Credit: DisneyDisney Parks Chairman Josh D’Amaro had some interesting updates on the state of Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort.
The Disney Parks have been welcoming Guests in full swing. Over the past few years, Disney has announced plans for many interesting and exciting expansions, and some of them have come to fruition.
At Disneyland Park, the company just reopened the newly-imagined Toontown, with Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway now open to anchor the land. Disney California Adventure Park opened up Avenger Campus back in 2021, and there have already been announcements from Disney that an Avatar experience is set to come to Disneyland Resort in the future, as well.
At Walt Disney World Resort, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind opened in EPCOT last year. In addition, the World Celebration Neighborhood has been under construction and is set to open later this year. This will house Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana.
Of course, the most prominent expansion piece is none other than TRON Lightcycle / Run. The Magic Kingdom coaster has been giving previews for many Guests and Cast Members already and is set to officially open to the public on April 4, 2023.
Speaking on TRON Lightcycle / Run and the future of Disney Parks, D’Amaro shared with the Orlando Business Journal that the Disney Park attraction is “just the tip of the iceberg.”
“Tron is spectacular, and adding something of this size and scope to the most visited theme park in the world is pretty ambitious and incredible. You see the Guests walking off that experience … the look on their faces — and it adds to the whole experience we offer here. But there’s no end … Tron is the tip of the iceberg of what’s coming.”that this was “just the tip of the iceburg.”Â
While D’Amaro was referring to upcoming projects like Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, which will replace Splash Mountain in 2024, as well as teased projects like expansions at both Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom, fans took to social media to give their opinions. As you can imagine, it didn’t necessarily go as Disney might have hoped.
“I have two words for Josh. Epic Universe,” user @RetroEric73 said on Twitter. “If a 5th gate isn’t announced and construction started soon, they’re putting 2025-2030 bookings at risk.”
While many fans pointed to the emerging third theme park that Universal Orlando Resort is currently in the midst of building– which will include Super Nintendo World– others pointed to past promises that Disney has yet to keep.
“Just give us the full Epcot rehaul we were promised in 2019,” a user said. “We deserve Cherry Tree Lane if nothing else!!”
“The glacial pace that it took to build Tron. “Tip of the iceberg,” another shared.
The Walt Disney Company has the work cut out for itself moving forward.
As hundreds of users on social media noted, Universal Orlando Resort is set to make a major run at Walt Disney World’s market share once Epic Universe opens in 2025. If that weren’t enough, one of the running jokes among theme park fans has been the fact that it will have taken Universal Orlando the same amount of time to build an entire theme park than it took Disney to construct TRON Lightcycle / Run.
Fans want to see expansions at the Disney Parks in the near future. They want to know what’s Beyond Big Thunder Mountain. They want to see what’s next for Disney’s Animal Kingdom. They want to know when Disney might be looking to construct a fifth-gate at Walt Disney World Resort, or a third-gate at Disneyland Resort.
Ultimately, competition is heating up, and fans are taking note.
What do you think of the updates from Josh D’Amaro on the Disney Parks? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments!