Disney Confirms It’s Bulldozing a Piece of Its Own History for “Villains Land”

At Disney’s D23 Experiences Showcase in Anaheim on the evening of Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026, Walt Disney Imagineering officially confirmed the name and attraction lineup for “Villains Land,” a new themed area coming to Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Florida. The land will occupy the site of the former Rivers of America, Liberty Square Riverboat and Tom Sawyer Island, all of which permanently closed in July 2025, along with a stretch of Frontierland. Disney unveiled two headlining attractions: a roller coaster racing guests through an enchanted briar to Maleficent’s mountaintop fortress, and a dark ride hosted by the Magic Mirror set beneath the Evil Queen’s palace, built around a story of Disney villains gathering to claim the dark magic of a corrupted wishing well [1, 2]. The showcase also detailed the neighboring Piston Peak National Park, a Cars-themed land replacing the same stretch of Frontierland, featuring the Ridge Run Rally attraction and Miss Fritter’s Daredevil Spin-Along [2]. Disney gave no opening date for either land, though the company has previously targeted 2028 for completing site infrastructure as part of a roughly $60 billion investment across its theme parks, resorts and cruise line announced in 2024 [4].

Why It Sucks:

Disney Parks Historians & Longtime Fans

• Walt-era landmarks are gone for good. Rivers of America, the Liberty Square Riverboat and Tom Sawyer Island, attractions tracing back to Disney World’s earliest days, permanently closed in July 2025 and are now confirmed to be replaced entirely by franchise-driven rides rather than restored or relocated [1, 2].
• Frontierland’s identity is disappearing. The rustic, unhurried corner of the park that anchored Frontierland for five decades is being handed over to a Cars-branded raceway and a villains-themed thrill package, a trade longtime fans say swaps atmosphere for franchise merchandising [2, 3].
• Years of construction walls with no promised payoff. Even fans who’ve made peace with the loss don’t get an opening date, meaning the area could sit as an active construction zone for years before either replacement ride actually opens [2].

Disney Shareholders & Parks Executives

• Billions committed with no completion date. Disney confirmed full attraction concepts for both lands at D23 but still won’t say when either opens, leaving investors to trust a payoff on an unstated timeline inside a roughly $60 billion, decade-long parks investment [2, 4].
• Magic Kingdom’s biggest-ever expansion, and the biggest bill. The Villains Land and Piston Peak buildout is described as the largest expansion in the 50-plus-year-old park’s history, a sign of how much capital Disney feels compelled to spend just to keep the original Magic Kingdom competitive [2].
• Betting two headline rides on unproven pairings. Concentrating both new lands’ marquee attractions on a villains mash-up and a Cars overlay puts fresh capital behind untested concepts instead of expanding Disney’s already-proven blockbuster franchises [1].

Families & Fans Excited for New Rides

• No timeline to actually look forward to. Kids who saw the villains and Cars reveals at D23 this weekend could be teenagers before either new land opens, since Disney gave no completion date at the showcase [2].
• Paying for construction now, riding later. Guests are already visiting a construction-heavy Magic Kingdom in the present, with the promised new attractions, and any price increases tied to funding them, still years away [3, 4].
• The quiet options are gone too. Fans who wanted new attractions still lose the low-key raft ride out to Tom Sawyer Island in the bargain, since both replacement lands lean entirely into coasters and dark rides rather than any restored exploratory space [2, 3].

Sources & Citations:

[1] ClickOrlando: Dark magic and ancient ruins: Disney World’s Villains Land, Indiana Jones ride headline D23
[2] Inside the Magic: Disney Finally Confirms Every Aspect of Historic Magic Kingdom Replacement in Florida
[3] Pirates and Princesses: Cars Land at Disney World: Everything We Know About Piston Peak (and Why Fans Are Upset)
[4] CNBC: Disney’s parks are its top money maker — and it plans to spend $60 billion to keep it that way