According to a construction bidding site, Walt Disney World is currently targeting a March 1st start date for construction related to Villains Land and the Frontierland expansion featuring two Cars-themed attractions. Currently, Walt Disney World is awaiting final permitting approval to start draining the Rivers of America along with other earth-moving activities such as clearing forested areas in the northwest corner of Magic Kingdom to support construction equipment and materials. The construction bidding info was unearthed by local realtor Ken Pozek.

Construction Starting Soon for Villains Land & Frontierland Expansion

The March 1st start date may be a bit deceiving, as that’s the date that we expect that backstage land clearing activities could start. It is expected that Walt Disney World will receive final permitting approval early next week for the start of the project, which includes a lot of backstage prep work before we ever see anything in Magic Kingdom. Similar to the Tropical Americas project at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Disney has had to clear the permitting hurdle before work could begin. That said, we’re very close to the permitting green light.

For context, the water management permit that Disney is waiting for final approval on covers more than 300 acres. That mostly encompasses forested areas northwest of Magic Kingdom. As is typical during these types of projects, Disney will create a new pond for water management purposes some 3/4 of a mile from Magic Kingdom, while also utilizing the dirt gained from the pond as fill for wetland areas and the drained and demolished Rivers of America section of Magic Kingdom.

While this pond project, officially called the 407 Basin project, is deeply connected to the Rivers of America draining and demolition, there is much more to the project than just the Magic Kingdom development component. That said, there is no Magic Kingdom expansion without the water management aspect, which makes the permitting approval so critical, and this latest construction bidding so interesting. In fact, the construction bid page is titled “Disney Magic Kingdom Expansion – Villains Land”.

The bid page notes that the construction site will cover 14 acres, which could be just the Villains Land portion if the expansion crosses the railroad tracks, and that it will house a roller coaster and an indoor ride. The bid amount is in the $50 million range, which would be expected for things like early site prep and not for the actual construction of the rides, which will surely be in the hundreds of millions of dollars each. There is also no mention of the Cars-themed rides coming to Frontierland, although those plans are very much locked in.

As far as official statements from Disney, back in November 2024, Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro stated that work on the Villains land project would begin “very, very soon”. D’Amaro specifically mentioned Villains Land, suggesting that the recently rumored March 1st start date could be accurate. In theory, the backstage laydown yards that will be utilized for construction equipment and materials for the Cars-themed rides could then be turned into areas for Villains Land in the future.

In Disney’s official announcement of the land back in August 2024, they said that the land would be home to “two major attractions, dining, and shopping on an incredibly twisted grand scale”. At the time, Disney said that “preparation is already underway at Magic Kingdom for this new land”, although that clearly didn’t mean shovels in the ground.

Walt Disney World did not return a request for comment about the rumored start date. Walt Disney World has not announced a closing date for the Rivers of America or Tom Sawyer Island.

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!