A rumor kicked off this past weekend about the upcoming Villains Land coming to Magic Kingdom. The rumor comes via TouringPlans‘ Len Testa. In short, Testa says that the initial plans for Villains Land have been “scrapped”, and that Imagineers have been asked to go back to the drawing board for “bigger, bolder ideas”. Here’s the latest on the rumor, including what we’re hearing and what could be at play.
Initial Villains Land Plans “Scrapped”, Imagineers Asked to Dream Bigger
We’ll start by addressing what will surely be the viral, social media take on the headline. The rumor from Testa says that the initial plans were scrapped, not that Villains Land as a whole has been canceled. Walt Disney World is very much still going forward with a Villains Land for Magic Kingdom, and it will very likely be the biggest single magnet to draw visitation to the resort for decades to come. Here’s the quote from Testa.
I’m hearing the initial plans for Villains Land have been scrapped. Imagineers have been told to think of bigger, bolder ideas. Budget secondary.
Not sure if this is “new players, new game” re: Josh as CEO.
Before we offer some commentary on the rumor, let’s take a look back at what Walt Disney World has previously announced about Villains Land.
At the 2024 D23 Expo, where concept art for the land was first revealed, Disney said that the new Villains Land would be home to two major attractions, dining, and shopping on “an incredibly twisted grand scale”.
That’s it.
Well, that, and the concept art seen above. Of course, fans immediately started poring over the concept art, spotting a roller coaster that twisted through the land, a centerpiece castle in the distance, and what appeared to be a village – all set within a thorny, rugged terrain.
Following the initial announcement back in August 2024, there hasn’t been much said about Villains Land. There were a few more tidbits offered about the land, including a general backstory from Michael Hundgen, Vice President Creative, Walt Disney World Portfolio at Walt Disney Imagineering.
Hundgen said that the backstory for the land includes a “mysterious spell” that has been cast across the land. This spell “summoned… villains from every realm.” Hundgen echoed previous statements from Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro, saying that in Villains Land, there might not be a happily ever after.
Ok, with that bit of background out of the way, I wanted to offer some commentary on the recent rumor. At face value, the rumor seems plausible, but I do have some reservations. More on that in a bit.
While I want to make clear that this report is based on the rumor from Testa that kicked off buzz within the fan community, I have separately been hearing similar reports from my own sources.
I’ve heard that there are certain elements from within the concept art that are still present in today’s plans. I don’t think that the entire set of plans has been scrapped. That said, it sounds like there are still a lot of chess pieces moving on the board and that final plans are still in very much flux. More so than normal.
Furthermore, I’ve heard from a separate source that Imagineers were told to dream bigger, and that executives are really stressing that Villains Land needs to be nothing short of a home run. As I said earlier in this article, Villains Land needs to be the single biggest magnet drawing guests to Walt Disney World in the 2030s and beyond.
Now for some speculation. I think that it is fully within the realm of possibility that one of two things is at play here.
First, I think that the pressure is incredibly high to get Villains Land right. To that end, there will naturally be a certain number of adjustments to make sure that Imagineering gets it just right. Plans that are good can be great, and plans that are great can be outstanding.
I think that Imagineers have been told to take what they have and turn “great” into “outstanding”.
As an example, there were numerous changes to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in the years leading up to construction. Every project goes through changes, but the chatter around Villains Land feels different than what we’d expect from a normal project.
Another thing to consider is that Disney will have a new CEO soon, and that new CEO is the soon-to-be-former theme parks chief. I’m sure that Josh D’Amaro wants the theme parks to thrive while he is CEO, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he pays more attention to the parks than recent CEO’s have. The theme parks have a massive role to play in the bottom line for The Walt Disney Company, and I am inclined to believe that D’Amaro will lean into the parks even more and make sure that they remain a strong segment for the company once he becomes CEO.
One major caveat to this whole rumor is the recent news that Walt Disney World filed a permit actually showing the locations of attraction buildings within Villains Land (and Piston Peak National Park).
