A brand-new live show featuring iconic Disney villains, including Cruella de Vil, Captain Hook, Jafar, and Maleficent, will debut at Walt Disney World’s Hollywood Studios in summer 2025. Replacing Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy, this exciting entertainment experience will bring guests face-to-face with some of Disney’s most infamous evildoers.
The announcement follows Disney’s D23 event, where a larger villains-themed area for Magic Kingdom was also revealed, building anticipation for the darkly delightful experiences to come.
Key Takeaways
- Disney villains are coming to Hollywood Studios in summer 2025, in a new live show featuring iconic evildoers.
- The show will include characters like Cruella de Vil, Captain Hook, Jafar, and Maleficent among others.
- The new villains show will debut next summer, replacing Lightning McQueen”s Racing Academy at Walt Disney World.
The Disney villains are coming to Walt Disney World next summer, even sooner than expected. The Disney Parks confirmed that a brand-new offering will be coming to the Orlando resort next year, featuring several iconic Disney villains.
Earlier this year, the Walt Disney Company featured its biannual D23 event, where it announced several changes coming to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, and Disneyland in Anaheim, California. These announcements included a Cars-inspired area and Monsters Inc. land coming to Walt Disney World and new attractions coming to the Avengers Campus area at Disneyland. One announcement has fans excited to step into the world of their favorite villains with the confirmation that a new Villains-themed area would be coming to the Magic Kingdom. However, Disney World guests will be able to experience some of the Disney villains as early as next summer with the latest announcement from Disney.
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The Disney Parks Blog announced that the Disney villains will be coming to Hollywood Studios in the summer of 2025 in a brand-new live entertainment offering. From the mystical realm of the Magic Mirror, the show will include appearances from “dozens of the most infamous evildoers,” including Cruella de Vil, Captain Hook, Jafar, and Maleficent among many others. Other details are yet to be announced, so it is unclear exactly what guests can expect from the new show. This will be the first time that the Disney villains will have a major presence at Walt Disney World, although they are highly popular in the company”s video game franchise Disney Dreamlight Valley. Typically, the villains only appear in the parks for certain events, including after-hours experiences and the Halloween parties.
Disney Villains Officially Coming to Walt Disney World Next Summer
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The new show can be found on Sunset Boulevard, replacing the existing Lightning McQueen”s Racing Academy and Cars 3 photo op area. It will join the recently refurbished Rock ”n” Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith in the back section of the park. Guests at Walt Disney World can expect the new villains show to debut sometime next summer, but Lightning McQueen”s Racing Academy will be closing on October 7, 2024, in order to make way for this exciting new experience.
It was announced at D23 last month that both the villains and the Cars franchise are expected to be part of a major expansion coming to the Magic Kingdom over the next few years along with several other Disney projects and attractions coming to the resort. It could be possible that the show coming to Hollywood Studios is a temporary experience to help encourage excitement and anticipation for the new land, which does not have an expected opening date yet. The villains area is currently confirmed to feature two major attractions and new dining and shopping experiences, although it is unclear what characters will be featured throughout the new land.
