Disney Rumors for May 2024
This month’s Disney Rumors are more exciting than usual.
Things are happening behind the scenes at Disney, with park officials doing something rare.
Photo: YouTube
Influencers and reporters, some of whom work for tech sites, have entered Walt Disney Imagineering and studied what’s next.
What they witnessed was a preliminary form of future attraction elements, but it’s real stuff, not some part of a whisper campaign.
DinoLand permit
Similarly, Disney has filed paperwork for construction at several locations.
Some of the possibilities we discuss today have a real chance of happening…and sooner than you may think!
In short, the Disney Rumors for May should delight any Disney fan.
The Avatar Experience
NBC News
Technically, I’m a few days early on this one, as the DisneylandForward project technically needs to win one more vote.
However, Disney CEO Bob Iger has already explicitly stated that the Avatar experience will come to Disneyland Resort.
(Charley Gallay / Getty Images for Disney)
Presumably, Disney won’t announce specifics until after the DisneylandForward vote.
In truth, we will probably learn specifics during the 2024 D23 Expo, which won’t take place until August.
Still, Disney published an artist’s rendering of how the attraction will look.
Upon first blush, I instantly stated that Disney appears to be creating an outdoor version of Na’vi River Journey at Disneyland Resort.
Photo: Disney
Realistically, that’s an attraction that wouldn’t move the needle for fans, though.
When Iger reveals the plans at The Happiest Place on Earth, they need to excite the fanbase.
Otherwise, the past three years of backdoor political negotiations will seem like a waste of time.
I’m an ardent supporter of Na’vi River Journey, which I think gets a bad rap. You can read more about that here.
Photo: Disney
But the honest opinion is that many fans would turn up their noses at a slightly modified Na’vi River Journey.
So, what is Disney selling with that picture instead? The answer might surprise you.
Photo: Disney
At Shanghai Disneyland, you’ll find an attraction named Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure. Here’s a video:
You’ve heard about this ride if you’ve read MickeyBlog for a while, as it’s the modernized version of Pirates of the Caribbean.
When you watch that clip, you’ll notice some big changes starting at the 3:20 mark.
Anticipating an Avatar Boat Ride Like This
Photo: Wikipedia
Disney built digital, curved projection screens for the 2016 Pirates attraction, among several other updates.
Obviously, those wouldn’t come into play for an outdoor ride at Disneyland, right?
Well, more importantly (for our purposes) Disney can control the speed, positioning, and physical orientation of the boat.
Those two technologies are ones that Disney has wanted to use at its American parks for a while.
Photo: Disney
Now, you can argue that Na’vi River Journey does at least some of that, but it’s different for an outdoor attraction.
That goes double for one based on the world of Avatar.
Photo: Disney
Remember that we don’t know which film(s) will provide the inspiration for this experience.
Avatar: The Way of Water just showed island living for the Na’vi, while the next one will include…evil fire Na’vi.
Photo: Disney
So, I’m guessing a Disney water ride won’t include them. If I were a betting man, I’d guess The Way of Water will be the theme.
Even though Disney hasn’t confirmed anything, rumors suggest a state-of-the-art boat ride with that Battle for the Sunken Treasure tech.
Photo: Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Everett Collection
Thus far, park officials haven’t even indicated where this ride will go, but the precise controls unlock Disneyland Resort.
You can show the sights like the Matterhorn if you want. Alternatively, you can block out the rest of the park entirely.
Source: 20th Century Studios
Should Disney go that route – and I suspect it will – you’ll forget you’re at Disneyland while you’re experiencing Avatar.
That’s an intoxicating thought, right? But it doesn’t help Walt Disney World fans any. You know what would?
The Moana Boat Ride
We’re definitely getting new stuff at the mysterious place beyond Big Thunder Mountain.
Recent rumors suggest that one of those attractions may be based on Moana.
Nobody’s sure because Moana is also in play at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and that’s on top of Journey of Water | Inspired by Moana at EPCOT.
Folks, Disney loooves Moana and wants to expand the franchise’s park presence.
Photo: Also Disney+
One of the ideas under consideration hearkens back to a previous rumor about The Jungle Book.
Not that long ago, some insiders reported the possibility of a new EPCOT pavilion.
This new location would have included an E-ticket attraction based on The Jungle Book…and Battle for the Sunken Treasure.
Yes, Disney is at least toying with the notion of using the same tech as a baseline for two upcoming attractions.
This philosophy circles back to a recurring theme with theme park planning and budgets.
Once you develop an idea, you save on additional research and development costs by using that concept at multiple parks.
Photo: Disney Parks Blog
We’re witnessing this behavior right now as World of Frozen/Arendelle pops up at several international Disney parks.
The premise applies to attractions as well. An excellent example is the ride I call Alien Swirling Saucers.
Photo: Disney
West Coast fans know the experience as Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree while Tokyo Disney operates The Happy Ride with Baymax.
Even grander examples are Test Track aka Radiator Springs Racers aka Journey to the Center of the Earth and DINOSAUR/Indiana Jones Adventure.
Photo: Disney || AquaMouse
Odds are increasing that the Sunken Treasure tech will make its way to Disneyland AND Walt Disney World.
The digitized screens may be a part of these experiences as well, as we’ve already seen variants with Aqua Mouse and Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway.
Photo: Disney
Is any of that guaranteed? Absolutely not! But it is a distinct possibility right now.
Remarkably, both ideas work, too. Moana SHOULD have a boat ride, right?
What’s Next?
Photo: Disneywiki
I’m currently chasing down a couple of other rumors, neither of which I’m ready to detail yet.
However, my hope is that by next month, I’ll have at least some details on a Coco ride and another reinvention of Journey into Imagination.
New Permit Filed
Disney has filed the paperwork on the latter attraction’s building.
That information doesn’t necessarily indicate an updated Figment ride…but it might!
Oh, and I’m hoping to learn more about Test Track 3.0 before the next batch of Disney Rumors.
So, if things go well, those are the next three stories on top of this month’s news about Avatar and Moana.
Photo: Disney
The difference with both of those attractions is that Disney has confirmed Avatar, while Moana appears likely as well.
Then again, Test Track 3.0 IS happening this summer. The current version closes on June 17th.
Photo: Disney
At the moment, the only Disney Park that isn’t guaranteed to get a new attraction soon is Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and…
Well, I’m getting ahead of myself, but there’s smoke to that fire regarding Hollywood Studios as well.
Photo:visitorlando.com
There is so much happening behind the scenes at Disney right now. It’s gonna be the summer of Disney Rumors!
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REALLY hoping that Journey Into Imagination gets more of a trackless ride situation like Runaway Railway. Now that the tech is here, no reason we can’t have fully animated Figment sequences!