Disney World President Says Replacement Rides Give “New Life to Underutilized Areas”
In a new list of the 2025 power players in Central Florida, Walt Disney World President Jeff Vahle was ranked #1 among travel & tourism leaders. As part of this, Vahle shared thoughts on “keeping guests happy” that referred to the replacements for Rivers of America, Muppets Courtyard, and Dinoland as “bringing new life to underutilized areas.”
It’s no surprise that Vahle would be ranked #1 on such a powerful people in Orlando list. He’s the president of Americaʼs largest single-site employer in Walt Disney World, overseeing a workforce of approximately 80,000 Cast Members at four theme parks, more than 25 resort hotels, two water parks, a sports complex, a retail district, behind-the-scenes facilities support, and much more.
Judged strictly by the numbers–employment and economic impact to Central Florida–Vahle is unrivaled. There’s a reason he’s at #1, followed by Karen Irwin, President & COO of Universal Orlando Resort at #2, then the airport’s CEO, along with the heads of Canaveral Port Authority, Visit Orlando, Orange County Convention Center, Brightline, and so forth. The list is exactly the people you’d expect to see, and you can read the full thing along with Jeff Vahle’s interview in Orlando Magazine.
Here are more of Vahle’s comments on the expansion of Walt Disney World:
“There is more growth happening right now at Walt Disney World than I’ve ever seen before in my career,” Vahle told Orlando Magazine. “We have opened a new attraction every year since 2017, as well as three themed lands, 20-plus entertainment offerings, nearly 30 dining locations, three resort hotels and a new mode of transportation.”
“In the past year, we have broken ground on major expansions in three of our theme parks,” he continued. “We are building Monstropolis in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Tropical Americas in Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Villains- and Cars-themed areas in Magic Kingdom. Construction of Disney Lakeshore Lodge, a new Disney Vacation Club property next to Fort Wilderness Resort, is also well underway.”
“We know that everything at Walt Disney World is somebody’s favorite, so we were extremely thoughtful about that,” Vahle told the magazine. “These lands and attractions will deliver some incredibly creative experiences while also bringing new life to underutilized areas.”
Our Commentary
The only illuminating tidbit to come from the interview is that Walt Disney World viewed Dinoland, Rivers of America, and Muppets Courtyard (plus maybe the defunct River Country since it’s lumped in there, but I doubt that was the intent) as “underutilized areas.”
Honestly, though, we could probably surmise as much by the fact that all of those lands are being replaced. If they weren’t viewed internally as underutilized, Disney wouldn’t be replacing them. It’s as simple as that. After all, they have the blessing of size and all that.
This isn’t really even stop-the-presses news. Back when CEO Bob Iger and Parks Chair Josh D’Amaro were making the rounds to pitch the “turbocharged” $60 billion investment proposal there were many references to underutilized capacity. Two years ago, we devoted a lengthy article to the topic: Reimaginings Inside the Park and ‘Beyond the Berm’ Expansion at Magic Kingdom.
In that, we speculated on such projects as a Country Bear Jamboree reimagining with the bears singing new songs (announced ~3 months later!), annexing part of Frontierland and turning it into a bayou or New Orleans area (didn’t and won’t happen!), conversion of Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn & Cafe to Tiana’s Palace Restaurant (didn’t/won’t happen), and being able to walk from Big Thunder Mountain Railroad to Haunted Mansion without passing Tiana’s Bayou Adventure within a decade (sadly correct).
That article was largely based on comments D’Amaro made regarding castle park expansion plans on both coasts: “We have plenty of opportunity within these existing footprints to optimize–to find ways to increase capacity of existing attractions within what we call the ‘berm.'” He added: “We have both internal opportunities to grow capacity and create new experiences, and opportunities outside of the berm to essentially expand the size of these theme parks.”
Now we know what D’Amaro actually meant by those quotes, and just how ‘beyond’ the Beyond Big Thunder plans really are/were.
Jeff Vahle’s comments in this interview about “underutilized area” in referring to Rivers of America, Muppets Courtyard, and Dinoland are really just more of the same. The difference is that they’re a couple of years later, now that we know these lands are the underutilized capacity as opposed to, say, the Wonders of Life, World ShowPlace, Stitch’s Great Escape, Galactic Starcruiser, Discovery River Amphitheater, the Mary Poppins parcel in EPCOT, Tomorrowland Terrace, Tortuga Tavern, and other dead zones.
Honestly, I’m less sensitive to the idea of redeveloping existing space in the parks to improve efficiency than a lot of fans. Given the costs of labor, maintenance and other operational expenses, along with the reality that the parks need to be reasonably walkable and only so much swampland is developable, there need to be reimaginings as opposed to pure expansions. Not to mention the sorry shape of many existing attractions, which could badly use refreshes.
It’s a more contentious one, but I’m in favor of reimagining DINOSAUR into Indiana Jones Adventure, and was a proponent of this idea long before it was even announced. Although there are arguably bigger fish to fry around Walt Disney World (see the list above), I also think Chester & Hester’s Dino-Rama was an abomination, and it’s hard to reimagine that in a material way without wrapping in the rest of Dinoland. It is a shame dinosaurs will no longer have a presence at Walt Disney World, but that’s still an example of a net positive redevelopment.
