'Beyond Big Thunder Mountain' Blue Sky concept revealed for Magic Kingdom

Sep 11, 2022 in "Magic Kingdom"

Forum Forums Tweet Share Tweet Share

Gallery / 4 Photos
Beyond Big Thunder Mountain Blue Sky concept art

Posted: Sunday September 11, 2022 3:07pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

In the final moments of the Disney Parks D23 panel, Chairman Josh D'Amaro revealed plans for a new "Beyond Big Thunder Mountain" Blue Sky concept.

Disney Parks, Experiences and Products Chairman Josh D'Amaro at D23 Expo

The new land, behind Big Thunder Mountain at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, would include Disney animation IPs including Coco, Encanto and villains.

Here is a look at the art.

Beyond Big Thunder Mountain Blue Sky concept art

"Blue Sky" concepts refer to projects that are being considered with preliminary design ideas, but have not reached the stage of being green-lit for actual construction. Disney has a long history of Blue Sky concepts that have never made it to reality, so it remains unclear if the "Beyond Big Thunder Mountain" project will proceed, and what may be included in a final version. What is clear though, is that Magic Kingdom needs additional capacity, and Disney looks to be marking the area behind Big Thunder Mountain as the next expansion pad.

Beyond Big Thunder Mountain Blue Sky concept art

Discuss on the Forums

Get Walt Disney World News Delivered to Your Inbox

ChrisFL1 day ago

that's the challenge...there's too many nice locations. I'd love to see Junon and Gold Saucer of course

ToTBellHop1 day ago

I don’t think Walt would have wanted Wall Market! How could you pick just one location from FFVII, though? I can’t pick just one. I was probably most excited for Cosmo Canyon this go around.

ChrisFL1 day ago

Minecraft would hurt my eyes, lol. Someone said Final Fantasy would have to stick to one of the games since there's such a variety and IMO it would HAVE to be 7...no other game comes close in popularity, BUT there's a lot of areas in that game that are massive (especially now in Rebirth). Funny thing though...does Midgar remind anyone of anything?

ChrisFL1 day ago

The old Alfred Hitchcock show and Horror Make-up Show both came with warnings that it was recommended for people over 13 years of age (not sure if that is still listed for the Horror Make-up Show). That's the closest I can think of.

Incomudro1 day ago

Not only do I have zero interest, the very aesthetic of Mario actually annoys - yes - annoys me. I've felt that way since the game debuted. The look, the sound, all irritating.

JD801 day ago

Think Rise of the Resistance.

PizzaPlanet1 day ago

The Mario movie made a billion and is now the second highest grossing animated film of all time. I understand it’s not for everyone but Mario definitely has multi generational appeal

Chupaca Bruh1 day ago

I want to see Dodongo and he must dislike smoke.

James Alucobond1 day ago

I have never watched the Avatar films yet enjoy Pandora. Familiarity is not necessary, though it obviously helps drive interest. Here are some of the locations I mentioned, which I feel would be interesting to see realized: But with that said, I'll probably leave it there as this has veered into territory pertaining to Universal.

UNCgolf1 day ago

This is one of the biggest benefits to using IP. A ride can be mediocre and still a draw because of the IP (Frozen Ever After another great example). A mediocre non-IP ride is probably dead in the water. The corresponding downside is that IP typically constrains what can be done and doesn't offer the freedom of non-IP, which maybe limits the ceiling. But from a business perspective, a higher floor/lower ceiling is generally more valuable than a lower floor/higher ceiling when you're investing millions (or hundreds of millions).

peng1 day ago

Nintendo Land FL will probably be a hit, but the MK ride does feel like a missed opportunity, sets are great, but the preshows are a bit confusing (the lack of dialogue seems like a Nintendo decision), rest of the land is executed amazingly though. But yeah, it doesn't matter how popular the IP is, if the ride sucks, people will avoid it, such as how the F&F ride in Orlando is usually a walk on, no matter how packed the rest of the park is. Yes I know there are other factors like capacity, but bad rides usually get short waits.

ToTBellHop1 day ago

As Splash taught us, compelling attractions are compelling regardless of source material. As Journey Into Your Imagination taught us, completely original attractions that suck will suck. IP does seem to boost the popularity of mediocre rides, though, because of the built-in fan base. See Fast and Furious.

Bocabear1 day ago

OK I know I am old, but I did play Mario years back....and I have absolutely no idea what those places and games are and absolutely no interest in seeing them in a theme park.... The park experiences should appeal to a broader audience... overall...More universal than gamers...And that is not a jab at gamers... I am just not the target audience...nor most of the people I know....