A while back I wrote a post in which each Disney Park made a trade with each other.  The goal was to make each park stronger individually and as a whole.  I think I did a pretty good job and the post was such a rousing success (not really) that it was time for part 2 of the series.  This time, instead of a trade, each park gets an addition.

This is more pie-in-the-sky ideas than the original post but I will try to make each addition at least somewhat realistic.  I’m only going to add to the U.S. Disney Parks because that is what our readers are generally most familiar with.  Some additions will be more specific and some more general, some small, some big.  We’ll start on the west coast and head east.  Let’s get started!

Disneyland – New Fantasyland

Ideally, the addition to Disneyland would be more space for future expansion.  I just don’t know where they would get the extra room so I’ll leave that to the professionals.  Instead, I went with what I’ve been clamoring for over the last few years – scrapping Toontown and turning it into more Fantasyland.  The footprint is big enough to fit in a few attractions and mini-lands.  Adding some dark rides based on recent movies like Frozen, Tangled and Princess and the Frog would be a definite upgrade.

California Adventure – Anything Based on California

California Adventure is a bit of an oddity in that you look at the attraction and dining lineup and it seems like a great park.  While I certainly like it better than some, it always seems to be missing something.  Recently, the park has strayed away from its theme and name in the name of Disney synergy.  I think adding a few more California related attractions or areas would serve the park well, making it feel more cohesive.  I don’t have any big ideas outside of maybe adding a few replicas of famous sites throughout the Golden State.  Maybe even a small walk-exhibit that showcases those models and tells you a little bit about them.

Magic Kingdom – A Nighttime Parade

The rumor is that Magic Kingdom will be getting a new nighttime parade for the 50th anniversary in 2021.  Even if that is true, I want it sooner.  Night parades add an energy to the parks that you don’t get elsewhere.  While fireworks are exciting, most guests are at the front of the park to see it.  A parade stretches through most of Magic Kingdom’s footprint and adds kinetic energy.  I also considered a quality table-service restaurant.

Epcot – Restoring the Imagination Pavilion 

This topic has been brought up over and over again in the Disney community.  Unfortunately, of all the items on the list, I think this is the least likely.  Journey Into Imagination turned sour after a couple of updates to the ride.  Since then, the Imagination’s popularity has severely decreased and is hardly worth visiting.  Epcot needs more attractions and pavilions that appeal to kids and this could be that area.  Unfortunately, Disney seems set on adding characters, who aren’t original to the park, wherever they can.  I also considered just adding anything to the buildings that sit empty in Future World.

Hollywood Studios – A Water Adventure Ride

I could have put most anything in the Hollywood Studios section outside of more Star Wars or Toy Story attractions.  The park is in need of just about everything.  Over the next few years that will change and the attraction lineup should actually be one of the best in the country.  There is one glaring hole in the plan though – a water ride.  Hollywood Studios is the only park that doesn’t have some sort of water based attraction and I’d like to see that change.  I’d like for the story to be more original but if it has to be a Disney property, an Indiana Jones or Disney Villains attraction would be my top choice.  More importantly, I’d love for the company to utilize the vaunted Shanghai Disneyland Pirates of the Caribbean ride system in this attraction.

Animal Kingdom – Pandas

Unlike other parks on this list, Animal Kingdom can be a little more flexible in their additions.  Adding pandas to the park would be an attraction in its own right, as only a handful of zoos in the United States have the animal.  The pandas would fit well in the beautiful land, Asia.  Ideally, I would add another walking trail to showcase the pandas at the end.  While this seems like a somewhat easy addition, pandas are notoriously hard to bring to the United States and I’ve got to think Disney has been trying.  There is no doubting that adding a panda exhibit to the park would bring Animal Kingdom up another level or two.

Those are the additions I would make to the U.S. Disney Parks, what would you add?  Let us know down below in the comments!  Thank you for reading Wandering in Disney.  If you enjoy what you’re reading please subscribe to the blog via WordPress or email and like our social media pages.  You can do both of those things on the right side of this page.  Have a great day!

– Andrew