Walt Disney World has reiterated its ‘Past Huge Thunder’ plans for Magic Kingdom enlargement exterior the present footprint of the park. This discusses potentialities for Coco, Encanto, and Villains lands within the longer-term and shares the newest information. (Up to date April 4, 2024.)
The primary time this was talked about was on the 2022 D23 Expo. The primary time it was reiterated was throughout the “A Celebration of Disney Parks, Experiences and Merchandise: Yesterday, At the moment and Tomorrow” presentation on the 2023 Vacation spot D23. There, Parks Chairman Josh D’Amaro supplied a sneak peek at idea artwork for the long run as well as and teased what was to return in a number of years.
At Vacation spot D23, Josh D’Amaro was joined on stage by Bruce Vaughn, who lately returned to steer Walt Disney Imagineering. Vaughn first expressed shock that D’Amaro would pull again the curtain on the inventive course of, as usually WDI doesn’t like to try this. Vaughn additional indicated that he’s been blown away by the ideas being explored for Magic Kingdom.
The Past Huge Thunder venture scope and scale are supposedly on par with Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge or Pandora – World of Avatar. Vaughn additionally indicated that the venture would probably exceed New Fantasyland over a decade in the past. Nothing else was shared–no new substantive particulars, only a reiteration of intent to develop Magic Kingdom Past Huge Thunder.
This was reiterated once more (so third time mentioned) when the Nation Bear Jamboree closure date was introduced and extra reimagining particulars had been shared in January 2024. Walt Disney World teased: “However maintain your horses, we’re not completed but. Now we have a whole lot of progress and funding deliberate for our theme parks within the coming years and stay up for sharing extra bulletins about Frontierland … so y’all come again now, ya hear?”
Technically, this doesn’t say something about Past Huge Thunder. Accordingly, it might pertain to any variety of issues, together with however not restricted to the next:
- Tiana’s Palace Restaurant Changing Pecos Invoice
- Mini-New Orleans Sq. Coming to Frontierland
Tiana’s Bayou Journey ‘Accelerated Opening’ As an alternative of Late 2024- Tiana’s Bayou Journey Official Opening Date
- ???
April 4, 2024 Replace: I lately had the prospect to go to Walt Disney Imagineering in Glendale for a presentation by CEO Bob Iger, Parks Chairman Josh D’Amaro, together with Imagineers engaged on enlargement plans for Walt Disney World. The executives mentioned the ‘turbocharged’ plans for progress at Walt Disney World and Disneyland, and $60 billion funding earmarked for Parks & Resorts.
One of many matters was Past Huge Thunder at Magic Kingdom. Throughout that portion of the presentation, Michael Hundgen, Walt Disney World Portfolio VP at Walt Disney Imagineering, confirmed the water administration allow that may be filed with Florida within the coming weeks.
Clearly, that’s not the precise allow above–it’s a screenshot from Google Maps. The precise, yet-to-be-filed allow contained water administration plans for giant swaths of the world between the japanese and northern berm of Magic Kingdom and Floridian Approach. That is fairly regular when waterways are going to be rerouted or water is displaced.
I couldn’t confirm from the allow whether or not there will likely be any modifications to the Rivers of America or Tom Sawyer Island, however my expectation is that each will likely be condensed. From a purely operational and crowd movement perspective, I’d think about that Walt Disney World will wish to eradicate the Huge Thunder Mountain and Haunted Mansion lifeless ends; you possibly can take a look at the above and fairly properly envision what that may imply.
In any case, this upcoming allow is step one in growing that space, and is considerably just like what was filed for Tropical Americas with the South Florida Water Administration District final month. Though there aren’t any official timelines for the development (a lot much less opening years or dates), Tropical Americas and Past Huge Thunder are the subsequent two main initiatives within the pipeline for Walt Disney World.
With a water administration allow incoming, this all however confirms that Past Huge Thunder goes to be a significant matter on the 2024 D23 Expo in August. We might additionally anticipate information about smaller scale redevelopment plans for parts of Frontierland, as there’s nonetheless been no official phrase about Tiana’s Palace changing Pecos Invoice. That also looks as if an inevitability, however it can’t probably happen earlier than Tiana’s Bayou Journey opens. It’s too late.
None of that is actually an enormous shock. Josh D’Amaro first bought up on stage to speak about ‘Past Huge Thunder’ on the 2022 D23 Expo, when he was joined by Imagineer Chris Beatty and Jennifer Lee, the Chief Inventive Officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios. They didn’t present any substantive particulars and even an official announcement, as an alternative being cautious to make use of language crouching the presentation, indicating that that is an “early idea exploration” and one of many “potential enlargement alternatives” (but additionally extra concrete than a blue sky brainstorming session).
Since then, each CEO Bob Iger and D’Amaro have completed interviews or displays and repeatedly doubled-down on their intentions to develop Walt Disney World. Throughout a JPMorgan convention, D’Amaro was straight requested about enlargement plans for Magic Kingdom and the way Walt Disney World might develop capability. He mentioned that administration and Imagineers are already at work on enhancing the visitor expertise at Walt Disney World and including capability in a number of methods. (The placement–a JPMorgan convention–is important for causes we’ll talk about in a bit.)
