What We Think is Coming

The Disney rumor mill can be frustrating to follow. Often times, fans’ wishes mix with employee speculation and turn into something that can be hard to confirm or deny. But, that speculation is really half the fun of being a Disney fan. And, in many cases, it comes from versions of plans that Disney really, truly is considering.

We’ve heard a lot of rumors in the last few months about what might be coming the parks — specifically to Walt Disney World. Rumors abound about new hotels being considered both by Epcot and on the Magic Kingdom monorail loop.

Speaking of monorails, we’ve heard that the desperately-needed rebuilt monorails could finally be coming our way. 

And, if guests want another way to move around the property, Disney is reportedly hoping to eventually make the newly-expanded Minnie Van fleet fully-autonomous.

Image: Disney

But then, there’s perhaps the most ambitious and least reported on change that we think is coming: The Future World revamp at Epcot.

At 2017’s D23 Expo, we got a glimpse of concept art for a redesigned Future World — one with more new urbanist architectural touches like ample green space and minimal artifice.

Image: Disney

We still don’t know much about it, but considering most of Future World is going under the knife in the coming years, it’s not a stretch to think a more robust rethink could be in the works. And, as a Disney fan, nothing can be more exciting than a futuristic and well-designed Future World coming in the next decade. 

What We Can’t Even Imagine is Coming

Image: Disney

As much as we love to speculate, Disney has ideas tucked away in its offices that none of us could think of in our wildest dreams. And, believe it or not, some of those ideas will become real, honest to god attractions and entertainment locations at Disney Parks around the globe. 

Let’s go back to the Space-themed restaurant for a second. When Disney announced it at D23 Expo, alongside a Mission: Space revamp, it was received nearly as warmly as the specifics for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. Why? Because, unlike most of the other announcements, it was a complete and total surprise. 

And that, ultimately, is what can give us the most hope that what we’re about to experience is The New Disney Decade. There was a time when we could keep track of all the changes coming to the Disney Parks. We knew everything that was coming, and we knew when to expect it to arrive. We got one new thing a year, if we were lucky, and even then, it might only be a new restaurant or some new bathrooms.

But those days are over. And now, Disney has its foot so firmly on the accelerator, the company can afford to throw us surprises just to keep us guessing.  

Everything we’ve talked about in here — from Star Wars to gondolas — is planned to open before 2021. That’s three years away. 

But a decade lasts 10 years. We’re just getting started.