Pittsburgh Arts, Regional Theatre, New Work, Producing, Copyright, Labor Unions,
New Products, Coping Skills, J-O-Bs...
Theatre industry news, University & School of Drama Announcements, plus occasional course support for
Carnegie Mellon School of Drama Faculty, Staff, Students, and Alumni.
CMU School of Drama
Monday, January 26, 2026
Disney World’s New Villains Land at Magic Kingdom Will Be Its Most Original in Years: Report
people.com: The Wall Street Journal spoke to Disney Imagineering leaders past and present about what fans can expect from the forthcoming addition to the Magic Kingdom. The new area, which is already under construction, is expected to feature villains from beloved movies like Snow White, Peter Pan, and Aladdin, among others.
10 comments:
Emily R
said...
I need to read this article because I have not heard anything about this new park since it was announced in 2024. I am personally more of a Universal Studio person but… this new land does make me more interested in what Disney is cooking up for the future of the park. I love the classic disney villains and I think that land will definitely bring them the spotlight they deserve while also bringing in more ticket sales. I knew it was announced, but I didn’t realize that they had started construction on it last year. As someone who may be interested in the theme park realm of work, it is always nice to stay updated. I also think as halloween rolls around that disney could definitely do something when this new world brings in sales, similar to the boo fest, but really jazz it up in the new land being built. I also think that it is interesting that they are adding onto Magic kingdom (one of the largest parks) compared to somewhere like Hollywood Studios that could use a little tune up in attractions.
Disney is a huge cultural moment, and disney world is a really cool place to visit. Personally I think that the villains have always been the coolest part of the classic disney movies. After all without them the stories wouldn’t be intresting. I also think that asthetically the way these villains are designed is truly incredible. Creating a section of theme park that revolves around these iconic characters would add a whole lot to the park. First of all there is so much potential for new and exciting design opportunities for rides, buildings, foods and so much more. I also think it is a cool opportunity to make something that is exciting to slightly older kids, who may feel like they’re “too old” to enjoy disney. I think it’s also a great opportunity to separate villain things and make them more avoidable to little kids who may be afraid of these characters and don’t necessarily want to interact with them.
I am so excited!! I love Disney World! It is just such an amazing feat! The theming is truly out of this world, and the way that they mask the “backstage” areas is magic. Dick Block would be proud! I would say that Magic Kingdom was my least favorite park. It is extremely nostalgic, but it does not feel as updated as all of the other parks. It is also tailored more to younger guests, which is not a bad thing, but I am very excited to see some updates! They did recently add the Tron roller coaster, however I found it a little underwhelming. It was lots of fun, but it was too short. I can only assume that this is Disney’s response to Universal’s new Epic Universe. They do have a villains land, however they did not use much IP. It will be really interesting to see how Disney mixes the two, as they have not made a new land without IP in quite some time. I really hope that they include a good variety of villains, especially the Shadow Man from Princess and the Frog, all while keeping it fresh and new!
When I was little, I really didn’t like the villains in Disney movies. They scared me more than anything, and I always focused on the heroes instead. As I’ve gotten older though, I’ve definitely come around to seeing Disney villains as more than just the “bad guys.” A lot of them feel more complex, dramatic, and even relatable in ways the heroes sometimes aren’t. A Villains Land just feels like something that could really resonate with older kids and adults who grew up with these movies. It seems like a space where Disney can lean into darker themes, bigger personalities, and more interesting storytelling. I’ve never been to Disney World, so I don’t fully know the vibe of Magic Kingdom, but this sounds like a refresh that could add more depth to the park. Overall, it feels like a smart way to expand Disney’s appeal beyond just younger audiences. I'd love to go to Disney World sometime and experience it all!
