NEWS: Disney World Files Permit for Hollywood Studios CHANGES

Work is progressing on Disney World’s newest show.

Entrance to Hollywood Studios

There’s a lot of construction and construction preparation at Walt Disney World right now. Areas at the Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom are being readied for the Cars expansion of Frontierland and Villains Land, Monsters Inc. Land, and Tropical Americas, respectively. While the openings of those areas are still years in the future, a brand new show is coming to the resort much sooner.

In early September, Disney surprise-announced that a brand new Disney Villains-themed show would be coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios’ Sunset Showcase in the summer of 2025, replacing Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy. The announcement of the show caught many observers off-guard, as Disney waited until nearly a month after D23 to announce its existence, and it seemed incongruent to some that they were opening a new villains-themed show in Hollywood Studios while also working on a Disney Villains Land at Magic Kingdom.

The new Villains Land coming to Magic Kingdom will feature fan-favorite Disney Villains from popular Walt Disney Animation Studios films and two new attractions.

According to Disney, the new show will “transform Sunset Showcase into the mysterious, reflective realm of the Magic Mirror. The show will feature appearances by dozens of the most infamous evildoers, with fiendish foes Cruella de Vil, Captain Hook and Maleficent each breaking through the glass to take the stage in live production numbers.”

©Disney

In early October 2024, Disney filed a permit for “General Construction” at the Sunset Showcase location. The order, which lists longtime Disney construction partner Whiting-Turner Construction Company as the contractor, extends through September 27th 2025. Given the type of construction timelines we often see associated with these permits, it seems likely that Disney is planning for work on the show to be done before that date.

©Disney

Currently, Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy is planned to close for good on October 7th, and given this construction permit, it seems Disney is going to waste no time in starting work on the new Villains-themed show, which is scheduled to open in the summer of 2025.

Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy

Stay tuned to AllEars for more on Disney World’s upcoming construction projects.

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Are you excited for the new Disney Villains show coming to Hollywood Studios? Will you miss Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy? Let us know in the comments below.