Disney Rumors for June 2025
In last month’s Disney Rumors, I discussed a potential Up ride coming to America.
A few days later, Disney performed the equivalent of a theme park sneak attack by revealing Disneyland Abu Dhabi.
Photo: Disney
In my defense, nobody else had this story early either, but I’m still feeling a bit sheepish as I discuss an evolving philosophy behind the scenes at Disney.
I’ll explain in this month’s Disney Rumors.
What’s Disney Doing?
Photo: Disney
I’m mostly joking about Disneyland Abu Dhabi, as executives involved with those negotiations went to great lengths to keep the secret.
Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin similarly proved a bit deceptive. Disney confirmed this project in March, but we’d heard about it in December.
I’d chased the story a while before that. It’s interesting to look back on this Rumor and note that Disney flatly denied it to a reporter just three months before it happened.
That’s the kind of misdirection reporters face when we chase stories, which sadly means that you must take everything I say with a grain of salt.
Photo: Disney
Both of these sudden reveals tie into something I discussed in last month’s Rumors and during the Abu Dhabi announcement analysis.
In a perfect world, Disney controls all its research and development (R&D) costs, mitigating the expenses via The Oriental Land Company (OLC).
When the OLC builds anything at Tokyo Disney Resort, it must pass Disney’s exacting standards.
Then, Disney can use the blueprints for these attractions to duplicate them at other parks, thereby saving itself money.
The brilliant part of the Disneyland Abu Dhabi transaction is that Miral, a deep-pocketed company, will pay Disney AND create new attractions Disney can host elsewhere.
In the process, Disney liberates some of its own R&D budgeting for other projects…like refreshing existing attractions.
This practice is one of the most underrated Disney strategies employed right now, as it’s happening more than people realize.
Disney has quietly refreshed Country Bear Jamboree, Voyage of the Little Mermaid, and Test Track into better attractions.
Photo: Disney
Soon, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin will join them, and then we have the full reboot of Mickey’s Toontown.
Tomorrowland Isn’t Done
Photo: Disney
Simply stated, Disney’s new philosophy is, “No wasted space.” Should an attraction perennially underperform, Disney will do something about it.
In the case of Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, park officials have garnered feedback from park guests.
Photo Credit: Guide2WDW.com
The consensus opinion is that the attraction has grown stale. It’s pretty much the same ride/interactive game that it was in 1998.
To put this in understandable gaming terms, the top-selling video games that year were on the Nintendo 64 and (original) PlayStation.
The gamified attraction is almost exactly the same age as Grim Fandango, Half-Life, and Metal Gear Solid.
The cobwebs in the Hollywood Tower Hotel are fresher than Space Ranger Spin’s gameplay. So, an update makes perfect sense.
Photo: Disney
More importantly, the refresh ties into Disney’s new manner of improving the parks.
Why does management like refreshing existing attractions? It’s much cheaper than building an entirely new one.
When you do that, which Disney is currently doing with Avatar at Disney California Adventure and Disney Villains at Magic Kingdom, you start from scratch.
That gets expensive, which explains why many new attractions cost the same as Disney’s big-budget movies.
Photo: Disney
A refresh of Space Ranger Spin probably costs seven figures. That’s a 90 percent savings.
You shouldn’t lose sight of the timing of this move, either. Disney had theoretically finished the multi-year makeover of Tomorrowland.
The opening of Tron Lightcycle / Run should have signaled the end of the changes here. Obviously, it didn’t.
So, now we’re all left speculating what’s next.
Two More Attractions to Watch
Carousel of Progress
The calculus here is simple. If Disney notes an underachieving attraction, the only thing that will save it is historical significance.
As an example, Disney may modernize the final scene of Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress soon. It’s been rumored for years, but hasn’t happened in a while.
I mean, Disney updated the characters’ clothing in 2022, but the final act has remained the same for the body of 30 years. And that’s the “modern” one!
Still, because Walt Disney himself worked on Carousel of Progress, it’s like Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room. It’s not going anywhere.
Two other spots at Tomorrowland could feasibly receive updates, though. One isn’t even in use right now, yet everyone is suddenly looking at it again.
