Disney Rumors for March 2024

Sometimes, in my rush to bring you earth-shattering rumors that could change the course of Disney theme parks, I overlook simpler changes.

This month, I’ll take a different approach by discussing some rumors I’ve heard that are likely to happen.

Part of the reason why we’ll receive these changes is the underlying thought behind Country Bear Jamboree.

Sometimes, a cheap alteration can reinvigorate an attraction, restaurant or store.

In fact, we’ve recently witnessed this with the former Electric Umbrella and Mouse Ears at EPCOT.

I haaaaaaaated losing Mouse Ears, but the new dining and shopping spaces objectively draw more traffic.

So, let’s talk about subtle but likely changes coming to the parks in the latest batch of Disney Rumors.

Tiana’s Palace…at Magic Kingdom?

Last year, we excitedly reported on the opening of Tiana’s Palace at Disneyland Park.

The new Tiana restaurant replaced the former location in that space, French Market.

While the old eatery fit well with the New Orleans Square theme, it certainly wasn’t as perfectly themed as Tiana’s Palace.

As a reminder, New Orleans provides the setting for The Princess and the Frog.

Any restaurant based on that theme immediately becomes ideal for New Orleans Square.

That thought process leads me to Magic Kingdom, where Frontierland is facing an existential crisis.

At the moment, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad stands as the only moving attraction in this entire themed land.

That statement will change this summer when Tiana’s Bayou Adventure opens.

At that point, Pecos Bill’s Tall Tale Inn & Café will become incongruous with the attraction quite close to it.

Rumors persist that Disney may re-theme Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Saloon. This picture explains why:

What does an Old West Saloon have to do with 1920s New Orleans?

Conversely, a Magic Kingdom version of Tiana’s Palace beside the upcoming attraction makes perfect sense.

The theming makes so much sense that I’m surprised it hasn’t happened yet.

Park officials may not have wanted to perform this work at the same time as Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and Country Bear Jamboree.

Still, this change appears likely to happen at some point.

Until it does, the Pecos Bill’s/Tiana’s Bayou Adventure combo will seem strange….although I love Pecos Bill’s as a restaurant.

The byproduct of this change is that the Tiana part of Magic Kingdom will spill over into Adventureland, which may be the point.

Objectively, the attraction’s theme fits better there than at Frontierland, whose era technically ends in 1900.

The Tiana ride takes place in the 1920s.

Smaller Rivers of America

I previously mentioned a rumor that Disney might fill in Rivers of America and sacrifice Tom Sawyer Island in the process.

Lately, I’ve chased this story a bit, and I’m running into a division of opinion regarding whether it’s likely.

As usual, Disney faces the recurring question of whether Magic Kingdom should respect its history or plan for a better tomorrow.

Tom Sawyer Island currently serves a purpose as an ideal location for parents to let their children run wild.

However, we’ve witnessed with the Mickey’s Toontown conversion at Disneyland Park that Imagineers can achieve that goal differently.

Disney can re-theme some other section of the park like, say, Frontierland, to be the de facto children’s playground.

I’m speculating on location and should stress that I haven’t heard anything about that change.

But the territory issue in this part of Magic Kingdom is quite real.

Currently, Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island comprise an oversized piece of precious Magic Kingdom real estate.

Park planners have contemplated everything from leaving these locations just as they are to landlocking the entire area.

At this moment, the likeliest scenario is that Disney shortens the footprint of Tom Sawyer Island and drains part of Rivers of America.

By taking this softer approach, Disney protects its legacy but regains some much-needed land for future expansion.

As a reminder, Disney just reconfirmed that it will move forward with Walt Disney World expansion plans no matter what happens with Reedy Creek.

While Disney may yet show us what lies beyond Big Thunder Mountain, it also must build the infrastructure and pathways to get us there.

When you look at maps, you can easily identify where those places must go.

So, changes to the Rivers of America area feel like a foregone conclusion to me.

Potential Changes at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge

During the 2010s, Disney acquired Lucasfilm/Star Wars and immediately started planning a new themed land.

Now, tens of thousands of guests visit the Black Spire Outpost on Batuu each day.

However, the Batuu we got isn’t quite the same as the Batuu Disney planned. Also, some of it is intentionally transitory.

For instance, Bob Chapek, in his infinite wisdom, paywalled the promised Crown of Corellia Dining Room.

To eat a meal here, guests had to book a stay at Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, which was never the plan.

Disney announced this as one of the iconic features of what became Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.

Now that Galactic Starcruiser has died, Disney can and at some point will address a gaping void in the themed land.

We never got a Star Wars Table Service restaurant at Star Wars Land, which kinda blows my mind.

Disney WILL fix that at some point because not doing so leaves money on the table.

Sure, Oga’s Cantina covers some of the same territory. If anything, it functions as proof of concept, though.

All those people you watch standing in line hoping that their names get called could be eating and drinking somewhere else.

If some customers will pay $1,000 a night for an immersive hotel stay, surely they’d pay $75 per person for something Space 220-ish.

Possible Re-theming at Galaxy’s Edge?

Then, we have Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, which Disney stated at the time would not stay the same.

Disney connected the film to a specific timeline in the Star Wars Universe.

However, well before the ride opened, Imagineers stated that Disney would eventually re-theme it with a different story.

That technology isn’t challenging to do, as we’ve seen Disney do it several times with Star Tours – The Adventures Continue! adding scenes.

My understanding is that switching Smugglers Run would take a bit longer, but Disney planned to do this from day one.

Now that we’re nearly five years into Galaxy’s Edge, it’s probably time to refresh the premise.

A Third Ride at Galaxy’s Edge?

Then, we have the potential for Disney to add a third ride in this area, which was actually the original plan.

Budget cuts forced Disney to cancel plans for a Bantha attraction.

Peter Sciretta of Slash Film covered this story all the way back in 2017.

The gist was that Imagineers would have paid tribute to an old Disneyland attraction, Pack Mules through Nature’s Wonderland.

Instead of Pack Mules, you would have ridden the Batuu equivalent, a Bantha.

This noble beast would have carried you through a local city while a salesperson sold you on the area.

So, I guess it was an outer space timeshare pitch with ugly Star Wars elephants as your carriage.

Honestly, that sounds fun, and I’m saying that as someone wholly apathetic to Star Wars.

Well, the good news is that a couple of former Imagineers, Frank Mezzatesta and Jim Shull, recently verified the ride’s existence.

According to them, Disney could add the Bantha ride at any point.

Introducing the giant creature’s to Galaxy’s Edge is possible. The land is built to accommodate the ride vehicle beasts, the station location is set and the technology is understood. A relatively cheap way to plus the existing land. #StarWars #Disneyland

— Jim Shull (@JimShull) February 19, 2024

After all, Imagineers designed Batuu as if the Banthas would roam the land. Everything’s already set up for it!

At some point, adding this third attraction at Galaxy’s Edge appears like an inexpensive option that would boost attendance.

My lone question here involves throughput, as pictures show a giant Bantha capable of transporting only six guests.

We should be realistic that decisions like this, as well as budgetary concerns, will drive Disney’s upcoming expansion.

The changes I’ve discussed here are modest, but they set the table for Disney’s grander ambitions over the next decade.

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