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Disney Investing Enough To Build 7 New Theme Parks

New Space Mountain Tokyo Disney
Credit: Disney (Tokyo Space Mountain)

It’s an exciting time to be a theme park fan in America. In the past decade, Disney has brought us Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, Pandora – the World of Avatar, Toy Story Land, and Universal Studios has expanded its Wizarding World of Harry Potter and is even building a new theme park (Epic Universe) set to open in summer of 2025.

Flight of Passage

Credit: Disney

Related: Canceled Theme Park: Disney’s America

The Future of Disney Parks

But what’s on the horizon? What new and exciting surprises can we expect from the Walt Disney Company in Florida and beyond?

Magic Kingdom's Cinderella Castle in the evening

Credit: Disney

Today (September 19), Senior Disney executives, including Disney CEO Bob Iger and Chairperson of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Josh D’Amaro, are meeting with Wall Street analysts and investors for a summit on Disney Parks.

Related: Could $1 Billion Build a 5th Disney World Park?

One of the most exciting developments from this summit is the Walt Disney Company announcing plans to spend $60 billion over the next ten years investing in its theme park business. It plans to “expand and enhance” its domestic and international theme parks while increasing its cruise line business.

bob-iger-marvel-studios

Credit: Disney

Disney has also released in a statement that the company has “over 1,000 acres of land for possible future development to expand theme park space across its existing sites – the equivalent of about seven new Disneyland Parks.”

Related: 5 Reasons Disney Fans Will Love Epic Universe

Does that mean Disney could be building seven new Disneyland Parks worldwide? Not necessarily. However, it means there could be significant expansions of the current parks and perhaps even a brand new theme park or two (at least, it’s my wishful thinking).

A New Disney World Theme Park?

In addition to the 1,000 acres for development, $60 billion is a massive figure to work with. Universal’s Epic Universe was budgeted to cost about $1 billion to build. Even at a price double that, Disney could build 30 theme parks with $60 billion.

Rendering of what WestCOT could be

Credit: Disney (WestCOT rendering)

Granted, some money is also earmarked for its international theme parks and the Disney Cruise Line. So the total full amount would not solely be invested into the Walt Disney World Resort or Disneyland Resort.

Related: Disney’s Canceled Theme Park: WestCOT

But even if only a quarter of that money was invested into local parks, Walt Disney World Resort could see massive renovations and expansions. Even building a new E-ticket attraction at every park over the next ten years would be something to celebrate…

Although specific details have yet to be released regarding what plans, where, and when.

Epcot

Credit: D23

On social media, the reviews have been mixed. Many Disney fans seem to be skeptical of the figure and what it actually means.

The Walt Disney Company does have a history of over-promising themed lands and attractions and under-developing them (or never building them). For example, there were many expansions and additions that were supposed to come to EPCOT that never materialized, the Beastly Kingdom section of Animal Kingdom never came to fruition, and the Disney Villains theme park has been teased for decades with nothing to show for it.

Related: What Would A Disney Villains Land Look Like?

Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind

Credit: D23

In any event, investing in Disney Parks is worth getting excited about. Although hardcore Walt Disney World and Disneyland Park fans love classic rides and attractions, we still love to see new experiences materialize.

About Steven Wilk

Steven has a complicated relationship with Disney. As a child, he visited Walt Disney World every few years with his family. But he never understood why kids his age (and older) were so scared of Snow White or Alien Encounter. He is a former participant of the Disney College Program (left early…long story), and he also previously worked in Children’s publishing, where he adapted multiple Disney movies and TV shows. He has many controversial opinions about Disney…like having a positive view of Michael Eisner, believing Return of the Jedi is superior to The Empire Strikes Back, and that Toy Story Land and Galaxy’s Edge should have never been built (at least not at Hollywood Studios). Every year for the past two decades, Steven has visited either Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Aulani or went on a Disney Cruise. He’s happy to share any and all knowledge of the Disney destinations (and he likes using parenthesis a lot…as well as ellipses…)