Disney Rumors for April 2023
The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District just discovered that it just got played at the poker table.
Meanwhile, executives from The Walt Disney Company are cackling as their secret becomes a national headline.
Photo: The Walt Disney Company
Barring something unforeseen, Disney has given itself full control of Walt Disney World for the next 30 years (!).
In the process, the company has increased its odds of building another theme park, the proverbial fifth gate, at Walt Disney World.
Photo: Disney
So, we will spend this month’s Disney Rumors discussing what a new park could entail.
Let’s Talk about Villains
Photo:visitorlando.com
In an excellent demonstration of my timing, I wrote about whether Disney should build a fifth theme park…right before the pandemic started.
I then doubled down by writing about ideas for a fifth theme park on March 10th, 2020. Hey, did anything happen on March 11th, 2020?
Anyway, we should talk about the first potential park idea I discussed just before the world went nuts.
That’s the oft-rumored Disney Villains park. In 2019, this idea picked up steam when Magic Kingdom introduced Disney Villains after Hours.
Photo: Disney
Basically, some genius at Disney determined a way to host a year-round version of Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party.
Universal Studios loved the idea so much that it recently announced a permanent Halloween Horror Nights experience at Area15 in Las Vegas.
Theme park strategists understand that pop culture currently possesses an insatiable appetite for all things Halloween.
In fact, we’ll expect this phenomenon again at the end of the month. That’s when Disney will announce its #HalfwaytoHalloween festivities.
Photo: Disney Springs
Some fans literally count down the days between Halloween events at the parks!
Given this information, you can understand why the idea of a Villains theme park appeals to Disney. But there’s more to the story…
Disney’s Mixed Message about Villains Park
I’ve discussed the idea of a Villains theme park on several occasions. In each instance, I’ve mentioned how Disney has strongly considered the idea many times.
Well, Disney disputes that notion. Many former Imagineers suggest fans have propagated the rumor, while cast members have never done any blue-sky work on the project.
Photo: Disney
That argument strikes me as hard – nay, impossible – to believe, but current and former workers have said it enough to give me pause.
As the less popular version of a familiar maxim goes, perception is nine-tenths of reality.
Photo: Disney
You’ve probably heard the quote about the law, but this reality variant drives a surprising amount of business decisions.
Once customers believe something, the company starts saying, “Why not?”
In this case, Disney executives put the idea to the test during the 2022 D23 Expo.
During the Parks panel, Disney Parks Chairman Josh D’Amaro hosted some Imagineers and other popular Disney celebrities.
Photo: Disney
At one point, D’Amaro and his staff discussed what lies beyond Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.
Disney used this exercise to field-test the idea of a Villains theme park. Everyone involved has since expressed surprise regarding the reaction.
Photo: Disney
As MickeyBlog recently quoted, “We (Disney) took note of how loud the applause was when we announced that.”
So, Disney’s assertion here comes down to Villains Park never being a firm idea before 2022. Since then, executives have considered this park.
Photo: Pexel.com
The question becomes what a Disney Villains Theme Park would entail. And we have some guesses…
The Future of “Play”
More recently, D’Amaro appeared at SXSW 2023. During his presentation, he invited two Imagineers on stage.
Morgan Pope and Tony Dohi had previously worked together on the Spider-Man Audio-Animatronic, the flying robotic gymnast at Avengers Campus.
The latest project from the Imagineers will presumably go on display at Shanghai Disneyland as part of the upcoming Zootopia.
As a reminder, Disney has already shown us an Audio-Animatronic (AA) coming to this themed land:
However, the Judy Hopps project works a bit differently. This robotic innovation is capable of tumbling routines asking a parent for upsies.
In other words, Judy Hopps looks and acts like an adorable child…or at least she will once Disney has fine-tuned the cosmetics of what’s currently a gray robot.
This new form of AA plays perfectly with Disney’s vision for the theme park of tomorrow. It’ll involve more “play” interactivity.
We’re raising the smartest and most informed generation of children ever. The old form of theme park interaction won’t work for all of them.
Photo: Disney
As such, Disney is doing what it has always done: trying to remain current with evolving societal trends.
While Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln won’t wow a child the way that it did in 1964, Judy Hopps performing a forward flip will.
Photo: Disney
We’re entering a new generation of robotics, and Disney is at the forefront.
A Few Ideas for Villains Park
What could that mean for a Villains Park? The possibilities are limitless.
Personally, I’d create something like Iago from Aladdin to modernize the tiki birds, arguably the original AAs, in a new, more interactive fashion.
Photo: Disney
That’s the Disney historian in me talking, though. Something like an interactive Kronk would hold greater appeal to kids.
In fact, if we expanded the idea of a Disney Villain, Experiment 626 as an interactive “Play” AA would cause pure euphoria among children…and many adults!
Disney could also recycle ideas from Beastly Kingdom, which I also discussed in that article.
I don’t think I’ve ever written a full description of what happened with Beastly Kingdom at MickeyBlog, but you can find details in my Disney Demystified books.
Photo: AMazon
The gist is that Disney plotted a fictional realm at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. It would have included dragons and other mythical creatures from folklore.
Guests would encounter a unicorn during a maze or try to escape from the proverbial dragon’s den on a roller coaster.
Photo: Disney
Disney could easily recycle some of those ride concepts, like the dragon’s lair coaster. Disney would merely substitute Maleficent to fit the theme.
To a larger point, this park would serve a different purpose. It would one-up the planned Epic Universe expansion at Universal Orlando Resort.
Photo: Universal
Disney has chosen not to enter an arms race with Universal. Instead, the Mouse House will allow Universal to go first.
Afterward, Disney can unveil its fifth park, which would almost assuredly improve upon the revolutionary new elements expected at Epic Universe.
Photo: Universal
Neither Disney nor Universal has built an American theme park in more than 20 years. That’s an eternity, given all the technological advances in the interim.
Judy Hopps represents but one of Disney’s potential integrated park enhancements as it enters the full-throated Play era.
Update: Before this article published, Bob Iger casually revealed that Disney will spend $17 billion improving Walt Disney World over the next decade. That proclamation hints at the possibility of a fifth theme park coming soon!
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