What’s Disney Got Up Its Sleeve?
During the first four months of 2024, Disney officials loosened their lips about upcoming attractions and experiences. At different times, Disney spoke to the business media and then invited fans to Walt Disney Imagineering.
While nobody accidentally slipped up and revealed a secret, we can paint a picture by culling dozens of recent interviews.
At this point, we have at least some idea of what’s potentially coming to the park over the next few years.
So, which potential park expansions are in play? What’s Disney got up its sleeve? Here are a few possibilities.
Avengers Campus Ride 3…or 4?
An excellent teacher once told me that you’ll write the best when you read the most.
I’ve predicated my career on this piece of wisdom, and it’s led me to search through literally thousands of Disney articles each year.
In 2024, I’ve taken plenty of notes whenever I’ve come across something eye-opening, and that’s the partial basis for this list.
None of the attractions and experiences we’ll discuss are guaranteed to happen, although a few are extremely close to coming true.
I’ve saved the confirmed park changes for a companion piece. Conversely, this one will focus on the unknowns creeping toward being knowns.
You should view everything up for discussion today as a possibility but not an expectation.
That statement applies to Avengers Campus, the current home to two rides and several other experiences.
Disney famously cut the Quinjet attraction it’d previously announced.
We also know that a King Thanos attraction is coming at some point, as that’s confirmed.
In recent weeks, Disney is talking about how much room it has in the area surrounding Avengers Campus and other parts of Disneyland Resort.
The possibility of another attraction appears to be in play here, although I might write this one off as a miscommunication about the Thanos experience.
Disney knows from the D23 reception that the idea of Thanos Who Won is intoxicating to fans and an instant blockbuster when it opens.
The Zootopia Themed Land
During several recent interviews and interactions, Parks Chairman Josh D’Amaro didn’t bother to hide his excitement about this one.
Shanghai Disneyland has operated as the testing ground for an amazing concept: an entirely new biome based on Zootopia.
Disney executives have repeatedly pointed out that Zootopia’s movie reception in China shocked everyone.
Not coincidentally, Disney built the first Zootopia here, and it’s another Imagineering masterpiece.
The anchor attraction is Zootopia: Hot Pursuit, which I’ve noted is analogous to Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.
Both attractions combine the groundbreaking ride designs of several different attractions into a single experience.
During the DisneylandForward conversations, park planners have all but shouted from the rooftops that this one is a possibility.
Meanwhile, during a recent D23 event, Disney explicitly stated that Zootopia was a likely candidate for Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
Since then, we’ve had some confusion stemming from a show attraction near the Tree of Life.
Many analysts assume it’s a Zootopia replacement for It’s Tough to Be a Bug!, but I’m an outlier here.
I don’t think Disney has any intention of stopping there. Another Zootopia biome makes too much sense.
More Frozen
D’Amaro also recently made a comment that is open to interpretation.
However, the reporter writing the story took it to mean that Iger cannot believe how underrepresented Frozen is at American parks.
For many of us, that’s…hard to believe. We all recall that Frozen dominated Disney in 2014 and 2015.
Also, the Norway pavilion at EPCOT is like one giant love letter to Anna & Elsa.
Still, World of Frozen/Arendelle is appearing at half of Disney’s parks already.
Similarly, Disney Cruise Line has added an entire dinner show based on Frozen.
An entire themed land celebrating the World of Frozen strikes me as a possibility at Walt Disney World and a likelihood at Disneyland Resort.
The Happiest Place on Earth is quietly lacking in Frozen representation.
Galaxy’s Edge Ride 3
I’m not putting these in any particular order. If I were, this one would fall somewhere toward the bottom.
I consider the idea somewhat speculative, although Disney officials have broached the idea themselves.
The thought process is that nobody understands the popularity of Star Wars more than Disney.
You probably don’t remember this now but during the earliest days of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, people expressed some surprise.
The crowds weren’t as large as many had expected, and critics loudly, repeatedly wondered whether Disney had blown it.
A few months later, nobody was saying that. Savvy tourists had waited a while in hopes of the crowds dying down.
