Disney confirms two major expansion projects in Florida

BOOM! goes the dynamite!

2028 or 2029 ??

I'm wondering if this was a planned release well in advance of D23, when most observers expected these details to come out, or if Disney is deliberately trying to counter the details being released about Epic Universe. Much of this was already rumored and insinuated, so it's not like Disney is releasing information that wasn't already known, but the fact that stuff categorized as "Blue Sky" is now in serious development is pretty big news. If nothing else, this establishes a pretty high bar Disney will need to clear at D23 in releasing more specific details regarding the developments on both coasts, which I feel should include some indication of ride systems and additional attractions beyond the anticipated e-tickets.

Given that it looks like Universal will be releasing details on each Epic Universe portal every month or so, I'm not sure what purpose releasing this information now really serves, because it's not like Disney can trickle details every month to match what Universal is doing and still have enough left to feed the fans who have already paid for D23.

I will be sad to see Dinosaur go (it’s still an under appreciated gem), but if the retheming of the rest of this underdeveloped land necessitates its removal then I’ll tip my cap.

@fattackin: My niece is celebrating no more Dinosaur, her least favorite ride since she first went on it in 1998. I do hope for a cool take on the Indy ride and other additions to spark up DAK.

The "dynamite" that Disney is using to fight back against a new, technologically superior park that has everyone excited to see what is next in themed, immersive entertainment is: retheming a decades old ride, probably an Encanto walk through attraction, and some stuff (but we aren't sure what it is yet) beyond Big Thunder Mountain? Considering how long it takes Disney to build clones of attractions, these attractions should be ready to counter the necessary (and in some cases compulsory) changes coming to USF in the last few years of the decade. Dinosaur will be an Indy clone when Springfield is a Pikachu area, Zelda opens at IOA, and EU has it's first expansion.

Russell: "Much of this was already rumored and insinuated, so it's not like Disney is releasing information that wasn't already known, but the fact that stuff categorized as "Blue Sky" is now in serious development is pretty big news."

Me: I concur. But those of us who are "Cobbians" know the phrase "waders, swimmers and and divers". There are themed entertainment fanatics, people who visit theme parks often and people who have visited once or twice. When you write "it's not like Disney is releasing information that wasn't already known" I would suggest that knowledge was limited to fanatics.

MLB: "... a new, technologically superior park that has everyone excited to see what is next in themed, immersive entertainment."

Me: Again, waders, swimmers and divers. No not "everyone is excited" to see Epic Universe. I have Central Florida acquaintances who have asked me time again, "They're building a new park in Orlando? Where is it going?"

I'm with you fattyackin, Dinosaur is better than most people give it credit for, but I can appreciate why some people don't like it - it can be pretty scary for first timers and youngsters (though they've toned some of it down a bit over the years). I do really like Temple of the Forbidden Eye, but I hope that Disney doesn't just turn Dinosaur into a clone of the Disneyland attraction. Indy has tons of stories to explore, and there's so much that can be done with that ride system that my hope would be for something completely unique at DAK.

I'm not sure what Encanto will bring, but I certainly appreciate Disney's attempt to cater more to Central and South American fans who are more or less neglected at WDW save for EPCOT's Mexico pavilion and Coronado Springs Resort. Though the influx of Brazilian tour groups at WDW has waned since the pandemic, the Latin American audience is still an important demographic for the resort.

If Disney has the chutzpah to actually build a villains land as part of the "Beyond Big Thunder" expansion, that would be the perfect foil for the Dark Universe portal at EU. Disney has bantered about this concept for decades, but has never followed through with it (including insinuating it could be on the table for this expansion when it was first rumored). Disney fans would go berserk if this MK expansion was dedicated to Villains.

If they go with a villains themed land it will be a nice counter to Epics Dark Universe. What I find a bit confusing about Epic is Universal's continued commitment to the late tween, young adult, middle age demographic. I suspect if it is a villains land, its like Mickey's Not-So-Scary being scheduled opposite Halloween Horror Nights.

@TH - I'm totally with you, and it still shocks me how ignorant some people about the Orlando theme park market to the point where some think Hogsmeade is behind Cinderella's Castle. It makes sense for Disney to try to stay in the news cycle, particularly when their main competitor is going to drop details about their new theme park every month, but this release came a bit out of nowhere and seemed more reactionary instead of a primer for D23, which is a bit out of character for a company that dominates the market.

However, I think some of this is a bit of a disservice to those "divers" who have already ponied up a big chunk of money for D23 where they expect to be wowed and surprised by what is going to be announced. In other words, Disney can't let too much of the cat out of the bag, because there's got to be some meat to those D23 presentations.

"this release came a bit out of nowhere and seemed more reactionary instead of a primer for D23, which is a bit out of character for a company that dominates the market."

I think that's more of an indication on the shareholder vote on whether to keep Disney's current board backed by Iger, or allow Nelson Peltz and Jay Rasulo in there. The company was pulling out all the stops to fend this off, I even got a youtube commercial (like an actual commercial from Disney, paid by Disney) telling me how to vote for the current board.

@TH - "What I find a bit confusing about Epic is Universal's continued commitment to the late tween, young adult, middle age demographic."

