One of my biggest wishes is that Disney would create some sort of villain-themed park or land. The villains get so little recognition throughout the year and they deserve a land of their own… don’t you think?
For years, a villain park has been rumored to be in the works, but the sad truth is that our wish will likely never happen.
Too Scary For Kiddos
The issue is that the villains can tend to be a little too scary for kiddos. Villains can often be a kids’ biggest fear or worst nightmare. And do you really want to pay thousands of dollars for your children to be terrified? I doubt it…
I guess that makes sense. I remember running and hiding under my kitchen table when the Evil Queen would come on while watching Snow White. So… would I want to be face-to-face with her as a kid? Nope, not one bit.
This is a big reason Disney has cut back on their villain meet-and-greet experiences as well. Too many of these interactions were becoming too scary for kids, so Disney chose to reduce the number of villains in the park on a daily basis. This is a big bummer to those of us who love our Disney villains, though.
Disney really wants to remain family-friendly and a villain park would no doubt take away from that. Think back to the old ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter attraction in the Magic Kingdom. Although many of us LOVED the attraction, just like we love the villains, Disney took it away due to it being too darn scary.
It Would Take Away from Halloween Parties
Another issue with a villain theme park is that it could detract from the annual Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party nights in Walt Disney World. The Halloween parties are when Disney focuses the most on the villains.
If there was a villain-themed park, the draw to the Halloween parties would likely diminish. At these parties, many of the villains make a special appearance in the parade and there are a number of villain meet-and-greets. People wait hours in the lines and pay for Halloween party tickets because seeing their favorite Disney villain is pretty rare. If they could see the villains every day on a regular basis, it would take away some of that “specialness.”
Find out more about the 2019 Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party here!
There Are Some Daily Villain Offerings
Artist Point at Walt Disney World recently transformed into a Snow White-themed character dining experience. Here, you can not only enjoy a few unique villainous food and drink options (check out the menu and our review of the restaurant here) you can meet the Evil Queen herself!
You can also meet the nasty Lady Tremaine at 1900 Park Fare at Disney’s Grand Floridian. She and Cinderella’s treacherous stepsisters typically appear here on a daily basis.
Less “scary” villains meet year-round at Disney World, as well. In the parks, Cinderella’s stepsisters Anastasia and Drizella usually hold meet-and-greets in Fantasyland behind the Castle, while Gaston greets his fans near his tavern. Over in Adventureland, you’ll sometimes see the not-very-threatening Captain Hook and his sidekick Smee, while in Disney’s Hollywood Studios you can meet Star Wars baddie Kylo Ren in the Launch Bay.
So, as you can see, Disney does have a few options available for villain fans on a fairly regular basis.
Previous Villain Events
Disney has also dabbled in a few villain events. These have included Club Villain and Unleash the Villains, both held at Hollywood Studios.
Unleash the Villains was a Friday the 13th stage show that took place in 2013. The show was led by Hades and Megara from Hercules. During the show the “wickedest villains” would be released. This was then followed by musical numbers and a fireworks show called “Villainy in the Sky.” The following year the show changed names to Villains Unleashed and it became a hard-ticketed event.
Club Villain was more of an adult-driven ticketed event. Dr. Facilier of Princess and the Frog was the host for the evening and would welcome guests and his friends from the “other side.” There were a large assortment of concoctions from the Potions Bar and plenty of culinary options. Guests could meet villains and dance the night away. The event took place in 2016 and 2017 and got rave reviews — but hasn’t returned. Its home, the Sunset Showcase, recently became the site for the new Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy. Clearly, if it ever does come back, Club Villain will need a new location.
All hope is not lost for villains fans, though! A BRAND NEW villains-themed event — Villains After Hours was recently announced for the Magic Kingdom! The event will be ticketed just like other Disney After Hours events have been. The new experience will include Villains Unite the Night (an all-new stage show), specialty food and beverages inspired by Disney villains, a runaway dragon (Maleficent will be on the loose), attraction enhancements on Space Mountain and Pirates of the Caribbean, and exclusive event merchandise! Check out the full details here!
What do you think would happen if Disney actually created a villain-themed park? What do you think the odds are it will ever happen? Let us know in the comments below!
