This past weekend, I was sitting five rows away from the stage at the D23 Experiences Showcase when Chairman Josh D’Amaro presented a rundown of what the next several years will look like at Disney Parks. After two years of “blue sky” discussions of what could be, we finally got some real announcements of things that would be. Unfortunately, while all the new stuff at Disney World and Disneyland is great, there is an obvious follow-up question that must be asked: where is it all going to go?
We know that some new additions will not require anything to close. The Villains Land coming to Magic Kingdom had already been confirmed to go on a patch of land that was previously not park space, so it is a pure addition to the park. In the other cases, however, we are almost certainly going to lose popular classics to gain the next big things. Here’s what we may end up losing.
Tom Sawyer Island
We’ll start with the recent unpleasantness because losing Tom Sawyer Island isn’t a question; we know it’s happening. Two days after it was announced that two attractions based on Cars were being added to Frontierland at Magic Kingdom, it was announced the area being used was the space that currently holds the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island.
While the new mountainous terrain as seen in concept art does look impressive, the loss of the Liberty Belle riverboat and Tom Sawyer Island will be a significant loss to the resort. Disneyland fans are now looking at their own Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island and wondering if we could eventually lose them someday as well.
Dinosaur
Another attraction whose days are numbered is Dinosaur at Disney's Animal Kingdom. We already knew that a planned Tropical Americas land would be replacing Dinoland U.S.A., and that would almost certainly mean the end of the popular dark/thrill ride. What's unclear is how much longer the ride will be around. Josh D'Amaro was clear that the transformation would be done in phases over the next several years, so while construction is expected to begin soon, Dinosaur's extinction won't happen immediately.
MuppetVision 3D
One of the surprise new additions to Disney World we’re getting, as announced at the event by Billy Crystal himself, is an entire land dedicated to Monsters Inc. It will include a roller coaster based on the door-chasing scene of the first film, an attraction concept that had been created years ago before being shelved.
It’s been reported, though not confirmed, that this new area is slated for Grand Avenue, otherwise known as the Muppets Courtyard. The area holds the MuppetVision 3D movie, an attraction fans have feared losing for years. The show is certainly old, but many see it as a classic. It’s the last piece of Muppet media that Jim Henson worked on himself, making it historic.
Rock N’ Roller Coaster
Another attraction that many fans have been expecting to get replaced for years is the Rock ’N’ Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith. The band is as close to officially over as any band can be, and they haven’t been incredibly popular in decades. Many have suggested that at the very least a retheme of Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster was in order, but we could get something more.
If the Monsters Inc. Door Coaster show building replaced the Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster building, the rest of Monstropolis could be built around it. There might be the chance to reuse parts of the one coaster for the other, making things a bit easier on the construction end.
Redwood Creek Challenge Trail/Grizzly River Run
Over at Disneyland, we have own own Sophie’s Choice. Disney California Adventure is getting a lot of new attractions, but the biggest of them will be an entire land dedicated to Avatar. The problem is DCA isn’t a big park and there isn’t a lot of additional space in the existing footprint. So where do you put an entire land?
The Grizzly Peak area, which has remained almost completely untouched for decades, unlike the rest of the park, is a strong possibility. The area is themed as a National Park, so we’d be swapping real trees for alien ones, but it could work. The area also already has a water ride, Grizzly River Run, and we know the anchor attraction of the land will be water-based.
Unfortunately, this would also lead to the end of the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail. It’s a place where kids can run around and play, climb on ropes, go down slides, and otherwise be free. It’s basically the Tom Sawyer Island of Disney California Adventure, which is why it would be very sad to lose, but also very possible that we could.
Monsters Inc: Mike & Sully To The Rescue
The other area of DCA that is likely to get significantly overhauled in the short term is Hollywood Land. The area is currently home to a Monsters Inc. dark ride and a 3D theater showing Mickey’s Philharmagic. There isn’t a great deal going on here otherwise, so it’s prime for development.
It’s possible that the Avatar land could go here rather than Grizzly Peak, and while the transition of lands seems jarring, that is certainly possible. The other option is that this is where the announced Coco dark ride could end up. Swapping one dark ride for another, when the park could use more of them, would be unfortunate, but it would certainly be easier. We'd also probably lose the hilarious leftover animatronics from Superstar Limo, the worst Disney attraction ever.
Of Course, It’s Possible To Get New Rides Without Losing Things
It is more likely than not that the creation of new attractions means replacing old ones, but except for the Magic Kingdom Frontierland update, the rest of this doesn’t need to go away. Walt Disney World has the blessing of size, after all, and there is non-park space surrounding Disney’s Hollywood Studios where a Monsters Inc. land could go without removing anything.
The same is true of Disneyland. While the words “DisneylandForward” were never spoken in the presentation, there is a major expansion of Disneyland Resort that has been approved and will be taking place over the next decade. Disney California Adventure is set to be expanded quite significantly, and so we could see both the Avatar land and the Coco attraction become part of that and get added to what is now parking lot space rather than theme park space.
While we could get many of these new attractions without losing anything, it’s much more likely that some of them will be going away. The good news is that none of this construction is expected to start this year, and some of it could be years away. So if one of these is your favorite attraction, you’ll still have some time to experience it if and when it goes away.
