Disney World reveals 13 villains set for 'twisted' Villains Land, dark new details: 'May not be a happily ever after'
Villains Land will follow "a mysterious spell" that summons "villains from every realm" to the Magic Kingdom park.
We're all about to be very, very poor, unfortunate souls upon setting foot in Disney World's new Villains Land themed area, which will feature inspiration from 13 of the studio's classic villains in a twisted storyline uniting the animated baddies in one place.
Disney revealed the roster of villains set for the upcoming Magic Kingdom expansion heading to the Orlando resort, with Disney Parks head Josh D'Amaro announcing even more dark details about the planned land Saturday morning at the D23 Brazil convention.
"Their evil ambitions give us endless possibilities to tell new stories. This new land will be home to the villains you know and loathe," D'Amaro told attendees while standing in front of an image that showed portraits of 13 characters from Disney films, including: the Queen of Hearts (Alice in Wonderland); Jafar (Aladdin); Lady Tremaine (Cinderella); Yzma (The Emperor's New Groove); Cruella de Vil (101 Dalmatians); Captain Hook (Peter Pan); Gaston (Beauty and the Beast); Mother Gothel (Tangled); Ursula (The Little Mermaid); Hades (Hercules); Chernabog (Fantasia); and both versions of the Evil Queen (Snow White and the Seven Dwarves) and Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty).
D'Amaro also revealed chilling new details about the land's story, including that the narrative focus for the guest experience will follow a magic power that conjures all of the Disney villains to converge in one place.
"In our story, a mysterious spell has been cast, summoning villains from every realm," D'Amaro said. "In this land, heroes don't come to save the day — and there may not be a happily ever after!"
Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.
Disney first announced the long-anticipated Villains Land at the main D23 convention in Anaheim, Calif., in August, with attendees at the city's Honda Center leaping to their feet to applaud the news at the time.
"This land will be home to the villains that you know and those that you loathe, which means happily-ever-after might feel like a distant dream," D'Amaro said at the time, revealing that the addition will be on "an incredibly twisted grand scale" unlike anything that Disney has done in the past at its parks.
Concept art for the area teased two major attractions, shopping, and dining establishments planned for the land, including a roller coaster that can be seen in the foreground and background, as well as Maleficent spewing flames in her dragon form.
Other additions slated for Disney World in the near future include a new Indiana Jones ride replacing the Dinosaur ride at Animal Kingdom, which comes as part of an overhaul of the Dinoland, U.S.A. area that, upon opening, will transform into a locale inspired by the Central Americas — complete with another ride based on Disney's Encanto movie.
"We've got so many stories to tell — we have so many things we want to make even better in the theme parks. My plan is to continue to share that with the guests. I know people are like, 'My gosh, I can't believe he's saying this. Is he serious, is he not?' The answer is, we are absolutely serious," D'Amaro previously told Entertainment Weekly at the November 2023 grand opening of Hong Kong Disneyland's new Frozen area. "We know what this business is capable of, we know what our fans expect of us, and we're going all in. You're going to see more and more of that. As we make our way through some of these ideas, some of them will become real, and we'll say that's specifically what we're going to do, but I want our guests to be on the journey with us."
Disney World's Villains Land area is set to open sometime soon, with a firm date yet to be announced.