I’m 99% Sure No One Noticed These Secrets About Disney World’s MASSIVE Expansion

We’re still trying to wrap our heads around all the big Disney World expansion news because it was a lot more than we initially expected.

Not only are we getting the promised Magic Kingdom expansion with a new Cars land and Villains land, but we’re also getting a new Monsters, Inc. land in Disney’s Hollywood Studios (and we did NOT see that announcement coming). We also got a lot of new concept art for these new lands and new rides, and yes, we’ve been obsessively studying this artwork to look for hidden secrets. 

So let’s take a look at this concept art and dive deeply into some of these little details we noticed. We’ll start with the Monsters, Inc. land. Here’s the first piece of concept art we saw for the land.

The first thing we notice is in the center of the artwork: we see Mike and Sulley standing in the center like they’re meeting guests. Now, we already have a Sulley meet-and-greet in Hollywood Studios, and it makes sense they’d move him to the new land once it’s completed. But Mike? Will we get to meet Mike Wazowski, too? We also see a few random monsters walking around. Will you get to have random monster encounters in the new land?

Here’s the next piece of concept art Disney released. This shows a bit of a closer view of the new land. The first thing we noticed here are those AMAZING Monsters ice cream cones the girl in the front is holding. We hope those will be a new snack option when the land opens. They look like so much fun! We also noticed the birds flying up the factory — when’s the last time you saw a flock of birds in Disney World like that? But this seems to be something we see in almost ALL of Disney’s concept art — someone really likes birds.

However, it’s those buildings in the background and the general layout of this space that have us a little concerned. Is it just us or does this look like Muppets Courtyard? We know there are already a lot of rumors out there that the new land will replace the Muppets in Hollywood Studios. However, the water tower in the background is a clue that could be replaced…although we’re going to be positive and say we just hope this is an untouched Muppets Courtyard in the background?

We also got concept art for the new Monsters, Inc. ride coming to Hollywood Studios. It’s based on the doors scene in the movie. The background of the ride looks like a screen to us (where you see all the other doors). However, it does look like we might get an animatronic figure of Mike, Sulley, and Boo in parts of the attraction.

Okay, let’s head on over to the Magic Kingdom expansion. We now know the new Cars land will be replacing Tom Sawyer Island and Rivers of America. Here’s the overall concept of the land, showing it in that space of Magic Kingdom. This also shows the idea of bringing the characters from Cars into a more Frontierland-like setting.

The land will feature two new rides, including one that will be a “thrilling rally race through the mountains. Take on wild terrain as you race across the landscape climbing mountain trails, dodging geysers and — Mater’s favorite — splashing through mudholes.”

So this basically looks like Radiator Springs Racers in Disney California Adventure but with more of an off-road vibe. We also noticed that this ride has some ups and downs, so it might be a bit more thrilling than the ride in Disneyland. And check out that little bridge that the one car is coming down from. This ride looks pretty exciting.

The other attraction will be geared towards the whole family so that “smaller racers” can enjoy it. From the concept art for the ride, it looks like we’ll be getting some cool animatronic figures of Lightning McQueen and Tow Mater, and maybe even a few other Cars characters.

Okay, so the concept art we have been studying the most is for the new villains land. There is SO much here to look at (including more birds). So here’s the concept art Disney released.

Shall we take a closer look? Down towards the bottom of the concept art is something that looks like a track inside a cave that goes under waterfalls. Is this a new attraction? You can even see a train of vehicles zooming through this area.

There’s also something that looks a LOT like a roller coaster track in the top left of the concept art. It’s got a nice little tight bend in it and it’s pretty high up. So it looks like this attraction is some kind of coaster. Also, you can’t help but notice Maleficent breathing green fire. Will this be a special effect like the dragon on top of Gringott’s in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando?

Anyway, we’re wondering if these two pieces of track are part of the same ride. If they are, it’s going to basically go THROUGH a lot of the land with different scenery. We can’t help but wonder if Maleficent’s castle might be part of another attraction. 

But there’s something missing from this concept art. Where are the villains? Will they be wandering the land? Or will they have specific meet-and-greet spots instead? Other than Maleficent in her dragon form, we don’t see them in the concept art. That’s…interesting.

We’ll continue to study the concept art for these new lands, as well as any new art Disney might release, so check back with AllEars for more theories!

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What do you think? Do you see something in the concept art that we missed? Share with us in the comments!

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