Disney Rumors for October 2020
Well, the worst year in modern civilization is coming to an end.
For now, we’ve all got Hocus Pocus and The Nightmare Before Christmas to distract us.
Disney’s not so lucky, though. The company is currently making hard choices about future park plans, and you’re not going to like many of them.
I’m the bearer of bad news in this month’s edition of Disney rumors.
Caution: Speedbumps Ahead
Look, we knew within weeks of America’s societal shutdown that Disney would face wide-ranging ramifications.
I’ve discussed such matters in other recent rumors updates, and I’ll level with you right now.
These things will probably get worse before they get better.
Bob Chapek, the new CEO, just looked at the whole board and decided that Disney is a streaming company now more than anything else.
You shouldn’t read anything park-related into that statement. If anything, it’ll help significantly long-term.
Netflix possesses a higher valuation than Disney right now even though the latter company receives theme park, merchandising, and advertising revenue.
Being the dominant player in the streaming industry gives Netflix more earnings potential.
Disney will get there one day soon after it raises its rates for Disney+.
The company provided several incredible initial offers to assure immediate interest.
Some D-23 members could subscribe for three years in advance! Disney did this to build a customer base, and it’ll gradually increase pricing later.
At that point, Disney’s valuation will improve dramatically, as it’s a better overall company than Netflix. Along the way, the company will earn more revenue.
When that happens, Disney parks will be flush with capital and expand mightily…but it’s at least two years from now.
Also, you’ll hear a lot of grumbling about Disney+ price increases, which will all sound ridiculous.
Everyone knows the current price point isn’t sustainable. I mean, CBS All-Access costs 30 percent more but offers about a fraction of the programming.
I say all this to cushion the blow about the rest of 2020 and 2021. The inescapable truth involves Disney cutting corners wherein possible.
The latest crushing news confirms that Disneyland won’t return soon, another revenue stream Disney has lost. And there are ramifications.
Rumored Delays
Let’s start with expected but frustrating rumors, which are at least somewhat substantiated.
Earlier this year, I pondered whether Disney would unveil its new Ratatouille attraction in 2020.
As depressing as this statement is, I discussed the matter in late-May, which I’d expected toward the end of the Great Shut-In.
Alas, people didn’t wear their masks enough, and so capacity remains at 25 percent. For this reason, opening this ride in 2020 doesn’t make much sense.
Park officials are aware of the problem. Nobody has publicly commented yet, but Disney acts like it will run out the clock here.
Only days ago, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure posted its ride marquee, which indicates that it’s nearly ready.
Still, with only two months left in 2020, nobody expects the ride this winter.
Instead, EPCOT will add a new attraction sometime in the spring or possibly even summer, depending on what happens next with the pandemic.
Ratatouille had entered an advanced stage of construction when the Coronavirus outbreak occurred. It was only three months from the scheduled opening.
More Delays
The other two upcoming Disney rides of note needed substantially more work. Disney had scheduled these attractions to debut in 2021.
Well, social distancing requirements have factored heavily into the construction of these rides.
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind and Tron Lightcyle Power Run both should have debuted in 2021.
Park planners demanded this pace so that Disney could market two new rides as part of the 50th-anniversary celebration.
Unfortunately, both projects have fallen behind schedule due to the pandemic. Also, Disney has tightened its budget and laid off workers.
Some recently terminated employees came from these projects, a secondary cause for delays.
Right now, it appears unlikely that either attraction opens in 2021.
Instead, in this scenario, Disney will market Ratatouille as the new ride of note for its anniversary party.
However, much of what I’m saying remains unsettled for now. We’re still more than 11 months away from October 1st, 2021.
Current rumors suggest that Disney will complete the signature wave canopy on the Tron roller coaster and then stop construction until next fall.
In that eventuality, the ride would open during the summer of 2022. Yes, some people believe Disney will just stop working on Tron for a while.
I’m skeptical, but I also know that the most critical construction project is something else.
Disney wants and needs Magic Kingdom Railroad operational for the 50th-anniversary event next October, as that was an opening day attraction.
Tabling Tron to complete the railroad tracks is logical.
As for Guardians, the usually reliable marni1971 at WDWMagic suggests that Disney may market this attraction as part of EPCOT’s 40th-anniversary.
That would mean a target ETA of October 1st, 2022. Coincidentally, that’s a few months after the third Guardians of the Galaxy movie should come out.
What We’ve Lost
In a recent update, I mentioned that the Mary Poppins attraction at EPCOT appears dead, at least for now.
I want to clarify what I mean by that because I’m about to say it again for something else.
With Disney cash poor, some projects will go into hibernation for a while. That makes them as good as dead for the time being.
Park planners may always return to these ideas later when the aforementioned capital influx occurs. That timeline would be 2022-2023.
Keeping that in mind, I’ve also discussed rumors about an Indiana Jones attraction before. Well, you can scratch those off the list for now.
Insiders suggest that Indiana Jones won’t happen anytime soon, if ever, at least at Walt Disney World.
Disneyland, Tokyo Disneyland, and Disneyland Paris still have Indy-themed rides.
In a perfect world, some Orlando park would have joined them. Disney had plotted a full Indiana Jones land at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Park officials had also weighed a similar ride structure to Indiana Jones Adventure at Hollywood Studios. However, it would have featured a new story.
Finally, some blue sky ideas centered on an Indiana Jones story utilizing the ride mechanics from Shanghai Disneyland’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure.
Sadly, all those ideas are off the table. Disney won’t move forward with anything Indiana Jones for a while.
The soonest this could change is in 2022, when the fifth Indiana Jones movie will allegedly arrive. I’m skeptical since the project has received numerous delays already.
However, if Harrison Ford returns as Indy, love for the character could drive demand for a new attraction.
So, all I’ve got for you is bad news this month…but at least it’s Halloween! Eat some candy and feel better about life, my friends!