Walt Disney World's 5th Theme Park Coming

Could Disney Imagineering's much wanted theme park, Shadowlands, a villain focused kingdom, be coming to Orlando? In its ongoing war with Universal Orlando Resort (not to mention the epic battle with Florida's Governor Ron DeSantis), insiders are talking. Could that multi-billion expansion really be happening? Take a look:

Who could be breaking this news? None other than the wonderful and often accurate insider Shelly Valladolid, aka the Fabulous Disney Babe of the past over at MiceChat (previously known as MiceAge). 

Disney CEO Robert Iger may be onto something, but it would be at least ten years away. Ten Years!?! Why? Well, given how long its taken them to rebuilt the center core of Future World at Epcot, the lengthy add-on of Tron to the Magic Kingdom, or just about anything else other than a new resort, do you expect a faster timeline? No, not me either. 

With Epic Universe on its way, Disney is bound to lose a third day of touring to those hard core Harry Potter and Super Nintendo fans come Summer 2025. (You can read here whole article here.) That includes me! Universal Orlando has become a very enticing piece of Central Florida's theme park landscape. 

The beautiful piece of Disney concept art above is a slice of the once planned then canned Westcot. What a park that would have been. A bait and switch for California Adventure 1.0 came instead. Hmmm. Maybe Iger is blowing smoke after all.

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Beautiful Discovery Bay Art

Work moves ahead on the new Disneyland project, and like many of us, Shelly Valladolid aka Fab over at the MiceAge/Chat fondly recalls what could have been built in the Big Thunder Ranch area- the exquisite Discovery Bay.

The designs of Imagineer Tony Baxter have resulted in some of the most beloved and iconic attractions found in Disney theme parks. Truth is, his masterpiece, the unbuilt Discovery Bay for Disneyland deserves to be built somewhere. Anywhere. 

This beautiful piece of concept art shows what could have been. An original idea executed with brilliance and heart. A perfect thematic fit between Frontierland and Fantasyland. This blog contains other renderings that will make you wonder "What were they thinking when they cancelled this project?"

His work is everywhere. If you love the park in Paris', odds are you found Discoveryland a great blend of science fiction and whimsical fantasy a la Jules Verne. Thank Tony and his team. (Or the entire park as he led the project!) Do you find Big Thunder Mountain Railroad a must do every trip? I do. Thank Tony. Perhaps you still mourn the loss of the original Journey Into Imagination at EPCOT Center. Don't thank Toy for the loss, but do thank him for the creation of Dreamfinder and Figment, characters burned into the hearts of theme park fans worldwide. Indiana Jones Adventure, Splash Mountain, the original New Fantasyland at Disneyland- projects big and small. Tony.

So, Star Wars Land it is- and we will be wowed. Disney will not botch this one up. They cannot afford to. 

Even in retirement, Tony and his creations are hotly debated inside and outside the Walt Disney Company. One mark of genius. Think jealousy, envy, and old fashioned politics all within the company we love to talk about. I've taken a look at this debate in greater detail. Part One can be found here. And Part Two. 

The original piece thought to be Discovery Bay.

UPDATE: Although this was given to me as Discovery Bay, my friend Alain Littaye at Disney and More believes it to be Tokyo DisneySea. He may be right! I'll have to do some checking.

UPDATE #2: Alain's hunches are correct- Tokyo DisneySea, it is, so I have replaced the concept art.

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)