First-Ever Villains Land Coming to Disney’s Magic Kingdom

Yes, it’s finally happening! Disney has announced a first-ever Villains Land coming to the Magic Kingdom as part of the “Beyond Big Thunder” expansion in what will be the biggest expansion in park history!

In this post, we will share everything we know about the upcoming Villains Land including what attractions it will include, where it’s going in the Magic Kingdom and when we can expect it to open. Of all the new projects coming to Walt Disney World that were announced recently, THIS is the one that I can’t wait for the most, and on first impact, it looks absolutely epic!

Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro made the announcement at the “Horizons: Disney Experiences Showcase” during the D23 Expo at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

Once upon a nightmare… A place where poison apples are aplenty and magic potions can ruin your whole day. For all those things hiding in the shadows, it’s time to join them as we lift the veil on a forthcoming Villains Land at Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World.

D’Amaro said: this new land will be home to the Disney Villains we know and loathe from our favorite Walt Disney Animation Studios classic films — “Which means happily ever after may feel like just a distant dream. In this new land, you’ll see storytelling on a grand scale that only Disney can deliver.”

The new land will encompass all your dreams- er, nightmares. The space will be home to two major attractions, dining, and shopping on an incredibly twisted grand scale. “Be prepared, you poor unfortunate souls,” Josh teased. “It’s going to be a fearless new vision for what a Disney experience can be.”

You might have just felt a shiver run down your spine. That’s because preparation is already underway at Magic Kingdom for this new land. Maybe think twice before you indulge in that next shiny red apple…

Obviously, a Villains-themed land is a slam dunk, no-brainer decision for the Disney braintrust for many reasons.

First of all, Disney villains are an extremely popular, yet under-utilized group of characters and fans have been clamoring for a project like this for years. Back in 2022 when Disney was throwing out “Blue Sky” ideas for the “Beyond Big Thunder” expansion, this got the loudest cheer from the audience of all the proposals, and once it was finally announced in 2024, the audience erupted.

Disney needed an IP that would fit within the themes of the Magic Kingdom, and that would be popular enough to be a big draw guests. This does the trick.

Disney has also been shying away from rides that show any kind of conflict lately (hello Tiana’s Bayou Adventure), so it’s good to see that Disney recognizes their popularity and also the need for them on rides.

Disney also needs some kind of a response to what is going on across the other side of town in Epic Universe. In case you haven’t seen, they are creating their own Monsters Land and using classics like Frankenstein and Werewolf, and what they have shows looks stunning to say the least.

Of course, a Disney Villains land cannot compete with an entire new park from Universal, but it’s a start, and there is no way Disney could let Universal get away with building a land filled with movie baddies and not use some of their own in a similar land.

Thematically, this would have also worked in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, but we like the idea even more at the Magic Kingdom. Think about it. On one side of the Magic Kingdom you have Fantasyland and the light, and on the other side you have its exact counterpart, Villains Land.

It also makes sense from a merchandise and marketing perspective. Probably the biggest event the Magic Kingdom does all year is Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. The Villains Land now becomes the focal point of the park from August to the end of October and integrates perfectly with it.

The new Cars Land expansion also was very-well thought out and it location right in front of the Villains Land will offer guests a softer, more family friendly Halloween experience, instead of the scarier and more intense Villains Land.

Attractions

What attractions will be included in Villains Land? At this time details are vague, but Disney has confirmed there will be two major attractions included in this expansion, plus dining, and shopping “on an incredibly twisted scale.”

Disney hasn’t announced what those attractions will be, but a closer look at the concept art gives us a hint. The most obvious one is what looks like a roller coaster likely themed to Maleficent. You can see the spiked coaster tracks in the back left of the main concept art for the land, and Maleficent spewing flames right in front of it.

But, that’s not all! When we zoom in on the front of the concept art, you can see the same coaster is zooming by underground. The fact that the coaster travels underground throughout the land is like the original concept for Slinky Dog Dash, and we think this would be an amazing touch.

Disney is not aiming at small children for this coaster, so expect it to be fast, intense with multiple inversions.

The second attraction in the Villains Land is a complete mystery at the moment, but I would assume it’s some kind of dark ride, one with scary elements and that uses some sort of thrill elements. The options are endless, and I would love to see what Imagineers have cooked up as potential options.

Again, looking at the art, the building on the right could potentially be the location of the second attraction, though it also could be a restaurant, it isn’t clear at this point.

Location

While all this sounds too good to be true, the Villains Land is definitely coming to Disney’s Magic Kingdom. In fact, Disney Parks head Josh D’Amaro said at the start of the event that everything shown today was real and not blue-sky plans, so all the concept art should be taken seriously.

But where exactly will it be located in the Magic Kingdom?

Looking at the latest building permits filed by Disney with the South Florida Water Management give us an idea of where both the Cars Land and Villains land will be in the Magic Kingdom:

What we see first are gravel laydown yards which are used for construction equipment, material staging, heavy machinery, etc, all necessary to bring both of these new lands to life. Think of these areas as staging areas that are needed for the construction.

What you’ll notice is that these are much bigger than the 2 new lands themselves will be. This is normal and staging areas like these were also found on other big expansions that Disney has done in recent years such as for Galaxy’s Edge and Pandora: The World of Avatar.

