Disney Rumors for April 2025
We’ve got a bit of a mystery building at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Disney just provided ample details about one themed land coming to the park. Apparently, that’s not all, though.
Another themed land is well into the planning phase, though.
So, the questions are what the theme is and when Disney will announce it.
In this month’s batch of Disney Rumors, we’ll try to get to the bottom of this mystery.
I’m Heartbroken
Simpsons
I’ll lead with the news that breaks my heart. The identity of this themed land apparently isn’t The Simpsons.
Now, let me be clear that this situation remains in flux, and it could change once again.
Photo: Disney+
Not that long ago, I wrote this article, and Allison Fricker dutifully followed up on it a few weeks later.
Toward the end of 2024, Disney surveyed guests about the possibility of adding Simpsons-based rides or even a themed land.
Photo: The Simpsons
For a while, momentum for a Simpsons replacement at the current Animation Courtyard made it seem likely.
I don’t know what happened with those surveys, but any such forward momentum has slowed dramatically.
Photo: Fox
This simple example demonstrates how much can change in Disney in just a few months.
I wrote that December Rumors article in late November. Now, I’m writing this four months later in late March…and hope is gone.
Well, it’s not gone entirely, but you can tell from my tone that it has faded significantly.
And this conversation underscores how much remains in flux at Walt Disney World and even, to a lesser extent, Disneyland.
Disney officials know that they must get every expansion project right, and they’re feeling the pressure.
Personally, I’m feeling the sadness because I really wanted a Disney version of Springfield.
Photo: The Simpsons
So, Disney, if you’re reading this, consider it MY survey wherein I give a themed land based on The Simpsons the highest grades.
But That’s Not All
Hollywood Studios Entrance
To their credit, Disney officials know the deal at Hollywood Studios.
In the aftermath of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and, to a lesser extent, Toy Story Land, this was Disney’s hottest park.
Pretty much the moment the calendar rolled over to 2024, the conversation changed overnight.
Hollywood Studios slowed dramatically last year, which I consider a blessing. It had simply become too crowded in the early 2020s.
But that’s easy for me to say. The people whose jobs depend on keeping the parks full weren’t happy.
They knew that despite all the (relatively) recent enhancements, Hollywood Studios still needs more rides.
Note that I didn’t say attractions, as you’ll find plenty of shows at this park, with two more debuting this summer.
Hollywood Studios is supposed to be the park where you ride the movies, though. Right now, you can’t.
Photo: Disney
So, park officials fully intend to transform Animation Courtyard into something else one day soon.
I suspect that we’ll hear more about this at Destination D23 on August 30th/31st.
What Will Go Here?
Animation Courtyard
Before then, the planning is well underway, with various pitches already being rejected. I fear Springfield is one of those.
Similarly, we know three others that aren’t happening. Last year, I reported that Monstropolis may go here.
Muppet*Vision 3D
Disney picked Muppets Courtyard instead of Animation Courtyard in a weird battle of the courtyards.
Similarly, Coco was under consideration here, just as at Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom.
We’ll get back to this one in a minute, but it’s apparently not going into Animation Courtyard.
The other option I’d previously referenced, Zootopia, remains in play, but I haven’t heard much about it lately.
Also, the timing here is a bit awkward. If Disney does launch on or before late August, it won’t know how well Zootopia 2 does yet.
That film debuts on November 26th, 2025. As I wrote in another recent article, sequels have bit Disney recently.
Plans called for a Mary Poppins attraction in the wake of Mary Poppins Returns.
A Wreck-It Ralph ride was going to replace Stitch’s Great Escape soon after Ralph Breaks the Internet came out.
Both films did…fine. But they weren’t great.
To move forward with projects like this, Disney wants to see Moana 2/Inside Out 2 results.
The company won’t have those results in time for this year’s D23 announcement, which raises two possibilities.
One is that Disney will punt on an Animation Courtyard decision until the primary D23 event in 2026.
The other is that something else will go here, something proven whose identity I’ve been unable to identify thus far.
I’ll just level with you that I’m frustrated because I usually hear this stuff quite early, but Disney’s being hush-hush this time.
Disney
So, feel free to speculate about the franchise you believe fits best in the middle of Hollywood Studios.
What about Coco?
Photo: Playbuzz.com
This has been one of those months where I feel like a failure with my research. I’m hitting a lot of dead ends, which happens.
Lately, it’s been happening a lot, which takes me back to prior Coco discussions.
Photo: Disney
I’ve known for a while that Disney had multiple Coco plans in place.
At one point, a Coco area would have gone into the Tropical Americas.
Photo: Disney
Once Disney finalized details, Coco found itself on the outside looking in. And the same thing happened at Magic Kingdom.
When Disney pitched the blue-sky version of What Lies Beyond Big Thunder, Coco was named-dropped as a likely addition.
Photo: Disney
Now that park officials have confirmed Magic Kingdom’s expansion, we know about Disney Villains and Cars.
What haven’t we heard anything about? Coco. Well, we haven’t heard anything at Walt Disney World.
Photo: Disney
Disney California Adventure will add a Coco ride, with construction beginning in 2026 for something that will open in 2027/2028.
Imagineers have described the attraction as part Pirates of the Caribbean and part Haunted Mansion, which sounds hot.
Photo: Disney
But that is NOT the ride I’d heard for the Tropical Americas or What Lies Beyond Big Thunder.
There’s another Coco ride whose plans exist, and it’s a legit E-ticket attraction. Is Disney just going to abandon the idea?
Photo: Disney
I was learning toward yes, but then this happened. The company confirmed that Coco 2 is coming in 2029.
Even better, Pixar icon Lee Unkrich, who had been on a break since 2017, will return to co-direct the project.
So, this one’s a big deal. And this announcement suggests Disney’s confidence in the Coco brand.
Now, I think Coco is back in play for a Disney World attraction.
More about Coco
Photo: Disney
I haven’t heard anything per se on this one, which isn’t how I usually approach Disney Rumors.
What I’m doing instead is basing my opinion on what I already know about the parks.
Photo: Disney
If Disney considered Coco at three different parks and greenlighted a project at another, that’s a tell.
Disney isn’t subtle with its theme park management. When it believes in a brand, we keep getting more of those characters.
Photo: Disney
Frozen, Toy Story, and Cars are great examples of this philosophy, as is Zootopia, just not in the United States (yet).
So, we’re trending toward much more Coco at the parks, and since I know that a great ride exists, I expect Disney to create it.
The primary questions at this point are where and when, and it’s not entirely out of the question that we circle back to Animation Courtyard.
That is NOT what I’m hearing in the least right now, but since there’s radio silence about this area of this park, it’s possible.
If Coco isn’t going to Animation Courtyard – and let’s be real that it probably isn’t – what do you think makes the most sense here?
Thanks for visiting MickeyBlog.com! Want to go to Disney? For a FREE quote on your next Disney vacation, please fill out the form below, and one of the agents from MickeyTravels, a Diamond Level Authorized Disney Vacation Planner, will be in touch soon!
