The Walt Disney World Resort
The Magic Kingdom
EPCOT Center
Hollywood Studios
Animal Kingdom
40th Anniversary – The year 2011 will mark the 40th anniversary of the Walt Disney World resort and rumors circulate that this will be a large observance. Each park will allegedly receive an E-ticket attraction for the celebration, although rumors remain vague as to what will be built where. Read our coverage
Carousel of Progress Refurbishment – Sources online indicate that the Carousel of Progress will receive multiple upgrades to its animatronics at some point in the next few years. An updating of the show’s final scene is also projected. Read our coverage (Reported in August 2008)
The Enchanted Tiki Room with Lilo & Stitch – There has been discussion of The Enchanted Tiki Room – Under New Management finally departing the Magic Kingdom in time for the park’s 40th anniversary. While some have said the show would be briefly reverted to its original program, it more likely will be replaced with a new show featuring Lilo and Stitch. Tokyo Disneyland’s Tiki Room, The Enchanted Tiki Room: Stitch Presents “Aloha e Komo Mai”, already features Stitch, but the new Florida show would be completely different. Said a poster on WDWMagic:
“Our version would be far more connected to our previous versions with songs from the original (and jokes at the expense of Iago and Zazu) as well as some Elvis added in there. The show would be a little longer, with a little less telling of what is happening and more singing. And yes, the Tiki Tiki Tiki Room song will start the show off as always.”
The time frame on this update is vague, as it would also necessitate the replacement of Tomorrowland’s Stitch’s Great Escape. Read our coverage (Reported on WDWMagic and by others in August 2008)
Tomorrowland Retheming – Part and parcel of many Magic Kingdom rumors is the implication of an upcoming re-imagining of Tomorrowland. Designed to right the wrongs of 1994′s unfinished remodel, the overhaul of Tomorrowland would bring the entire land under a unifying theme that would not end at Rockettower Plaza. We’ve mentioned rehabs for Space Mountain and the Carousel of Progress, but also look for something new to replace Stitch’s Great Escape if its namesake heads for Adventureland. Read our coverage (Reported August 2008)
Haunted Mansion Store – Rumors have persisted concerning a new merchandise location at the exit of the Haunted Mansion. The exit for the attraction will allegedly be routed through the current Yankee Trader shop. This location will be tripled in size to allow for the new traffic, but this will most likely not occur for 4-5 more years as the recent $30 Million rehab budget was needed entirely for updating the attraction itself. (Reported by Jim Hill Media in October 2007)
Journey Into Imagination 4.0 – Long have EPCOT fans hoped for a full restoration of Journey into Imagination. The EPCOT classic was closed in the late 1990s and replaced with a greatly inferior attraction; rumors have persisted for years that a full overhaul of the pavilion was forthcoming. Various financial issues have intervened, with funds allegedly diverted from the project to plus the Finding Nemo attraction at The Living Seas. WDI is well aware of the situation, though, and Tony Baxter has said that he doesn’t feel that the character of Figment or the pavilion itself are living up to their full potential. This attraction remains a “wait and see” prospect, but it’s something that could conceivably be greenlighted at any point. Read our coverage
New Attraction in Japan – Prior to the economic collapse of 2008, it was heavily rumored that Disney was working on a deal with Japanese sponsors to finally add an attraction to the Japan pavilion in World Showcase. Various attractions have been slated for the pavilion since well before it opened; one hopes that eventually these talks resume.
Placemaking – WDI is allegedly working on a slate of improvements to the park to unify its theme and ‘plus’ the park a la their announced rebuilding of California Adventure. While no details of these rumored improvements have surfaced, the park’s new wave of attraction began when Toy Story Mania! opened in 2008. If these changes do go through, 2008 will be a transition year for the park while 2009 will be a “kicker” with improvements to both decor and attractions. (Reported by Blue Sky Disney)
Monsters, Inc. Coaster – Speculation continues as to what other attractions will be added to Pixar Place to join Toy Story Mania! One possibility is an indoor coaster, which many thought would be a copy of Crush’s Coaster from Disney Studios Paris. More recent rumors indicate that the attraction will instead be a coaster themed to the “Door Hangar” sequence from Monsters, Inc. This addition would involve the complete re-theming of the former Soundstage One, which would be made to resemble the Monsters, Inc. building from the film. Guests would attend an opening house at the facility, where their screams and laughter would be captured in containers to help power Monstropolis. The E-ticket attraction would be the park’s centerpiece attraction for Walt Disney World’s 40th anniversary in 2011. Read our coverage (Reported by Jim Hill Media in July 2008, confirmed by personal sources)
Pixar Place Upgrades – As part of the re-theming of the Mickey Avenue area to Pixar Place, various attractions are said to be slated for Pixar-related overlays. The former Honey, I Shrunk the Kids playground will eventually be re-themed to a bug’s life, and possible future rehabs involve converting Lights, Motors, Action to a Cars theme and, if it proves successful at California Adventure, the addition of “Carsland” to the current backlot area. Read our coverage (Reported by Jim Hill Media and others in July 2008)
