The Villains Are Taking Over Magic Kingdom in Disney’s Wicked New Land

Every fairytale needs a villain.

For generations, the Magic Kingdom has invited guests to step inside some of Disney’s most beloved stories. From enchanting castles and happily ever afters to adventures filled with pirates, ghosts and journeys into worlds of yesterday and tomorrow, there has always been another story waiting just around the corner.

But what happens when you wander away from the safe path?

Because deep inside the forest, something wicked has been wished into existence.

Disney has revealed a massive collection of new details surrounding the upcoming Villains Land at Magic Kingdom, finally giving us a much clearer picture of how some of Disney Animation’s most iconic baddies are about to take over their own corner of Walt Disney World.

And these villains aren’t simply moving in.

They’re building a kingdom of their own.

First announced during D23 in 2024, the long-awaited expansion has officially been named Villains Land, keeping it right at home alongside the likes of Fantasyland, Adventureland and Tomorrowland.

Yet this isn’t going to look or feel like anything else inside Magic Kingdom.

Rather than building the land around one particular movie, Disney Imagineers are creating an entirely new fairytale that allows villains from across Disney Animation’s history to exist together inside one dark and twisted world.

And like so many Disney stories, everything begins with a wish.

Only this time, someone wished for the wrong thing.

Deep inside the forest once stood a Wishing Well filled with pure magic. But someone eventually made a wish so evil that it corrupted the well itself, breaking apart its structure and allowing its poisoned magic to spread throughout the surrounding land.

Naturally, that kind of power started attracting some rather familiar faces.

Disney’s villains began arriving one by one, each hoping to claim what remains of the Wishing Well’s magic for themselves. Using that power, they have conjured elaborate fortresses, palaces and lairs throughout the land, creating a place shaped by the personalities — and egos — of its wicked residents.

That gives Disney an interesting opportunity to bring together villains who have historically existed inside completely separate worlds.

And they’re going big.

Disney compared the overall scale of Villains Land to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, with the new area set to include two major attractions alongside shopping, dining and plenty of other temptations.

Naturally, the Mistress of All Evil is getting one of the biggest.

Maleficent Is Ready to Take You for a Ride

If you’re going to enter a land controlled by Disney villains, eventually you’re going to have to face Maleficent.

The Sleeping Beauty villain will command Villains Land’s new roller coaster, which takes guests through the enchanted briars surrounding her massive mountaintop fortress.

Disney isn’t revealing exactly what Maleficent has planned for anyone brave enough to accept her invitation, but Imagineers are already teasing that the attraction will incorporate elements they have never attempted before on a similar ride.

Considering Maleficent can transform herself into a massive dragon, there are certainly plenty of possibilities for what might be waiting inside those briars.

But she isn’t the only classic villain waiting for us.

Step Through the Magic Mirror

Mirror, mirror on the wall…

Villains Land’s second major attraction will bring together a much larger collection of Disney’s wickedest characters through an elaborate new dark ride hosted by none other than the Magic Mirror.

Guests will venture beneath the Evil Queen’s palace into the catacombs where she keeps her magical mirror.

And once you find him, things get considerably stranger.

The Magic Mirror will transport riders through the glass and into his mysterious Mirror Realm, where countless Disney villains can be conjured around them.

Disney plans to combine physical sets with special effects to create this strange new world, potentially giving Imagineers a way to bring villains from across decades of Disney Animation together without being restrained by the individual settings of their original movies.

Which leaves us with one very important question:

Just who else is waiting on the other side of that mirror?

Disney hasn’t revealed the complete villain lineup yet, leaving plenty of room for characters ranging from Ursula and Hades to Jafar, Cruella, Dr. Facilier and many, many more to potentially cause a little trouble.

The Villains Finally Have Their Kingdom

Perhaps the most exciting part of Villains Land is that Disney isn’t simply recreating locations we’ve already seen.

Imagineers are developing what they call “Conjured Architecture,” taking inspiration from the dramatic shapes, rich colors and flowing designs of Art Nouveau and Modernisme architecture found during research trips to Paris and Barcelona.

The idea is to make everything feel as though these structures weren’t constructed at all.

They were summoned through magic.

That approach feels especially fitting for Disney’s villains, whose castles, lairs and hideouts have long been some of the most visually dramatic locations throughout the studio’s animated history.

For years, Disney’s heroes and princesses have commanded much of the Magic Kingdom.

Now the villains are finally getting their turn.

A corrupted wish has been made. The forest has been poisoned. Maleficent is waiting inside her fortress, the Evil Queen has hidden the Magic Mirror beneath her palace and villains from across Disney history are gathering to claim the remaining magic for themselves.

So maybe don’t make any wishes when you arrive.

Because the villains are taking over the kingdom — and something delightfully wicked is coming to Magic Kingdom.