D23 Expo: A lot of dreams discussed for Disney World keep us all wondering what’s next

The list of new attractions and shows announced at the Disney Parks, Experiences and Products panel by Chairman Josh D’Amaro sounded cool. The only problem is that they had nothing to do with Walt Disney World.

The biennial event panel at D23 Expo has been the place where new attractions and expansions have been announced with much fanfare and some great showstopping entertainment. The list of announcements this year include a third attraction for the Avengers Campus at Disneyland Resort; a first look at the Disney Treasure, the next ship joining the Disney Cruise Line fleet; and a closer look at the Frozen-themed lands coming to three park destinations around the world.

And for Disney World? the “big” announcements were:

• The Tron rollercoaster at Magic Kingdom, which appears to be nearing completion, will open in spring 2023 (later than many had anticipated or hoped).
• Construction on the mess at EPCOT that will be the World Celebration neighborhood will be complete in late 2023.
• The Hatbox Ghost will materialize at the Haunted Mansion in 2023.
• A meet-and-greet with Figment is coming in 2023.
• “Happily Ever After” — the song, anyway — will return to Magic Kingdom as part of an updated nighttime spectacular in 2023.

The return of “Happily Ever After” was huge news to many fans, who didn’t embrace the new Disney’s Enchantment show at Magic Kingdom. But none of this really really qualifies as big news.

Meanwhile, there was no mention of all of the projects that were shelved at EPCOT because of the Pandemic — the Play Pavilion, a new electronic scavenger hunt game, a new film in the China pavilion, a Mary Poppins attraction, etc.

The importance of this is immense. Not only because Walt Disney World is still the big engine of parks revenue, but also Disney’s biggest competitor, Universal Orlando Resort, is planning to open its massive third gate Universals’ Epic Universe in the summer of 2025. The 750-acre expansion includes at least four themed areas and a massive hotel. It will also offer a connection to Universal Orlando Studios, Islands of Adventure and its Volcano Bay water park.

While Disney in the past has shrugged off this competition, we all know people like new things, and Universal’s new gate will have attractions for all ages.

To apparently combat this, Disney tried to let people know they were not forgetting about Walt Disney World and created a presentation showing how Disney Imagineers and their collaborators dream big.

Creative Portfolio Executive at Disney Imagineering Chris Beatty and Disney Animation Chief Creative Officer Jennifer Lee joined D’Amaro on stage to play a “What If?” exercise on potential expansions at Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom. We don’t think they would show these renderings to the public if they weren’t well past the “thought starter” stage. But at the same time, they were presented as blue sky thinking, and we all know how plans can change and projects get canceled (ahem, EPCOT).

Let’s look at these blue sky ideas:

At Animal Kingdom, the focus is on Dinoland U.S.A., where Imagineers have been concepting ideas for Zootopia and/or Moana attractions. Both concepts fit the theme of Animal Kingdom. That area of the park has been ripe for change, especially since the Primeval Whirl coaster was demolished In June 2020 because of safety issues.

Lee went on to talk about how it would be nice to take guests on the Zootopia Express to go through the many neighborhoods of Zootopia. At the same time, they’ve been concepting what a Moana land might look like in the area. (Yes, even with a Moana attraction opening in EPCOT next year.)

The duo then went on to discuss what might happen if we could go behind Big Thunder Mountain at Magic Kingdom. They brought up ideas of another magical area on the other side of the mountain containing “Coco,” where you could soar on Pepita, the magical flying tiger spirit animal, and “Encanto,” where you could enter the magical Madrigal House and go through doors to find different engironments and even go up to a door to find out your own gift. They also brought up a fan-favorite idea: a Villains Kingdom filled with all the villains we love to hate.

Again, these sound like they are all in development, but all were positioned as big dreams, with no concrete announcements or timeline attached. Currently, Disney is moving a lot of dirt behind Magic Kingdom in the area of Big Thunder Mountain, which could be a signal that expansion is coming. But for now, they are dreams. And it looks like we might be sleeping a long time with these dreams, until something is announced.