Disney’s Expansion Plans: Everything We Know About Villains Land, ‘Cars’ Replacing Tom Sawyer, And ‘Monsters, Inc’ Roller Coaster

Walt Disney World and Disneyland will look different in the coming years as Disney’s theme park division begins work on a slew of major projects—bringing attractions like a villains land and rides based on “Encanto,” “Monsters Inc.” and “Coco” to the parks—bolstering the theme park giant as it faces falling earnings and increased competition in Florida.

Villains Land: A new land themed to Disney’s villains will come to the Magic Kingdom park at Walt Disney World in Florida, Josh D’Amaro, the head of the theme parks division announced, though the company has not yet provided a timeline for when it will open or where in the park it will be located.

‘Cars’ In Frontierland: Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom will overhaul its Frontierland area to add a land themed to the “Cars” movies; it will include two attractions, including a racing ride through the mountains and an attraction designed for younger children—though the company announced Monday it will significantly change the park’s existing landscape, taking out Tom Sawyer Island and the Rivers of America.

Marvel Studios Rides: Marvel fans will soon be able to enjoy two more rides at Disney California Adventure in Disneyland, as D’Amaro gave more details on an “Avengers”-themed ride called “Avengers Infinity Defense,” in which riders will battle King Thanos, and announced “Stark Flight Lab,” which will feature Robert Downey, Jr. returning to his role as Iron Man.

Avatar Ride: Disney California Adventure will get a new area themed after “Avatar” and “Avatar: The Way of Water”—which will be different from the existing “Avatar”-themed land in Walt Disney World—including a new boat ride through the world of Pandora.

Tropical Americas: Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Walt Disney World will get a new 11-acre land themed to the “Tropical Americas,” which will include an “Encanto”-themed attraction as well as an Indiana Jones-themed ride that will be different from the existing Indiana Jones attraction in Disneyland.

‘Monsters, Inc.’ Roller Coaster: Monstropolis will come to Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Walt Disney World, as the company announced a roller coaster themed after Pixar’s “Monsters, Inc.” and the zooming fleet of doors in the movie, which will be Disney’s first suspended roller coaster, where seats hang below the tracks.

‘Coco’ Ride: Disney California Adventure will get a new ride themed to the Pixar film “Coco,” in which guests will travel to the Land of the Dead.

A number of more minor projects were also announced Saturday, including adding the Mandelorian and Grogu to the “Star Wars”-themed “Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run” attraction on both coasts, the debut of a new nighttime parade in Walt Disney World and the creation of a lifelike Walt Disney animatronic that will debut at Disneyland for its 70th anniversary next year.

When Will These New Attractions Open?

Disney has not given any opening dates for the major attractions and new lands that it announced on Saturday, though they’ll take at least a few more years to come to fruition. D’Amaro gave only rough dates for when most of the attractions and new lands will begin construction, with construction on the “Cars,” “Monsters, Inc.,” Avengers and “Iron Man” attractions beginning in 2025, while the “Coco” ride will break ground in 2026. The executive said the Tropical Americas attractions coming to Animal Kingdom will open in 2027, and did not provide any timeline for the “villains” land or “Avatar” area.

What Attractions Will Be Closing?

While the new announcements will bring a slew of new experiences to Disney’s theme parks, it also means that other spaces and attractions will have to close to make room for the new additions. In addition to the closure of Tom Sawyer Island and the Rivers of America, Disney’s Tropical Americas land will replace the existing DinoLand U.S.A. in Animal Kingdom, and the incoming Indiana Jones attraction will take the place of the park’s existing “Dinosaur” ride. It remains to be seen what other rides will shutter to make way for the new additions, with fans speculating online the “Monsters, Inc.” coaster could replace “MuppetVision 3-D,” a fan-favorite Muppet attraction, or Rock N’ Roller Coaster, a roller coaster featuring music by Aerosmith.

News Peg

D’Amaro announced the suite of new projects onstage during a presentation Saturday night at the D23 Expo, Disney’s three-day fan convention that takes place every two years. Though it’s not clear what the price tag of all these projects will be, the company has previously announced it plans to double its investment in its parks division over the next 10 years to $60 billion in total. That also includes Disney’s cruise ships and international theme parks in addition to the domestic parks.

What To Watch For

How Disney’s Florida theme parks will fare when Universal Orlando Resort, Disney’s main competitor in central Florida, opens Epic Universe, an ambitious new theme park that’s set to open at some point in 2025. Epic Universe is set to include multiple new lands that should draw large crowds, including Super Nintendo World, a new “Harry Potter” land, a land themed to the “How to Train Your Dragon” franchise and a monster-themed land. The opening of Epic Universe will give Universal Orlando three theme parks plus a water park, making it more comparable with Walt Disney World’s four theme parks and two water parks. That means travelers to Orlando will have a tougher choice when it comes to making Universal or Disney the primary focus of their vacations—versus before, when guests could stay at Disney but maybe just spend one or two days at Universal—and could hurt Disney’s attendance numbers and revenue.

Big Number

3%. That’s how much income dropped by in Disney’s “Experiences” division—which includes the theme parks—during the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2024, the company said in its earnings report last week. Iger and Disney CFO Hugh Johnston cited a “moderation of consumer demands” in its parks as a reason behind the decline. Johnston told investors that park attendance was likely affected by lower-income Americans pulling back on spending and higher-income travelers choosing to go abroad. While Johnston projected the company would see a few more quarters with “likely similar results,” the Disney executive said he expects to see the division’s earnings going up in the future, particularly with all the investments it’s making through the new park announcements. “We wouldn’t be making capital investments in an accelerated way if we didn’t expect to accelerate growth out of [the parks] businesses,” Johnston said on the company’s earnings call.

Tangent

In addition to the announcements for its domestic theme parks, Disney also announced a massive expansion of its Disney Cruise Line fleet of ships. D’Amaro unveiled Saturday that the company will build four new cruise ships on top of four that are already in development, giving the cruise line 13 ships in total. The company also announced new additions to its international theme parks, including a “Lion King”-themed attraction and land in Disneyland Paris and a “Spider-Man” attraction in Shanghai Disneyland.

Key Background

Disney’s deluge of announcements over the weekend comes after the company previously made few concrete announcements during its last Expo presentation in 2022, leaving fans wondering how the theme park giant would respond to Epic Universe and if anything new would be announced this year. Disney’s theme parks have faced increased criticism in recent years even as attendance has rebounded after the pandemic, with many questioning the high price tag of Disney vacations and recent measures that have been viewed as nickel-and-diming its guests. Under the purview of former Disney CEO Bob Chapek, who was abruptly ousted by returning CEO Bob Iger in November 2022, the company’s theme parks announced measures like making its previously free line-skipping FastPass program into a paid upgrade and getting rid of the Magical Express service that used to shuttle Disney hotel guests to and from the airport for free. With Iger now back at the helm, the company has announced measures in recent months like getting rid of having to make reservations for its theme parks and making changes to the paid line-skipping program, though criticism of the parks’ soaring prices have persisted.