An idea never dies at The Walt Disney Company. The proof of this statement is at Haunted Mansion, an idea that Imagineers envisioned more than 15 years before the attraction opened. Disney keeps quality plans in the pipeline for as long as the company needs to bring them to life.
In the wake of the 2019 D23 Expo, we know that a few long-expected plans will become a reality. Others, even a couple that were strongly expected, went unconfirmed. Let’s take this opportunity to evaluate the status of six long-rumored Disney projects that fans are still waiting for.
The Brazil pavilion
Image: DisneyOne of the strangest aspects of D-23 involved the mysterious disappearance of the Brazil pavilion. The day before the event, a person tweeted that they’d personally gone to Brazil several times to interview and train potential cast members for this pavilion.
The seemingly in-the-know poster indicated that the announcement would occur by the end of the weekend. The Epcot scale models on display seemed to confirm an unnamed pavilion that sure looked like Brazil, too.
Once the event began, Disney officials stressed any number of changes coming to Epcot. A new pavilion was NOT one of them. The rumormonger has since deleted the tweet, but that doesn’t mean the person was lying.
A prevailing belief is that at least one new pavilion will finally arrive at Epcot over the next few years. Brazil and India seem like the most likely candidates, and we may even get both of them. I think this rumor will come true at some point, although Disney might choose India instead.
A new Disney theme park
Image: UniversalWhen Universal Studios revealed Epic Universe, the company pressured Disney to announce the long-anticipated fifth Walt Disney World gate. To their credit, Disney executives didn’t take the bait. A new theme park isn’t an idea anyone should feel rushed into constructing. That’s the textbook description of how mistakes get made.
Keeping this in mind, one of the longest-standing rumored Disney projects is a theme park. Specifically, it’s a Villains-based theme park that would allow guests to embrace their inner bad guy.
While the idea has varied a bit over the years, the concept is that a dark tower would lord above the park, an evil inverse of Cinderella Castle. And some elements from the failed Beastly Kingdom themed land could transfer to this place, hopefully including a fire-breathing dragon imperiling guests on a roller coaster.
Image: DisneyThe thought of a fifth gate seemed like a foregone conclusion in the late 1990s, so much so that Michael Eisner referenced it in multiple interviews. In the decades that have followed, executives have actively avoided the concept. Instead, they focus on improving current parks with new themed lands like Pandora – The World of Avatar and Cars Land.
While the situation could change at a moment’s notice, the possibility of a fifth gate announcement seems unlikely before the next D-23 Expo in 2021. We’re in a holding pattern here, I’m afraid.
The one positive of the delay is that sentiment has grown for Beastly Kingdom to become its own full theme park rather than a themed land. Some find that idea preferable to a Villains park. Others like me would prefer both over the next 15 years or so.
The Wreck-It Ralph VR ride
Image: The VoidEven before Stitch’s Great Escape turned into a seasonal attraction, speculation centered on its replacement. Now that the Stitch is gone for good, many have wondered about when its successor would debut. And that answer is complex.
For a long time, insiders speculated that an augmented reality attraction would become a part of Tomorrowland. Even though that themed land is in the middle of an unprecedented change that will modernize it, the old Stitch space only has one purpose: A Stitch character greets.
What’s supposed to be hosted there? Based on rumors, the answer is a Wreck-It Ralph attraction, one that would involve some sort of Sugar Rush-style race. However, the current belief is that those plans are no longer applicable to Tomorrowland. Instead, they’ve transitioned to two other part of the Disney campus.
Image: The VoidA Wreck-It Ralph VR experience IS available at Walt Disney World. It’s just not something you receive with your Disney ticket. Instead, The Void at Disney Springs operates a simulation called Ralph Breaks VR. And it’s precisely what it sounds like: a VR game set in the Wreck-It Ralph universe.
While Disney has no official connection to Ralph Breaks VR, a product of The Void, a virtual reality gaming center, your Mouse friends are doing something, too. The Play! pavilion at Epcot’s Future World will have features that sound eerily similar to storylines and visuals from Ralph Breaks the Internet.
