The Villains Land Expansion Will Be a Monumental Achievement — If Disney Can Finish It

Disney has its hands full with upcoming theme park expansions. All eyes turn to the company as it undertakes these tall tasks.

While the theme park universe is hyper-focused on Universal Orlando’s Epic Universe, Disney World has some big plans in the works. In 2024, Disney announced several expansions coming to the Disney Parks, including a new Villains Land at Magic Kingdom.

Disney has a lot riding on this project. As it continues to navigate in space where other properties like Universal are doing their darndest to catch up, the industry will question Disney on how it will continue to be the innovative pioneer among theme park experiences.

Situated behind Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, the new Villains Land will have a lot of room to play with. It’ll need it, too, as Disney is teasing two major attractions, dining options, and shopping offerings on an “incredibly twisted grand scale.”

The new land looks promising, but it will face hurdles.

When New Fantasyland was constructed in Magic Kingdom, it doubled Fantasyland’s size and included Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Under the Sea — Journey of the Little Mermaid, Be Our Guest Restaurant, and more additions. However, getting to this point wasn’t easy.

The land expansion was announced in 2009 and construction began in 2011. Construction wasn’t considered complete until 2014. Not only did it take a good amount of time to finish, but it also cost more than $600 million.

Another major expansion — Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disney’s Hollywood Studios — also ran into some roadblocks.

This land went through it all. It was in development in the early 2010s and was supposed to be based on the original trilogy, but progress was stalled in 2014 so that the theming could be based on the sequel trilogy and more modern Star Wars films instead.

In 2015, the land was officially announced, and construction began in 2016. It would open in 2019, months after the version in Disneyland.

Ultimately, though, the land feels somewhat unfinished — because it is. Lots of ideas like roaming droids and stunt shows were scrapped due to budget cuts. And while there are two E-ticket attractions, there was originally supposed to be a third attraction. Some space around the land looks like there was supposed to be more — more rides, more restaurants, more anything. It’s clear Disney got a hard dose of financial constraints during the process.

So how does history affect the Villains Land? There’s precedent for problems. Between lengthy construction closures to budget issues, a lot could happen to minimize the land’s potential, delay it, or cancel it entirely.

The issue of money becomes even more apparent with the current fragility of the world’s economy. We aren’t economists, but not much is known about how the fallout of broader tariffs will affect current supply chains and labor.

The economy ebbs and flows, making timing everything. Universal finished its major project before the current uncertainty, but Disney is planning to expand in the thick of it.

How the current economic status will affect Disney’s big plans — if at all — remains to be seen, and we’re not going to pretend that we can predict the final outcome.

However, we will be monitoring the progress on the new Villains Land and all of Disney’s upcoming projects intensely, so stay tuned right here at AllEars for all the latest updates.

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What issues do you think Disney’s expansions will run into? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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