EPCOT's Mary Poppins attraction lives according to Disney CEO Bob Chapek

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Mary Poppins attraction poster and concept art

Posted: Wednesday March 9, 2022 2:30pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Disney CEO Bob Chapek has today commented on the future of the Mary Poppins attraction that was planned to be coming to EPCOT's United Kingdom Pavilion.

In response to a question at the 2022 Shareholder Meeting, Chapek said that the project is in a holding pattern currently, but looks forward to refunding the Mary Poppins ride in the future.

Mary Poppins attraction poster and concept art

Disney officially announced that the United Kingdom Pavilion expansion was paused in July 2020 as the park's reopened from the COVID-19 shutdown. In addition to pausing Mary Poppins, Disney also put a halt to the Spaceship Earth update.

Announced at the 2019 D23 EXPO, the expansion to the United Kingdom pavilion was to add an entirely new neighborhood at the pavilion, complete with a ride. In the plans, guests would step in time down Cherry Tree Lane past Admiral Boom’s house, then enter Number 17, home of the Banks family, where their adventure would begin.

Mary Poppins attraction poster and concept art

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HauntedMansionFLAApr 14, 2023

Yes! That’s a good chunk of land that you could do a lot with😉

James AlucobondApr 14, 2023

Let us all continue to pray for its deletion when World Celebration opens.

lazyboy97oApr 14, 2023

It’s old, baseless supposition paraded about as fact because most people don’t know how to go about questioning it. Yes, regulations have changed that might not allow exact 1:1 duplication but to this day small dark rides are built in the US. A good example is the dark rides at LEGO Discovery Centers.

HauntedMansionFLAApr 13, 2023

Just look at all of the space WorldShowPlace takes up….

James AlucobondApr 13, 2023

I thought the question was whether or not they could cluster multiple small rides together in a similarly tight configuration, not whether they could generally construct a small ride. Though again, would be nice to know if the poster in question is speaking from a place of authority or supposition.

Timothy_QApr 13, 2023

Universal Hollywood just built a super charming Secret Life of Pets dark ride that's a third of the footprint of Ratatouille. I'm sure the health and safety codes have changed over the decades, but saying that's the reason Disney can't manage space well anymore is silly

James AlucobondApr 13, 2023

It's not difficult to discern the implication. @J4546 means that things like the fire code, standards for ADA compliance, etc. have evolved over time, and what was acceptable when the original Fantasyland rides were built may no longer be kosher for new builds. Older structures that met the standards of their time are often grandfathered in. That said, I have no idea if what was said is actually true and to what extent codes have changed, but the thrust of the argument is pretty simple.

DonniePeverleyApr 13, 2023

Eh ?

bpiperApr 13, 2023

What laws are you referring to?

J4546Apr 13, 2023

its not that disney doesnt know how to build classic fantasyland style rides, its that laws wont let them. DIsney could never build the rides in fantasyland as they are today

DonniePeverleyApr 13, 2023

Timothy_QApr 13, 2023

Just wanted to check again how much space they have in the UK, and it's bigger than the show building+queue of Rat You could also fit like 3 classic fantasyland rides, if they still knew how to properly utilize small spaces

yensidtlaw1969Mar 25, 2023

If you're referring to that big "spaaaunch" noise the teacups make as they begin to come to a stop, that's not an inherent noise and the other Mad Tea Partys around the world do not make them. In fact, I recall a time where even the WDW version did not make that noise. The first time I heard it I assumed something had gone quite wrong and that it would be fixed by my next visit. But years later, here we are . . .