Given the presence of these attractions, I struggle to envision a Wreck-It Ralph ride at Tomorrowland. It seems redundant at this point.
A new monorail fleet
Image: DisneyAround the time when I wrote this article, Disney had just suffered a public relations hit due to an incident involving the monorail. I’d add specificity about the details, but the statement is evergreen on its own.
At this point, it seems like a monorail snafu occurs every few months. Some of them are minor ones like a brief stoppage. Others are scarier, like the time when a door opened in the middle of the trip and remained that way for several minutes.
I’m not going out on a limb here when I say that the monorail situation at Walt Disney World is an embarrassment. The current fleet of Mark VI vehicles has operated since as early as 1989. Yes, that was 30 years ago. If you’re still driving a 30-year-old car today, you’re either an antique collector or your muffler smells like dead ostrich.
Image: DisneySeriously, 1989 was so long ago that the top new singer at the time was Paula Abdul. Batdance was also a #1 song that year. That was like seven Batman movies ago.
Thirty years is an eternity in the transportation industry, and Disney executives have no excuse leaving the Mark VI line in operation for this long. Every time a guest gets stranded and has to get lifted out of a train, the situation is totally Disney’s fault for ignoring the problem for too long.
As a Disney loyalist/apologist, I have to believe that the company will do something at some point soon. There’s been little hint of that over the past two years, though. Siemens reportedly offered to provide a new fleet back in 2017, an offer Disney rejected. Every time the monorail makes headlines for the wrong reasons, I wonder how Disney feels about that decision now.
A new Epcot resort
Image: DisneyOne of the open secrets at Walt Disney World is that hotel occupancy rates are through the roof. Disney executives could feasibly add two or three more resorts while maintaining their success rate in filling rooms.
This thought process explains the opening of the Gran Destino Tower at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort. Imagineers built a high-rise to siphon off some of the surplus demand for hotel rooms. Ever after that, Disney still needs more lodgings for its guests.
Image: DisneyIn recent years, a couple of rumors hinted at the next major hotel expansions. One of them indicated that park officials would construct a property right at the front of Epcot. A corollary rumor suggested that the space near The Seas with Nemo & Friends would provide a perfect spot for a resort.
I fully believed that one of these rumors would come to pass. Given the fact that the D-23 presentation fixated on Epcot, however, I’m forced to re-evaluate. The timing seemed perfect to reveal an Epcot resort at the front of the park to match the ones at the back. At this point, I believe that Disney chose to spend the money in different ways right now. They could always circle back to the idea in a few years, though.
A new monorail resort
Image: DisneyThe more logical rumor involved the monorail area. Company executives once perceived Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa as the height of opulence in the Orlando hotel industry. Alas, it opened even before Paula Abdul and Batdance were a thing. Today, the hotel is still lovely, but it doesn’t demand attention the way that it once did.
Given this situation, park planners have evaluated the idea of a new monorail resort. I’m not speaking of Reflections – A Disney Lakeside Lodge, either. I mean a property that would have a place on the monorail line.
Image: DisneyHow is this possible? The prevailing belief is that Disney would construct an entirely new Transportation and Ticket Center (TTC). In the old space of the current location, Imagineers would build an upscale resort that would restore Disney’s dominance.
When I debate this rumor, I wonder about two things. The first is about the aggravation in moving the TTC. Disney must disrupt the monorail line to do this, and the potential spot for the new version is on questionable land. Disney’s never added anything there before since it’s swampy, even by Orlando standards.
The other question is whether Disney’s willing to invest this much into a transportation change when the monorails are so shaky. Nobody in upper management seems to have an interest in expanding the monorail due to the financial constraints. This move would somewhat force the issue, requiring more monorail infrastructure.
If Disney won’t purchase a new fleet, would they really do something so bold? I just can’t see it. I’d like to be wrong, though. Monorail resorts are one of the best parts of a Walt Disney World vacation.
