Is This the Most Disney Has Ever Changed?
Last week, I wrote a series of summer itineraries at Walt Disney World.
Throughout the process, I often reconsidered my typical advice at the various parks.
Photo:visitorlando.com
I had to do that because the Disney of old isn’t the Disney of today, nor will it be the Disney of tomorrow.
As we speak, several attractions have either closed or will shut down soon. Others are undergoing dramatic refurbishment.
Astro Orbiter at Tomorrowland was just plain missing for a while, and the Rivers of America will run dry next month.
What is happening here? Is this the most Disney has ever changed? Let’s discuss.
Seriously, What Is Happening Here?
Photo: Disneyplanning.com
Walt Disney World consists of four theme parks, two water parks, two entertainment districts, a sports complex, and much more.
Realistically, the theme parks drive the attendance, though, and they’re remarkably effective in this regard.
Cinderella Castle
Walt Disney World consistently ranks as the top paid tourist destination of its kind in the world, with Magic Kingdom the most visited theme park.
That statement has applied for several consecutive years, speaking to Disney’s chokehold on theme park tourism.
Toy Story Land
In 2019, Disney completed its most ambitious project to date, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
In tandem with the previous year’s expansion, Toy Story Land, Disney’s Hollywood Studios fundamentally changed almost overnight.
Roundup Rodeo BBQ
That’s only part of the story, though. Before Toy Story Land debuted in 2018, the park experienced an unprecedented funk.
Guests simply stopped going to Hollywood Studios, with the park’s attendance dropping in 2016 and again in 2017.
Slinky Dog Dash standby wait time
Then, the numbers shot up by more than half a million in 2018 and another 225,000 in 2019.
If not for the pandemic, I’m quite confident Hollywood Studios would have shattered attendance records in 2020.
That’s the tourist behavior in these instances. Guests shy away from theme parks that are currently under construction.
The mention of the pandemic brings me to a second point. Disney had plotted several ambitious park changes after Galaxy’s Edge.
Photo: Disney
Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway suffered the most unfortunate theme park timing ever when it debuted on March 4th, 2020.
Do you remember anything else that happened in March 2020? Yeah. It was brutal.
Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
Virtually overnight, Disney’s momentum had stopped, preventing one park from expanding as intended.
Speaking of Expansion
The park in question was EPCOT, which had previously announced a dramatic makeover, a glow-up if you will.
Disney intended to reboot Spaceship Earth with a new “story light” theme connecting all the historical scenes.
The park also would have added the PLAY! pavilion and a three-story festival building different from the one we got in CommuniCore Hall & Plaza.
Those plans collapsed during the pandemic, when circumstances forced Disney to cut its capital expenditures budget.
Disney
In layperson’s terms, that’s the money Disney spends on theme park expansion. That well dried up almost overnight, just as Rivers of America will next month.
As a byproduct of this sudden change, Disney stopped announcing new projects.
Photo: Disney World
Thankfully, the parks finished the ones that were already underway, like Tron Lightcycle / Run and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind.
Alas, by 2024, Disney hadn’t announced any real expansion projects in five years, which made the 2024 D23 Expo an inflection point.
2024 D24 Expo
That’s the moment when Disney finally went all-in on theme park expansion once more.
We’d known this was coming since 2023, as the company had filed paperwork with the SEC.
D23 Expo
These documents confirmed that Disney would spend $60 billion (!) improving its Disney Experiences division over the next decade.
At the time, I called it the second Decade of Disney, and we’ve technically entered that era already.
Here’s the thing about change, though. Some of it is gradual, but some of it is immediate.
In 2024, Disney fans are dealing with immediate change. Like, you almost need a chart to keep up with everything happening.
Let’s Talk Specifics
At Walt Disney World alone, here’s what has already happened this year.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom has closed three experiences at DinoLand USA, as well as an opening-day attraction, It’s Tough to Be a Bug!
It’s Tough to Be a Bug
The rest of DinoLand will close within the next calendar year as Disney repurposes the land into the Tropical Americas.
As for the show building for It’s Tough to Be a Bug!, it’ll become Zootopia: Better Zoogether later this year.
‘It’s Tough to be a Bug’
I quantify that one as a small change, as it doesn’t impact much at the park. The shuttering of DinoLand is a MAJOR change, though.
I’m not sure that’s one of the biggest park renovations happening right now, though. Time will tell.
Photo: Disney
I say this because Muppet*Vision 3D just closed forever as Disney reclaimed the land at Muppets Courtyard.
We know that Monstropolis is going in this spot, with Disney recently updating the blueprints.
Photo: Disney
Simultaneously, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith will undergo re-theming to make it the new Muppets attraction.
Again, that’s similar to It’s Tough to Be a Bug! in that the changes are cosmetic more than substantial, but it still counts.
Test Track in EPCOT
Then, we have EPCOT, which theoretically should be done with its makeover. Technically, it’s not, though.
That final moment occurs when Test Track 3.0 opens next month. Since the construction walls have come down, this one’s close enough to being done.
Test Track
Then, we have Magic Kingdom, the park that will soon undergo its most dramatic expansion ever.
Disney is literally paving over the Rivers of America to create more walking paths within the park.
Photo: Disney
As a byproduct of this change, we’re losing Tom Sawyer Island and the Liberty Square Riverboat.
In exchange, we’ll gain a Cars area and an entire Disney Villains themed land.
Is This the Most Disney Has Ever Changed?
Photo: Disney
Remarkably, I could have the same conversation at Disneyland Resort, where Disney California Adventure is undergoing dramatic expansion.
We’re getting a new Avatar themed land, a Coco ride, and twice as many rides at Avengers Campus.
Photo: Newsweek
I’m not even counting it in this conversation, which speaks to how dramatic an escalation Disney is undergoing right now.
At this moment, three out of four Walt Disney World theme parks have planters and construction walls posted.
Each of these parks will host an entirely new themed land. Folks, Magic Kingdom has never added one of those before now.
You could argue that New Fantasyland counts, I guess, but it’s still called Fantasyland. Disney just stretched it out a bit.
At Animal Kingdom, Disney will similarly add acreage to the current DinoLand USA area, making it larger as well.
When you look at the plans for Monstropolis, you’ll notice that it stretches much deeper than Muppets Courtyard ever did.
And then we have the Disney Villains themed land, which will take us Beyond Big Thunder.
That project is so comprehensive that Disney had to shut down Big Thunder Mountain Railroad for a year to clear out the land behind it.
In terms of scale, there’s simply nothing in the history of Disney theme parks comparable to what’s being done right now in Orlando.
We’re on the precipice of an entirely new generation at Walt Disney World.
Disney
While the parks will experience a few hiccups along the way, it’s about to be Disney’s golden age.
As the old song says, Disney’s future’s so bright it’s gotta wear shades.
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!
Feature Photo: Disney