Want more VILLAIN? Don’t miss these recent posts:
- Ranking the Evilness of the Disney Villains
- Happy Villaintines Day! Photos of Your Favorite Disney Villains
- Angelina Jolie in Sequel, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, Coming to Theaters October 18!
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As much as I LOVE the Villains an entire park may be to much to ask but a “land” seems entirely feasible.
I agree with other comments that if your kids are scared of them you don’t have to take them, just as you wouldn’t take them on rides that are too much for them.
My kids, ages 11 & 12 absolutely adore the Villains as much as I do and were sorely disappointed not to see a one on our trip to WDW in October 2019.
At least reinstating Club Villain as a regular attraction should be a must!
Hollywood Studios could use some rounding out although I’m not sure Villains fit there as well as they would at Magic Kingdom.
The Lightening McQueen attraction is a travesty, we were so bored by it we left all of 10 minutes in. I also agree with another commenter that Figment is way past it’s prime, it’s another our family will skip entirely next time.
The suggestion by Missi of a Villains Resort is the best idea ever, we would hands-down make that a must do trip!
In other words, there is definitely space for more Villains!
Celebrating villains in this day and age doesn’t seem like a good idea. There’s too much real life villain worship in the world.
This is a good idea. I think they should expand the Magic Kingdom with another land or add to Hollywood Studios if there is more room to expand.
they’ll unfortunately never open a 5th park because they’ve figured out how to get people to pay twice for one park in the same day with all the after hours and morning magic events. people paying more for like 3 hours of a quarter of a park than it costs for a full day of a whole park. economics 101, people obviously didn’t take. disney is clearly tapping into people’s ignorance of how money works. the exception to this are the holiday parties, since you get nearly a full day in the park if you arrive at 4pm and most of the park is available with extra treats and such.
You just hit the nail on the head!
Even in villain event you still don’t get to meet villains I don’t understand why Disney doesn’t understand that people are willing to pay to meet villains I want to meet Maleficent and if some kids are scared of villains then they don’t need to visit villains some kids are scared of Wreck-It Ralph it doesn’t mean you should punish the other children who want to meet villains
I agree with the many people are saying about a possible villain land, “if your kids wouldn’t like it, then don’t take them.” That’s the same thing I’ve been saying about EPCOT. If your kids don’t like it, don’t take them. But Disney instead has decided to transform it into a kiddie character park ruining the experience for us adults and mature kids.
At least for the Mickeys Halloween Party we pay extra for, should have the Villains for Meet and Greets. The younger kids do not have to go by them, but us parents and older teens would love them to be there.
I think a “land” would suffice, and I’m a big fan of the idea. I think it’s ridiculous to pull the villains from meet and greets because they can be too scary. Just don’t take your kid to meet them. Kinda simple. Most meet and greets are in places where you can’t even see them unless you specifically get in line for them. Everything was answered in another reason though…it would deter from the MNSSHP and ticket sales because people pay big bucks to see their favorite characters etc….ALWAYS money. Anything and everything you could possibly question about why Disney does what they do these days can be answered with that one word. Money. I don’t know anyone excited about Star Wars opening personally, but they’re still doing that. It all balances out. Disney would completely know how to make a Villain park appeal to anyone if they really wanted to. They have the Haunted Mansion looming over Liberty Square and kids aren’t hopping fences to get away from it. There would be a way to make it work IF they ever decided to listen to the public and what we wanted, but when have they ever done that? I’m talking to you Figment!
A land in one of the parks, maybe. But to singularity niche’y an entire park.
My kids love the villains!!! We would love to see a park or land of just our villains. And what would make it even better? How about a villain themed resort!?!? They could do so much with that theme!
I remember the one time they tried a meet-and-greet with Chernabog. The autographs were cumbersome at best.
I don’t understand the whole autograph thing myself. They should all have a cute stamp like Buzz Lightyear. It sure would move things along more efficiently and each autograph would be more novel like the pressed penny machines. You’d just want to see what the stamp looked like and collect them. I personally can’t stand to see the characters desperately trying to see what they are doing while trying to hang on to that sharpie. What happened to just a hug and a picture?
I have been saying that about a theme park for at least 20 years now. I think if your kids are too scared to go there than you don’t take them to that park. A villain theme park would be great for preteens,teenagers,and adults. I would definitely love to see that happen. I use to work for Disney World and would be a big fan of a villain theme park.