Credit: Disney ParksOne of the biggest announcements at this year’s D23 Expo was the reveal of the long-awaited villainous expansion at the Magic Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort. As Josh D’Amaro promised fans a place inspired by the “evil ambitions” of the studio’s rogues gallery, that dark and mysterious energy doesn’t just reside on Disney park property.
The expansion was billed as “a fearless new version of what a Disney experience can be,” which more than likely means that Walt Disney Imagineering will take a much darker route to make that happen. What better way to celebrate that idea than with a movie where the villain actually wins?
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Disney has long built itself on a certain family-friendly image, which it’s struggled to maintain these past few years. However, if the concept is anything to go by, happily ever after might not mean the same thing to characters like Maleficent, Jafar, Ursula, and Cruella DeVil
Disney World Villain Celebrates First Victory
The general idea of the new expansion at the Magic Kingdom is what would happen if the villains won. Based on the descriptions from the Disney Parks Blog, fans are in for an intense and twisted experience.
According to Disney,
The new land will encompass all your dreams- er, nightmares. The space will be home to two major attractions, dining, and shopping on an incredibly twisted grand scale. “Be prepared, you poor unfortunate souls,” Josh [D’Amaro] teased. “It’s going to be a fearless new vision for what a Disney experience can be.”
You might have just felt a shiver run down your spine. That’s because preparation is already underway at Magic Kingdom for this new land. Maybe think twice before you indulge in that next shiny red apple…
From the description above, it sounds like this will be a great deal scarier than the typical day at the Magic Kingdom. Still, that’s kind of the point.
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Disney is home to some of the most recognizable villains in fiction, and many of them have been the stuff of nightmares for generations. However, one name has been terrorizing people long before Walt Disney brought him to the big screen, and he’s made yearly appearances at the parks every Halloween.
The Headless Horseman Leads the Charge
While not the first Disney villain, and certainly not the only one to get his own theme park appearance, the Headless Horseman has one advantage over all the other iconic fearsome figures. He’s the only villain in Disney’s history who wins against the hero.
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Originally penned in 1820 by Washington Irving, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow has long since been a campfire favorite around Halloween. Although not the only adaptation, Disney’s version of the story presented in The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949) is perhaps one of the most accurate portrayals.
In the film, Ichabod Crane has a terrifying encounter with the headless Horseman during the story’s climax. If the studio made this film today, the lanky schoolmaster would use his wits to somehow come out on top over the headless specter.
Unfortunately for Mr. Crane, that was not the case in both the book and the Disney adaptation. Disney’s version of Sleepy Hollow is the epitome of a Gothic cartoon, and its influence certainly has sway over the new theme park expansion.
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Since the Headless Horseman already makes yearly appearances at Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party and other similar celebrations, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to expect the Horseman to ride in through the villainous area once it eventually opens. Perhaps Disney might give him a permanent residence as well?
Along with characters like Judge Frollo, the Horned King, and Scar, the Headless Horseman is easily one of the darkest entities to come out of the House of Mouse, especially with the knowledge that he sets his skittish counterpart a blaze with a fiery pumpkin. That’s not exactly the most G-rated image.
No matter who Disney invites to the new expansion, many of the company’s greatest antagonists and adversaries owe a great deal to the pioneers that came before. If the Imagineers truly have a “head” for details, they’ll find some way to bring in the Horseman.
Which Disney Villain scared you the most? Tell Inside the Magic in the Comments below!