Hearing that Disney is trying to do something new and original is very exciting to hear, given that in recent years they, along with almost every other studio in the world, have started to lean heavily on remakes and franchises that have already existed. It's nice to hear that they might finally be listening to the people and realize that we want new and original stories. That being said, I don't really know how creating a park based on already extremely popular characters fits into that category. Don’t get me wrong It sounds very fun and exciting, and I for one am incredibly happy that they are including Yzma (maybe my long held dream that the ride into Yzma’s lab will become a real rollercoaster is becoming a reality), it just doesn't actually show that Disney is trying to be ambitious and original, but maybe they are giving their imagineers free reign to create something fun and new.
I’ve been watching the development of this new area at Magic Kingdom very closely since it was announced in 2024, and suffice to say it is certainly the most exciting project in this most recent wave of domestic expansions. Disney has been largely focused on highly immersive themed areas and attractions the past ten years, so to see them create a land that is not only dedicated to the Villains, but that also has its own identity created by Walt Disney Imagineering is really incredible. The last time they created an entirely new attraction that had this much originality domestically was Expedition Everest in 2006! Based on the concept art, permits, and the size of the construction site at Magic Kingdom, it looks like it will be somewhat similar to the Fantasy Springs expansion that opened at Tokyo Disney last year. It also seems like the land will be the largest expansion to the resort since Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in 2019, and it will certainly add a lot to Magic Kingdom. Regardless, the Imagineers have almost always delivered incredible attractions with incredible design, and this will certainly be an exciting opening when it rolls around in 2029-2030.
As someone who follows theme parks extremely closely, even going as far as watching patents being filed, I am very excited to see what Disney does with Villains Land. Just seeing what Universal did over at Epic Universe with Darkmoor, the in a way equivalences of Villains Land, you can surprisingly do a lot with a concept like this. While Universal’s only has two rides in the land, it’s certainly the most groundbreaking and unique land they created, and I am extremely excited to see the Disney version with their storytelling abilities in a land such as Darkmoor. It’s certainly different in a good way then the classic happy lands they create, so I am also excited to see how they pivot from creating happy lands to darker lands like Villains Land. I am also curious to see how much gets cut from original plans to it actually being built, as in recent years, quite a bit gets cut nowadays.
Maybe its just because as a kid I always wanted to be different and “not like other girls” but the villains were always the most interesting parts of Disney movies to me, especially their character designs. The designs always had the most captivating colors and costumes and songs. It seemed like the designers knew if the villains weren't really interesting to viewers nobody would want to continue to watch the movie. Disney did an excellent job at coming up with really emotional backstories for their villains too which makes it so much more interesting to watch because viewers have this empathy for them because most of the time they aren't choosing to be evil, it's out of revenge or some other explainable reason. Anyways, I am hypeeeee about this park because there is just so much to work with in the realm of disney villains, Im picturing some crazzyyy rides for characters like: Jafar, Scar, Ursula, Hades, Mother Gothel etc. I think it could be done really really well if they actually put a lot of care into the designs which hopefully they do because I will definitely be visiting!
I think it's a great idea for disney land to be branching out ideas wise for their parks, its seems like they've stuck to the same formula for a good portion of their history to its interesting to see them try some new things for once. You can always tell which characters disney favors and which ones they don't, which makes sense since it's those characters that support disney’s clean image, but ive noticed a lot more people prefer the villainous characters of their movies rather than the main characters, the antagonists just have more interesting character roles and more charming personalities that draw people to their characters so it makes sense that their popular in the parks and that disney wants to profit of that success. Also while im glad the park is going to do more original content i actually want them to focus on some of their more niche movies as well like treasure planet or Atlantis(though i am biased)
I'm excited to see a potential return of new and creative ideas to the parks. While IP is a great way to draw the audience in without needing to tell a self contained story, I feel that because most IPs are not tailored for interactive experiences requiring strict adherence to an existing world will inevitably make for a worse experience than if imagineers were simply allowed to follow their creativity. I think the biggest example of strict adherence to IP bringing the park down is Galaxy's Edge. Many fan favorite characters have been unable to appear in the land due to the land being considered cannon within the timeline and as such only characters living during the sequel trilogy can appear. If the land did not need to strictly adhere to the IP imagineers could instead put their sole focus on creating a good experience not wondering what implications the land would have on the greater lore. This isn't to say that imagineers should ignore the existing lore of IPs used in the parks but I think that they should be more flexible, such as in the case of Disneyland's Galaxy's Edge having different parts of the land represent different time frames so fan favorite characters can appear.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(999x0:1001x2):format(webp)/WDW-villians-land-011426-07e070812f0f496baa01c93a51796df2.jpg)
10 comments:
I need to read this article because I have not heard anything about this new park since it was announced in 2024. I am personally more of a Universal Studio person but… this new land does make me more interested in what Disney is cooking up for the future of the park. I love the classic disney villains and I think that land will definitely bring them the spotlight they deserve while also bringing in more ticket sales. I knew it was announced, but I didn’t realize that they had started construction on it last year. As someone who may be interested in the theme park realm of work, it is always nice to stay updated. I also think as halloween rolls around that disney could definitely do something when this new world brings in sales, similar to the boo fest, but really jazz it up in the new land being built. I also think that it is interesting that they are adding onto Magic kingdom (one of the largest parks) compared to somewhere like Hollywood Studios that could use a little tune up in attractions.
