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Credit: Jeremy Simpson, FlickrWalt Disney World Resort is keeping its promise to make the Magic Kingdom bigger than ever before. As construction walls pop up around Frontierland and Liberty Square for the Rivers of America’s transformation into Piston Peak National Park, crews are also working behind the perimeter of Magic Kingdom Park to create the Disney Villains land “beyond Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.”
Walt Disney Imagineering confirmed plans to expand the Magic Kingdom Park with a Disney Villains land at D23 Expo 2024. Unlike other changes at Magic Kingdom Park, like the Cars (2006) area in development in Frontierland, Disney promised that the Villains land wouldn’t require the closure of any existing attractions. Instead, the Magic Kingdom would expand, absorbing part of the natural landscape surrounding the original Central Florida Disney park.
At first, fans hesitated to believe that Walt Disney World Resort would really construct the Disney Villains land. After all, Imagineers promised several overhauls to celebrate the Central Florida Disney destination’s 50th anniversary in 2021, and many were permanently shelved due to delays and budget constraints caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, earlier this year, Imagineers filed early construction permits related to the Disney Villains and Piston Peak National Park projects at the Magic Kingdom. In June, crews cleared hundreds, if not thousands, of trees in an area outside Frontierland. According to public documents, the newly cleared space will be used for a gravel equipment staging lot and a trailer office complex for both ongoing construction projects. This could eventually become a backstage/cast member area for the Disney Villains land, but it isn’t expected to be accessible to Walt Disney World Resort guests.
As of August 2025, we can finally confirm that Walt Disney World Resort has cleared land specifically for the footprint of the Disney Villains land at Magic Kingdom Park. This month, according to Attractions Magazine, crews bulldozed hundreds more trees in the site “beyond Big Thunder Mountain Railroad,” separate from the aforementioned equipment staging/trailer lot.
X (formerly known as Twitter) user @Bioreconstruct shared this aerial photo of the future home of Disney Villains land at Magic Kingdom Park:
Aerial photo of the newest land clearing, West of Magic Kingdom.
Unfortunately, Walt Disney World Resort hasn’t shared many details about the Disney Villains land coming to Magic Kingdom Park. The land is expected to include at least one attraction, themed entertainment offerings, and several dining and merchandise locations. Early concept art hints at a Maleficent-themed area and a potential roller coaster.
It’s unclear when Piston Peak National Park or the Disney Villains land will debut at Walt Disney World Resort. Stay tuned for updates on this and other projects around the Disney parks!
What do you want to see in the Disney Villains land at Magic Kingdom Park? Share your ideas with Inside the Magic in the comments!