Does Walt Disney World Need to Add Two New Attractions Per Park?
A popular podcaster and Disney insider recently speculated that Universal’s Epic Universe posed an existential threat.
This respected expert in the field of Disney argued that Walt Disney World needed to add two attractions per park to match Epic Universe.
While I think that statement is vastly overblown – and probably made in jest rather than as a legitimate belief – it’s still fun to speculate.
If Walt Disney World were to add two new attractions per park, here’s what I’d like them to be.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom
This exercise is admittedly open-ended. So please don’t take any of it seriously. We’re a few days away from the 2022 D23 Expo.
That’s when Disney will officially announce new projects. Thankfully, recent comments by Disney executives indicate an increase in capital expenditures is coming soon.
So, we WILL have new announcements on some stuff. However, I expect some of it to duplicate existing work.
To wit, I’m inclined to believe a rumor involving the movie Zootopia.
Shanghai Disneyland Resort is currently building a themed land based on the anthropomorphic animals from the movie.
Speculation centers on a – don’t shoot the messenger – limousine ride akin to a popular scene from Zootopia. It’s this one:
The limousine sequence involves polar bears and a character named Mr. Big, who…isn’t.
Anyway, Disney is 50/50 on limo rides. Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith definitely falls into the win category. Superstar Limo does NOT.
I think a drive through Zootopia in a limousine could work well as a combination of Na’vi River Journey and the Hogwarts Express at Universal Orlando Resort.
Speaking of Pandora, this themed land had hinted at an expansion on multiple occasions. The time is now.
I’d love to see an underwater attraction based on the upcoming sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water.
Disney’s Hollywood Studios
The easiest thing in the world to do would be to say, “Moar Star Wars pleaz!” Let’s be honest, though. This park already features three Star Wars rides.
I’m not even including the other amenities available in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and the Play Disney Parks and MagicBand+ games.
I know it’s blasphemous to say, but Hollywood Studios doesn’t need more Star Wars.
If you don’t find enough Force-related activities at the park, stay at Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser instead.
Instead, what I want at Hollywood Studios is often-rumored Indiana Jones themed land.
Reports have centered on Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios as potential landing spots for such a place.
Disney has hedged its bets by waiting on the outcome of the upcoming Indiana Jones movie, which won’t come out until 2023.
Still, we haven’t had an Indy film since 2008, and we haven’t had a good one since 1989. Those facts haven’t hurt the brand any.
So, Hollywood Studios should add a new Indy ride, preferably one akin to Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril at Disneyland Paris.
I’d also like to get an Indiana Jones Adventure here. However, Disney may view that as redundant due to DINOSAUR using the same tech.
In that case, my vote here is straightforward. Bring back The Great Movie Ride in a new location! And add the Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights, too!
I miss the classics. Don’t you?
EPCOT
Wow, Disney could do anything here. I have many, many, MANY suggestions, but I don’t think I should stray too far.
Instead, we know that Bob Chapek loves the plans in place for a Mary Poppins flat ride at the United Kingdom pavilion.
As such, if Disney added two attractions at the park, I strongly suspect one of them would be practically perfect in every way.
The second ride requires a bit more…ambition. Disney was rumored to open two new pavilions, Brazil and India.
People went so far as to describe the Brazil pavilion as a done deal. This happened just before the 2019 D23 Expo, but the rumor proved untrue.
Well, let’s just say that Disney never announced the project, which isn’t the same as the rumor having no basis in fact.
Some Disney insiders suggested that the India pavilion would have been even better. They hinted at a sweeping theme park attraction.
This ride would tell the story of Jon Favreau’s version of The Jungle Book. But, more significantly, it’d use similar tech to Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure.
That’s an irresistible proposition. That Shanghai Disneyland attraction has earned acclaim for its innovative ride mechanics.
Something similar at EPCOT would fit the park’s vision for infotainment AND Chapek’s lust for intellectual properties as the basis for attractions.
Magic Kingdom
While Magic Kingdom could add virtually anything, I’m limiting this to two rumors from the past. I’m doing so because both of them were terrific.
At Adventureland, Imagineers had once plotted a volcano roller coaster. You’ll even find wiki entries about this place, Fire Mountain.
The idea centered on Disney trying to outdo itself with artificial mountains. This time, Imagineers would have built a structure on the park’s left side.
In doing so, Disney would have added a new wienie at the one place in Magic Kingdom lacking one.
This rumor dates back to the mid-1990s, nearly 30 years ago. However, it has come up again in recent years.
For a time, people believed that Disney might build the ride with a Moana theme.
Now that a Moana water feature is coming to EPCOT, I’m dubious that Disney has an interest in this project. But I think it sounds phenomenal!
Conversely, I fully expect an announcement about the long-rumored Wreck-It Ralph virtual reality attraction at Tomorrowland. That’s not what I want, though.
Instead, I remain hopeful that Disney will find the space to add an Encanto ride at this park.
Casita wouldn’t take up much space, but an augmented reality attraction set in this house would be a mind-blowing experience.
Encanto has proven that it’s a cultural touchstone for this generation. For this reason, Disney should soon add an Encanto ride at Walt Disney World.
Magic Kingdom makes the most sense for this attraction. At one point, Disney had intended to use Brazil as the setting.
Had that happened, the Brazil pavilion at EPCOT would have been a better fit.
Since Disney switched the setting to Colombia, I view Encanto as more appropriate in Fantasyland. A sentient magical house is a solid fantasy, right?
As far as Encanto having a ride, it was a good movie, but not anywhere near as good as some of the other ones. I also think it’s way too soon for an Encanto ride. I’m a big advocate for history and to me, if we are talking Walt Disney World, there are a number of old Disney classic films that aren’t represented with rides at all really. Like Lady and the Tramp, 101 Dalmatians, Pinocchio, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella (no I don’t count Prince Charming’s Regal Carousel).
I like the Brazil and India pavilions for Epcot. That park is huge and think they are on the right track adding rides gradually into the world showcase, they only have 3 thus far. 2 of the rides on the far left and one ride on the far right. So you have this huge walking distance of the countries back there and theres no additional rides. Even adding the Mary Poppins ride in the UK pavilion is great and should happen, but it’s at the beginning of the World Showcase on the right, so once you pass Ratatouille ride in France, you have no additional rides until you get to the Frozen Ride in the Norway pavilion which is in the other side of the World Showcase. I think they’ll add more. Ideally most or all countries back there should have at least one ride.
Disney really needs to not only add more rides to each park, but also build a 5th theme park to better control crowds and compete with the upcoming Universal park.