Is Disney planning to build more Zootopia lands at other theme parks? It certainly seems possible according to comments made by Josh D’Amaro, Disney’s Chairman of Parks, Experiences and Products.
In a recent interview with the Hollywood Reporter, D’Amaro talked about all of the stories the company still wants to tell at its many theme parks. D’Amaro highlighted the Zootopia-themed land opening at Shanghai Disney Resort in December 2023 and that it could be built at additional locations.
The company opened World of Frozen at Hong Kong Disneyland in November. Fantasy Springs, featuring lands devoted to Frozen, Tangled and Peter Pan, is planned to open at Tokyo Disney this spring. A Zootopia-themed land bowed at Shanghai Disney Resort in December, and D’Amaro hints that it may appear in other parks as well.
The Hollywood Reporter
D’Amaro goes on to mention Disneyland Resort in California, highlighting that they have enough room to build another Disneyland Park. With that open space, Disney wants to capitalize on stories such as Frozen, Encanto, Coco, and even stories from Marvel.
“We will have enough room to build the equivalent of another Disneyland Park. And so then you start to think about, ‘Well what can we do here?’ ” D’Amaro says. “We haven’t told anything, any stories on Wakanda. We haven’t told any stories on Frozen, although it’s a 10-year old franchise. You think about franchises like Coco and Encanto. We almost have an endless stream of stories that we can tell.”
Josh D’Amaro via The Hollywood Reporter
This comes at a time when Disney is ramping up investment in its parks, including a $60 billion sum that will be used to boost the parks and Disney Cruise Line. Disney is already starting to move on some of these projects at Walt Disney World with permits being filed to prepare for the transformation of Dinoland USA in Disney’s Animal Kingdom. More announcements are expected at this year’s D23 parks presentation.
As a side note, Disney seems to be locked in on focusing on very specific movies in its comments about new theme park lands. The days when Disney might build a land like Adventureland and then fill it with a variety of topics, characters, and concepts seems to be passé in favor of one property per land. That idea can work for select franchises, like Universal’s Harry Potter franchise, but it feels a bit weaker with other movies. Even Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge might have missed the mark (but it could be improved).
Sticking with Disneyland Resort and any potential expansion plans, Disney needs to be creative and tactful with their ideas. While the availability of buildable land is exciting, land around Disneyland Resort is still at a premium. The company needs to look back at the ideas of old, like seeing how jam-packed Fantasyland is with attractions, and follow that direction. Dedicating a ton of land to just one movie seems a bit shortsighted. Can we also really call it a land if there’s only one ride?
Back to Zootopia. Reviews of the land in Shanghai Disneyland Resort have been mostly positive, but some have questioned whether the land’s main (and only) attraction would resonate with U.S. guests. Zootopia: Hot Pursuit is a trackless ride (think Runaway Railway or Rise of the Resistance) that takes guests on a police chase. Whether or not the theme/setting appeals to American guests is debatable, but Disney does need to worry about trackless ride fatigue. The trackless ride system loses its novelty in a hurry if it’s repeated too often.
So, what do you think? Should a Zootopia land come to Disneyland or Walt Disney World?
