One of the things emphasized at this year’s Disney Experiences keynote presentation is that Chairman Josh D’Amaro is moving past Blue Sky ideas, and instead, presenting ideas that will get shovels in the ground over the next 2-3 years. Some of the smaller projects presented will open in 2025, but others won’t start construction until 2026 or beyond. When planning your vacation, we know how important it is to know what the parks will look like when you visit, so we’re going to create a series of articles that explore announced timelines for various projects.
Villains Land
The “Beyond Big Thunder Mountain” project has changed considerably since it was first announced in September 2022 at the last D23 Expo. Instead of building areas dedicated to Coco, Encanto, and Villains, Disney has shifted the concept to only include the recently announced Villains Land under the “Beyond Big Thunder Mountain” project scope.
In an article published today, Disney not only revealed that recently announced Cars-themed attractions will take over the area currently occupied by Tom Sawyer Island and the Rivers of America (more on that in a bit), but they also announced that Villains Land is part of the “Beyond Big Thunder Mountain” project:
…guests will be able to venture Beyond Big Thunder Mountain into an all-new land dedicated to Disney Villains. Inspired by the wicked characters fans know and loathe, the multi-acre expansion will include two major attractions, plus dining and shopping. Walt Disney Imagineering is pushing creative boundaries to dark and mysterious levels to bring this new, first-of-its-kind land to life.
Going back to the premise of this article, the Villains Land project is much further along than previously thought. When presented in 2022, Villains Land was just about as Blue Sky as you could get. A shadowy silhouette of Dragon Maleficent sat off in the distance in the artwork shown below, and while the crowd erupted at the announcement, it was clear that the project was very much in its infancy.
Fast forward to the 2024 D23 Expo and the Disney Experiences keynote presentation. When talking about the Frontierland expansion and Villains Land, D’Amaro said that the “projects are already underway” and that “Earth is already starting to move”.
In a blog post following the announcement by D’Amaro on stage, Disney said that “preparation is already underway at Magic Kingdom for this new land.” Of course, “preparation” can mean a lot of different things, and there will certainly be some significant infrastructure changes to be made for the new land, but D’Amaro saying that they’re moving dirt already probably means that we can say that the project is underway.
The next question is about the timing of a grand opening. Disney has not announced an opening year for Villains Land, and it’s so early in the process that we wouldn’t expect to hear anything on that front for at least 2-3 more years. I think the over/under on a Villains Land opening right now sits at Summer 2030.
Cars-Themed Attractions
The next big project for Magic Kingdom is the addition of two Cars-themed attractions where the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island currently sit. Because of the nature of the work here, I’d imagine that the Cars-themed attractions will open before Villains Land, and Disney has provided a bit more insight on the timing of the first steps of the project.
An announcement today revealed the concept art shown below of the Cars-themed expansion to Frontierland.
And here’s a look at a Google Maps screenshot showing the area to be impacted when the Cars-themed attractions are added to Frontierland.
The timing on this project is slightly more in focus, with Disney World saying that they will file a permit this week to begin construction for the Cars-themed expansion to Frontierland. The permit will likely come in the form of a water management permit, and provide a little bit more insight as to Disney’s plans for Villains Land as well. We’ll keep an eye out for that.
In terms of actual, visible construction, Disney World says that work will “[rev] into high gear next year” and a previous announcement said, “work on this new space in Frontierland will begin in early 2025“. We’re not sure when Tom Sawyer Island or the Liberty Square Riverboat will close, but it looks like you’ll be able to visit through the end of 2024 and perhaps into the new year.
Just like Villains Land, Disney has not announced an opening date for the Cars-themed attractions. However, we can see this area opening before Villains Land, and perhaps even considerably ahead of Villains Land. With the Tropical Americas project slated to open in 2027, and construction on that project starting around the same time as this Cars-themed area, and the Cars construction looking to be a bit more complicated, we can see the Cars attractions opening sometime in 2028 or 2029 ahead of Villains Land in 2030.
Again, opening timeframes are purely speculation at this point, but construction start timeframes are not. We should see some real construction taking place next year at Magic Kingdom for the start of this multi-year expansion of Frontierland and the highly-anticipated Villains Land. We imagine that a lot of the early land preparation work will benefit both construction projects, which should give Villains Land a good head start.
The world’s busiest theme park is growing, and we can’t wait to watch it all happen!
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!
Keep the river, the boat, and the island. I know I haven’t been to the island in years, but I’ve circled it many a time on the riverboat and remember it finally from my younger days.
I guess it is too far along to change now, but it sure looks like a lot of undeveloped green around the borders of the kingdom, along the “outside” of the railroad.
Smh I’m sure they’ll build a big DVC tower back there! I don’t understand why (especially since it was approved already) not just build another park! Monsters, Cars, Encanto and Villians would have been a great start to the new IP land
I think Villains will becomes to the WDW 60th Anniversary- 2031.
Not “becomes” – “comes”