Credit: DisneyIt’s been just under six months since The Walt Disney Company pledged to invest $60 billion into its theme parks. The question now is: when and where will they spend it?
There’s been countless speculation about which parks deserve what around the world. Disney has teased the amount of attention going towards each resort, with certain numbers floated for different locations. Disney World, for example, is said to receive an incredible $17 billion of that total, while Disneyland Paris is thought to get $16.2 billion.
Disney plans to spread this $60 billion investment over the course of a decade. However, some parks are definitely in more need of attention than others. It’s a well-acknowledged fact among Disney fans that certain theme parks seem to receive more TLC, while others are left to languish for years without new additions. When it comes to which parks deserve what, there are four clear candidates most in need of Disney’s billions.
The Park That Hasn’t Been Updated in Nearly 20 Years
In 2006, Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast opened at Disneyland Park in Disneyland Paris… and nothing new has opened since. Yes, it’s been nearly 18 years since the resort’s first park added a new attraction, which means that there are teenagers graduating high school this year that have been born and raised quicker than Disneyland Park last updated its map.
There’s been a lot of talk about the future of Disneyland Paris. The majority of whispers about Disney’s plans for its $16.2 billion injection mention a third park – something the company is legally obligated to build by 2036, as per its agreement with the French government.
However, there have also been rumors that Disney may shift the axed plans for a Star Wars land in Walt Disney Studios Park to Disneyland instead. While we’d prefer something original for the park – especially considering its unique, Victorian aesthetic – at this point, we’ll take whatever we can get, as long as it’s new.
Disney World’s ‘Half-Day’ Park
Animal Kingdom faces a multitude of issues at Walt Disney World. Not only is the park disconnected from its three sister parks transportation-wise, but it typically has much shorter hours, has no nighttime spectacular, and doesn’t have all that much to do when you add up the number of attractions, shows, and experiences on offer.
Disney have already vowed to update Dinoland U.S.A (RIP), but we’re still waiting on a solid announcement of what exactly will kick Chester and Hester out of Dinorama. For now, Dinoland is a mostly-concrete expanse of, well, nothing, which doesn’t really motivate guests to make the trek out to the park.
The last significant addition to Animal Kingdom came in 2017 in the shape of Pandora – World of Avatar. Impressive though those additions were, the park has remained static for the seven years since, and consistently draws the worst attendance of all Walt Disney World gates. Animal Kingdom deserves much more than it’s got in recent times – and hopefully Disney’s ready to give it the makeover it needs to thrive.
The Ugly Duckling of Disney Parks
Obviously, we’re talking about Walt Disney Studios Park. The runt of the Disney theme park litter, the second park at Disneyland Paris has been on the up for a few years now (or at least trying to be), with the addition of Avengers Campus and the ongoing construction of World of Frozen.
However, the reality is that it’ll take a lot more to get the park on the same level as Disney’s other locations. Aesthetically, Walt Disney Studios Park is a mess. Disneyland Paris is already making active effort to fix the park’s concrete-studio look, but the biggest issue it needs to solve is the fact that the park has absolutely no identity. Is it a studio park? Is it an IP library? That’s what Disney needs to decide – and stick to its guns once it does.
The Park With a Massive Capacity Problem
Hollywood Studios is far from neglected. In the past decade alone, it’s received two new lands: Galaxy’s Edge and Toy Story Land. It’s also had a new flagship ride in the form of Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, not to mention another mode of transportation with the arrival of the Disney Skyliner.
But it’s still not enough. The publicity and popularity of its new additions has driven huge crowds to Hollywood Studios, but the attractions on offer don’t have enough capacity to keep everyone entertained, which has led to a lot of congestion in the park. Considering the amount of investment it’s already received in recent years, we’re skeptical that Disney will be dropping many of those billions into Hollywood Studios’ budget, but it’s nice to dream.
What do you hope Disney will announce for its theme parks over the next few years? Let us know in the comments!