Huge Disney Rumors for October 2021
We’re only three weeks away from the Destination D23 event at Walt Disney World.
On November 19th through the 21st, Disney executives will reveal details about upcoming theme park projects.
Some of them are ones we already knew, while others would be a surprise. Disney has proven tight-lipped and leak-proof on much of its recent updates.
Still, we have a bit of speculation about what could happen. Here are the latest Disney Rumors for October of 2021.
New EPCOT Pavilions?
The most recent D23 exhibition before 2021 took place two years ago in Anaheim.
At the time, leaks poured out like a sieve as Disney officials made a few errors in judgment.
The most famous of these involved an upcoming pavilion at EPCOT’s World Showcase.
Disney reportedly did more than plan for an expansion. It went so far as to start the hiring process in the applicable country, Brazil.
News sites diligently reported the story as if it were a foregone conclusion. But then, something funny happened.
When the expo’s theme park announcements occurred, nobody said a word about the Brazil pavilion.
Sites went so far as to state where the pavilion would go at the park, which was between the Italy and Germany pavilions.
Disney does own a currently unoccupied 1.5-acre piece of land here, although that’s not unusual.
Anybody familiar with the World Showcase’s layout knows that Disney could easily double the number of pavilions.
Virtually all the current international hubs come with a space between them where another would fit.
Back in the 1980s, park officials anticipated quick and dramatic expansion of the World Showcase. But, sadly, that never happened.
Part of the explanation stems from Disney’s desire for participating countries to pay for their pavilions.
No country proved willing to do this in 1982 when EPCOT debuted. However, some countries like Morocco and Norway later did so.
There’s been no indication that Brazil or anyone else would provide cash incentives for new construction.
As such, I’m dubious that Disney would fit the bill entirely for a Brazil pavilion or anything else.
Even so, Disney seriously explored this idea two years ago. As such, it could easily come back again.
Guess a Brazil pavilion is confirmed for Epcot then? 😂 pic.twitter.com/ahOCrYjEMu
— Ashley Carter (@AshleyLCarter1) August 23, 2019
Other Zombie Attractions
We’re tracking a few other rumors as well. Notably, Disney has desperately wanted to add more rides at the World Showcase.
In recent years, park balance has evolved into a pressing concern.
We’ve seen expansions at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disney California Adventure for this reason, among others.
At EPCOT, you’ll find only three rides at the World Showcase – Frozen Ever After, Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros, and Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure.
That’s a top-heavy group that, in some ways, causes more problems than it solves. Demand for Frozen Ever After has remained intense for years now.
Meanwhile, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure should prove similarly popular for the next three or four years at a minimum.
Disney could use an attraction here that turns over guests quickly. The company would prefer one that doesn’t cost a lot and has high throughput.
The previously announced and then abandoned Mary Poppins spinner flat ride could come back into play.
Alternatively, Disney may evolve it into a more straightforward dark ride that tells the story of the movie.
The company already has some of those pieces from The Great Movie Ride. So even if they got destroyed, Imagineers know what worked and what didn’t.
MARY POPPINS, Julie Andrews, 1964
My understanding is that the previously proposed Jungle Book attraction proved too expensive.
As a reminder, Disney would have used the same technology from Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure.
This indisputable E-ticket attraction would have anchored the new India pavilion. While anything is possible, I think this idea has evolved.
Now, any such attraction would likely go to Disney’s Animal Kingdom or Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Jungle Book fits just as well at the former. At the latter, it would be an Indiana Jones attraction instead. I don’t think that’s happening, though.
What Should We Realistically Expect?
Okay, we can be sure about a few announcements at Destination D23.
Disney should provide additional updates about previously confirmed projects like Journey of Water.
Also, we hope to receive clarification about the PLAY! pavilion. Park officials sounded emphatic that this would happen.
However, the folks who track construction via overhead pictures have noticed some alarming trends with that area of EPCOT.
If Disney is working toward the creation of the PLAY! pavilion, it’s doing so in a way that belies the images people have taken.
Image Credit: Disney
Sadly, if Disney has canceled the project, we won’t hear anything about it during the theme park presentation. Instead, Disney will pretend it didn’t happen.
Still, the company wouldn’t have announced this expo unless it had some major projects in the pipeline.
You may recall that Disney recently started demolition on the old Primeval Whirl attraction. As a result, most of the track has vanished, and the rest will be gone soon.
Park officials picked a strange time for demo there, as Animal Kingdom doesn’t need the space for any announced project.
However, that balancing issue I previously mentioned could come into play here.
Quick, when was the last time you thought that you should start your Animal Kingdom visit at DinoLand U.S.A.?
You don’t have to answer that. We both know that you head straight to Pandora – The World of Avatar when you enter the park.
The staggering popularity of that themed land has caused an imbalance in traffic flow.
Image Credit; Disney
Disney needs something on the other side to counterbalance Pandora. Now, that’s not realistically possible, but a new ride would at least help somewhat.
So, I’m hopeful we’ll get some declaration of a new project at Animal Kingdom.
Photo: Disney
Final Thoughts
The flow of Disney information has changed dramatically during the Bob Chapek era. As such, nobody is really sure of anything about impending announcements.
For that matter, everybody WAS SURE about the Brazil pavilion in 2019, and we saw how that turned out.
Photo: Disney
You’ll notice that I haven’t mentioned the other two Walt Disney World parks here.
Disney has built out Hollywood Studios enough that it doesn’t need anything right now. Still, a new attraction or two would help with the overall wait times.
At Magic Kingdom, the same sexy rumors persist about new hotels with side park entry and exotic roller coasters.
I won’t buy any of it until Josh D’Amaro or Bob Chapek says it’s happening, though.
Photo: Disney
Stay tuned to MickeyBlog to learn everything the company does confirm, and we’ll probably throw in some rumor killers as well.
Don’t trust anything until a high-level Disney executive says it at D23 or on the Parks Blog, folks!
I mean, we still don’t have that Wreck-It Ralph ride at Magic Kingdom, and it’s been rumored for like five years!
