2. Disney's Dark Kingdom

Image: Disney

Disney has created a lot of wonderful characters over the years, and many of them are celebrated in its theme parks. The likes of Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Snow White and Cinderella are well represented in the Magic Kingdom, for example. But what about all the fantastic villains that have gone head-to-head with Disney's heroes and heroines? Don't they deserve to be celebrated, too? Evidently, many fans think so, as rumors of Disney's Dark Kingdom (also known as Shadowlands) have abounded for years.

What form would such a park take? In some ways it might be anti-Magic Kingdom, dominated by a huge recreation of Maleficent's Castle. Other rumored attractions include a Night on Bald Mountain roller coaster (inspired by Fantasia), a Captain Hook ride and numerous dark rides themed around the likes of Cruella De Ville. There was even said to be a Dumbo-style spinner ride based on Ursula from The Little Mermaid. The Dark Kingdom rumors still do the rounds every now again, sometimes taking the form of a new land at the Magic Kingdom instead of whole separate park. And Disney does appear to value its villains highly, having given them their own special eventat Disney's Hollywood Studios last year and again in 2014.

1. The Star Wars "boutique park"

Disney's 2012 acquisition of Lucasfilm inevitably led to rumors that the company would look to further exploit its Star Wars characters at its theme parks and resorts. While most speculation has focused on the addition of a Star Wars Land to Disney's Hollywood Studios, a separate park has also been subject to hushed whispers - albeit seemingly based on little substance. In January 2013, the Disney Gossip blog claimed that Disney had assigned a small group of Imagineers to develop concepts for another "boutique park", similar in scale to Disney's Night Kingdom but this time themed around Star Wars. It was claimed that the park would offer a 4-6 hour, heavily-personalised experience, which would revolve around guests being selected for "Jedi Training". Star Wars fans would be charged some $200 per visit, a considerably higher price than that charged at other Walt Disney World theme parks. Comparisons were drawn to the long-rumored Star Wars sub-land at Disneyland Paris, with Disney and More analysing the similarities in detail. Most notably, a recreation of the Mos Eisley Cantina that is in the pipeline for the Paris park was also said to be under consideration for the Walt Disney World project. For now, though, the most likely Star Warsproject remains new additions to Disney's Hollywood Studios, although we shouldn't expect to see much movement on this any time soon. Walt Disney World is busy installing Pandora - The World of Avatar, which won't open until 2017.

Will we EVER see a fifth theme park at Walt Disney World?

Jim Hill has continued to lead the rumor-mongering over a fifth gate, suggesting back in 2011 that one could be in the works for 2021. But numerous counter-arguments have been put forward. The most common of these is simple: that by opening a fifth park, all Disney will achieve is a reduction in attendance at its existing parks (the dreaded "cannibalization"). This argument has been put forward each time that Walt Disney World has opened a new park, and in each case it has turned out to be ungrounded - at least in the long-term. The opening of Animal Kingdom, for example, did have a detrimental effect on attendance at the other three parks in its first year (although overall attendance still rose by almost 3 million guests). But attendance has long since recovered, and Disney generates more revenue as a result. With Disney facing increasing competition for vacation days from an increasingly-aggressive Universal Orlando, we wouldn't bet against it ultimately expanding its offerings with a fifth gate to keep guests on-site (and spending more) for longer. But with new parks taking more than half a decade to develop, don't hold your breath.