Internal Squabbles Over Money and Creative Direction Have Hampered Disney World Expansion Plans

Right down the street from the Walt Disney World Resort, its main rival, Universal Studios Orlando, is about to unveil its new Epic Universe. It will add thousands of hotel rooms and a third gat to Universal, positioning it as the grown-up alternative to Disney World.

But beyond its expansion in Central Florida, Universal has also announced plans to build theme parks in Texas and the United Kingdom and a permanent attraction in Las Vegas. It is an aggressive expansion plan that Universal hopes will launch it past Disney as the worldwide leader in theme parks.

With Universal knocking on the door, Disney fans are wondering where their expansion is. Sure, the Magic Kingdom is getting Tiana’s Bayou Adventure to replace Splash Mountain, but it was more necessary to hide South of the South (1946) and try to erase parts of Disney’s past they weren’t proud of. And some fans are still angry over that decision.

And at this year’s D23 Expo, Josh D’Amaro teased changes coming to Disney’s Animal Kingdom, but there was no concrete timeline or cost associated with that project. D’Amaro also teased the “largest expansion” in the history of the Magic Kingdom. But that was the entire announcement: no details, plans, or anything. There were only Disney fans imagining a future villain’s land at the Magic Kingdom.

Imagineering wants to update projection-only Frozen Ever After animatronic heads at EPCOT to HKDL practical style but their venerable executive overlords see little "ROI."

— Brayden (@SirBrayden) January 17, 2024

Disney CEO Bob Iger announced last year that Disney would invest $60 billion in Disney Parks over the next decade. But that was across parks, and most experts agree that money does not include what has happened at Hong Kong Disneyland for the World of Frozen and the Zootopia land at Shanghai Disneyland. So other than the Animal Kingdom update, what’s coming to Disney World?

So, what’s the hold-up? What’s keeping Walt Disney World from a massive expansion or, at the very least, updating some of the outdated rides currently in each Disney Park?

The simple answer is money, but the truth is much deeper than that. Disney insider and X-user @SirBrayden has spoken with people inside the company and discovered that a turf war between the Imagineers and the money people had kept Disney World’s expansion plans from happening.

The focus at WDW for new projects is heavily focused on Animal Kingdom in an attempt to spike its lower attendance. Issue is, Hollywood Studios, which has better attendance, has little to do! Disney's metric for which parks need attention is wonky. MK and DHS need more CAPACITY!

— Brayden (@SirBrayden) January 16, 2024

Imagineers are concerned about creating the best attractions and guest experiences, while the money people are focused on the return on investment (ROI). This explains, for example, why Disney has not updated a ride like Frozen Ever After at EPCOT with the newer animatronics guests will see at Tiana’s Bayou Adventure or the World of Frozen at Hong Kong Disneyland. The finance department believes the Frozen name will bring guests to that experience with or without the updated animatronics.

The ROI debate also explains why Disney is focusing its attention on Animal Kingdom, which has the lowest attendance of any Disney Park. The finance people believe the best ROI will come from improving the gate at Animal Kingdom instead of expanding the Magic Kingdom or Disney’s Hollywood Studios to help alleviate some of the overcrowding in those two parks.

Every leader at Disney needs to write this 100 times on a chalkboard or no bonus pic.twitter.com/tEvbck7jLJ

— Brayden (@SirBrayden) January 17, 2024

According to @SirBrayden, the money people also see Universal’s expansion as a positive for Disney World. A sort of “rising tide lifts all boats” mentality. While that may be true, most families choose or can afford one or the other.

So, in the end, it appears money has beaten out creativity, and Disney guests remain in a holding pattern as we hope for what might be next.

We will continue to update this story at Disney Fanatic.