Last night at the very end of the D23 Experiences Showcase the long anticipated Villains Land was announced for Disney’s Magic Kingdom. The details were VERY sparse with no opening date or specific attractions announced, just mention of 2 attractions, shopping and dining. However, if you zoom into the top left of the concept art shown last night it’s very obvious there is a coaster in the works!

It’s quite common that the final product doesn’t quite match the initial concept art in every detail, but usually the big things carry through. This will be the first Disney area focused on the “bad” guys and girls of the Disney stories. From the announcement it’s obvious Villain Land is going to feel different

“This land will be home to the villains that you know and those that you loathe, which means ‘happily ever after’ … it may feel like just a distant dream,”

-Josh D’Amaro, Chairman of Disney Experiences

So there are zero details on the coaster and in the picture about all you can say is it’s a traditional coaster rather than the suspended coaster announced for Monsters Inc. Land at Disney Studios. It’s hard to say if what we’re seeing are loops or tight turns. In terms of manufacturer Vekoma may be a safe bet with them providing Tron, Guardians of the Galaxy, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster. The only real outlier is Slinky Dog Dash provided by Mack Rides. Not much s known about the ride story either, although at D23 there has been some chatter calling it the Maleficent Coaster.

A roller coaster done well can provide great extra capacity for a park. Disney’s own Incredicoaster at Disney’s California Adventure has a reported capacity exceeding 2,000 riders/hour. That capacity nearly puts it in the “people eater” range typically occupied by things like It’s a Small World or Pirates of the Caribbean. It’s outdoors so it could be prone to Florida weather, but so is Seven Drawfs. I’d also imagine night rides will be sought after like they are on Tron as an evil land at night will hit different for sure. A Villain’s coaster could also be a potential answer to Universal’s very well received Velocicoaster. Either way it’ll be exciting to watch the subsequent announcements and eventually see dirt moved. This is Disney, so this could be years or even a decade away, but it’s great to see some much needed capacity coming to the Magic Kingdom.