There’s no single word in the English language that’s a flawless translation or representation of the concept of “Fremdschämen,” a fusion of the German words for “foreign” and “shame” that essentially refers to the feeling of vicarious embarrassment. And though English speakers can’t communicate this sensation of secondhand discomfort with one concise word, it’s an emotion that’s universal, that transcends languages, cultures, and continents; it’s a feeling we’ve all previously endured, one that a portion of Disney Parks enthusiasts likely felt on behalf of Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro as he rambled across the Anaheim Convention Center stage during the D23 Expo Parks Panel in September of 2022.
Still very much in a ‘rebuilding’ phase following a financially challenging pandemic era, The Walt Disney Company was hesitant to publicly commit significant funding to any large-scale projects at its international theme parks, resulting in a hotly anticipated Parks Panel that was heavy in bravado but light in concrete information. A broad opening window for the TRON Lightcycle / Run roller coaster, a future Figment meet-and-greet at EPCOT, and the eventual addition of the Hatbox Ghost to the Haunted Mansion at Magic Kingdom were among the marquee ‘written-in-ink’ announcements concerning the Walt Disney World Resort, the company positioning this information that just as easily could’ve been found at the bottom of a Disney Parks Blog post as substantial tidings that would undoubtedly reel guests back into the parks.
Not wanting to send fans home completely empty-handed regarding future developments, D’Amaro dedicated the last portion of the panel to handing out empty promises. He presented several of Walt Disney Imagineering’s ‘Blue Sky’ concepts — grand, not-yet approved (or even finalized) ideas bereft of any specific attractions, restaurants, or experiences that aimed to generate audience excitement on the back of intellectual properties alone. Among the ideas shared by D’Amaro were Moana and Zootopia-themed additions penciled in for Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Coco and Encanto lands to be constructed “Beyond Big Thunder Mountain,” a term oft-thrown around by the executive to signal the specific location within the Magic Kingdom the company had earmarked for future investment. These ideas and the general elongated brainstorming session were largely panned by fans, with many expressing frustration about the lack of material announcements.
There was one concept discussed during the ‘Blue Sky’ portion of the panel that fans were broadly receptive to, however, the re-introduction of a long-rumored idea that has long piqued parkgoers’ interest. Located further beyond Big Thunder Mountain Railroad on this map figuratively drawn in pencil was a land themed to the Disney Villains, an expansion that could perhaps best be described as the bad cold of Disney Parks rumors in that it just won’t go away.
Disney’s iconic library of villains has long had some level of representation at Walt Disney World, with the characters perhaps most notably playing a significant role in the resort’s seasonal offerings (namely Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party at Magic Kingdom) while occasionally appearing as meet-and-greet characters and individually on scant attractions. A substantial area dedicated to the expansive list of antagonists, however, has been rumored for longer than some of the Imagineers now working on the project have been alive, the idea manifesting in countless forms over the past three decades (sometimes as one attraction, sometimes as a mini-land, even sometimes as a fifth gate) only to ultimately be left on the drawing board.
And though this specific iteration of the project was introduced during what amounted to an ill-received public think tank, it was this time able to wade the treacherous waters of reality, with D’Amaro confirming the forthcoming construction of a ‘Villains Land’ at Magic Kingdom during a more robust D23 2024 Experiences Showcase. Boasting “two [unannounced] major attractions, dining, and shopping on an incredibly twisted grand scale,” the as-of-yet unnamed area will ultimately reside atop some of the space currently occupied by the Rivers of America, with a Cars-themed addition to Frontierland rounding out what will be the largest expansion in the park’s history.
Warranted backlash to the supplementary elements of the “Beyond Big Thunder” expansion aside, enthusiasts seem genuinely optimistic about the idea of a villains-rooted land at Magic Kingdom, as it’s the realization of a concept many have long envisioned. An attraction, area, or entire park based on the cherished characters has long been a sort of white whale for Walt Disney World, and its confirmation signals its evolution from pie-in-the-sky hypothetical to genuine creation that guests may be able to experience by the end of the decade.
