Let’s Talk about Disney World’s Biggest Expansions

Disney fans are buzzing about the impending theme park expansion.

Soon, The Walt Disney Company will spend $8 billion improving Walt Disney World over the next decade.

Josh D’Amaro, the Chairman of Disney Experiences, has hinted at multiple expansions coming soon.

As we sit on the cusp of Disney history, let’s take a look back at previous park updates.

Let’s talk about Walt Disney World’s biggest expansions.

New Fantasyland

On Magic Kingdom’s opening day in 1971, guests flocked to Fantasyland, which was home to several remarkable attractions.

Guests could drive recklessly on Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride or soar through the air on Skyway to Tomorrowland.

Disney added some chills with the gothic Snow White’s Scary Adventures and submerged guests on 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Submarine Voyage.

Notably, you’ll find none of those original attractions at Magic Kingdom today.

Walt Disney demanded that his successors constantly update the parks to keep the magic fresh and exciting to modern audiences.

In the early 2010s, that request led to an overhaul of the original Fantasyland into the area we now call New Fantasyland.

By this point, Disney had already replaced some flagging attractions like Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.

However, park officials examined this part of Magic Kingdom and decided it needed more space.

So, Disney expanded the boundaries of Fantasyland, thereby changing its park footprint.

Today, New Fantasyland consists of three areas: the Castle Courtyard, the Enchanted Forest, and Storybook Circus.

Two of those sections didn’t exist in 2010, at least not to this scale.

Disney reclaimed some of the land and even part of the closing Snow White attraction to build anew.

Imagineers repurposed some Audio-Animatronics from that ride for portions of its replacement, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.

That roller coaster has become the most in-demand attraction at Magic Kingdom, but it wasn’t the only addition.

New Fantasyland also added Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid and Enchanted Tales with Belle.

Fans also received Be Our Guest Restaurant and Gaston’s Tavern during this expansion as well.

Pandora – The World of Avatar

Since New Fantasyland overhauled an existing, familiar space at Magic Kingdom, you may think of it as a modern modest expansion.

Analysts suggested that Disney spent $425-$600 million to expand New Fantasyland.

Remarkably, that’s the same price that Disney paid to improve Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

For all its architectural and bioluminescent splendor, Pandora – The World of Avatar only cost $500 million to build.

At the time, Disney closed the former Camp Mickey-Minnie and added an environmentally friendly but decidedly alien place.

Pandora brings to life the world of James Cameron’s Avatar, and I don’t have to tell you how spectacular it is.

Imagineers somehow did the impossible in recreating The Floating Mountains aka The Hallelujah Mountains from Avatar.

This structure challenges Spaceship Earth as the most impressive architectural feat at Walt Disney World.

Similarly, Disney introduced not one but two E-ticket attractions, Na’vi River Journey and Avatar Flight of Passage.

With Na’vi River Journey, guests can explore the gorgeous but terrifying forests of Pandora.

Here, you’ll never be sure whether you’re predator or prey, but you’ll feel a kinship with all of nature, which is the point.

You’ll even encounter one of Disney’s most impressive Audio-Animatronics ever, the Shaman of Song.

However, most Disney fans prefer Avatar Flight of Passage, a remarkable thrill ride.

You live out the Avatar program experience by teleporting into the body of a Na’vi and embarking on a grand adventure.

You’ll fly on a Banshee, just as Jake Sulley did in the first film.

Over time, you’ll explore abandoned caves, soaring mountains, and even the impressive oceans of Pandora.

This is one of Disney’s most immersive attractions ever, and it perfectly encapsulates the story of Avatar.

Really, that statement applies to the entirety of Pandora.

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge

Two years after Pandora debuted, Disney took an even more impressive step in immersion.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios introduced Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, a fully detailed alien outpost set in the Star Wars universe.

You’re a guest on Batuu, a largely ignored planet on the edge of Wild Space, the part of the universe where few willingly visit.

Since you’re literally on the outskirts of civilization, you expect to be left alone.

Alas, The First Order recently gained some intel about the presence of The Resistance on Batuu.

So, the villains arrive at Black Spire Outpost in search of details about their foes.

Imagineers have masterfully created a balance, with one side of Galaxy’s Edge inhabited by heroes of The Resistance.

On the other side, you’ll find the black hats of The First Order.

In the middle, you’ll find conflicted residents whose sympathies fall all over the political map.

The level of detail on display at Galaxy’s Edge represents the pinnacle of Imagineering.

That’s before we discuss the two attractions, Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.

On Smuggler’s Run, you live out the lifelong fantasy of many Star Wars fans. You fly the Millennium Falcon!

Somehow, that’s not the better attraction of the two. On Rise of the Resistance, you live out a fully formed Star Wars adventure.

You’ll board a ship, only for The First Order to find you and take you prisoner.

Cast Members will transport you to a prison cell, taunting you all the while.

Fortunately, salvation comes in the form of a rescue mission performed by The Resistance. It’s such a thrilling, detailed experience.

Disney spent $1 billion on Galaxy’s Edge, and it was worth every penny.

Toy Story Land

Finally, we have the noteworthy exception on this list.

All the other themed land expansions we’ve discussed were exclusive to Disney World, at least initially.

Disneyland Park would add its version of Galaxy’s Edge a few months later, but there wasn’t a blueprint available anywhere.

When Hollywood Studios constructed Toy Story Land, it could draw on other versions of the themed land.

That’s the model Disney is likely to employ for some of its upcoming expansions as well.

Park officials have pointed to Fantasy Springs and the Zootopia and Frozen themed lands overseas as inspiration.

One of the benefits of projects like Toy Story Land involves cost certainty.

Disney generally knows how much the project will cost because it’s already happened at other theme parks.

Still, Disney made at least one crucial mistake while building Toy Story Land in America.

Park officials underrated the importance of shade in Central Florida, leaving guests to complain about the sweltering heat.

Over time, Disney introduced shaded cover, but it was a misstep.

Otherwise, guests raved about the new E-ticket attraction, Slinky Dog Dash.

While some cynics dismissed Alien Swirling Saucers by referring to it via its abbreviation, most have warmed to that ride, too.

Overall, Disney added a family-friendly park location that, in combination with Galaxy’s Edge, reinvented Hollywood Studios.

That’ll be the goal of the upcoming expansions at Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom as well.

Disney has proven that it can fundamentally change the perception of a park via a single high-quality expansion.

So, just imagine what Imagineers can do at a place like Magic Kingdom…

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