During the 2026 D23 Expo Parks Showcase, Bruce Vaughn and Caroline May revealed new details on the upcoming Magic Kingdom Villains Land. That includes news of 2 attractions in the expansion! In this post, we’ll share the news before adding our own commentary. Let’s get to it!

Name Confirmed for Villains-Themed Land

The first bit of news in the segment was obvious. Bruce and Caroline confirmed today that the name for this new area will officially be Villains Land. Knowing that many of the other areas in Magic Kingdom have “land” in the name (think Fantasyland or Tomorrowland), they wanted this section to feel right at home with the rest of the park.

Even though the vibe couldn’t be more different, with Villains Land bringing a devious and dark “magic” to the Magic Kingdom, it still manages to be cohesive with the storytelling of the broader park.

What is the Storyline of Villains Land?

It was also revealed that while the fiends you’ll find here may feel familiar since Imagineers are referencing classic characters from Walt Disney Animation Studios as inspiration, the overarching story is a brand new, original take on those iconic villains. The Magic Kingdom invites you into a fairytale and Villains Land is no exception.

In many fairytales, the real journey begins when you stray from the safe path and instead turn towards the vast, foreboding forest. If you dare enter the forest of Villains Land, you may soon come across a Wishing Well that’s been torn asunder.  Under most circumstances, a Wishing Well would indicate pure and good energy at work, but something dark happened to this one.  Once upon a time, someone made an evil wish here – a wish so evil it corrupted the stone and broke open the structure, spreading the Well’s poisoned magic throughout the forest.

But of course, this sinister setting is tempting for those with wicked intentions, so, one by one, the villains have come here to try and claim the last of the Wishing Well’s power. Villains Land will be shaped by those who have used this dark magic to conjure the perfect new lairs for themselves. These mighty fortresses and gleaming palaces not only reflect the personality of the villains who own them, they invite guests into a tantalizing treasure trove of treats, trinkets, and more temptations. The size and scale were compared to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, so there will be no shortage of space to explore and enjoy a bit of mischievous fun.

Villains in the land were described as having a regal and sophisticated look. Cruella, Dr. Facilier and Maleficent were all shown dressed to the 9’s. But in a villainy way.

Maleficent Coaster in Villains Land

At D23 2024, it was revealed Villains Land would have two major attractions, in addition to shops and restaurants.  Today, Bruce and Caroline shared more of the storytelling behind each attraction.

The first is an exhilarating coaster experience, where you will come face-to-face with the Mistress of All Evil herself, Maleficent. You’ll race through enchanted briar surrounding her frightening mountaintop fortress – if you’re feeling brave enough to answer her invitation.

The Imagineering team teased that this coaster will include elements they’ve never attempted before on similar attractions, so it is set to be a truly groundbreaking project.

Mirror Realm Dark Ride in Villains Land

There’s a second headlining attraction of Villains Land: a dark ride, featuring a whole array of your favorite Disney Villains – hosted by the Magic Mirror.

You’ll find the Magic Mirror where the Evil Queen keeps him in the catacombs beneath her pristine palace. After making your way to him, he’ll magically transport you into his mystical Mirror Realm to see things on the other side of the mirror.  There, in his ethereal realm, you’ll be transfixed by countless Disney Villains conjured in ways only the Magic Mirror can do. A combination of special effects and physical set pieces will bring his Mirror Realm – and these iconic Villains – to life.

Commentary

Let’s start with the name – Villains Land. It’s good! I’m so happy I won’t have to punctuate anything while writing that over the next however many years. Seeing any theme park entity name something simply and succinctly feels like a bit of fresh air. Good job by them!

Moving along, the story also seems to be thought out enough to make sense but not overdone. Avoiding the convoluted backstory is another mark in favor of this project, as it’s a trap that theme parks (and many other storytellers) fall into more and more.

Having a physical spot in the land that tells a story while also being of aesthetic interest goes a long ways. The Wishing Well seems to fit the bill! I’m curious in how all of the lairs will fit into the land’s design. The 2028 D23 Expo’s model of this land will be great!

The next thing to note is that Villains Land will be a similar size and scale to Galaxy’s Edge! This is wonderful news and really confirms that Imagineering and the parks are banking on this to be a huge success. That tracks with the excitement most fans seem to have for it. Between the concept art and love of these characters, Disney World is betting big on this land.

Despite rumors to the contrary earlier this year, the attractions are more or less what we expected out of Villains Land. I’m glad we got confirmation of them!

I’m very interested to see how intense they make the coaster. By the concept art, it’s a lap bar coaster so I doubt we’re getting to anything too crazy. If those are what the ride vehicles are like, maybe we get a longer version of the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train idea where some slower show scenes are featured? Of course, you can only tell so much by concept art so we’ll stay away from jumping to conclusions.

Speaking of, the second attraction looks like a boat ride in the concept art but the description has it as a dark ride. While everyone wants to have the Shanghai Pirates of the Caribbean ride system, I don’t think that’s what we’re getting here.

Whatever the case on ride system, the attraction idea is a fun one as guests descend under the palace. Anytime you can go into some catacombs, you gotta do it! This is a smart way to get more villains involved with the attraction and, if pulled off right, should showcase everything this land promises to be.

Oh, Glenn Close came out as Cruella Deville at the end of the Villains Land segment. It was cool, she’s great! But it was very confusing in her saying she wanted her own attraction and then sort of hinting at getting one. Apparently, that is not happening at this point but who knows! The wording during this section of the presentation did get a little vague as they said “2 major attractions” would be in the land. That leaves room to add a 3rd smaller ride like spinner or something. I’m hopeful that they go that route.

Overall, I’m very excited by Villains Land. I think the area is going to be a new high point of modern Imagineering and Walt Disney World is going all in on this expansion. We’re still quite a few years out from this project but it was great to get a few more details.

Are you excited for Villains Land at Magic Kingdom? Let us know your thoughts or any questions you might have in the comments below. Planning a trip to Walt Disney World? Check out our Disney World Trip Planning Guide to help you out. Looking for discount tickets? Check out this site! If you enjoy what you are reading here on Wandering in Disney please share this post with your friends, as well as like our social media pages. You can also subscribe to the blog via WordPress or email. All of those links are on the right side of this page. Thank you for reading, we really appreciate it!