While their logic was sound, the problem was that it was also universal.
All the people who tried avoiding the opening rush by waiting bumped into one another at the parks, which were mobbed.
Galaxy’s Edge has remained exceptionally popular throughout the nearly five years of its existence.
Disney possesses more land at Hollywood Studios and could easily build out another attraction if it wanted.
The same statement isn’t necessarily true at Disneyland, but Imagineers are creative.
I know that, in a perfect world, Disney wants another attraction at Galaxy’s Edge…and preferably sooner than later.
Will that happen? I’m skeptical, as D’Amaro sounds excited about adding and expanding the presence of newer properties.
From a business perspective, adding more to Galaxy’s Edge makes perfect sense, though.
Cars Land Attraction 4
I’m listing this with the same asterisk as Avengers Campus and Galaxy’s Edge.
Disney California Adventure (DCA) officials know where the crowds go.
Since its opening day, Radiator Springs Racers (RCR) hasn’t just attracted tourists.
Some would argue – and I’m one of them – that RCR singlehandedly altered the perception of DCA.
During the park’s shaky first decade, it functioned as more of a punchline than a viable tourist attraction.
Nobody’s laughing now. The injection of Pixar and Marvel intellectual properties has reinvigorated the park.
Cars Land currently features three attractions, all of which have their origins in 2012.
One of the rides, Luigi’s Rollickin’ Roadsters, opened in 2016 as a replacement to the failed Luigi’s Flying Tires.
Still, Disney has a lot more Cars stories it could tell, and it would help shift some park traffic from Avengers Campus.
When DisneylandForward receives final approval, another Cars attraction would definitely score big points with the locals.
I’m not saying this one will happen, but let’s be honest that it should.
The Tangled Attraction
I wish I could show you some video of the Tangled attraction, but it’s too early.
Fantasy Springs will open at Disney TokyoSea on June 6th. At that point, the park will unveil Rapunzel’s Lantern Festival.
Those of you who love Tangled – and that should be ALL of you! – are already smiling at the memories of the movie’s most magical moment.
That’s one of the most visually stimulating moments in the history of cinema, and I say that as someone who has watched 20,000+ films.
That’s not the Lantern Festival, though. Remember that it’s this:
Disney has constructed a dark ride that tells the story of Tangled/Rapunzel.
As a dark ride, it’s not something expensive to build. But as a Tangled ride, it’s something that virtually everyone wants.
The DisneylandForward documents and other sources strongly suggest that a Tangled experience is coming. I believe it’s this one.
The only question is whether Walt Disney World will get it, and, again, since it’s cheap, I think the answer is (eventually) yes.
An Avengers Campus…Expansion?
I compiled a list of many of the things I was hearing and split it into two divergent article ideas.
In the companion, you’ll see what’s coming soon. An Encanto experience falls in that category.
Something I didn’t mention there falls in the gap between the two ideas, and that’s Coco.
Disney has indicated we’ll get something Coco at Magic Kingdom, although I’m not ruling it out at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
Coco makes sense as an integral part of The Tropical Americas if Disney goes that route.
So, I consider it confirmed. We just don’t know where it will go, which kept it off my other list.
Then, we have the final mystery project, but it’s one that Disney keeps bringing up.
Park officials clearly want to explore the world of Wakanda in some form.
D’Amaro has mentioned it multiple times recently, although it’s possible it’s the same conversation being detailed by multiple sources.
The tricky part of all these reports is this kind of investigative gray area, but The Hollywood Reporter recently mentioned it.
Here’s the quote: “We haven’t told anything, any stories on Wakanda. We haven’t told any stories on Frozen, although it’s a 10-year old franchise.”
How much should we read into that? In this specific instance, you’re dealing with the same level of intel that I possess.
The fact that D’Amaro’s bringing it up unprovoked matters, though.
In the past, Disney executives have discussed the desire to build a real-world version of Wakanda.
Would that area be part of Avengers Campus or a complete themed land of its own?
I think we’d all prefer the latter, but that’s an ambitious idea, even for Disney. BUT I WANT IT!!!
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