5. Disney’s Animal Kingdom

In 2025, we’ll be just five short years away from the opening of the World of Avatar at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

OK, I’m kidding. But doesn’t it kind of feel that way?

Presumably, at some point in the next decade, the theme park land with the longest development process since Chinese Democracy will open at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and we’ll all be exploring Pandora like God, Joe Rohde, and James Cameron intended.

And look, while that movie may not have been the greatest thing in the world, that doesn’t mean the theme park land won’t be. Remember: Disney turned a musical that no one has ever seen into one of its signature attractions – the quality of source material doesn’t really matter to Disney Imagineering.

We’ll also likely be several years into the run of Rivers of Light, the Animal Kingdom’s nighttime spectacular...

as well as well into the life of the twilight version of Kilimanjaro Safaris.

But if I’m guessing correctly, I think Animal Kingdom is going to get the most love from the Imagineers over the next decade of any park outside Hollywood Studios. Think about it: The marquee movies coming in the next half-decade are largely animal related. We’ve got Pixar’s The Good Dinosaur coming later this year, and if that’s anywhere near as successful as Pixar’s other work, it will likely find its way into Dinoland USA – possibly as a family friendly D or E-Ticket alongside Dinosaur. Maybe it’ll replace Chester and Hester’s Dino-Rama (hey, a guy can dream).

We’re also seeing the rebooted versions of the Jungle Book and Pete’s Dragon coming from Walt Disney Studios in the next few years, and those films also seemingly have smooth transitions into life as attractions at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Pandora will show that fictionalized animals can work in that park, and having a Pete’s Dragon-themed experience (again, depending on the success of the film) would appeal to its fan base both old and young. And, finally, it’d make that dragon in the park’s logo make sense.

Disney is very serious about transforming Animal Kingdom into a full-day park, and what they’ve already announced has pushed it in that direction, surely. But I doubt they’ll stop there. Once people truly start to appreciate how magnificent this park is (and, as I’ve said, I think it’s Disney’s best), the crowds will grow and grow and It’ll demand more investment. That’s just how these things go.

6. Epcot

So, last but not least, we get to Walt Disney World’s biggest mystery: What is going to happen to Epcot? How different will it look in 2025? And here’s the sad truth: it probably won’t look that much different.

Here’s what we know for sure: Disney is bringing a Frozen-themed attraction, Frozen Ever After, to the Norway pavilion, and that is slated to open next year. Disney is also bringing a new world-wide version of Soarin’ to The Land pavilion. Here’s what we think we know pretty surely: the Imagination Pavilion is the next to be overhauled, and it will likely come with an Inside Out-themed film to replace Captain EO. Here’s what we don’t know: what any of this means.

On the one hand, it’s encouraging that Disney recognizes Epcot needs more attractions. However, it’s concerning that they seem so focused on bringing intellectual properties into Epcot.

When it’s come to movie integration, Epcot has actually been one of the more elegant examples of it. Finding Nemo, while not a realistic story, is far more grounded than any of the films that have made their way to the Magic Kingdom or Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Even Inside Out is a more realistic world than, say, Toy Story. However, the concern, as always, is Frozen.

There are two ways to look at Frozen’s forthcoming appearance at Epcot: One is that Disney is pivoting Epcot’s direction away from being a grounded, realistic version of the world and toward one based around its films. In this outlook, it would not be surprising to see more such attractions come to the World Showcase – maybe a Mulan ride for China or a clone of Walt Disney Studios, Paris' Ratatouille ride for France.

The other way to look at it is that Disney was desperate to add Frozen to its parks quickly, looked at the expansions coming to Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom, and figured it wouldn’t work there. Then, they looked at New Fantasyland in the Magic Kingdom and realized they didn’t want to plunge that world into construction walls yet again. Then, they looked at Epcot, saw that it needed a new attraction, and figured Maelstrom would be easy and quick to replace.

I actually think the latter situation is true:  Disney didn’t think much about the thematic implications of adding Frozen to the World Showcase. All they saw was that they needed to give this astonishingly popular film a place in its parks, and Norway was the only place that fit the bill. I don’t think it means Epcot will soon be thrown into an existential thematic crisis – I think it just means Disney was kind of panicked in its construction.

To me, what this actually shows is that Disney doesn’t really know what it wants to do with Epcot. And so, guessing its future means we’re guessing alongside the Disney brass. But, here’s what I think: we’re about to enter a time of even more technological amazement in the real world. From Elon Musk’s hyperloop seemingly beginning construction of a prototype to the growth of wearable computing, the future is looking more and more connected to technology. And Epcot, likely, will reflect that.

With Disney’s Hollywood Studios becoming the destination for film immersion, with Animal Kingdom becoming the center for Disney’s more adventurous attractions, and with the Magic Kingdom remaining the hub of fantasy and wonder, Epcot will always need to be something different, something more grounded. So, ten years from now, while I don’t think Epcot will have changed all that much, I think we’ll start to sense a reinvestment in its mission: Showing how bright and connected our future really is.

The biggest rumor coming out of Epcot is that we’ll likely see a replacement for Illuminations coming in the next few years. And, while it’s consistently feted with awards as the best nighttime entertainment show in the industry, I think that’s a rumor that’s likely to come true. However, consider me an optimist: I don’t think we’ll see a World of Color-esque celebration of Disney movies coming in its place. I think its replacement will be as inspiring and focused on humanity as the one way have today. Epcot in 2025 will still be about us, rather than the portrayals of us we see on the silver screen.

And so, ultimately, the Walt Disney World of 2025 will look much as it does today. It won’t be as completely transformed as it was from 1987-2001, nor will it be as stagnant as it was from 2002-2012. Universal will keep the pressure on Disney, and Disney will keep responding. It will live somewhere in the middle of those two eras, giving guests a largely new experience every two-to-three years, which just so happens to coincide with the Disney World vacationer’s travel schedule.

It’s almost like the Walt Disney Company knows what it’s doing after all these years.