Disney reveals Villains Land’s Maleficent coaster and Magic Mirror ride
Disney confirmed the name Villains Land at D23 and detailed both Magic Kingdom attractions: a Maleficent coaster racing through enchanted briar, and a dark ride hosted by the Magic Mirror. Imagineers compared the land’s scale to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
At the Horizons: A Carousel of Progress showcase on August 15, the mirror materialized to introduce Disney Experiences chairman Thomas Mazloum, followed by Walt Disney Imagineering president and chief creative officer Bruce Vaughn and executive creative director Caroline May.
They confirmed the name, both attractions, and the story tying them together.
The land is officially called Villains Land
Disney went with the obvious option.
Vaughn and May confirmed the area will be called Villains Land.
The Maleficent coaster races through enchanted briar
The first headliner puts guests in front of the Mistress of All Evil herself.
Riders race through enchanted briar surrounding Maleficent’s mountaintop fortress, answering an invitation nobody sensible would accept.
Imagineers said the coaster includes elements they have never attempted before on similar attractions. Disney offered no specifics on what those are, which is the sort of tease that will keep coaster forums busy for a year.
The Magic Mirror hosts the Mirror Realm dark ride
The second attraction takes guests underground first.
You find the Magic Mirror in the catacombs beneath the Evil Queen’s palace, where she keeps him. He then transports riders into the Mirror Realm, his own ethereal space on the other side of the glass.
Inside, Disney promises countless villains conjured by the mirror, built through a mix of special effects and physical set pieces rather than screens alone.
The story starts with a corrupted Wishing Well
The land’s origin runs on an inversion.
Guests enter by straying from the safe path into a forest, the way fairytale trouble usually starts. Deep inside sits a Wishing Well, torn apart.
Someone made a wish here so evil it corrupted the stone, cracked the structure open, and spread poisoned magic through the forest. The villains came one at a time to claim what power remained, each using it to conjure a lair matching their personality. Those fortresses and palaces house the land’s shops and restaurants.
The concept art almost reminds me of the “Black Cauldron”.
Disney also stressed the overall story is original. The villains are drawn from Walt Disney Animation Studios classics, but the plot is new rather than a retelling of any film.
Villains Land is being compared to Galaxy’s Edge in scale
Imagineers likened the land’s size and scale to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, the 14-acre land at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Imagineers coined “Conjured Architecture” in Paris and Barcelona
The look came out of a research trip.
Imagineers traveled to Paris and Barcelona, studying Art Nouveau and Modernisme, the movements behind swirling organic patterns, rich color, and buildings that appear grown rather than built. Barcelona in particular means Gaudí, whose work reads as though something magical shaped it.
They named the resulting style Conjured Architecture, and it governs how every lair in the land looks.
“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.
What Disney still hasn’t said
Neither attraction has a name. Neither has a ride system beyond “coaster” and “dark ride.” No opening date exists for any of it.
Villains Land is going in beyond Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, alongside the Piston Peak project reshaping Frontierland. Construction on that side of the park has been underway since 2025.
Two years after the land was announced, fans have a name, a wishing well, and a mirror.
Hopefully we get more information soon.
Article compiled with the help of the Pirates & Princesses newsroom.
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Hat Tips:
Disney Parks Blog (August 15, 2026), the Villains Land name confirmation, both attraction descriptions, the Wishing Well storyline, the Galaxy’s Edge scale comparison, the Caroline May quote, and the Conjured Architecture research
Disney Parks Blog (August 2024 and 2025), the original D23 announcement, the Josh D’Amaro quote, and the Destination D23 architectural details