Along with that, earnings calls and shareholder conferences have included teases of Bob Iger’s plan to speculate $17 billion in Walt Disney World. Once more, no specifics in any of this, however each have talked about “bold plans that to proceed to develop these theme parks” and have expressed pleasure for Walt Disney World’s future.
Within the medium or long-term, increasing Magic Kingdom exterior the berm makes a ton of sense. We’ve been bullish on the Magic Kingdom Growth Potentialities “Past Huge Thunder” since final D23 Expo, whilst different followers expressed (fully comprehensible and legitimate) skepticism.
As has been mentioned elsewhere, the preliminary pleasure for the tease of Coco, Encanto & Villains lands rapidly soured–constructive sentiment gave strategy to cynicism about these doable plans. That’s completely truthful, particularly in mild of Disney’s not-so-stellar observe file in constructing issues that had been introduced at previous D23 Expos.
(Word: we’re crossing by way of Encanto as a result of that IP has moved over to the Animal Kingdom plans–that appears to be just about a completed deal. It’s additionally extremely probably that Coco has moved to the Animal Kingdom proposal.)
Nonetheless, we expect this time is totally different. (Well-known final phrases.) As we’ve mentioned beforehand on a number of events, Walt Disney World continues to outperform, and traders have been taking discover of its success for the previous year-plus. This coupled with Wall Avenue souring on streaming (a minimum of a bit) means traders as soon as once more need Disney to lastly begin to wager greater on its theme park enterprise.
That half is the important thing–Wall Avenue needs the corporate to spend cash constructing expansions at Walt Disney World, relatively than persevering with to easily milk the money cow. That is a kind of uncommon events the place the celebs align and what’s good for traders is nice for friends. Increasing Magic Kingdom improves capability, offers the park extra drawing energy, and is simply plain enjoyable for followers. (All classes discovered again in 2009, proving but once more that historical past repeats itself!)
That is truly a giant a part of why that seemingly-random blue sky dialogue occurred on stage on the final D23 Expo. Like a toddler with a brief consideration span, Wall Avenue had simply began to lose curiosity in streaming previous to that, and begun asking extra questions on the way forward for Disney’s theme parks. With nothing greenlit or funded, speaking about “potentialities” was the perfect Disney might do.
These are air quotes as a result of they weren’t merely potentialities then, and that’s nonetheless true right this moment. Barring unexpected circumstances, Magic Kingdom enlargement will occur this decade, and it’ll be past the berm within the space ‘behind’ Huge Thunder Mountain Railroad. It’s the specifics which might be iffy, that means what mental properties the world will function, in addition to the unifying theme or motifs of the land or mini-lands.
Throughout the subsequent decade, we absolutely anticipate to have the ability to stroll from Huge Thunder Mountain Railroad to Haunted Mansion with out passing Tiana’s Bayou Journey. From our perspective, that past the berm enlargement is much less a matter of “if” and extra “when” and “what.”
Our expectation is that it truly will likely be some mixture of Coco, Encanto, and Villains (however not “Cocoland” or “Encanto Land”). The higher query is when and, frankly, that’ll in all probability be nearer to 2034 than 2024.
Given how far into the long run that’s and the way a lot issues can change, and the way lengthy this put up already is…maybe it’s higher if we save the ‘Past Huge Thunder’ dialogue for an additional day. Perhaps the identical might’ve been mentioned to Josh D’Amaro, and that it’s untimely for him to tease it at Vacation spot D23 given how a lot can and can change, and Walt Disney World’s current observe file even with official bulletins.
To every their very own on that. Personally, I’d relatively hear that the corporate does have plans for Walt Disney World and doesn’t simply intend upon letting the parks stagnate. Even when the specifics aren’t labored out, plans haven’t been greenlit, or funding isn’t there–I nonetheless admire realizing that one thing is deliberate and coming.
Even with the fixed chorus about $17 billion value of funding at Walt Disney World, it’s nonetheless tenuous at this level. There’s loads to type out within the meantime earlier than that spending begins–from the way forward for streaming, potential ESPN and Hulu offers, twentieth Century Fox acquisition debt, and the present standoff with the state. However these are short-term speedbumps and Magic Kingdom enlargement is a long-term answer to an ongoing problem. It can occur.
If all goes properly, the last decade to return at Walt Disney World may very well be greater than the prior one. The present plan to speculate $17 billion quantities to greater than was spent on New Fantasyland, Pandora, Toy Story Land, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, the EPCOT overhaul, new resorts, and a big quantity of infrastructure. (As beforehand mentioned, loads of cash was wasted on issues that didn’t come to fruition or had been quick lived.) If much more cash is invested with out the misallocations of assets, it may very well be a blockbuster decade for Walt Disney World. It’s simply going to be a minimum of a number of years of ready whereas the near-term speedbumps are addressed and development commences.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What’s your response to Disney discussing park enlargement within the present footprint of the park and past the berm at Magic Kingdom? Suppose this may be reconciled with the near-term cost-cutting, or would you relatively not construct anticipation for one thing a number of years out, or which will by no means come to fruition? What potential plans have you ever most and least excited? Something you’re hoping does not find yourself coming to fruition? Do you agree or disagree with our assessments? Any questions we might help you reply? Listening to your suggestions–even whenever you disagree with us–is each fascinating to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas under within the feedback!
