Villains Land is official: Magic Kingdom expansion gets its name, story, and ride details at D23
Walt Disney Imagineering confirmed at D23 2026 that Magic Kingdom's villains expansion will be called Villains Land, with an original story about a corrupted Wishing Well drawing classic villains into a dark forest. The land includes a Maleficent roller coaster, a Magic Mirror dark ride, shops, and restaurants, at a scale Imagineers compared to Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge.
Walt Disney Imagineering confirmed the official name of the Villains-themed expansion at Magic Kingdom Park: Villains Land. The announcement came during the Horizons: A Carousel of Progress showcase at D23 2026, where Imagineering leaders Bruce Vaughn and Caroline May laid out the land's original storyline, described its two headline attractions, and compared its footprint to Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge.
Key Details
- Official name: Villains Land, matching Fantasyland and Tomorrowland naming at Magic Kingdom
- Location: Magic Kingdom Park, Walt Disney World
- Attractions: A Maleficent roller coaster and a Magic Mirror dark ride, plus shops and restaurants
- Scale: Compared by Imagineers to Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge
- Story: An original tale about a corrupted Wishing Well in a dark forest, drawing on classic Walt Disney Animation Studios villains
- Announced by: Bruce Vaughn and Caroline May of Walt Disney Imagineering at D23 2026
The reveal at D23 2026
The update arrived near the end of Horizons: A Carousel of Progress, the Disney Experiences showcase at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event. The Magic Mirror appeared onstage with a cryptic message before introducing Disney Experiences Chairman Thomas Mazloum, a cue the audience read immediately: news about the Villains project was coming.
Walt Disney Imagineering President and Chief Creative Officer Bruce Vaughn and Executive Creative Director Caroline May then took the stage. The pair called the villains expansion at Magic Kingdom one of the most highly anticipated projects they have worked on, then walked through the land's name, story, and attractions.
Why the name is Villains Land
The area's official name is Villains Land. Vaughn and May explained the choice as a nod to Magic Kingdom's existing geography: most of the park's areas carry "land" in the name, from Fantasyland to Tomorrowland, and the team wanted the new section to feel at home alongside them.
The tone will be a departure. Villains Land brings a devious, dark strain of magic into Magic Kingdom while still fitting the fairytale storytelling that runs through the rest of the park.
An original story built around a corrupted Wishing Well
While the characters will be familiar, Imagineers are referencing classic villains from Walt Disney Animation Studios, the overarching story is new rather than a retelling of any single film. It follows the fairytale logic of Magic Kingdom itself: the journey begins when you leave the safe path and head into a vast, foreboding forest.
Deep in that forest sits a Wishing Well that has been torn open. Wells like this usually signal pure, good energy, but something dark happened here. Long ago, someone made a wish so evil that it corrupted the stone, broke the structure apart, and spread the well's poisoned magic through the surrounding forest.
That power has drawn the villains in, one by one, each trying to claim what remains of the well's magic. The land itself is shaped by them: fortresses and palaces conjured with dark magic, each reflecting the personality of the villain who owns it, and each open to guests with shops and treats inside. Imagineers compared the size and scale of the land to Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, the largest single-themed land expansion in Disney parks history when it opened.
A Maleficent coaster with never-attempted elements
Villains Land will open with two major attractions alongside its shops and restaurants, a lineup first confirmed at D23 2024. The first is a roller coaster built around Maleficent. Riders race through enchanted briar surrounding her mountaintop fortress and come face to face with the Mistress of All Evil herself, if they accept her invitation.
The Imagineering team teased that the coaster will include elements they have never attempted on similar attractions, though they did not say what those elements are.
The Magic Mirror dark ride
The second headliner is a dark ride hosted by the Magic Mirror and featuring a wide array of Disney Villains. Guests find the Mirror where the Evil Queen keeps him, in the catacombs beneath her palace. From there he transports riders into his Mirror Realm to see what lies on the other side of the glass.
Inside that realm, the Mirror conjures villain after villain. Disney says a combination of special effects and physical set pieces will bring the Mirror Realm and its characters to life.
How the project has developed since 2024
"Villains Land is such an exciting addition to the Magic Kingdom, because it allows us to expand the park's storytelling in a way that feels both fresh and true to its legacy and fairytale roots," May told Disney Parks Blog. "We have an incredibly talented and passionate team working behind the scenes every day to make sure this land captures the power, magic, and mischievous (and sometimes humorous) spirit of the Disney Villains, and it's been incredibly rewarding to see that fans are just as excited as we are for what's ahead."
The project was first announced at D23 2024, when Disney showed the initial rendering and previewed the attractions, dining, and shopping planned for the area. "It's going to be a fearless new vision for what a Disney experience can be," then Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D'Amaro said at the time.
The next round of details came at Destination D23 in 2025. During a dedicated Disney Villains panel, Imagineers explained that development started with the animation source material: they studied the films and the artistry behind the characters, grounding the land in the look and feel of the classic animated villains.
That panel also introduced the design language of the land. On research trips to Paris and Barcelona, the team studied Art Nouveau and Modernisme architecture, noting the rich color palettes, swirling natural patterns, and ominous proportions that make those buildings feel conjured rather than constructed. They coined the term "Conjured Architecture" for the style, and it has guided the look of Villains Land since. Vaughn and May also acknowledged, with a laugh, the fan rumors and theories that have circulated between announcements.
What this means for guests
Villains Land is the biggest addition planned for Magic Kingdom in years, and the Galaxy's Edge comparison suggests a footprint well beyond a single attraction plot. Disney has not announced an opening date or construction timeline, so guests planning trips should not expect the land soon. The two-attraction lineup, a coaster and a dark ride, plus dining and shopping, gives Magic Kingdom its first area built entirely around the villains rather than a single film. More details are expected as D23 2026 continues and as construction progresses at Walt Disney World.