Villains finally have a home at Disney World. Plans for a Villains Land at Walt Disney World were unveiled on Saturday at the D23 Expo, where Disney Experiences chairman Josh D’Amaro promised the expansion would be “a fearless new vision for what a Disney experience can be.” Seems like you’d want a villain land to induce a lot of fear, but OK.
Hardcore Disney fans love the villains, which has led to nearly three decades of rumors that the Disney parks experience would one day indulge the dark obsession with a land dedicated to evil-doers. The idea of Villain Land really began in 1991 when Disney opened a villain-themed shop in Fantasyland. Ever since, park-goers have been clamoring for a temple built to the likes of Maleficent, Ursula, and the Chernabog from Fantasia.
Disney has responded with plenty of park merch and the occasional show (see: the Friday the 13th special Unleash the Villains), but left most of the villain work to the other arms of the business. And it’s worked: the Descendents movies are a smash hit for Disney Channel/Disney Plus and villain-focused thrillers are a mini empire inside Disney Publishing. It was only a matter of time until Disney Parks made good.
D’Amaro offered no timetable for when the villain land might open at Disney World, but said construction was underway. “Plans are drawn,” he said. “Dirt is moving.” Weirdly, Disney World faces some competition in the goth entertainment department in the next year: in another corner of Orlando, Universal Studios is at work at Epic Universe, and its “Dark Universe” land dedicated to monsters like Dracula and Wolfman. Tom Cruise knows which one he’s attending!
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