Five Things Disney World Should Do Next
With Universal Orlando opening their third park gate, Disney needs to step up its game - here's how they do it.
New Fantasyland, Pandora- The Land of Avatar, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge - Batuu.
Disney World has always been relatively successful in expansions and growth. Anytime they add a new ride or area in their parks, park attendance hits all-time highs, and profits skyrocket. Just this year, the parks division of the 100-year-old company made over 10 billion dollars in profit (glad my mental health Disney World trips are helping them break even *eye roll*)
But in a world where travel is not easy and a week of park tickets costs more than some people pay rent, Disney goers need more than just one or two new rides to justify a trip to the ‘Most Magical Place On Earth.’
According to the NY Times, Bob Iger, Disney’s CEO, plans to invest 60 million dollars into the parks and cruise lines this coming year. With Universal Orlando opening their third gate, Disney desperately needs this money to stay relevant in the theme park competition.
Here’s what I think the iconic Orlando theme park needs to do to keep the mouse on top
Beyond Big Thunder Mountain
As seen in the 2023 D23 Blue Sky Presentation, Disney is possibly gearing up to expand their most iconic park. The land behind Big Thunder Mountain Railroad has been set up to be a new expansion pad, with many ideas for a theme circulating, including Coco or a Villians area.
In my humble Disney expert opinion, we can do better. While a Coco ride or character meet and greet would be an excellent addition to the parks, it belongs in Epcot. Adding it to the Mexico pavilion (Not replacing the Three Caballeros! You can’t take that away from me) would be a great way to add more excitement to that side of the World Showcase and keep lines moving over at Ratatouille and Frozen Ever After.
Back in Magic Kingdom, for the space behind the wildest ride in the wilderness, let's take some inspiration from our friends over in Anaheim. Adding a Radiator Springs like the one in Disneyland would be a great addition to Magic Kingdom and Disney World in general.
The Cars movies and characters have a special place in many Disney fans’ hearts, and only having the Racing Academy experience in Hollywood Studios is not enough for us. With Radiator Springs Arizona desert aesthetic, it would match perfectly with the Frontier land theme and would provide the storyline for another thrill ride in the park.
A Whole New World
If Disney wants to level the playing field, building a new gate (a fifth main theme park) would be the path to take.
Now, it’s hard to compete with Universal regarding rides. They are masters at building jaw-dropping coasters and thrilling virtual reality experiences. For a new park, Disney needs to focus on aesthetics, theming, and presentation to beat out their next-door neighbors.
One way to do this is to copy what is already known as the most beautiful theme park in the world - DisneySea. Found in Tokyo, DisneySea is the most immersive and stunning Disney park and holds the key to winning the battle for Orlando. With its seven themed lands (because of the seven seas), this park takes visitors on a journey throughout the real and fantasy world: Mediterranean Port (could be an excellent spot for a Luca attraction), Mermaid Lagoon (Little Mermaid), Arabian Coast (Aladdin, 1001 Arabian Nights and ), Lost River Delta (Indiana Jones and Encanto), Port Discovery (Finding Nemo), American Waterfront, and the Mysterious Island. Although some changes would have to be made to avoid an Epcot knockoff, the focus on water tying everything together makes this park a perfect, cohesive land to add to Orlando.
Another way to do a fifth park is to start from scratch with an idea that’s been circulating for a while - a Villians park. I imagine this park is darker and consists of an alternate reality of Magic Kingdom, where the villains win.
Where Cinderella’s castle would be, Maleficent’s gothic-style stronghold is, with a dragon scaling the side. Instead of Fantasyland, you’ll find rides devoted to the Evil Queen, Mother Gothal, and the Queen of Hearts. Instead of a Pinocchio dining spot, you’d grab food and drinks at the bodeful Pleasure Island (Not like the one that used to be in Downtown Disney; this is still for kids!)
If you look to Adventureland and Frontierland, you’ll find a sinister lagoon, a spooky pirate ship, and a broken, abandoned Neverland with water rides for Captain Hook and Ursula. I can picture a restaurant resembling Ursula’s cave, with stolen voices whispering to you while you eat.
On the other side of the park, you’d find a Dr. Facilier magic show and a giant snake statue in tribute to Jafar. This is also where I’d place the fan-favorite Yzma’s Lab indoor rollercoaster. There’d also be a stand to pick up your favorite poison- I mean celebratory drink- that absolutely won’t turn you into a Llama.
Some other characters I can see being represented in this park would be Scar, Gaston, Hades, and Cruella De Vil.
The People Mover, But Everywhere
Disney World is known for its Monorail, which is shocking since it takes you almost nowhere.
One thing that needs to change in the parks soon is transportation. It can take thirty minutes to get to the park by bus if you are in the farthest resorts, making heading back at the end of the day a nightmare.
The solution is to add more transportation hubs around the property and more Monorail and Skyliner lines there. These would be places where guests can switch from the bus to Old Key West and resort to the Monorail to any of the parks (there needs to be monorail transport to Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom).
Around The World, Again
One thing that fans have been talking about forever is the empty, unused pavilions in the World Showcase in Epcot.
In 1998, Disney added Norway to their global presentation, and not much has changed since (other than the Frozen retheme and Ratatouille ride). With room for at least three more countries, some updates must be made.
The first country I think should be added is Brazil. This will be a smashing hit, with Brazil’s stand being a fan favorite during the Epcot Food and Wine Festival. Since Disney World is such a popular place amongst Brazilian tourists, having them represented in the showcase makes sense.
The second country should be South Africa. This was initially supposed to happen in the 1980s but fell through due to political conflict (The countries needed to be in a financial place to sponsor the pavilion).
Australia should fill another spot. As a fan of Bluey, I think having Australia in the world pavilion would be a perfect addition. I can picture the fun outback-style restaurant and Bluey and Bingo meet and greet!
Just Make DinoLand Retheme Happen
I know Disney. Even with all this money, I know they’ll still struggle to make the most straightforward plans work. And even when they do work, it’ll take five to ten years to see them actually happen.
So, right now, I think Disney World's primary focus should be what they started years ago: removing DinoLand USA from Animal Kingdom. There have been talks of replacing it with a South American-themed area to match with Asia and Africa. This would feature an Encanto section and an Indiana Jones ride, like the one in Disneyland, where Dinosaur is now. This should be an easy retheme since the track is exactly the same.
There are also talks of adding Wakanda from ‘Black Panther’ to the Africa section of DAK and replacing the It’s Tough to Be A Bug show with Zootopia.
Overall, who knows what Disney will do with the money and if they can reclaim their post as the best Orlando Theme Park. One thing I do hope for is that they listen to their fans and do what is best for the parks we all love.