Adventureland. I personally believe that the Magic Kingdom’s Adventureland is the best themed area in the entire park. The brilliance in Walt Disney World is that feeling you get when you are truly immersed into a new world. This is where Adventureland shines. Once you cross over the bridge from the Hub, Adventureland awaits, ready to engulf you into a journey of Dole Whips, talking tropical birds, and pirates!
Not all Disney fans, and friends of mine, agree with me, as they have told me they don’t like the combination of the Polynesian theme, Caribbean theme, and the Arabian theme all mixed into one, but in my opinion these themes just need to be spread out. They need more space! For example the small path between the The Magic Carpets of Aladdin and the Jungle Cruise is just not enough to transition between those two worlds, but more room could make all the difference.
Perfect Content For Adventureland
Disney knows how good they are at storytelling. And they know how successful the Adventureland brand is. I’m sure guests would love to see the story expanded, especially when there are more stories to tell. With Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular rumored to close in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, why not bring something similar to Disneyland’s Indiana Jones Adventure to Florida? And why doesn’t Tarzan have a presence in the Magic Kingdom’s Adventureland like he does in California?
Without copying Disneyland attraction’s I still think there are a lot possibilities for Adventureland in Florida. Why not pull Stitch out of Tomorrowland like I previously suggested, and reunite him with Lilo for a Hawaiian roller coaster ride? Or how about a live show with King Louie and the monkeys of the jungle for some singing and dancing?
Learning From The Mistakes Of Frozen
I know most park goers won’t want to hear this, but Adventureland could learn something from Frozen. Hear me out. If New Fantasyland was imagined after the success of Frozen we can all bet that there would have been a presence of the film incorporated into the expansion (even more than just meeting Anna and Elsa). Now we see Frozen being shoved into the parks without a central location, and this will most likely be the case until the Frozen attraction in the Norway Pavilion is finished. This blunder has left guests overwhelmed by the Frozen craze. By preparing Adventureland for an expansion with the upcoming computer animated film Moana in mind, maybe the same mistake won’t be made again. Sure, there is no guarantee that Moana will be as successful as Frozen, but by creating alternative concepts for this expansion they could prepare to leave room for Moana. P.S. I’m sorry I had to bring up Frozen again. I know some guests, and readers of the DIS are tired of hearing about it.
Where To Expand?
This is the hardest question, and the reason I think an expansion hasn’t already been done. Although there is plenty of space behind the Jungle Cruise, there isn’t much excess to it without creating a bottlenecked pathway.
The only place that I think will logistically work is pushing back into the backstage area behind the Golden Outpost past the railroad tracks. Although this would pinch it between Splash Mountain and Pirates of the Caribbean it might be the only reasonable place to create an expansion for Adventureland. This also does regrettably also push Adventureland into Frontierland. On the bright side this is the end of the parade route, which I think could significantly help spread the parade crowds out in this area.
Overall, if Disney could logistically figure out how to expand Adventureland I think it should be the next place they develop. Unfortunately I don’t think my wish will come true anytime soon though because with Pandora: Land of Avatar, Disney Springs, and what is most likely Star Wars Land coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios I don’t see any expansion to the Magic Kingdom anytime soon.
Stephen "Steve" Porter started going to the parks with his family in 1996. Since then he hasn't looked back! Steve was a cast member participating in the Disney College Program in 2013. Most recently he graduated from Penn State University!
