Disney World’s New Shows Are Good Low Cost, Last Minute Additions in a Summer Dominated by Universal
It was never a doubt that the attention of the theme park world this summer was not going to be on Walt Disney World, nor would it be on Disneyland’s milestone anniversary, but rather that it would be down I-4 to Universal’s newest theme park, Epic Universe.
However, Disney still needed something new, and new attractions take anywhere from 5-3 years (sometimes longer) to design and build meaning that former CEO Bob Chapek would have to bear at least some of the blame for the dearth of attractions in Disney’s domestic theme park lineup this summer. What were Josh D’Amaro and and Jess Vahle to do besides putting irons in the fire for down the road (Monsters Inc., Cars, Encanto, and Indy to name some)? Shows!
Shows are any easy and relatively inexpensive to mount compared to constructing an entirely new attraction. And Disney had two theaters in Disney’s Hollywood Studios to spare. In fact, one had sat empty since the resort wide closure due to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and the other hosted a sparsely attended Cars show that was easily on its last leg.
Disney was quite strategic with their new offerings, the Little Mermaid show in Animation Courtyard makes good on a now years-old promise that the long running Little Mermaid stage show would return to the park better than ever and the other cleverly teases guests in anticipation of the much awaited Villains themed land coming to the Magic Kingdom.
Following the announcement of the two shows, there was much speculation about the possibility of “Disney Villains: Unfairly Ever After” making the jump into this new land when it opens at the Kingdom, but after seeing the show (via YouTube and videos from friends) I think the odds of that happening are slim to none. What I do think is likely is that Disney will use this show to gauge guest reactions to various villains as they take their upcoming land from Blue Sky to practical planning.
After all, Disney Villains, although a fan favorite franchise, hasn’t really gotten much love from the company or exposure to the broader park going public. The last preeminent Villains outpost at the parks was the Villains in Vogue gift shop in the then-Disney MGM Studios park. The store was apparently so overlooked that I can’t pin down an exact closing date aside from circa 2010 (apparently by then it was mostly being stocked with Nightmare Before Christmas merchandise anyway).
All this to say, although diehard Disney fans are familiar with the franchise and have their favorite villain, I’m not so sure that extends to the broader population of guests coming to a Disney park who will need to be made familiar with the franchise. We know that Disney loves market research and probably won’t be designing this land blind and I’m sure they’ll be watching audience reaction to this show as Imagineering gets to work making more concrete plans.
Ultimately, Disney Live Entertainment was able to save Disney World and give it something to market for this summer season as it plays a reluctant second fiddle to Universal’s new park, although I’m sure the balance of the universe will tilt again towards Disney’s world as guests get their fill of Mario, Hiccup, Potter, and Victoria down the street.