls Trollercoaster
Disney Movie Magic	Universal Mega Movie Parade
Alien Swirling Saucers	Skull Island: Reign of Kong
Wonderful World of Animation	Le Cirque Arcanus
The Little Mermaid - A Musical Adventure	Constellation Carousel
Na'vi River Journey	Curse of the Werewolf
Feathered Friends In Flight!	Dragon Racer's Rally
Zootopia: Better Zoogether	Fyre Drill
	The Untrainable Dragon
	Yoshi's Adventure
Minor Additions
Meet Mickey at toon town theater	Kang & Kodos' Twirl 'n' Hurl
Casey Jr.	Ollivanders Experience in Diagon Alley
Pete's Silly Side Show	Illumination Theater
Ariel M&G	Po Live!
Pirates Adventure	Poppy’s Playground
Cindy & Visting princess M&G	Po’s Kung Fu Training Camp
Tiana & Visiting princess M&G	King Harold’s Swamp Symphony
Frozen Holiday Surprise	Shrek’s Swamp for Little Ogres
A Goofy Cavalcade	Shrek’s Swamp Meet
Mickey's Celebration Cavalcade	Raptor Encounter
The Royal Princess Processional	Astronomica
Disney Adventure Friends Cavalcade	Darkmoor Monster Makeup Experience
Mickey's Magical Friendship Faire	Meet the Monsters
Meet Anna and Elsa at Royal Sommerhus	Viking Training Camp
Awesome Planet
Disney & Pixar Short Film Festival
Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along
Canada Far and Wide in Circle-Vision 360 i
DuckTales World Showcase Adventure
¡Celebración Encanto!
Meet Beloved Disney Pals at Mickey & Friends
Star Wars Launch Bay
Star Wars Launch Bay: Meet Chewbacca
Meet Disney Stars at Red Carpet Dreams
BB-8 Astromech on Duty
Droid Depot
Savi's Workshop
Star Wars Launch Bay: Encounter Darth Vader
Vacation Fun - An Original Animated Short with Mickey & Minnie
Disney Junior Play and Dance!
Meet Favorite Disney Pals at Adventurers Outpost
Wilderness Explorers
Tree of Life Awakenings
The Animation Experience at Conservation Station

Thank you touring plans for helping me make this list