Walt Disney World has launched first look pictures & video providing a sneak peek on the new Villains Unfairly Ever After stage present opening at Hollywood Studios in lower than per week! This shares the preview pictures & footage, providing a glimpse of what you possibly can anticipate from certainly one of WDW’s fundamental “Cool Child Summer season” choices.
As a reminder, Disney Villains: Unfairly Ever After is a stage present coming to Hollywood Studios again within the nook of Sundown Boulevard behind Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster. Throughout this reside leisure manufacturing, Walt Disney World invitations friends to enter the realm of the Magic Mirror, the place dozens of villains are trapped! They need the Mirror to disclose the reality: which villain has been handled probably the most unfairly of all of them?
By no means ones to let a dramatic efficiency move them by, fiendish foes Cruella de Vil, Captain Hook, and Maleficent will break by means of the glass and current their instances on stage, persuading with depraved knowledge and wisecracks. Will you be swayed by their hijinks and humor? Villains Unfairly Ever After is a spellbinding present with shifting music and a most memorable finale.
Ultimately, friends make the ultimate name on who has been handled most unfairly (unfairliest?) in a delightfully depraved finale full of dozens of probably the most notorious evildoers awaiting your resolution from throughout the Magic Mirror’s realm. (Horizons followers rejoice–select your individual ending has returned!)
Personally, I just like the viewers interactivity angle, however nonetheless suppose it’s odd that Walt Disney World opted in opposition to the apparent “Disney Villains: Unhappily Ever After” identify. Possibly that’s simply me, although. (Is it?) Each time I do a write-up on this present, I’ve to scan the textual content to ensure I didn’t mistakenly discuss with it as Villains Unhappily Ever After. Right here’s hoping that Disney is simply saving that identify for a future nighttime spectacular on Cinderella Fort for the opening of Villains Land in ~5 years!
Disney Villains: Unfairly Ever After is now in Forged Member previews, and can formally open on Could 27, 2025. Whereas a comfortable opening over the weekend remains to be attainable, we’re not anticipating another previews past these for Forged Members. In any case, these first few showings have yielded first look pictures & video of the brand new manufacturing at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Right here’s a glance:
The video footage of Disney Villains: Unfairly Ever After reveals the three villains that may seem on stage, in addition to the high-tech screens supplementing the stage present. There’s additionally an prolonged ‘first pay attention’ to the unique music created for Unfairly Ever After.
Right here’s a glance/pay attention:
Walt Disney World shared a FIRST LOOK at Disney Villains: Unfairly Ever After at Disney’s Hollywood Studios! The present will formally debut on Could 27. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/0Yn8ybYDJq
— Drew Smith (@DrewDisneyDude) Could 21, 2025
Whilst an alleged skilled, I make some extent of avoiding spoilers earlier than experiencing theme park choices in particular person. I made an exception for the Disney Villains Unfairly Ever After video as a result of we cancelled our weekend journey to Florida, so I received’t see this till mid-July or every time Starlight debuts, whichever is earlier. And in addition, as a result of I actually don’t care that a lot about Villains Unfairly Ever After.
All of that is to say that I don’t love judging video, because it’s typically not an correct reflection of the in-person expertise, and that I’m not used to doing so. However, what surprises me about this sneak peek is that it kinda falls flat. Possibly it’ll current otherwise in particular person, however solely having one villain on stage at a time with zero different performers feels low cost and decrease vitality than this present in any other case might and must be. It’s pretty straightforward to distinction this with Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular, which is head and shoulders higher than this (even permitting for the chance that Villains Unfairly Ever After presents significantly better in particular person).
I do like the unique music (it’s not good-good, but it surely’s a very good earworm), in addition to the presentation on the screens. If these had been merely supplemental, they’d work very well. Nevertheless it appears as in the event that they’ll be requested to hold an excessive amount of weight of the manufacturing. Actually, although, I’m not too labored up about any of this. Right here’s why…
First, as a result of Disney’s Hollywood Studios wants an easy-to-see present like Villains Unfairly Ever After. In case you missed final week’s replace, there are performances of this each half-hour for a lot of the day, which strongly suggests this can be a tight manufacturing. (That must also assist forestall it from sporting out its welcome; maintaining a good tempo and remaining partaking even with out background performers.)
Walt Disney World has nonetheless not launched the runtime for Villains Unfairly Ever After, however showtimes occurring each half-hour suggests it’ll be quarter-hour lengthy on the absolute most. It takes at the least quarter-hour to reset the theater and cargo/unload friends, so in the event that they haven’t allotted that a lot time for biking, they’ll need to shift these instances.
Our wager is that Villains Unfairly Ever After finally ends up being 12-13 minutes lengthy at most. Possibly as little as 10 minutes lengthy. It is a first rate length, and a good present plus the trio of villains combined with high-tech visuals may be ok. On the very least, Villains Unfairly Ever After must be decrease stakes–requiring a lot much less planning than the massive stage reveals which are longer and extra rare. It’ll assist fill the counterprogramming void left when MuppetVision 3D closes.
Talking of MuppetVision 3D, I actually don’t need Disney Villains Unfairly Ever After to be too good or too well-received.
As we’ve stated from the day Villains Unhappily Ever After was introduced, we view this as an interim present. It’s possible that Disney needs to do in-park market analysis on villains, whereas additionally liberating up that Lightning McQueen AA for Vehicles Land in Magic Kingdom. As soon as Villains Land opens in ~2030, it’s unlikely that Villains Unhappily Ever After has a lot of a future. It in all probability has a ~5 12 months shelf life, much like Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy, the present that got here earlier than it.
With the Muppets takeover of Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster, my dream state of affairs is Sundown Showcase turning into the brand new Muppet Courtyard. That’s one thing first mentioned again in The place Will MuppetVision Be Relocated After It Closes at Disney’s Hollywood Studios? We additionally cowl why it’s unlikely to occur, despite the fact that it makes a lot sense. As evidenced by a Magnificence and the Beast bar within the Victorian-themed resort as an alternative of the then-new French Riviera-themed one (amongst many different curious selections within the final ~5 years), Disney doesn’t typically take the logical path-of-least-resistance to themed design.
Regardless, I’m holding out hope that Imagineering is ready to “win” that battle and convey Muppet Courtyard again to life at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The primary piece of that puzzle is Villains Unfairly Ever After being solely okay, and due for alternative in ~5 years. The second step is Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster Starring the Muppets being extraordinarily well-done and well-received. So this present doesn’t have performers or no matter as a result of Imagineering is blowing the finances on the RnRC reimagining…positive by me!
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Your Ideas
What do you consider Villains Unfairly Ever After? Excited to expertise this throughout your summer-time journey to Walt Disney World? Ideas on the vitality of the manufacturing? Want there have been extra performers on stage at a time? Do you just like the music or screen-centric background? Agree or disagree with our evaluation? Any questions we will help you reply? Listening to your suggestions–even once you disagree with us–is each fascinating to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas beneath within the feedback!