It’s this fervent audience anticipation that’s cultivated over the past several decades that makes the impending Villains Land an entity unique amongst Walt Disney World’s other recent expansions, as it’s a concept that’s been accessible by those with an ear to the ground for much of the 21st century. Plans for a villains-themed experience at the resort have floated through Imagineering for much of the last 30 years, with several of these pitches falling through the proverbial cracks along the way and into the hands of insiders and enthusiasts; though revered in the court of public opinion, the company (until 2024) never greenlit the idea, with fans long lamenting the absence of a villains-themed attraction or land as it joined the pantheon of never-built Walt Disney World offerings alongside the Western River Expedition, the Mount Fuji Roller Coaster, and the Beastly Kingdom.
But what were these plans, exactly? What was the pitch (or pitches) that gestated through Imagineering for decades and captured the hearts of the theme park faithful while simultaneously gathering dust? And could the company revisit these decades-old concepts as it embarks on making the long-rumored land a reality? With work on the expansion set to commence “very, very soon,” we’ve decided to look back at Imagineering’s past villains-centric ideas for the Walt Disney World Resort and speculate whether we could see them manifest, in some form, when the company ultimately layers a bit of villainy into the Magic Kingdom.
Analyzing Imagineering’s Past Villains Concepts
The Walt Disney Company is historically one interested in pushing mediums forward, an entity imperative to the histories of themed entertainment and general media to the point of entwinement. Its contributions to the arts, culture, and general technology have long been the basis of countless books and documentaries, but it’s at one of the company’s most pioneering feats that we must begin our story.
Walt Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs debuted at the iconic Carthay Circle Theatre in Los Angeles in December of 1937, the 83-minute endeavor serving as the first feature-length animated film produced in the United States (and the first full-length cel, or traditionally, animated picture, in general). A trailblazing effort rich in color, music, and heart, the film follows the exploits of Snow White, a young princess who takes up residence with seven aptly-named dwarves in a forest as an Evil Queen attempts to track her down.
The public admired the technological triumph, the movie introducing domestic audiences to an entirely new form of feature filmmaking while concurrently laying a foundation on which Disney would ultimately build much of its legacy. Animated features would go on to become some of the company’s most enduring cultural contributions, with films like Fantasia (1940), Cinderella (1950), and Sleeping Beauty (1959) being just as celebrated today as they were at the time of their respective releases.
And of the countless elements that have allowed these films to resonate across generations — their innovative animation, the eternal essence and appeal of their stories, their memorable songs, etc. — it’s their antagonists, the adversaries our heroes must face, that stand out as particularly iconic, in many cases overshadowing the protagonists we’re meant to champion. The Evil Queen (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs), Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty), Cruella de Vil (One Hundred and One Dalmatians) — these characters have transcended cinema to become emblematic of the concept of villainy itself, with Disney further adding to its library of quintessential antagonists amid its 1990s ‘renaissance’ in the form of Gaston (Beauty and the Beast), Jafar (Aladdin), and Scar (The Lion King), among others.
The villains that permeate the company’s animated canon are among the most iconic fictional characters ever created, and Disney, thus, has long leveraged them across its various arms as part of its perpetual pursuit of corporate synergy. Residing under the broad ‘Disney Villains’ umbrella, the company’s antagonists have been the source of several books, video games, and television productions in the recent past, with Disney continually looking for innovative ways to introduce these historically treasured characters to new audiences; that said, the villains are perhaps underrepresented at the company’s international theme parks given their demonstrated appeal, largely relegated to (admittedly adored) shows and seasonal offerings as opposed to headlining permanent attractions.
The company’s first — and perhaps most significant — foray into positioning this broad grouping at the forefront of a permanent experience came in the form of the Cinderella Castle Mystery Tour, a walkthrough attraction that opened at Tokyo Disneyland in 1986. A winding guided trek through a series of themed rooms beneath the park’s central icon, guests encountered villains like the Magic Mirror (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs), Chernabog (Fantasia), Maleficent, the Evil Queen, and Stromboli (Pinocchio) throughout the attraction, the experience culminating in an altercation with an imposing audio-animatronic of the Horned King (The Black Cauldron); though initially popular, the offering ultimately waned in demand, closing in 2006 to make way for the Cinderella’s Fairy Tale Hall attraction.
