Old Favorites, New Magic: The Walt Disney World Attractions Fans Most Want Refreshed Next
After recent reinvestments in Big Thunder Mountain, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, and Animation Courtyard, we look at the Walt Disney World attractions and areas — from Tomorrowland to EPCOT’s Imagination Pavilion — that fans are most hoping Disney refreshes next.
One of the most encouraging trends at Walt Disney World lately is how much better the resort has gotten at reinvesting in the experiences it already has. Recent work on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, and the thoughtful revival of Animation Courtyard at Disney’s Hollywood Studios shows Disney is willing to spend real money not just on flashy new lands, but on making beloved classics better. So if that momentum continues, what should be next?
Tomorrowland Is Full of Opportunity
The first place that comes to mind is Tomorrowland at Magic Kingdom. TRON Lightcycle / Run has injected real energy into the land, but look beyond it and the opportunities are everywhere. Space Mountain remains one of the most iconic attractions on property, yet it’s beginning to show its age — it’s now the only version of Space Mountain in the world without onboard audio. A thoughtful modernization could preserve its legacy while making it feel fresh for a new generation.
Then there’s Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor, which never quite found the popularity Disney hoped for and increasingly feels disconnected from the broader parks. With Monstropolis on the horizon at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, guests craving a Monsters, Inc. experience will soon have a far more immersive option — raising real questions about that valuable Tomorrowland real estate. The same goes for the former home of Stitch’s Great Escape, which has sat essentially dormant for years along one of Tomorrowland’s main walkways.
Animal Kingdom’s Underused Waterfront
Over at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, the former Rivers of Light seating area remains one of the largest underutilized spaces in any Walt Disney World park. Rivers of Light never fully connected with audiences, and neither its later IP-enhanced version nor the short-lived KiteTails experiment changed that. Today those large grandstands stand as a visible reminder of several attempts that didn’t find lasting success — and a prime canvas waiting for the right idea.
Hollywood Studios Is in Good Shape
Interestingly, Disney’s Hollywood Studios feels like the park least in need of attention. Between Toy Story Land, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, the reimagined Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets, the upcoming Monstropolis expansion, and the return of The Magic of Disney Animation, there’s already a tremendous amount of investment flowing into the park.
EPCOT’s Imagination Pavilion Tops the Wish List
For all the progress EPCOT has made through its transformation, several chapters remain unfinished — the dormant former Wonders of Life pavilion, and even Spaceship Earth, which could benefit from a long-postponed refresh. But if we could pick only one area, it would be the Imagination Pavilion.
There may be no pavilion at Walt Disney World that better represents unrealized potential. Journey Into Imagination With Figment stays popular largely because of guest affection for Figment himself rather than the ride experience, and the current version has never achieved the beloved status of the original, with projection and show-scene issues only underscoring the shortcomings. Meanwhile, ImageWorks remains a shadow of what it once was, and the pavilion’s theater — currently showing Pixar shorts — too often feels like a placeholder rather than a destination.
Why This Matters
Not every project needs to be a new land, and not every announcement needs to involve intellectual property. Sometimes the most impactful improvements come from looking at an existing attraction, a pavilion, or an underused corner of a park and asking how it could better serve guests. Disney’s recent track record suggests it’s finally asking that question again.
What Comes Next
We don’t know what Walt Disney World’s next reinvestment project will be beyond the already-announced work on Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress. Maybe it will be Tomorrowland. Maybe it will be Imagination. Maybe it will be something none of us are talking about yet. What we do know is that recent successes have earned our confidence — and if Disney keeps approaching these projects with the same care, attention to detail, and respect for what makes these places special, that’s a trend we’ll happily keep cheering on.