I definitely get that, but I think that's a case of Universal understanding their audience and sticking to it instead of trying to go head to head with a behemoth on their home turf. Universal dabbles a bit with the younger demo (Seuss, Minions, Dreamworks, and HttYD), but that's clearly a bit of lip service so they can grab the parents and teen siblings of those younger kids and prime those youngsters for future adventures, which is why I think it's brilliant that the HttYD coaster appears to have elements inspired directly from existing Universal coasters.

I've always felt that Disney had some untapped potential to go harder after the more mature audiences even though DHS and EPCOT were really geared towards those crowds. It was a bit of a shock that Disney installed a true thrill ride in MK (Tron), so I wouldn't put it past them to carve out a corner of the MK for a darker concept - maybe not as edgy as Dark Universe or HHN, but definitely not the glossy, campy feel of MNSSHP.

I have my WDW AP for nostalgia. I have my UO, SWO, and BGT for real thrills and entertainment. Just because you don’t get it, doesn’t mean there are millions of us waiting and aching for every drop of Epic news and previews we can gather. The last fifteen years of Disney sitting back on its laurels and gifting us the two giants turds of Ton and Moana not to mention what looks like about $300 into the Splash Mountain‘renovation’ gives me not much hope

I have my WDW AP for nostalgia. I have my UO, SWO, and BGT for real thrills and entertainment. Just because you don’t get it, doesn’t mean there are millions of us waiting and aching for every drop of Epic news and previews we can gather. The last fifteen years of Disney sitting back on its laurels and gifting us the two giants turds of Ton and Moana not to mention what looks like about $300 into the Splash Mountain‘renovation’ gives me not much hope

What concerns me here with the DinoLand transformation is capacity. Dinosaur is getting a retheme and probably maintaining it's current capacity. Premival Whirl closed. Triceratop Spin is probably going away. We are getting an Encanto attraction.

Don't get me wrong, I'm super excited for this overhaul. But overall, that leaves this area with -1 attractions than before. Perhaps more if you count the roadside attractions and the boneyard. When guests are queuing, even for benign attractions like Triceratop Spin, that frees up capacity at other areas, be it attractions, merch shops, restaurants, etc.

My worry is that Animal Kingdom gets the Hollywood Studios treatment with a bunch of great, must-do rides with incredibly long wait times because there isn't enough capacity to distribute guests more evenly throughout the park.

But Beyond Big Thunder Mountain? Build, Baby, Build!

@BucsandCanes: in the last 15 years Disney released the Fantasyland expansion, Pandora, Galaxy’s Edge, Guardians: Cosmic Rewind, Ratatouille, Toy Story Land, Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railroad. Plus Tron and yes, the much maligned Moana walkthrough, which was apparently misinterpreted by some to be an e-ticket experience rather than an interactive aside. Now mind you, your opinion of any of the aforementioned attractions or lands might not be high, but I would respectfully contend that Disney has not been “sitting back” on their laurels. In fact they would have done more had Covid not de-railed the industry for a couple of years. I’m incredibly excited for Epic Universe personally, and I have high hopes that it ups the ante again for Universal. Because then Disney has to respond again. And then we all, as theme park fans, win again. Let these two behemoths keep duking it out I say!

I think a Central/South/Latin America land is a great concept to replace Dinoland, but I do hope Indiana Jones has been struck from the plans. Not only would a clone of a 20+ year old ride be a massive disappointment, but Dial of Destiny flopped so hard that it suggests interest in the franchise just isn't there (plus Disney currently has nothing in the pipeline related to that IP). There are plenty of other options to rework Dinosaur into something that is both more relevant and more thematically appropriate to the park, so it would be a shame for Disney to cheap out by turning it into yet another clone.

As for Beyond Big Thunder, I think that could really be anything at this point as I imagine it's a bit further out, but I hope it doesn't have IP overlap with whatever they're sticking in DAK (i.e. don't do Encanto for both projects) as that would be pretty boring.

I am in favor of unlimited theme park proliferation in Florida.

@happyhaunt: well-played lol

disney just built a *tron* roller coaster at magic kingdom. the idea that Indiana jones is a stale IP is absolutely hilarious to me.

@Jacob - At least Tron has a new movie in production right now. After Dial of Destiny, which I thought was pretty good FWIW - certainly better than Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Indy has nothing in the production pipeline. However, I would say that it doesn't take a new movie or other projects for an IP not be "stale". Indy is probably one of most evergreen IPs out there, and despite the mediocre performance of the recent movie, I think theme park guests would be more than happy to interact with this IP some more, though as I stated before, DAK should get something different than a clone of Temple of the Forbidden Eye.

The Boneyard is one of the best kids play areas in any theme park (at least according to my kids). I'm sad to see that go even though my kids are older now. A good, shaded play area is a godsend for cranky kids whose parents have forced them get up early on vacation to stand in long lines in the Summer heat all week.

And I'm glad Disney is responding to Epic Universe. When the theme parks compete, we usually win.

I absolutely loved the latest Indiana Jones movie. I want two or three more Indiana Jones E ticket attractions.

@happyhaunt: I agree about the movie. It’s a shame because it really felt tonally like a true sequel to Last Crusade. I wish they could’ve made it when Harrison was younger so we could get more adventures with him, even though it’s a perfect way to cap it off. I wouldn’t be averse to more stories in that world with Phoebe Waller-Bridges’s character. Even if it’s a show and not theatrical features.

I love Indiana Jones, both the franchise and the current DL ride, but RIP Dinosaur. :(

If there's one thing Orlando does not need more of its IP lands. This is so absurd...someone please make it stop.