Disney is a huge cultural moment, and disney world is a really cool place to visit. Personally I think that the villains have always been the coolest part of the classic disney movies. After all without them the stories wouldn’t be intresting. I also think that asthetically the way these villains are designed is truly incredible. Creating a section of theme park that revolves around these iconic characters would add a whole lot to the park. First of all there is so much potential for new and exciting design opportunities for rides, buildings, foods and so much more. I also think it is a cool opportunity to make something that is exciting to slightly older kids, who may feel like they’re “too old” to enjoy disney. I think it’s also a great opportunity to separate villain things and make them more avoidable to little kids who may be afraid of these characters and don’t necessarily want to interact with them.
I am so excited!! I love Disney World! It is just such an amazing feat! The theming is truly out of this world, and the way that they mask the “backstage” areas is magic. Dick Block would be proud! I would say that Magic Kingdom was my least favorite park. It is extremely nostalgic, but it does not feel as updated as all of the other parks. It is also tailored more to younger guests, which is not a bad thing, but I am very excited to see some updates! They did recently add the Tron roller coaster, however I found it a little underwhelming. It was lots of fun, but it was too short. I can only assume that this is Disney’s response to Universal’s new Epic Universe. They do have a villains land, however they did not use much IP. It will be really interesting to see how Disney mixes the two, as they have not made a new land without IP in quite some time. I really hope that they include a good variety of villains, especially the Shadow Man from Princess and the Frog, all while keeping it fresh and new!
When I was little, I really didn’t like the villains in Disney movies. They scared me more than anything, and I always focused on the heroes instead. As I’ve gotten older though, I’ve definitely come around to seeing Disney villains as more than just the “bad guys.” A lot of them feel more complex, dramatic, and even relatable in ways the heroes sometimes aren’t. A Villains Land just feels like something that could really resonate with older kids and adults who grew up with these movies. It seems like a space where Disney can lean into darker themes, bigger personalities, and more interesting storytelling. I’ve never been to Disney World, so I don’t fully know the vibe of Magic Kingdom, but this sounds like a refresh that could add more depth to the park. Overall, it feels like a smart way to expand Disney’s appeal beyond just younger audiences. I'd love to go to Disney World sometime and experience it all!
Hearing that Disney is trying to do something new and original is very exciting to hear, given that in recent years they, along with almost every other studio in the world, have started to lean heavily on remakes and franchises that have already existed. It's nice to hear that they might finally be listening to the people and realize that we want new and original stories. That being said, I don't really know how creating a park based on already extremely popular characters fits into that category. Don’t get me wrong It sounds very fun and exciting, and I for one am incredibly happy that they are including Yzma (maybe my long held dream that the ride into Yzma’s lab will become a real rollercoaster is becoming a reality), it just doesn't actually show that Disney is trying to be ambitious and original, but maybe they are giving their imagineers free reign to create something fun and new.
