Beyond Big Thunder Speculation

[Jake S]

I mean… so would Villains? I don’t see the difference. One is Fantasy, the other is Villains.

right, that's their point. that fantasy springs is not really an example of a thematically consistent land, which is (as I understand it) what their preference is.

I just don't find the idea of a Villains land all that interesting, personally. they're great as foils for protagonists, but I don't really want to hang out in their world lmao.

 

[jarmor]

Villains deserve more than that. . .

 

[PerceptiveCoot]

No, I think Fantasy Springs has at least some thematic consistency by virtue of having aesthetic elements that can sort of bleed together.

It would be different if, say, you had the forest of Sleeping Beauty butting up against the desert of Aladdin butting up against the Greek towns of Hercules.

 

[HandsomePete]

Honestly, I'd really rather they were going with a "Beyond Adventureland" concept for the expansion plot adjacent to Jungle Cruise and Pirates.

But in the spirit of this thread's intent, I'd be happy with a Villains Land that incorporated a riff on the old Bald Mountain concept. Hopefully with a very large Chernabog animatronic!

I know the alleged Adventureland plot gets brought up, but it would genuinely be a nightmare to reroute BOH roads to even get it to work, let alone the level of walking around/between buildings to get to it. I know they made Indy work at DLR, but sticking a go away green building where it is isn’t nearly as intrusive as getting that close to the Seven Seas Lagoon. One thing that never really came up with the broadway-style theater next to Main Street is that it would have been so bad on sightlines that it would have made the gravity building look like actual blue sky… I’m afraid anything of any substance in the space behind Pirates would be pretty bad too.

It'll have to be a pretty large undertaking, similar to SWGE at DL.

Bridges, a rework of the area/graveyard by Haunted Mansion, railroad rerouted, a complete redo of the Big Thunder area by the river... lots of work that I can't see happening anytime soon. Disney can't get the Epcot hub, which is a pretty simple concrete/gardening job finished...

They would just fill the river in - or at least the back two-thirds… probably clockwise going from where the canal from the lake comes in around to the dock where the keelboats would load.

In any event, the real loss for this expansion would be the canoe races.

 

[Legacy]

Watch Beyond Big Thunder be Wakanda…

 

[TheUniC6]

One option would be to do a catch all Villains dark ride that can be updated over time with all the villains.

 

[belloq87]

I know the alleged Adventureland plot gets brought up, but it would genuinely be a nightmare to reroute BOH roads to even get it to work, let alone the level of walking around/between buildings to get to it. I know they made Indy work at DLR, but sticking a go away green building where it is isn’t nearly as intrusive as getting that close to the Seven Seas Lagoon. One thing that never really came up with the broadway-style theater next to Main Street is that it would have been so bad on sightlines that it would have made the gravity building look like actual blue sky… I’m afraid anything of any substance in the space behind Pirates would be pretty bad too.

I really don't care too much about the sightlines outside of the park. Inside, yes.

Disney's had concepts drawn up for that plot, too, so clearly they either think they've got a way to do it, or they also don't care about sightlines from around the lagoon.

That said, something like a Fire Mountain or (my never-gonna-happen dream) Journey to the Center of the Earth could conceivably be in well-themed mountain facades.

Watch Beyond Big Thunder be Wakanda…

I mean, better there than Animal Kingdom or Epcot.

It should really go into Hollywood Studios (if they even can put Wakanda in Orlando in the first place).

 

[HandsomePete]

Disney's had had concepts drawn up for that plot, too, so clearly they either think they've got a way to do it, or they also don't care about sightlines from around the lagoon.

There’s a difference between WDI scratching out some blue sky stuff and the actual development people putting their weight behind something. TSI has been in various levels of danger since New Fantasyland opened whereas the other plot - not so much.

Not that I think they would go for a single attraction back there but MK could use an actual theater/show and the space would accommodate it.

 

[Mad Dog]

We used to really enjoy Tom Sawyer Island, the paths, the fort, the ambiance. But for some reason on the last trip it was, "Why are we doing this? It's not fun anymore". Perhaps we're just getting too old, though I was pretty old when I liked it. ....Anyway, we'll take the granddaughters there when we take them for their first Disney trip in June. They might like it.....Myself, I'd welcome a Villains Land, even if it causes the TSI to go away.....My answer would have been the opposite a few short years ago.

 

[belloq87]

In a vacuum, I wouldn't be sad to see Tom Sawyer Island go away. I would be extremely unhappy if the Rivers of America and the Liberty Belle went away. And since the former would imply the latter, I'm not in favor of Tom Sawyer Island going away.

 

[Jake S]

I’ll acknowledge my bias that it wouldn’t bother me at all to see TSI at WDW go … but it would really bum me out to see it go at Disneyland.

 

[GA-MBIT]

I think I always liked the idea of a Disney Villains land, but maybe it was always just in theory? Club Villain a few years back was great, the merch is cool, and the idea of a dark side to Fantasyland is fun. Thinking about it on a more concrete level though? Like, do I really want a ride where I go through different rooms with each of the Disney villains? That honestly doesn't excite me that much. What would the land itself look like? Would it effectively be the island from Decendants? I don't trust Disney to not way overthink it and try to explain why these characters are all together. Give me a path under a spooky mountain with the DLP Dragon animatronic, and a permanent Club Villain and I'd be satisfied honestly. Anything more from that idea feels superflous.

 

[Cup_Of_Coffee]

I’d love the World of Frozen from Hong Kong to go here. Bring in a flat ice skating themed ride, keep the kiddie coaster, and brand new E Ticket for the main attraction instead of the Epcot ride.

 

[belloq87]

I’d love the World of Frozen from Hong Kong to go here. Bring in a flat ice skating themed ride, keep the kiddie coaster, and brand new E Ticket for the main attraction instead of the Epcot ride.

What's your plan for the existing Frozen Ever After in this scenario?

 

[PerceptiveCoot]

What's your plant of the existing Frozen Ever After in this scenario?

Probably the unique Frozen E-ticket coming to Tokyo (yes it's unique to Tokyo and not a clone).

 

[belloq87]

No, I mean what would we do with the attraction in Epcot?

 

[Cup_Of_Coffee]

No, I mean what would we do with the attraction in Epcot?

Just keep, seperate story. Make the new E ticket more focused on the land or sequels in some way. Toy Story is in 2 parks so I think it being in Magic Kindgom works. The Beauty and The Beast ride cloned to Frozen, or whatever the Tokyo ride is, would potentially work too. I don’t think Epcot would have to change immediately. Frozen is big enough to have 2 attractions.

 

[belloq87]

I'd rather see something else if we're keeping FEA in Epcot.

 

[jarmor]

Toy Story is in 2 parks so I think it being in Magic Kindgom works.

Correction, Buzz lightyear is in one park and toy story is in the other.

 

[Jake S]

We've also got Star Tours and Galaxy's Edge in both Disneyland and Hollywood Studios, so there's definitely precedent for that sort of thing.

(That is not necessarily an endorsement)