And though this walkthrough experience would fail to stand the test of time, the general idea of centering an attraction around all of the company’s cherished villains sat heavily on Imagineering’s mind as it attempted to conceive of a replacement for the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Submarine Voyage E-ticket at the Magic Kingdom in the mid-1990s. Two concepts gained support within the walls of Imagineering as it attempted to craft a suitable successor to the near-opening day attraction: one an innovative roller coaster dubbed “Fire Mountain,” and the other a trailblazing offering that would’ve featured a coalescence of Disney’s iconic antagonists inside of Bald Mountain, an arresting landmark that was introduced in the “Night on Bald Mountain” sequence of Fantasia.
The company ultimately decided to proceed with both attractions, with Fire Mountain transferred to its own mini-area within Adventureland (it would eventually pick up Atlantis: The Lost Empire theming before being shelved entirely); the villains-themed offering, referred to internally as both “Bald Mountain” and “Villains Mountain,” was kept in Fantasyland, where it would expand in scope to the point of infeasibility.
Several versions of the Villains Mountain concept traversed through Imagineering over the years, with the idea sometimes manifesting as a log flume and, in other iterations, as a roller coaster (with some speculating that the attraction would’ve blended elements from the two ride types). The most well-developed rendition of the idea was a log flume that, per Shelly Valladolid of MiceChat, would’ve taken guests through various scenes featuring villain audio-animatronics; a definitive throughline narrative was never decided, but according to Valladolid, one version saw the group of antagonists “plot[ting] to take over the Magic Kingdom” while another was simply a journey through locales featuring characters like the Evil Queen, Ursula (The Little Mermaid), and Maleficent. The offering would’ve culminated in an encounter with Chernabog, leading to an imposing drop as the ride’s climax.
One take on the experience, per longtime Disney writer Jim Hill, would’ve been subversive in execution, using what parks fans knew about traditional Disney boat rides against them. The ride vehicle, according to Hill, would’ve been locked into a guided trough à la the company’s other boat rides through the first half before “break[ing] out” midway through, this a result of Maleficent impeding your path. The attraction would then lead guests through confrontations with various villains before concluding with a drop, sending parkgoers to a rendition of hell for a light-hearted encounter with an audio-animatronic of Hades (Hercules).
And though one definitive iteration of the attraction was never finalized and approved, the general concept received staunch support within Imagineering, with the E-ticket eventually evolving into the tentpole offering of its own mini-land (rumors of an entire villains-themed park also surfaced, but per insiders on the WDW Magic forums, the idea “never existed as a fully developed concept”). Dubbed either “Shadowlands” or “Dark Kingdom” depending on the specific pitch, the area was earmarked for space near either Tomorrowland or Fantasyland, with Hill writing that this proposed “Disney Villain Village” would “have occupied much of the same piece of property” that was ultimately used for Magic Kingdom’s New Fantasyland expansion (completed in 2012).
The mini-land, per the writer, would’ve included the aforementioned E-ticket log flume, an Ursula-themed spinner ride that was initially developed for an early (and unexecuted) expansion at Disney California Adventure, and dining in the form of Gaston’s Tavern, which itself included an “outdoor Biergarten” that would host the daily “Unhappy Hour” villains show. A dining option centered around the Beauty and the Beast antagonist, per Hill, had been floating through Imagineering since “the mid-1990s,” and a version was ultimately constructed as part of the New Fantasyland project; this iteration is a quick-service that almost exclusively serves baked goods and sweet treats, with the proposed Biergarten left out of the final plan.
The idea of a villains-themed land was still on the table as of late 2004, with insiders on the WDW Magic forums reporting that the concept was “just lurking in the wings;” it was said to be “gathering dust,” however, by mid-2005, with the New Fantasyland expansion ultimately prioritized (the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train roller coaster was eventually constructed atop the real estate circled for the Villains Mountain attraction). Plans for a villains-centric land sat on the proverbial shelf for decades, and though Imagineering developed several other antagonist-adjacent concepts (including a Villains-themed re-skin of the California Screamin’ roller coaster at Disney California Adventure and a rumored antagonist-centric overhaul of The Great Movie Ride at Disney’s Hollywood Studios) over the subsequent decades, it’s another iteration of the long-speculated Magic Kingdom project that was ultimately given the green light.