In 1994, Extraterrorestrial Alien Encounter, arguably Disney’s most daring attraction ever, opened to the public and quickly developed a loyal following.
Photo: Disney
Alas, the aggressively thrilling attraction proved too much for many guests. So, Disney added the cuddly yet equally ferocious Stitch in 2004.
Despite the fact that Lilo & Stitch was only two years old at the time, Stitch’s Great Escape never proved popular.
WESH 2
The attraction’s lackluster quality made it feel inferior to the attraction it replaced. Disney shut down Stitch’s Great Escape in 2018.
Now, valuable Tomorrowland real estate remains unoccupied.
(David Roark, photographer)
However, the recent blockbuster success of Lilo & Stitch’s live-action remake has predictably renewed interest.
Rumors suggest that a Stitch attraction could return here. Similarly, Tomorrowland Speedway has been the subject of numerous Rumors over the years.
People are loudly wondering whether Disney could be engaging in a quiet overhaul of Tomorrowland.
What’s in a Name?
Disney
Let’s start with the acknowledgment that I don’t believe the Stitch rumor, at least not yet. It’s coming from the wrong circles.
Cast Members who would know are convinced that Disney has changed the space enough that it couldn’t just update Stitch’s Great Escape here.
Disney
I’ll add the caveat that Imagineers can do anything if they set their minds to it. Still, Disney has made minor building changes that have altered the landscape here.
If an attraction were to go back to this building, it’d require another overhaul of the space.
Photo: Disney
I’m of the opinion that if Disney wants more Lilo & Stitch, it could add a South Seas pavilion at the World Showcase. And that place would be mobbed!
In the aftermath of the Wonders of Xandar pavilion, EPCOT’s no longer tied to the international countries theme anyway.
Tomorrowland Speedway
As for Tomorrowland Speedway, I’ve stated several times that this attraction wastes precious space at Magic Kingdom.
Now that we know Disney’s new mantra about maximizing the value of its real estate, a change should happen here.
Photo: Disney
I don’t think anything is coming anytime soon, though. Rumors persist that Disney will introduce electric cars to this attraction.
That consideration doesn’t sound like something park planners would discuss if they intended to repurpose the land.
Photo: Disney
Here’s the thing, though. The place is called Tomorrowland! There’s nothing futuristic about driving cars in a circle. You can do that on I-4 anytime you like.
When Disney does surveys, I’m confident it hears this criticism from guests all the time.
Photo: Disney
Similarly, I’m sure that most surveys done in May ask something like, “Where is Stitch, and when are we getting more Stitch?”
A Cool Kid Summer dance party isn’t anywhere near enough.
Final Thoughts
So, this month’s Rumors are more about a philosophical change occurring behind the scenes at Disney.
The Buzz Lightyear update suggests that park officials know Tomorrowland needs to feel more futuristic.
Photo: Disney
Tomorrowland Speedway has a misnomer for a name and has no business being in a themed land called Tomorrowland in the year 2025.
Ordinarily, I’d say that Disney will just overlook this stuff…and it probably will.
Photo: Playbuzz.com
After all, if changes were about to occur, wouldn’t Disney have added them to the Space Ranger Spin announcement?
Still, Disney is currently listening to guest feedback more than I can ever recall. So, if enough people beg for Stitch, we’ll get it.
Tomorrowland Speedway
Also, if folks want something better in place of Tomorrowland Speedway, Disney probably has the space to build a couple of new attractions here.
Some rumormongers believe this could possibly happen soon. I’m quite skeptical, but I’m also paying attention to the calendar.
SAO PAULO, BRAZIL – NOVEMBER 09: Josh D’Amaro, Chairperson of Walt Disney Parks and (Photo by Ricardo Moreira/Getty Images for Disney)
In less than three months, Destination D23 2025 occurs, and that’s when Disney is most likely to announce new Walt Disney World attractions.
I suspect at least one of these reveals will involve the reboot of an existing attraction. It makes too much business sense for Disney.
Image: The Healthy Mouse
Will those changes occur at Tomorrowland? I think no, but that’s the focal point of the current Rumors right now.
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