I’ve been watching the development of this new area at Magic Kingdom very closely since it was announced in 2024, and suffice to say it is certainly the most exciting project in this most recent wave of domestic expansions. Disney has been largely focused on highly immersive themed areas and attractions the past ten years, so to see them create a land that is not only dedicated to the Villains, but that also has its own identity created by Walt Disney Imagineering is really incredible. The last time they created an entirely new attraction that had this much originality domestically was Expedition Everest in 2006! Based on the concept art, permits, and the size of the construction site at Magic Kingdom, it looks like it will be somewhat similar to the Fantasy Springs expansion that opened at Tokyo Disney last year. It also seems like the land will be the largest expansion to the resort since Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in 2019, and it will certainly add a lot to Magic Kingdom. Regardless, the Imagineers have almost always delivered incredible attractions with incredible design, and this will certainly be an exciting opening when it rolls around in 2029-2030.
As someone who follows theme parks extremely closely, even going as far as watching patents being filed, I am very excited to see what Disney does with Villains Land. Just seeing what Universal did over at Epic Universe with Darkmoor, the in a way equivalences of Villains Land, you can surprisingly do a lot with a concept like this. While Universal’s only has two rides in the land, it’s certainly the most groundbreaking and unique land they created, and I am extremely excited to see the Disney version with their storytelling abilities in a land such as Darkmoor. It’s certainly different in a good way then the classic happy lands they create, so I am also excited to see how they pivot from creating happy lands to darker lands like Villains Land. I am also curious to see how much gets cut from original plans to it actually being built, as in recent years, quite a bit gets cut nowadays.
Maybe its just because as a kid I always wanted to be different and “not like other girls” but the villains were always the most interesting parts of Disney movies to me, especially their character designs. The designs always had the most captivating colors and costumes and songs. It seemed like the designers knew if the villains weren't really interesting to viewers nobody would want to continue to watch the movie. Disney did an excellent job at coming up with really emotional backstories for their villains too which makes it so much more interesting to watch because viewers have this empathy for them because most of the time they aren't choosing to be evil, it's out of revenge or some other explainable reason. Anyways, I am hypeeeee about this park because there is just so much to work with in the realm of disney villains, Im picturing some crazzyyy rides for characters like: Jafar, Scar, Ursula, Hades, Mother Gothel etc. I think it could be done really really well if they actually put a lot of care into the designs which hopefully they do because I will definitely be visiting!
I think it's a great idea for disney land to be branching out ideas wise for their parks, its seems like they've stuck to the same formula for a good portion of their history to its interesting to see them try some new things for once. You can always tell which characters disney favors and which ones they don't, which makes sense since it's those characters that support disney’s clean image, but ive noticed a lot more people prefer the villainous characters of their movies rather than the main characters, the antagonists just have more interesting character roles and more charming personalities that draw people to their characters so it makes sense that their popular in the parks and that disney wants to profit of that success. Also while im glad the park is going to do more original content i actually want them to focus on some of their more niche movies as well like treasure planet or Atlantis(though i am biased)
I'm excited to see a potential return of new and creative ideas to the parks. While IP is a great way to draw the audience in without needing to tell a self contained story, I feel that because most IPs are not tailored for interactive experiences requiring strict adherence to an existing world will inevitably make for a worse experience than if imagineers were simply allowed to follow their creativity. I think the biggest example of strict adherence to IP bringing the park down is Galaxy's Edge. Many fan favorite characters have been unable to appear in the land due to the land being considered cannon within the timeline and as such only characters living during the sequel trilogy can appear. If the land did not need to strictly adhere to the IP imagineers could instead put their sole focus on creating a good experience not wondering what implications the land would have on the greater lore. This isn't to say that imagineers should ignore the existing lore of IPs used in the parks but I think that they should be more flexible, such as in the case of Disneyland's Galaxy's Edge having different parts of the land represent different time frames so fan favorite characters can appear.
Post a Comment