A new report from The Wrap may have revealed Disney’s updated plans for a Villains Land at the Magic Kingdom. Following rumors that Disney was pushing to make Villains Land bigger and bolder, The Wrap outlines that the land is going in a more family-friendly direction, and may include attractions featuring The Emperor’s New Groove and Maleficent.
As always, we recommend taking reports like these with a grain of salt. This seems like a lot of information to leak out prematurely. And, to no one’s surprise, Disney hasn’t confirmed any of these rumors.
With that disclaimer out of the way, let’s talk about this rumor. The Wrap is saying that Disney is looking to Universal’s Epic Universe for inspiration. But, they aren’t looking at Universal’s own villains-style land called Dark Universe. Instead, Disney is reportedly wanting to make a land like the Isle of Berk based on the movie How to Train Your Dragon. That’d mean a much lighter tone for Villains Land rather than the more menacing vibes of Dark Universe.
The Wrap also reported that there’d be three attractions in Villains Land – an Emperor’s New Groove coaster similar to Slinky Dog Dash, a water-based dark ride with Maleficent possibly similar to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride in Shanghai Disneyland, and a flat ride (think a spinner like Dumbo).
A more tame coaster in the vision of Slinky Dog Dash would reduce the height requirement and allow younger guests to ride. That’d be a change compared to the previously-rumored Maleficent coaster that would have had a more strict height requirement.
Villains Land would be rounded out by a dining experience with Hades, Pain, and Panic. It’s unclear if the land would also include a quick service option, but we imagine that some sort of fast dining or kiosks are practically guaranteed.
So, what do we make of all of this? We’re fascinated that this might be the direction Villains Land is going. It’d be a wild creative swing from what many guests would be expecting. Disney’s original plan seemed to call for a Maleficent coaster and some sort of dark ride. Disney fans speculated that dark ride would include lots of villains across Disney’s rich history. Now, if the rumors are to be believed, Disney would be focusing in on just a handful of villains that mostly fall on the sillier side of the spectrum.
Regarding attractions, we think having three is absolutely the right call. Disney’s old format of having new lands limited to two rides and dining is played out. But, that third flat ride can’t just be another basic spinner. The Magic Kingdom is loaded with spinner options as is (Dumbo, Aladdin, Astro Orbiter). Do something different for a flat ride.
The Emperor’s New Groove would be an intriguing choice. The movie is a hit with millennials (we love it!), but does it have enough power to be a primary IP for Villains Land? “Wrong lever!” would be perfect for a coaster, though. It’d be perfect for a dark ride or boat ride too.
Disney finally doing something with the Shanghai boat tech for the dark ride, or something in that ballpark, is long overdue at Disney World. We’d rather see that sort of dark ride incorporate a bunch of Disney villains instead of just Maleficent, but that’s just our opinion.
Disney’s decisions are going to be polarizing no matter what they do with Villains Land. They won’t be able to make everyone happy. We’re optimistic that Josh D’Amaro will want to hit this one out of the park as one of his first major projects as Disney CEO. There’s a lot of pressure here. Disney can’t repeat the mistakes made with Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
We’ll have to wait to see if these rumors from The Wrap prove to be true. At the very least, this year’s D23 Parks Presentation should be even more captivating than usual.
