And Away We Go, Says Disney…
Life comes at you fast, and something can look substantially different in a span of 24 hours.
For instance, you’ll never read it, but I wrote an article on Wednesday about Disney hitting the mute button on theme park updates.
At the time, Disney seemingly passed on its best current opportunity to make widespread theme park announcements.
So, I wrote about how we may get something next week or next month or, at the latest, the 2024 D23 Expo.
Then, on the morning of Thursday, April 4th, park officials took a decidedly different stance.
Disney just said, “And away we gooooooooooo!” Here’s what happened and what it means for you and me as Disney fans.
The Iger Distraction
Bob Iger, the CEO of The Walt Disney Company, appeared on CNBC last Thursday.
If you think that was the perfect time for Iger to announce upcoming theme park projects, I agree.
In fact, I patiently waited for 30 minutes for the CEO to appear at an interview held at Disney’s headquarters.
Why was Iger late? Perhaps he overslept, or perhaps he was signing off on the plans that we learned about soon afterward.
While Iger was still talking on CNBC, Disney filed the paperwork to begin the transformation of Magic Kingdom.
That’s like a parlor trick right there. The magician distracted the crowd to look over there and then switched the cards while we weren’t paying attention.
Of course, news that big won’t stay quiet for long. MickeyBlog quickly alerted our readers to what was happening.
In the process, Disney quietly kicked off the next phase of Walt Disney World.
The proposed, allegedly theoretical blue-sky plans for what lies beyond Big Thunder Mountain are real…and they’re happening!
We don’t know what form they will take yet, but we can reflect on what Disney said during the Parks Panel at the 2022 D23 Expo.
At the time, Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro and Frozen creator Jennifer Lee spoke of various concepts.
Two of the biggest ones were a Land of the Dead visit inspired by Coco and a Casita based on Encanto.
The latter option has apparently transitioned to a different locale, but Coco alone would be magnificent.
Then again, neither of those was the one that gained the loudest crowd reaction.
D’Amaro also teased us with the idea of a themed “area” that was home to all our favorite Disney Villains. And yes, we want that!
A Good Start
On any normal day, Iger’s CNBC conversation would have generated the biggest headlines.
Last Thursday, it wasn’t even one of the top three stories, at least not for Disney fans.
We tracked huge crowds at the parks, ones so large that Magic Kingdom stopped accepting guests, an extreme rarity.
Then, we had the third and arguably most significant story of all.
While Disney filed the paperwork for Magic Kingdom construction, it didn’t officially announce anything.
That’s not true of Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Folks, we are no longer talking in theoreticals about this park.
NEW: Walt Disney World is currently in the process of filing permits for development work behind Magic Kingdom that will prepare the area for a future expansion expected to be the largest expansion in the park’s history. pic.twitter.com/nGmn78ZkH7
— Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) April 4, 2024
Here’s Disney Imagineering’s Instagram Reel. That’s Neal Emery, the Principal Landscape Designer, taking us behind the curtain.
The Imagineer shows us the 3D models for elements of the Tropical Americas, the upcoming park change.
View this post on Instagram
With this single Instagram Reel, Disney has confirmed that DinoLand U.S.A. will officially give way to a new themed land.
Disney had indicated this – more or less – at the 2023 D23 Expo, but we never really knew for sure until now.
That’s been The Mouse’s modus operandi over the past five years. It says it maybe might possibly do something.
This mixed message left fans guessing about which parts were real vs. vaporware.
Now, Disney has taken a different approach, starting with the new Imagineering series on YouTube.
Apparently, we will spend the next four months from now until the 2024 D23 Expo’s Parks Panel watching Disney socials.
Park officials appear prepared to dole out this information piecemeal in the weeks leading up to the big event.
And we’ll take that! Seriously, Disney fans will take that with a song in our hearts because we know it means change is coming.
The $60 Billion Promise
For years now, Disney has toyed with our emotions and bastardized the core concept of the D23 Expo.
At that event, Disney should announce huge projects rather than tease fans with maybes.
As of this week, Disney has finally committed to the process.
We knew in March that the company had filed the Animal Kingdom paperwork.
I even warned you to enjoy these Animal Kingdom attractions while you can.
Soon, the former DinoLand U.S.A. will transition to the Tropical Americas.
When that happens, we’ll gain Indiana Jones, Coco, and Encanto experiences.
Disney officials just told some members that this is the plan. So, I’m not sure Encanto and Coco will have a Magic Kingdom presence.
Disney’s post states, “Travel with us to the Yucatán Peninsula, one of the many locales where we’ll draw inspiration for Tropical Americas, the exciting update coming to Disney’s Animal Kingdom!”
During the 2023 Parks Panel, Disney indicated that Zootopia is coming to Animal Kingdom at a different locale, which may just be the Tree of Life.
I discussed several of these possibilities in the latest batch of Disney Rumors the other day.
The Avatar part is speculation, but everything else there applies more today than it did a week ago.
These experiences are coming to Animal Kingdom soon, and construction on Magic Kingdom will begin in 2024 as well.
There’s a reason why Disney got the Imagineering band back together, and it’s to spend tens of billions of dollars on American theme parks.
Walt Disney World as you knew it is no more as of today. Now, we’re moving on to the next thing.
And away we goooooooooooooooooo!
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