You might have seen some new rumors online about Disney World’s Villains Land and be asking yourself, “Is this possibly true??” We’re here to see what’s happening and if we can really believe what’s being said online.
On a Disney forum, Lentesta wrote that Villains Land might not be happening and that new ideas might be on the horizon. But what’s really going on?
The post from Lentesta on the WDWMagic Forum says, “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.”
Big news if true #wdw pic.twitter.com/HnbWMovpTu
— Judy Winslow (@JudyWinslow_fm) February 16, 2026
Josh D’Amaro was the chairman of Disney Experiences, and will be starting as the Chief Executive Officer of the Walt Disney Company starting on May 18th, 2026, and even though we was previously working in parks, plans for current projects could be changing.
In April 2024, D’Amaro announced that Villains Land would be coming to Magic Kingdom in a new space behind Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. The land is to be home to the favorite Disney Villains, and “it’s going to be a fearless new vision for what a Disney experience can be.” The land is already being worked on, with lots of dirt being moved, but no structures have been built yet. We’ve been keeping a close eye on the space along with Piston Peak, the Cars-themed land, which is replacing Tom Sawyer Island and the Rivers of America.
During D23 in 2025, the Disney fan expo where Disney announces most of its major news, the only update on the project was that Disney Imagineers are still working on designing the space and drawing major inspiration from real-life architecture.
For Piston Peak, we’ve received multiple pieces of concept art, including details about the two attractions coming to the space. For Villains Land, we’ve seen one piece of concept art and … that’s really it. Could this mean we’re not getting the land?
Disney loves to throw out concepts they call “Blue Sky Projects,” which are their biggest plans but aren’t necessarily going to be built. The idea will sometimes be changed or dropped entirely, but when Disney shares it, they can see fans’ reactions and decide whether to move forward.
In 2022, Disney discussed retheming DinoLand into a Zootopia– or Moana-themed land, but later announced it would become Pueblo Esperanza, with Encanto and Indiana Jones as the stars. During the same presentation, they said Encanto and Coco could be coming to Magic Kingdom. That hasn’t happened yet, but Coco is getting a ride in Disneyland, and Encanto is heading to Animal Kingdom. Disney is known for experimenting with ideas before making permanent changes.
We might see one or two pieces of concept art for these Blue Sky Projects, but it’s not usually an official announcement like Villains Land was. Disney said that the land would be coming to Magic Kingdom. Concept art is known to change as Disney plays around with the ideas, too. Sometimes they even release more than one piece at the same time, each with a different concept, as they did when Monstropolis came to Hollywood Studios. From the art, we could tell they were deciding whether to put it where Muppets Courtyard was…
…or where Animation Courtyard was. It was moved to Muppets Courtyard, and Animation Courtyard is currently being converted into Walt Disney Studios, a brand-new concept Disney hadn’t shared before.
Based on our one piece of concept art for Villains Land, we can certainly expect changes. Disney hasn’t announced things like restaurants, stores, rides, or even characters, so nothing has fully felt set in stone. Sometimes Disney announces concepts for the parks that never come to happen. For example, before the 2020 closures, Spaceship Earth closed for a major refurbishment, and when the parks reopened, the ride did too, with no changes and no mention of them.
There was also supposed to be a Play Pavilion to replace the Wonders of Life pavilion, but we haven’t seen any updates or news about it in about six years, so we assume it’s been canceled. It was mentioned in several pieces of concept art and was even added to the park’s map throughout 2019, but it wasn’t mentioned again after the 2020 closures. This doesn’t mean Disney couldn’t surprise us and suddenly start working on it or share new details, but after not being mentioned for so long, it’s likely not coming to fruition right now.
So, is Villains Land canceled? More likely than not, the answer is no. Disney hasn’t publicly announced anything, nor has it said anything else is coming to the space, and we can see them actively working on the land behind Big Thunder Mountain. It’s very likely that the concept art will change drastically and might look nothing like it does right now, but for now, we have no reason to think otherwise. Villains Land was also only announced in 2024, which was very recently. If it’s been a couple of years without updates, we might feel differently, but Disney said they were still working on it in August 2025.
Nothing is ever set in stone with Disney and its lands; attractions can change repeatedly before they officially open. They can even build a ride, invite guests to preview it, and then change it before it’s open to the public — it all depends on what Disney wants to do. If the post on the forum is correct, the most exciting thing about it would be the idea that budget doesn’t matter. With a looser budget, Disney Imagineers might be able to really take concepts and turn them into something spectacular, without the restraints of money, but right now, we’re going to assume it’s still for Villains Land.
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What do you think? Is Villains Land canceled? Tell us your thoughts in the comments.
If they want to go Bigger, add a haunted mansion hotel to the villains land with direct park access from the hotel.
EPIC is open. The bar is set high. Thrilled to hear Disney understands the need to respond in their flagship park is well beyond anything they have ever done before.