And given Imagineering’s penchant for revisiting its former ideas when developing new concepts, can we expect any elements from this long-dormant blueprint to carry over into the final product? Will Villains Mountain, either as it was once conceived or in an evolved form, manifest as part of this new Magic Kingdom expansion, or has Imagineering gone back to the drawing board entirely? Are the company’s previous plans for a villains-themed area but a footnote attached to the land we’ll ultimately receive, or will they serve as the basis of the eventually tangible offering? We’re still several years out from the opening of the forthcoming land, but it’s never too early to lean on the past to speculate about the future.
Will Any Past Concepts Manifest at Villains Land?
An immersive area celebrating Disney’s esteemed collection of villains will soon exist at the Magic Kingdom… and that’s essentially the extent of our concrete knowledge regarding the imminent offering.
We know that it’s likely going to be situated on the upper half of the soon-to-be filled-in Rivers of America, if not more directly behind Fantasyland (with a natural entry point near the Haunted Mansion and another potentially near Big Thunder Mountain Railroad); the company has also confirmed that it will include two “major” attractions, dining, and retail, putting it roughly in line with its other recent expansions like Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Hollywood Studios and Pandora — The World of Avatar at Animal Kingdom in terms of offerings.
Little definitive information has been shared regarding the land’s narrative aside from the presence of villains, though some believe that the Disney Villains: Unfairly Ever After live show that’s set to debut at Hollywood Studios this summer could offer a glimpse into the story (potentially serving as a ‘soft launch,’ of sorts, for the forthcoming Magic Kingdom area). D’Amaro confirmed which of the company’s villains would be featured in the land during a panel at D23 Brazil in November of 2024, presenting a graphic that included the Queen of Hearts (Alice in Wonderland), Jafar, Lady Tremaine (Cinderella), Yzma (The Emperor’s New Groove), Cruella de Vil, Captain Hook (Peter Pan), Gaston, Mother Gothel (Tangled), Ursula, Hades, Chernabog, Maleficent, and the Evil Queen.
The executive also presented a piece of (very stylized) concept art while confirming the area’s eventual construction at D23 2024, but given the piece’s extravagant, borderline grandiose illustrations and our current place in the development timeline, it’s tough to place too much stock into the art; it suggests the presence of a roller coaster, impressive rock and water features, and Maleficent’s castle as the area’s central icon, but again, it’s difficult to imagine ‘Villains Land’ matching this art in any substantial way upon its eventual opening.
Piecing together our scant definitive information, we know the land’s general location, its included characters, and that it’s (likely) going to include a roller coaster as one of its two major attractions; given what we know the former Villains Mountain concept, is it possible that it has a place in this rendition of the land?
In theory; as previously explored, the Villains Mountain idea once existed as a roller coaster, and a stylized roller coaster track is featured quite prominently in the concept art. That said, all indications suggest that the attraction was further developed as a log flume than it was a roller coaster, and while Imagineering has had ample time to go back to the drawing board over the past several decades, it would feel odd to see the group abandon an idea rumored to be excellent to the point of inspiring the development of an entire themed land in favor of an earlier version of the concept.
While merely speculation at this point, the safer bet would likely be that this presumed roller coaster is a new creation unrelated to the former Villains Mountain concept. While this, again, amounts to little more than our own rendition of a ‘Blue Sky’ brainstorming session, we’re seemingly in an era of Imagineering in which the group is further developing long-rumored ideas that fans have been generally receptive to (the Monsters, Inc. door roller coaster and The Muppets taking over Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster at Hollywood Studios, a new nighttime parade at Magic Kingdom, Villains Land in general, etc.); with Yzma already confirmed to appear at the eventual land, perhaps its roller coaster will be a take on the “Pull the lever, Kronk” roller coaster that some have envisioned for years (nobody would complain about Patrick Warburton having a larger presence at the parks).
Villains Mountain, if it is to exist (in some form) at the eventual land, seems more likely to be its second “major” attraction, one that’s situated primarily (if not exclusively) indoors while perhaps implementing water à la its original design. One could argue that another log flume/general boat ride is unlikely for the Magic Kingdom given its current quantity of the ride type (with Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, though simply a refresh of Splash Mountain, being the park’s last significant opening); that said, this notion — despite also being true at the time — did not stop the company from developing the attraction throughout the 1990s and early 2000s.
