Some random thoughts on the recently concluded D23 gathering in Anaheim, California, where a flurry of major announcements were made. When the dust settles years from now, the landscape in Walt Disney World will be changed for decades to come.
THE PLACEMENT OF A LAND DEVOTED TO VILLAINS
The Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World is usually the very first stop parents with young children make after arriving at The Vacation Kingdom of the World.
The reasons are pretty obvious. Many of the Magic Kingdom’s adventures are geared to younger guests.
Attractions such as “it’s a small world,” Peter Pan’s Flight, Journey of the Little Mermaid, Dumbo and Goofy’s Barnstormer are usually filled with excited youngsters, many experiencing their first “big girl” or “big boy” rides.
It’s safe to assume that there are more strollers being pushed around in the Magic Kingdom than at Disney’s other three parks.
The Magic Kingdom, as Walt Disney himself once said, is a place “where parents and their children can have fun together.”
With that in mind, I find the announcement of a villains-themed land to be built near Big Thunder Mountain concerning.
As one former Imagineer told me, “The Magic Kingdom is a safe haven for our younger guests. It should be a joyful, reassuring place.”
So why, oh why, are they planning to build a new land in the kid-friendly Magic Kingdom devoted to characters with nefarious inclinations?
Every holiday season, Disney makes it a point to present a “not-so-scary” Halloween party in an obvious attempt to have everyone smiling, not crying … to keep the mood light-hearted, rather than fright-filled.
I get that the Magic Kingdom is home to Disney’s most beloved and enduring characters – including villains – but the fear here is that villains-loving parents will be dragging their youngsters, kicking and screaming, into a place that may not be age-appropriate.
Heck, when our grandkids were around 5 years old, they wanted nothing to do with the grim-grinning ghosts in the Haunted Mansion.
In short, the placement of a villains-themed land inside the Magic Kingdom, in my opinion, is worrisome.
As a wise man once told me: “Know your audience.”
GOODBYE TO TWO TIME-TESTED ATTRACTIONS
While the new villains area is expected to take up residence on currently unused land behind Big Thunder Mountain, the planned attractions in the Magic Kingdom based on the Cars movies and the new Zootopia show in the Tree of Life Theater in Animal Kingdom mean that two attractions with decades-long runs will fade into Disney history.
The Cars-themed attraction will take over the space currently occupied by Tom Sawyer Island and the Rivers of America. According to Disney, guests will be able to experience a “thrilling rally race through the mountains” … and will be able to “take on wild terrain as you race across the landscape, climbing mountain trails, dodging geysers and — Mater’s favorite — splashing through mudholes.”
A second attraction, also geared to Cars, will be for smaller racers and the entire family. Construction for the land will begin in 2025.
According to Disney Legend Tom Nabbe, who played Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn on the original Tom Sawyer Island in Disneyland, “I’m sorry to see it go, but I’m always open to change. A lot of memories, though!
“You know Walt said the theme parks will always be in a state of becoming. I think it’s about R.O.I. – return on investment. The park is 53 years old, so tax-wise, all of the buildings have been amortized off” … meaning they’re all paid for.
My question is: What becomes of the Liberty Square riverboat? Perhaps they can put it in drydock, add a kitchen and some restrooms, then start doing dinner/fireworks cruises on the Seven Seas Lagoon. Just a thought …
At Animal Kingdom, a Zootopia-themed show will replace park original It’s Tough to be a Bug!
Former Executive Creative Director Kevin Rafferty was the driving force behind It’s Tough to be a Bug! and, like Nabbe, embraces the change.
“Of course, I’m very sad that It’s Tough to be a Bug! is going away, but I’m overjoyed and quite proud that it had such a long run,” Rafferty told me.
“It was indeed a perfect themed attraction for that park. Suffice it to say it’s OK with me that the show is going away because in the spirit of Walt Disney, I believe – as he did – that change is good. Walt changed things up constantly.
“And I am a huge fan of introducing new and original stories, such as It’s tough to be a Bug!, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, and others. Originality is the most difficult thing – and the best thing – a creative person can deliver.”
NEW LAND DEVOTED TO MONSTERS INC.
Speaking of Kevin Rafferty, a new land based on Monsters Inc. will be coming to Hollywood Studios. It’s been a long time in the making.
Although there’s a Monsters Inc.-themed attraction – Mike and Sulley to the Rescue – in California Adventure, there’s never been a land devoted to the popular movie franchise.
But not because Rafferty didn’t try.
“I fully developed a Monstropolis land and the suspended door coaster concept (designed and proven), about 12 or 14 years ago,” he said. “We had concept art, models and virtual VR ride-throughs of the coaster.”
The only thing they didn’t have was the green light to proceed.
But like we’ve said many, many times before, no good ideas are ever discarded at Disney Imagineering.
Rafferty’s concept for the land’s main attraction, which Imagineer Chris Beatty is expected to run with, will follow a story line where the monsters are friends with the humans, and the monsters are going to invite them to ride through their door vault so humans can laugh and scream and power Monstropolis.
The suspended coaster will be a first for a Disney park.
Chuck Schmidt is an award-winning journalist and retired Disney cast member who has covered all things Disney since 1984 in both print and on-line. He has authored or co-authored seven books on Disney, including his On the Disney Beat and Disney’s Dream Weavers for Theme Park Press. He has written a regular blog for AllEars.Net, called Still Goofy About Disney, 2015.
The Cars land in MK replacing Rivers of America doesn’t make much sense to me. The steamboat eats up a ton of guests at one time and holds them for a while. Plus the aging autopia attraction has been needing a serious upgrade for a long time now. A Cars retheme there makes much more sense.
Villains in MK, would probably be ok, if they take the tact similar to MNSSHP and tone down any scary factors from the villains, but that would probably still fit better in Hollywood Studios.
I have always enjoyed Chuck’s articles since his broad perspective on Disney’s parks is based on a long history and involvement. What bothers me about the D23 announcements is the manner in which Disney management is ignoring the emotional investment long-term Disney fans have in classic attractions. Who is Disney’s target audience? It appears it is the Gen Z folks instead of the children, young families, and seniors (who, by the way, have the most purchasing power.) I believe Disney is panicking about the upcoming Epic Universe and is throwing a lot of high-tech headliner attractions to attempt to remain competitive. The solution: a 5th gate. That would allow plenty of space for the Cars, Villains, Tropical, and Monsters land….plus maybe the addition of a Marvels land or an Avenger’s Campus. That would be competitive, appeal to their (apparently) target audience of young people. But the quaint charms and older attractions could be kept intact at the other 4 parks.
One other aspect that is not being considered here is the crowds. No matter what park these replacement rides (this is not an expansion- no new space is being used here) will be in, it will add to the crowds and congestion. One of the big complaints at WDW is the crowd size and the long lines to get in the park, at rides, to eat at kiosks during festivals, and when exiting the park after fireworks. Adding new rides/ attractions to existing space will only make that worse. And at their annual meeting Disney complained of lower attendance. At some point, I would think, this will backfire. As people will decide they don’t want to spend their vacation dollars fighting huge crowds and standing in hours long lines for two minute rides. But if they truly expanded and added more area to each park, it would relieve the pressure, spreading the crowd out more. Disney would get more people and the people would get some congestion relief.
MK is really the only place Villains’ land would fit, both physically and spiritually. I’m sure it will be more along the style of MNSSHP nights and be more fun than frightening. It certainly won’t be like Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights, and almost certainly not as intense has Epic Universe’s upcoming Universal Monsters area.