4. Jurassic World VelociCoaster

Location: Universal's Islands of Adventure
Opened: June 2021

The latest in Universal's tradition of "worst-kept secrets," the Jurassic World VelociCoaster project started back in January 2019 when construction walls were erected around the park's long-shuttered Triceratops Encounter. Land clearing (and the replacement of a pedestrian bridge between the park's Lost Continent and Jurassic Park "islands") took place through 2019, and the project went vertical in early 2020... just in time for the parks' shutdown. Construction initially slowed, but by time Universal Orlando re-opened its parks that June, the roller coaster's track was nearly complete... and still unannounced.

It wasn't until September 2020 that Universal finally fessed up, officially announcing the VelociCoaster, themed to the newer Jurassic World film trilogy and its starring pack of velociraptors. The coaster finally opened on June 10, 2021, which – credit to Universal's construction teams – is honestly probably not far off from the date that had been anticipated before the pandemic delays.

Though initially the sight of a massive steel roller coaster tearing through the skyline of the once-immersive Jurassic Park "island" is narratively frustrating, the ride's context makes sense of it. This, we're meant to believe, is one of the first additions to the "in-universe," "real" Jurassic Park theme park that will eventually transform it from a boutique, upper-crust, one-percenters' wildlife preserve we see in the Jurassic Park films into the global destination, mass-marketed, Disney World-style family thrill park we see in the Jurassic World films. It is exactly what it looks like: a roller coaster dangerously built through  and around a velociraptor habitat, much to the dismay of animal behaviorist Owen Grady. 

Pretty quickly, the VelociCoaster has been highlighted as one of the greatest thrill rides in the world and certainly the anchor of Orlando's roller coaster collection. The 4,700 foot long Intamin coaster feels like two rides in one. The first half sends guests twisting through the in-park habitat of the raptors, then the second half accelerates guests to 70 miles per hour, launches them up a 155-foot-tall top hat along the park's central lagoon, and sends them on a soaring course of oversized, overbanked turns and the now-infamous mosasaurus roll over the water.

5. Avengers Campus

Location: Disney California Adventure
Opened: June 2021

It was January 3, 2017 when the last guests ascended into Disney California Adventure's Lost Legend: The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. Less than six months later, the art deco Hollywood Tower Hotel had been transformed into the industrial "warehouse prison powerplant" of the Collector as Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT! A rip-roaring, rock n' rolling hit, there was just one thing fans hated about the new Marvel-themed attraction: it made zero sense at Disney California Adventure. All along, Imagineers promised that eventually, that would change.

Ultimately, the new Avengers Campus ended up being relegated to a smaller plot of land in the park than originally intended (the former "a bug's land"), but fans eagerly anticipated its announced July 18, 2020 opening... which, you guessed it, didn't happen. Disneyland and Disney California Adventure were closed for nearly 14 continuous months, and unlike Universal's VelociCoaster, construction on the Avengers Campus stayed paused for nearly all of it. Even when the parks re-opened in April 2021, it wasn't until June that Avengers Campus officially launched to somewhat mixed reviews.

Aside from the existing Guardians of the Galaxy attraction, WEB-SLINGERS: A Spider-Man Adventure was the lone new ride for the land. Most concisely described as "Toy Story Midway Mania with gesture-recognition," the ride sends guests on a tour of the Campus to "sling webs" at rogue Spider-Bots caught in duplication mode. It's a whole lot of fun... but not exactly the companion to the epic, action-packed, and emotional Marvel Cinematic Universe most fans hoped for. Hey, Avengers Campus (and California Adventure as a whole) definitely needed more height-restriction-free family ride capacity, and Web-Slingers fits the bill...

6. Space 220 

Location: EPCOT
Opened: September 2021

Announced at the 2017 D23 Expo as an early wave of updates to EPCOT, Space 220 promised futuristic cuisine and panoramic views of Earth from aboard a space station docked 220 miles above the planet. Operated by the Patina Group (a longtime Disney partner, and purveyor of food operations at several World Showcase pavilions), the restaurant was all set for a "Winter 2019" opening... but that November, its head chef allegedly stepped down, throwing the restaurant's prestige, operations, and menu in the air.

Space 220 didn't open in Winter 2019 or in Spring 2020. Even after Disney World's relatively short closures and Summer 2020 re-opening, the new restaurant affixed to Mission: Space was hidden from view. It stayed closed for Fall 2020. Then Winter 2020. Then Spring 2021. Then Summer 2021. For a while, some questioned if the restaurant would ever open... but of course, with such a massive investment, it was only a matter of time. 

Space 220 finally opened September 20, 2021. The prix fixe menu, food, and service have largely gotten mixed reviews, but given that reservations tend to sell out within minutes of availability opening sixty days out, clearly the experience as a whole is clearly captivating enough to make the restaurant's two-year delay okay in retrospect.

7. Remy's Ratatouille Adventure

Location: EPCOT
Opened: October 2021

The capstone of Walt Disney World's 50th Anniversary wasn't really supposed to be a copy of a decade-old family D-Ticket dark ride copied from the worst Disney Park on Earth, but what can you do? Like so many of 2021's new attractions, the Modern Marvel: Remy's Ratatouille Adventure was initially meant to debut in 2020 when it would've been a perfectly-nice little "plus" to the park, and a great taste of its ongoing character-focused reinvention. Even after the parks returned from their closure in June 2020, word from insiders was that Remy's Ratatouille Adventure was completely, 100% finished and ready for guests to step aboard. But... it didn't open.

It's likely that Disney "held back" the finished Ratatouille ride from opening for two reasons.

The first is that the company's 2020 fiscal year (which ran October 1, 2019 to September 30, 2020) was already a wash. Massive losses across the Parks, Experiences, and Products division (not to mention the Studios) had meant that the year was basically being written off. It wouldn't have made sense to "waste" the boost in attendance at a time when attendance was strictly limited, or to "waste" the revenue that a new ride would bring in a year when the entire planet had dropped its financial expectations. Instead, opening it on October 1 would mean that any boon to the Parks division to come from Remy would reflect on fiscal year 2021.

Second, delayed construction efforts across the resort meant that the attractions that were supposed to anchor the 50th Anniversary simply wouldn't make the deadline... No doubt sensing that a worldwide media blitz without any actual new attraction to speak of would be a loser, Disney likely decided to simply hold back the new EPCOT attraction so they'd have something to market. That put a lot of unfair weight on Remy's shoulders, raising expectations for a ride that's fun, but not phenomenal.

As for those rides that didn't make the deadline...? Read on as we explore the rides that didn't open in 2021, and when (or if) they will...