Disney World Quietly Reshuffles Two Parks as Fans Become Desperate for Change

Changes at Disney World have been made that may usher in the much-wanted developments at two theme parks.

Walt Disney World Resort (Orlando, Central Florida) is home to four theme parks — Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Alongside the two Disney water parks, and the Disney Springs retail area, Disney World is a sprawling hub of all things fans of the House of Mouse love.

While contention over things like Disney Genie+, Individual Lightning Lane Selections, Park Pass reservations, and the 2 p.m. Park Hopper rule continue to fester, Disney World’s Magic Kingdom once more topped the list as the world’s most visited theme park. Although the other three were bested by Universal Orlando Resort’s Park, Universal’s Islands of Adventure.

Some Guests have even been turned off by Disney World’s rising costs and increasing difficulty to navigate, opting to miss the Disney experience in favor of a vacation to the neighboring Universal Parks. One Guest even said, “Never again” after a recent experience at the Disney World Resort.

And Universal Destinations and Experiences is really blowing up. Not only are the Comcast-owned corporation continuing work of the new theme park, Universal’s Epic Universe, but earlier this year, they announced a new Universal Park coming to Frisco, Texas, and another horror-themed experience heading to Las Vegas, Nevada. This break in the East and West Coast model that Universal and Disney have adopted over the decades spurred fans to compare Universal’s big moves to that of former Disney CEO Michael Eisner’s decisions in the 90s.

Related: Disney World Declared “Capitalist Dystopian Nightmare” as Guest Struggles to Save Vacation

With so much newness and projects in progress across Central Florida, including Disney’s recently opened attractions Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind and TRON Lightcycle / Run, all eyes are on what the Mouse House will do next. A recent reshuffle at two Disney World theme parks may signal changes across the Resort.

Vice President of Magic Kingdom, Melissa Valiquette, is leaving her senior role at the world’s leading Disney Park for a newly created role of Vice President, Industrial Engineering & Park Operations.

Stepping into her role is the current VP of Animal Kingdom, Sarah Riles, and succeeding Riles to head up the senior division of the nature-themed Park is Maryann Smith. The reshuffle is expected to be completed by July 9, 2023. The changes come amid the news that Chief Financial Officer Christine McCarthy has resigned from her senior leadership role.

This behind-the-scenes reshuffle of two Disney Parks comes as fans clamor for more out of Walt Disney World. Last year, at the D23 Expo 2022 in Anaheim, Southern California, Disney Parks, Experiences and Products Chairperson Josh D’Amaro ignited the crowd at the “Boundless Future” panel when he revealed the “blue sky” projects that Walt Disney Imagineering is hoping to launch at two of the Parks.

Those Parks? Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom.

Joined by Walt Disney Animation Studios Chief Creative Officer Jennifer Lee (Frozen) and Creative Portfolio Executive Chris Beatty, the trio shared potential plans for a new area in Magic Kingdom. The colloquially coined “Beyond Big Thunder Mountain” project sees areas themed to Disney Pixar’s Coco (2017), Disney’s Encanto (2021), and a Disney Villains destination. While over at Animal Kingdom, areas designated to Moana (2016) and Zootopia (2016) have been put forward.

The executives were quick to remind fans that these are just “blue sky” for the time being, and nothing has been confirmed. Of course, these reveals came when Bob Chapek was still the leader of the House of Mouse; the return of Bob Iger as CEO, and his aggressive cost-cutting antics, may see these ideas end up in the Disney Park graveyard along with the Mary Poppins ride, and the Spaceship Earth transformation.

Related: Updates Shared Regarding Disney World’s Entire Land Closure

And then there is the notion of a fifth theme park gate. Disney is reportedly investing billions in Disney World despite the current cost-cutting and the feud with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Who knows what changes at Disney World will be next?

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