As an avid Disney Adult myself, I care deeply about the state of Walt Disney World. I want it to continue to improve and be the best. And I, like many others, have my own opinions on how this could happen.
With this post, I decided to bring in a little reality check along with the fantastical ideas. I have listed not only my wishes, but the likelihood of them actually happening. So, here is my wish list for the future of Walt Disney World:
Possibility: Likely and soon
After re-opening from the pandemic, Disney introduced the park reservation system. In addition to buying tickets, guests would book a reservation for the park they wanted to visit and which day. This was an excellent way to keep track of capacity. This system meant that guests knew in advanced which park they would be able to get in to. In the past if a park reached capacity, cast members would just start turning away guests at the gates. I witnessed this working on a Christmas Day. Guests were NOT happy they could not get into their desired park, and their whole vacation plans had to change without notice. The park reservation system prevented these instances occurring.
However, there were some downsides. Some guests hate having to plan out every single minute of their vacation. Some like to wake up in the morning and decide which park they want to go to based on their current vibes. Now, they have to make that decision months in advance.
This system also limited flexibility with park hopping. At first, guests could not park hop at all. Then, they could only park hop after 2pm. Some guests love to enter a park early in the morning, rope drop a popular ride, and then switch to a different park before lunchtime. I myself have started a day in Magic Kingdom, park hopped to Epcot in the afternoon, and then hopped back over to Magic Kingdom again for dinner. Being told which parks you have to go to on which day and which time adds stress to those who like to Disney at a more leisurely pace.
Disney recently announced that annual pass holders no longer had to make park reservations, except on weekends. If this phase goes well, this could spillover to the rest of park guests.
Ideally, I’d like to keep the park pass reservation system during busy holidays such as Fourth of July, Christmas, or maybe even spring break.
Revert back to Fastpass
Possibility: Never
Readers of this blog know I am very anti-Genie. Unfortunately for me, the last time Americans successfully staged a boycott was the Boston Tea Party. People keep paying for it, so it’s here to stay.
Disney should not be taking away services that were free for decades without a problem, only to reinstate them as pay-to-play.
I’ll even compromise with Disney. Let the first 3 Fastpasses be free and then charge more for extras. Or let the biggest rides in each park (currently Tron, Guardians, Rise, and Flight of Passage, respectively) be the ones that are paid for while Teacups and Living with the Land have free Fastpasses. They’d still make a profit without surrendering too much guest satisfaction.
New night show at DAK
Possibility: Maybe
Walt Disney World fans were stoked when Disney's Animal Kingdom announced nighttime offerings in 2016. Along with extended evening hours and the Sunset Safari attraction, there would also be two new nighttime shows. The first one would be Tree of Life Awakenings, during which colorful projections would be displayed on the centerpiece of the park. The second show would be called River of Light. This should would be similar to Fantasmic in that many characters would float across a body of water on boats as colorful fountains sprang up. A brand new amphitheater was even constructed along Discovery River to house the show in anticipation of the crowds collecting to witness this innovative and moving story.
If you already know what happened to Rivers of Light, you're probably smirking to yourself reading that last sentence.
Rivers of Light...had problems, to say the least. It was coined "Rivers of Lie" in some circles. Personally, I enjoyed it the one time I saw it. But many others did not have the same experience as me.
So when Animal Kingdom closed in 2020 along with the other three parks, Disney decided to quietly retire the show. It did not re-open with the rest of the park later that year. In fact, most of the nighttime offerings at DAK were stripped as the hours were greatly reduced.
Here we are, 3 years later and DAK's hours still remain shortened. In the summer of 2017, DAK would stay open until 11:00pm. This summer, DAK is only going to open until 7:00pm.
It feels very wasteful to have built a huge theater for a nighttime show and then just...not have a nighttime show. Or any show at all.
My hope is that Imagineers can come up with something to fill the space and entice guests to stay longer at DAK. Maybe Rivers of Light was too ambitious, but we don't necessarily need ambitious right now - just something entertaining.
The hard core DAK stan in me needs something done now to improve this area in the park. But realistically, I know we probably won't hear anything about it for a couple of years. Until then, guests can enjoy a view of a completely empty and useless gigantic amphitheater on the way to Mount Everest.
Dinoland upgrade
Possibility: Likely, but not for a few years
New concepts for the Dinoland area have been speculated for years, and Disney seems to be encouraging the idea of the land being changed. Their PR strategy seems to be to figure out what idea is creating the most buzz, as the reaction to the announcement for the 2017 upgrades were…disappointing. As an Animal Kingdom Cast Member at the time (DAK PACK!), I have a lot of thoughts on this. Maybe I’ll save that for another post.
Anyways, with the tearing down of Primeval Whirl and Disney encouraging rumors of replacements for the area, it really shouldn’t be surprising that Dinoland is going extinct.
But don't expect the countdown to extinction to start anytime soon. According to previous patterns, major updates to DAK won't occur for a few more years.
Last decade, Walt Disney World made major additions to each of the four parks, one at a time. First was Magic Kingdom. In 2012, New Fantasyland opened. Next was DAK with the addition of Pandora in 2017, followed closely by Hollywood Studios' additions of Toy Story Land in 2018 and Star Wars Land in 2019. Finally, EPCOT was going to round out the decade with a major overhaul to Future World and some World Showcase updates - all set to open in time for Walt Disney World's 50th anniversary in 2021.
Of course, that last bit didn't go exactly as planned. Still, Epcot is set to finish a couple of promised projects this year. Meanwhile, Imagineers have circled back to Magic Kingdom. Tron opened up just last month, and construction on Splash Mountain (Tiana's Version) has begun. So Magic Kingdom has gained a new attraction in 2023, and it will get another new one in late 2024.