The permit, seen above, shows the location and size of massive buildings within Villains Land. It is believed that these buildings are for the attractions, shops, and/or restaurants that have been announced for Villains Land.
I’m not sure how much these plans can change, but I assume that Disney would simply be able to submit a new permit with new building plans at any time.
I think it’s also possible that these buildings are generic enough that while the building itself may not change much, concepts and the final attraction product could vary wildly from what the initial plans called for. Without any insight as to what the attractions would be (beyond seeing a roller coaster in the concept art), it might be impossible to confirm that plans have changed.
As for what the construction site looks like right now, there are no signs of construction for any of the show buildings listed in the permit. Furthermore, it doesn’t look like Disney has done any significant mass grading for the Villains Land project yet. There is no infrastructure in place, and Disney appears to still be in a land-clearing phase of work.
Here are some recent aerial photos from friend of the site Bioreconstruct, showing the current state of the plot of land expected to become Villains Land over the next five years or so. To help visualize the area for Villains Land, we draw an imaginary line between Haunted Mansion and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Anything to the south of that (toward Frontierland) would be Piston Peak National Park. Anything to the north of that would be eligible for Villains Land.
The trees seen in the lower middle of the photo below may actually be a sort of canary in the coal mine for the permitted plans. If I’m reading the permit correctly, they are right where the 55,000 sqft building is planned to be built. Yet, they have survived multiple rounds of land clearing on all sides. I guess it’s possible that Disney may want to relocate the trees, requiring different equipment or trades than are currently on site, but something to keep an eye on.
To wrap things up, I think that the rumor that Imagineers have been tasked to dream bigger for Villains Land has some credibility. From what I’m hearing, I’m not sure that the initial plans have been entirely “scrapped”, but I don’t think that the project is substantially set in stone either. I wouldn’t be surprised to see new concept art at this year’s D23 Expo that looks quite different than the art previously released.
From what I’ve heard, the broad strokes of the land remain the same. That is, the concept that a “mysterious spell has been cast, summoning all these villains from every realm”. From there, I think that a substantial amount of details are still being worked out, and that Imagineers have gone back to the drawing board to create something that will be undeniably amazing.
As with any rumor, you should consider this unofficial unless and until Disney confirms it.
For everything we know about the upcoming Villains Land at Magic Kingdom, check out our dedicated Villains Land page below!
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!
i sincerely hope this rumor is very true as Imagineering has become awfully soulless and prosaic lately – please let Villains Land live up to its incredible potential – please let us have more than just another thrill ride roller coaster that only thrill seekers can enjoy (Im not the only person who is so tired of new coaster rides I either dont enjoy on any level or wouldn’t be caught dead on)
it desperately needs a massive, stunning, inventive and multi immersive experience like Rise of the Resistance which anyone can enjoy and be thrilled by – it needs to raise the bar to stratospheric heights –
so, yeah, back to the drawing board and find new ways to dream and impress us – the gauntlet has been thrown down
Josh has been to Dark Universe. He knows how high the bar has been raised.
The price was too high with the loss of Rivers of America when the amount of land is the size of Manhattan as we were repeatedly told. Still, the biggest expansion ever since Universal forced Disney to act, Epcot, Studios, and Animal Kingdom will continue to have 10 attractions each, thus remain in the shadows as half day parks. Disney World should have 3 excellent parks instead of 4 diluted parks.
All Disney’s 4 Lands need more attractions that just 10. Epcot, Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios are lacking compared to Magic Kingdom, even with the major screw ups there starting with Splash Mountain. In Epcot, countries could have rides – Morocco with Aladdin, Germany with Alpine Toboggans, Japan with Mt Fuji Haunted Coaster. Animal Kingdom with the Tiger River Safari ride, a revised Dinosaur Adventure and Zootopia ride. Hollywood Studios with a Banta Ride, Mary Poppins, an Aliens Dark Ride. Disney need to invest if they want their parks to return to the Eisner days when the parks were important.
THIS is why people were rooting for D’Amaro instead of someone from the studio divisions. We need a CEO who will prioritize development of the parks