My issues with the “underutilized area” quip and others like it are the other targets in this specific case and the optics. Executives have to know by now that fans pay attention to everything they say, so why make a comment that’s going to read in a derogatory or dismissive way. (Has nothing been learned since Chapek’s infamous WSJ interview a couple months before he was fired?!)
The bigger problem for me is the very notion that the Rivers of America or Muppets Courtyard were, in fact, underutilized areas in the first place. I’ve been over this countless times with regard to the Rivers of America, and it’s my strong believe that such a perspective misses the point about its actual value (see Why Rivers of America Is Worth Saving).
Not every square footage of Walt Disney World should be “maximized,” as that would be a net negative for the resort as a whole. The whole notion that themed design and atmospheric placemaking are superfluous is concerning. It suggests that the people running the show don’t get the difference between Walt Disney World and a regional amusement park.
The same is true with MuppetVision 3D, which performed very well for what it was. The Monsters, Inc. Doors Coaster will be a huge asset to Disney’s Hollywood Studios, but it could’ve been built without disturbing MV3D–that was a choice, and one that didn’t need to be made.
On the plus side, the more recent announcement and closure of Animation Courtyard does make me feel slightly better about how that all unfolded, as that would’ve been Exhibit A in more pressing places for Walt Disney World to redevelop underutilized capacity. Perhaps Vahle should’ve given that as an example.
Regardless, this makes me thankful that Jeff Vahle doesn’t have Tokyo DisneySea in his purview, because that park has so many underutilized areas that I guess should be bulldozed. It also makes me relieved that Bruce Vaughn has returned, Imagineering has a larger on-site presence in Florida, and seemingly increased influence. Perhaps another topic for another day, but all of that is a much-needed counterweight to all of this.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What is your reaction to Jeff Vahle discussing park expansion and “underutilized areas” being redeveloped into Tropical Americas, Cars & Villains Land, and Monstropolis? What about other redevelopments of existing areas? (Not discussed here, but there is definitely underutilized space in Tomorrowland!) What potential plans have you most and least excited? Anything else you’re hoping gets reimagined? Do you agree or disagree with our assessments? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
Welcome to the era of media conglomerate Disney imposing a private equity fund approach to park decisions that Walt Disney found abominable. Everything is always unfinished, and change was all he was about, but abandoning decisions solely to IP and amusement part values wasn’t on that path. Great memories of when creativity, innovation, and putting cast and guests was the path. All is past now.
You realize, private equity has nothing to do with the Walt Disney Company, right? It’s been quite a few years since the corporate raiders had tried to take over the company.
I like nostalgia but Disney also has to move with the times. My kids grew up with Fortnite, marvel movies, and staring at their phones. WDW has more creative hits than misses. My complaint is affordability. Eisner was much more middle-class friendly than the current bunch.
Since we know that Disney is monitoring guests at all times via the Magic Bands, they probably have a “heat map” of the parks where guests visit most.
I would bet that the “underutilized” terminology is probably what they said internally when they looked at the areas discussed and compared it to other parts of the park.
The expectation is to “plus” those parts of the parks in some fashion – here they are reimagining the space – which will likely better utilize those spaces. The trick is being able to predict the feelings of nostalgia for those attractions and weighing that against profits and seeking a better future for the parks as a whole.
Underutilized areas is a joke of an argument when you consider the list of places you stated. In addition look at what they did with underutilized innoventions/communicate in EPCOT—what a disaster! Thanks for the lifeless sterile gift shop and entire area that took years and years to do! Why not bring MUPPETS COURTYARD to life with a new Muppets E-Ticket ride and reopening the gift shop with expanded Muppets merch? Monsters could have taken over whole Animation Courtyard and been connected to Toy Storyland with an expanded PIXAR area! What about the abandoned have of the Boardwalk Resort? MuppetVision 3D was not underutilized, it was a neglected area! MOROCCO PAVILLION in EPCOT? The real issue is NEGLECTED AND LACK OF VISION not underutilized! And NOW with CARS in FRONTIERLAND/LIBERTY SQUARE, IGER AND CO. is doing to the MAGIC KINGDOM what it already did to EPCOT, making it a disjointed, visionless, lifeless mess! FIX DISNEY (MIS)MANAGEMENT FIRST!
Sorry it was supposed to be half not have in regards to Boardwalk. Autocorrect always haunts me!
Ah the dreaded “underutilization” descriptor. I recall that being the excuse for taking my favorite spot in all of Disneyland, Le Court D’Ange, and putting it behind the literal paywall of Club 33. Few things in the world made me happier than sitting near there and listening to the jazz combo in New Orleans Square. It was pure magic and I hate to hear things being minimized and reduced strictly to how many guests are served by the space as a metric. I especially hate to hear it out of high-ranking executives. It’s as bad as Paul Pressler making excuses for the lack of maintenance in the 90s.