Animal Kingdom Expansion – There have been a number of rumors that plans are afoot to again expand the Animal Kingdom. Reputable sources insist that something new is on the way, but the form of expansion remains vague. While it’s uniformly stated that expansion will occur in the area formerly intended to be the Beastly Kingdom, it will most likely not resemble those original plans. More likely, it will look something like Tokyo DisneySea’s Mysterious Island, with its Journey to the Center of the Earth and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea attractions. Whether any of these areas or attractions will keep their names or specific theming from Tokyo, or if they might be rethemed to match the Beastly Kingdom’s intended mythological aspects, is unknown. It’s also unknown what this will meet for Camp Minnie-Mickey, which currently occupies that space and was intended to be a temporary attraction. Read our coverage about Animal Kingdom and the Beastly Kingdom, Mysterious Island, Journey to the Center of the Earth, and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (Reported in various places throughout 2008-2009; concept revival reported by Screamscape in July 2009)
These are the rumors that were – the rumors that have either been around for so long that they have been put on ice in the “attic”, or the rumors of plans that have been superseded by other developments. Some of these may re-emerge in a new form some day, but for now they wait here…
Snow White and the Seven Dwarves Coaster – It has been suggested that plans were once afoot for a rollercoaster-based attraction themed to the mine cars from Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. These rumors came to nothing when the Fantasyland expansion was announced in September 2009 without mention of this attraction. Read our coverage (Reported on Blue Sky Disney in July 2008)
Beauty and the Beast Dark Ride – Honor at Blue Sky Disney predicted that a new attraction based on Beauty and the Beast would be added to Fantasyland. Other sources suggested throughout 2009 that a dark ride based on the film would replace Snow White’s Adventures in a forthcoming remodel of Fantasyland, but this did not appear in the supposed expansion blueprint from July of 2009. The attraction was not part of the expansion announced in September of 2009, although some insist that it had been proposed by Imagineering in earlier stages of the plan. Read our coverage (Reported on Blue Sky Disney in July 2008, revised rumors from July 2009)
The Magic Carpets of Aladdin Removal – The unsightly Aladdin attraction was rumored in 2009 to be moved to Fantasyland as part of that land’s expansion; the “leaked” blueprint from July 2009 stoked these rumors, and gave fans hope that not only would the carpets depart Adventureland but also be rethemed as a second Dumbo spinner. Sadly, Imagineer Eric Jacobson has confirmed that the Magic Carpets will remain in Adventureland. Read our coverage (Rumor dates to summer of 2009 and was debunked at D23 Expo in 2009)
Tortuga Restaurant – There have been a series of rumors concerning a pirate-themed restaurant called “Tortuga” to be built in the former location of the Adventureland Veranda. The last rumors we heard about this had the retheming put on hold as the park’s funds have been diverted to updating the kitchens of a number of the park’s existing restaurants. (Reported by Screamscape in October 2007)
Spaceship Earth Finale – When Spaceship Earth re-opened in 2007 it was greeted with a wave of criticism for its lackluster touch-screen finale. The spectacular upgrades to the ride’s first half were often overlooked amongst complaints about the somewhat simplistic new narration and anticlimactic descent. Disney and ride sponsor Siemens are said to be aware of the criticisms and the ride has undergone some tweaking since. Without time to install a new finale before the ride was forced to open for 2007’s holiday season, Imagineering crews have allegedly worked during the third shift from time to time to slowly prepare new show scenes that will finally give the attraction the finale it deserves. Mysterious triangles have been added to the descent area, allegedly to serve as screens for future projections, and rumors swirl about the faint possibility for the return of Tomorrow’s Child. These plans seem to have stalled, and while some insist that plans still exist to plus the ending, they seem to be on an indefinite hiatus until someone wants to pay for them. Read our coverage (Details added by WDWMagic sources in September 2008)
Russia Pavilion – Rumors emerged in 2008 that in an effort to bolster its growing corporate presence in Russia’s emerging economy, Disney had decided to dust off its plans for the Russian Showcase that was formerly planned for Eisner’s “Disney Decade” of the 1990′s. Complacence by current WDW management may have prevented the project from going through, or it may just have been a rumor. In any case, this seems to be a dead rumor and Showcase will remain without additions. Read our coverage (Reported by Jim Hill Media & Screamscape in January 2008)
Rivers of Light Parade – As part of the effort to extend park operating hours based on the increased attendance due to Expedition Everest, an after-dark parade called “Rivers of Light” was in development. Contrary to its aquatic name, the parade would have been a traditional land-based affair with character-laden boat-themed floats circling around the Tree of Life and Discovery Island. This concept has either been postponed or canceled. (Reported by Jim Hill Media)
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