Disney has also crafted an innovative log flume-adjacent ride technology since shelving its initial Villains Mountain plan, with Shanghai Disneyland’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure attraction earning international recognition for its quality and trailblazing nature. The recipient of a THEA Award for Outstanding Achievement, the attraction augments the feeling of a classic boat ride with modern magnet-based technology, resulting in a thrilling and wholly unique experience that’s rumored to be soon coming to Disney’s domestic parks in the form of an Avatar-themed E-ticket attraction at Disney’s California Adventure.
Given Disney’s (rumored) desire to implement this inventive ride-type stateside, it’s not egregious to suggest that the company could dust off its long-speculated Villains Mountain concept and rework it to align with this not previously available technology, giving the new land a must-experience E-ticket while not really conceiving of anything all that new.
And even if an obvious evolution of Villains Mountain fails to manifest at the eventual land, it seems that at least one of its two attractions will feature a crossover of the company’s iconic antagonists, as otherwise, what, exactly, is the point of constructing a villains-themed area? Regardless of its ultimate presence (or lack thereof) at the land, the Villains Mountain concept sparked the development of an entire antagonist-centric area at the Magic Kingdom while putting in enthusiasts’ minds the desire to see Disney’s villains occupy one communal and tangible setting, intrinsically linking it to whatever is eventually constructed beyond Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.
To speculate on the promised retail locations seems an exercise in futility, but there are enough tidbits of information to paint a broad picture of the land’s potential dining options. Fans have theorized about the construction of a table service restaurant, and while certainly possible, it’s far from a certainty given the company’s recent history; the last three expansions at the Walt Disney World Resort have commenced operations sans full-service offerings, with Pandora — The World of Avatar, Toy Story Land, and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge including only counter-service eateries at the time of their respective openings (though Toy Story Land received a sit-down restaurant roughly five years after its opening in the form of Roundup Rodeo BBQ). Combine this recent trend with the forthcoming area’s likely proximity to Fantasyland and the popular Be Our Guest Restaurant, and one can deduce that a table service restaurant within the land is far from a guarantee.
A counter-service option seems certain regardless of the presence of a sit-down restaurant, this in addition to snack carts and specialty eateries in the vein of Gaston’s Tavern; speaking of the Fantasyland quick-service location, there perhaps exists an ultra-‘Blue Sky’ concept that sees the small sweet shop expanded and partially retrofitted into the land it was once developed as part of, the larger tavern serving as transitionary gateway, of sorts, between Fantasyland and whatever Villains Land is ultimately named. This would give the new area an apt dining option while offering Imagineering the opportunity to develop and implement the once-rumored ‘Unhappy Hour’ show, giving the new land a daily live entertainment experience.
That said, this proposal would cause the land’s footprint to balloon, thus rendering it rather unrealistic. A themed land stretching from the top half of the Rivers of America to Gaston’s Tavern would encompass more than 12 acres of real estate, placing it roughly in line with the size of the Pandora — The World of Avatar expansion; this isn’t an egregious suggestion in a vacuum, but it’s difficult to imagine Disney constructing a Pandora-sized expansion alongside the already confirmed Cars addition to Frontierland.
The land’s presumed proximity to the Haunted Mansion also bears mentioning with regard to dining, as a bar, quick service eatery, or full-scale restaurant themed to the iconic attraction seems a popular suggestion from enthusiasts. These rumors stem from the immersive Haunted Mansion Parlors aboard the Disney Treasure and Disney Destiny, and given the fact that the blueprints already exist, one can easily envision the company cloning — or expanding upon — the concept at the world’s most visited theme park; Boardwalk Times founder Zach Perilstein has also speculated about the cherished Omnimover’s story being expanded upon through auxiliary offerings and attractions at Villains Land, but that’s perhaps another article for another time.
Only time will tell whether the ideas once conceived as part of a villains-themed area at the Magic Kingdom will ultimately be realized, but the story of the land’s general development is one of the more intriguing in recent Disney history; a concept that garnered fanfare as it sat on a shelf, enthusiasts have long expressed desire to see the villains represented in a more significant way at Walt Disney World, this forthcoming land serving as the fulfillment of a fantasy many parks fans have long held. It’s oft-said that a ‘good idea never dies’ at Imagineering, and while Villains Mountain, as it was once drawn, may not manifest as the flagship offering of the land it inspired, its conceptualization is intrinsic to where we are today.
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Kyle Silagyi is a columnist for the Boardwalk Times