I’m curious what you think the underutilized areas of TDS are? American Riverfront, maybe?
I agree with every comment made thus far. My question is…..since Disney thoughtfully named each section of the park and now there is NOTHING left in Frontierland but Country Bear Jamboree the Railroad coaster and Jungle Cruise, what the heck are they going to call the area????? It has nothing to do with Frontier anymore.
Jungle cruise is actually in Adventureland (along with Pirates, the treehouse, and the flying carpets). Frontierland has CBJ, BTMRR and the storefronts.
I get the feeling that the powers that be don’t really like Walt Disney’s vision, especially since they know that Frontier history was his fav…look at what is being done to Fort Wilderness!?! My late husband and I began with our honeymoon in 1975…btw, the reason that the Rivers of America and associated areas were removed to remove Antebellum history…we are not stupid..Cars could have “upgraded” for the younger generation in Tomorrow Land (Grand Prix Raceway). My message to those in charge is be careful as you will be turning WDW into an amusement park unless the Agenda is to get rid of what is sweet and good there as an American Institution.
DisneySea was the 1st thing that came to my mind after reading those quotes.
“The whole notion that themed design and atmospheric placemaking are superfluous is concerning. It suggests that the people running the show don’t get the difference between Walt Disney World and a regional amusement park.”
This is exactly what concerned me about this comment too. Not every inch of the park has to be jammed with people waiting in a long line for a ride. The atmosphere and theming is just as important as rides, if not more so. The president of WDW should get that.
Keeping Tomorrow Speedway as it is, in a decrepit state while paving over ROA is probably my biggest gripe about the “reimagining” going on currently. It used to be Dinosaurs cause it was one of few areas very little ones could have fun in but was intentionally badly neglected. Tomorrowland Speedway could have easily been reimagined as Cars 3 Land and fit right in with the theme. Heck, Fast Track would have been a better target for a Cars 3 Land instead of a GM dealership car lot. Haunted Mansion butted up to a concrete canyon wasn’t well thought out. We did our Sept week stay at Beach Club the week before last and the entire week we were at WDW we never went to MK, it just isn’t worth the hassle and lack of things to do. It reminds me of covid times when most rides were down and only the retail shops were open. We’ll probably do a half day visit sometime this week, but I doubt MK will be on the list.
I only read your commentary. You pretty much spoke for me.
One of the Parks Walt Disney was inspired by is Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, Denmark. I was there some twenty years ago. It’s a small but beautiful amusement park inside a city so it has no room for growth.
Smack in the middle is a medium sized pond that people could rent a swan boat and paddle around in.
Talk about an underutilized area.
I sat and looked at it for 30 minutes.
I have a very good imagination but I never thought here’s a good spot to cement over and put up a roller coaster.
Everytime I crossed over to Tom Sawyer’s Island I saw kids running around enjoying themselves and Rivers, with that working steamboat, brought beauty and serenity both day and night.
Serenity is never underutilized.
Key Influences of Tivoli on Disneyland
Cleanliness and Atmosphere: Walt Disney was particularly struck by Tivoli’s exceptional cleanliness and enchanting atmosphere, a stark contrast to the unkempt carnivals common in the U.S. at the time.
Family-Friendly Environment: Tivoli exemplified the kind of welcoming, family-friendly environment Walt wanted to create for Disneyland.
Detailed Observation: Walt meticulously took notes on Tivoli’s rides, landscaping, food, and general design to understand what made it successful.
Specific Features: Some elements of Tivoli, such as its fireworks displays and certain themed areas like the mountain, were noted as inspirations for features in Disneyland and Disney parks.
Garden-Like Setting: Tivoli’s beautifully manicured gardens and beautiful flower beds served as a model for the kind of aesthetically pleasing, park-like environment Walt envisioned for Disneyland.
Totally agree.
We visited Tivoli Gardens a few years back as part of a Disney Cruise to Norway. Here are some of my photos & thoughts: https://www.travelcaffeine.com/our-visit-to-tivoli-gardens/
Every “imagineer” and park exec needs to be required to know this kind of info before they are given free reign to destroy something in the parks. I love this type of back story information
When our Northern Europe Disney cruise visited Tivoli Snoop Dogg was the headliner that night,.. went to St. Petersburg as well!
Whenever I hear that “underutilized” justification from a Disney Exec, I want to respond, “By the definition you seem to have in mind, how many people ‘utilize’ Cinderella Castle? Does that restaurant serve enough guests to justify the land area?”
The response would presumably be something about how the Castle is more important than the Rivers of America, which is fine— discussing that, we’d be asking the right questions and talking about the right thing, rather than reducing it all to the number of guest footprints.
You are correct. If utilization is the key metric, so much would be on the chopping block at Walt Disney World.
Perhaps more than anything else, some of these executives need to learn that how they speak in public should differ from how they talk in internal meetings. There are so many comments they make that are just completely unnecessary. They don’t make investors feel any better nor do they resonate with readers of Orlando Magazine–but they do serve to inflame fans.