So the areas indicated in these permits are NOT where the Villains Land or Cars Land will be located, but just the staging areas. On the positive side, these staging areas will be made suitable for building during this process, so they could potentially turn into land available to Disney for more expansions in the future. Possibly to add additional attractions to Villains Land down the line, or for some entirely new lands.

All these staging areas are all located beyond the berm and outside the current confines of the Magic Kingdom, and both Cars Land and Villains Land will instead be built INSIDE the park’s borders.

In fact, the Disney Villains Land will be built behind Cars Land and on the back of the land that is currently Tom Sawyer Island and Rivers of America. So you see the approximate location in this drawing:

This is only a rough estimate, and it’s possible for the Villains Land to spill over a bit more the right behind what is “it’s a small world.

You can also see how this will eliminate the dead-ends in the Magic Kingdom park. The white building directly to the right of Villains Land is the Haunted Mansion, so there will likely be a pathway along the left side of the attraction leading to Villains Land, and then another path on the left of Villains Land connecting it to Thunder Mountain.

Having the Haunted Mansion lead up to Villains land is a brilliant idea and sets the stage for entering the area. We’ve also heard rumors that this is where the long-rumored Haunted Mansion restaurant could go, but that is not confirmed at this time.

Lastly, in the building permits, in the back where the gravel laydown yards are located, rumors are swirling that we could see an in-park Villains Hotel come to fruition. Having an in-park hotel at the Magic Kingdom would be an incredible addition and themed to Disney Villains you know would be in extreme high demand.

Having more high-end hotel inventory to sell would help off-set some of the costs of making a Villains Land which is a no-brainer from Disney’s side. Having an in-park hotel is also something we’ve already seen Disney do over in the new Fantasy Springs area of Tokyo DisneySea.

This would be awesome and we are definitely on board if that’s the direction that Disney decides to go in. We’ll have to wait and see if it is actually realized.

Opening Date

So when is the Villains Land opening at the Magic Kingdom? Unfortunately, we don’t have an exact date at this time, and we are afraid guests are are going to have to wait quite a while to experience it.

Construction will begin in 2025, but it’s expected to be the last project to open out of everything that was announced at the D23 Expo. It looks like we will see Pueblo Esperanza at the Animal Kingdom in 2027, followed by Monsters Inc. Land in Hollywood Studios in 2028 before we see either of the two Magic Kingdom expansions.

And between the 2 Magic Kingdom expansions, it makes more sense logistically to open Cars Land first. It’s located in front of the Villains Land, and will provide access to the later, so that needs to open first. Also, it’s the smaller of the two projects and the scope isn’t as big or ambitious as Villains Land so it makes sense Cars will open first.

The Villains Land on the other hand is going to be huge, more on the size and scale of Galaxy’s Edge, and Imagineers are going to want to take their time with all the details included here. We also know that Villains Land isn’t as far along as Cars Land from the intentionally vague concept art and no attraction-specific announcements.

That gives Imagineers and management time to change and tweak things in the coming months.

At this point, construction should start next year and a realistic opening for Cars Land is 2028/2029. Disney is obviously going to space the opening of these two lands out (none 4 of the new lands in WDW will likely open in the same year) so that means we could first step foot into Villains Land in either 2029 or 2030.

If I remember correctly, Josh D’Amaro said that everything revealed at the D23 Expo will be open by 2030, so that would be a worst-case scenario for Villains Land, but probably still the most realistic one with all the other projects that are about to get kick-started into high gear here soon.

To sum everything up, we are completely onboard with building a Villains Land in the Magic Kingdom. This is one of the coolest-sounding projects we have ever seen Disney attempt and if done correctly, it could end up being the very best. We also have confidence that it will be done correctly and not cheaply done since Disney is in direct competition with Universal and their Classic Monsters Land.

It also helps that Disney Imagineers will get an up-close, first-hand look at Universal’s Monsters land since it will be open 4 to 5 years before Disney’s version. That gives them time to implement any ideas they find there in their own Villains Land and take things to the next level.

We haven’t been as excited for a project as we are here since Galaxy’s Edge was announced back in the 2015 D23 Expo, and we are confident this will become the crown jewel in the Magic Kingdom for years to come!

That wraps up our look at the new Villains Land and coming to Disney’s Magic Kingdom. We’ll be finding out more info in the coming months so stay tuned for more!

Also, don’t forget to sign up for our FREE Weekly E-Mail Newsletter. There we bring you the latest updates on Walt Disney World as well as vacation planning tips. You can sign up here: Join our E-Mail Newsletter

If you are going to Disney World soon, make sure to read our Disney World Planning Guide for all the tips and info you will need to cover everything! Also, check out our Disney World Crowd Calendar so you know when the best time to visit is!

Your Thoughts

I want to know what you think about the proposed Villains land…

• Are you happy to see a land themed to Villains coming to the Magic Kingdom?
• What are some other attraction ideas for the land?

Let us know in the comments section below!

If you enjoyed this article, as always I appreciate it if you’d share it with others via social media.  I work hard at making this website into a useful resource for you and your family to plan your visit to the Disney Parks and I hope it can help you! Thanks 🙂