Magic Kingdom’s Villains Land is getting a Maleficent coaster and a Magic Mirror dark ride. Yes, really. The coaster races through Maleficent’s thorny fortress; the Mirror ride begins down in the catacombs beneath the Evil Queen’s palace.
The coaster sounds gloriously extra, which is exactly what we want from Maleficent. Disney says riders will tear through enchanted briar, right up to her mountaintop fortress, with coaster elements it has not tried before. Big Thunder is dusty boots and runaway mine trains. This is going to be green fire, black stone, and a dragon-shaped problem.
But the Magic Mirror ride is the one we would make a very determined left turn for. Guests will find him under the Evil Queen’s palace, then slip into his Mirror Realm, where Disney says special effects and physical sets will bring in villains from across the films. That whole “one more ride before we leave Magic Kingdom” conversation just got much harder.
The land itself starts with a poisoned wishing well in a dark forest. An evil wish cracked it open, villains followed the magic, and now they have built their lairs around it. Cruella, Dr. Facilier, and the Evil Queen are all part of the new character direction, so this should feel like a proper villain gathering, not one very large Maleficent meet-and-greet.
Disney has not given Villains Land an opening date, a restaurant name, or a full ride vehicle reveal. Fine. The fun part is finally having something real to daydream about while we wait.