So far, the pattern of one park at a time seems taking shape. This means that an announcement for any DAK updates will probably be made in 2024 or 2025, after Tiana's opens. The updated land may not actually open to the public until 2027-ish.
Personally, I’d want to see the Dino Institute area stay the same, and the dino-rama area turned into an Australia land. They already have a crocodile exhibit in the area! And Finding Nemo right next door. Australia land practically builds itself! Throw in a few koalas and kangaroos and it’s done.
Later hours
Possibility: Maybe
My favorite memories of Walt Disney World are of me romping about the parks at midnight. I especially loved arriving at Magic Kingdom in time to watch the fireworks, and then slip off deeper into the park as everyone else was leaving to ride some attractions for hours. Rides are practically walk-ons after fireworks. I once rode Splash Mountain three times in a row with no wait!
In fact, that used to be one of my top Walt Disney World vacation tips! Most guests like to rope drop Magic Kingdom early in the morning and leave right after fireworks. Instead, I liked to sleep in and stay late. You’ll still get a few hours with fewer crowds - just at the end of the day instead of at the beginning.
Unfortunately, this tip doesn’t always hold true anymore. Parks often close right after the night shows. This sucks for us childless millennials/night owls/ sleep-in vacationers.
By accommodating to the late night folk, Disney could space out the crowds better. There will be slightly less of a rope drop rush to the parks, and a slightly less fireworks rush from the parks. The crowds will come in waves throughout the day.
As a guest, I am totally pro-late hours. But as a former Cast Member, I understand why the clock was moved back.
In the summer, Magic Kingdom park wouldn’t close until midnight. But Main Street would stay open until 1:00am. And then it takes about an hour to close everything up. So Cast Members really wouldn’t leave the park until 2:00am after working 9 hours on their feet. Many nights I would wake up at 3:00am to my roommates finally coming home. It was a problem and the main reason the parks have reduced their hours.
Last year, park hours at Magic Kingdom were extended in the summer and during other busy times. The park wasn’t open as late as it was in the past, but that extra hour or two was still appreciated by many guests. I would not be surprised if the schedule was similar this summer. I hope in the future hours are permanently extended year-round.
Animation Courtyard re-vamp
Possibility: Maybe, but not for at least 4-5 years
As stated before, the parks may get their upgrades in a circular fashion. The last time Hollywood Studios received a major upgrade (the addition of Star Wars Land and Toy Story Land) was 2018. So I don’t expect any other major changes coming to Hollywood Studios until 2027, after DAK receives their Dino-drama upgrade.
I recently ranted about the state of the old Animation Building. It was turned into Star Wars Launch Bay to get guests excited about the upcoming Star Wars Land. But now Star Wars Land is here, and Launch Bay is on the complete opposite side of the park. It’s time to do something different with the building.
I’d be happy if it returned to its former glory as the Animation Building, but that won’t quite fit in with the direction the park seems to be taking. Instead of showing guests a glimpse behind the scenes of how movies are made, you are now stepping inside the world of the movies (which really isn’t any different than Magic Kingdom, but that’s another rant for another post). It is unlikely that Animation Courtyard will stay the Animation Courtyard.
So the questions are: For how long? And what will replace it?
Walt Disney World is infamous for letting old or closed attractions sort of just…sit there. (Exhibit A: River Country.) And let’s be honest - Hollywood Studios has so many top tier attractions that guests can completely skip the Animation Courtyard area and still get their money’s worth. There really isn’t any rush to fix up this little land.
Plus, Disney has not revealed any future plans beyond Tiana’s, which is opening next year. There is no decade-long road map. Disney claims they need to recoup the money they “lost” during the pandemic shut-down (AHAHAHAHAHA) so they are more likely to focus on a few key features instead of going full pixie-dust like they did last decade. We may not even see anymore major park updates for years.
However, it is very un-Disney to not be constantly improving. So something will absolutely happen to Animation Courtyard, even if it doesn’t happen for a while. But what?
I am not familiar with backstage Hollywood Studios (it was the one park I never worked at), so I’m not sure how much expanding room there is behind Animation Courtyard. Even if the land is confined to its small corner, there is still space. There is the Star Wars Launch Bay/ Animation Building and The Voyage of The Little Mermaid theater.
Voyage of the Little Mermaid has not yet returned. There are rumors of The Voyage of The Little Mermaid show not returning at all. If that show and its building were to be torn down, then Animation Courtyard could undergo a total transformation. All of its buildings could be replaced with new theaters, gift shops, and maybe a small attraction.
The un-orginal idea that comes to my mind is a mini ToonTown area. Walt Disney World used to have a ToonTown in Magic Kingdom, but moving it to Hollywood Studios may make more sense. After all, Animation Courtyard is right next door to Mickey’s new ride. Disneyland has their MMRR ride in ToonTown. And lately, Disney has been copy-pasting rides from other other parks, so this move wouldn’t be unprecendent. To further my point, Walt Disney Studios Park in Disneyland Paris has a mini ToonTown land. If the European equivalent had a ToonTown, then why can’t Hollywood Studios have one?
Right now, Animation Courtyard is a great area for kiddos. It has the Disney Junior stage show, which tots seems to adore. A mini ToonTown could keep the place a kid-friendly area, in contrast to the neighboring thrill rides of Rock’n’Rollercoaster and Tower of Terror.
Plus, a ToonTown could be a cute callback to OG Studios, when Roger Rabbit reigned. Imagine if we got a version of Roger Rabbit’s CarToon Spin.
Of course, there are a million other ideas Imagineers must have for this area. Hollywood Studios has so much potential after last decade's refresh.
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