Disney has finally pulled back the curtain on one of the biggest projects coming to Walt Disney World — and the details are delightfully dark.

Ever since Disney announced a villains-themed expansion for Magic Kingdom at D23 in 2024, fans have been eager to know what guests will actually find inside. Disney confirmed two major attractions from the start, but kept most of the important details under wraps. That all changed at D23 2026.

At the Disney Experiences presentation, Disney officially confirmed the area's name, unveiled the original story tying everything together, and shared major new details about both anchor attractions. Imagineers even compared the scale of the project to Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge — which tells you this is no small addition tucked into a corner of the park.

The Name Is Official: Welcome to Villains Land

First things first — the name is now confirmed. The new Magic Kingdom area will simply be called Villains Land.

Disney Experiences President and Chief Creative Officer Bruce Vaughn and Executive Creative Director Caroline May of Walt Disney Imagineering made it official during the D23 presentation.

The straightforward name is intentional. Magic Kingdom is already home to Fantasyland, Tomorrowland, Adventureland, and Frontierland, and Imagineers wanted Villains Land to feel like a true addition to that family of lands rather than a completely separate concept. The atmosphere, of course, will be dramatically different. Disney describes Villains Land as bringing a darker form of magic into the park while still fitting within Magic Kingdom's larger fairytale identity.

An Original Story Connects It All

Rather than simply building individual areas themed to famous villains, Walt Disney Imagineering has created an original story that connects everything inside Villains Land — and it all begins with a corrupted Wishing Well.

Guests will leave the safe portion of the fairytale behind and venture into a dark forest. Somewhere within that forest stands a damaged Wishing Well — not the kind of place where someone made an innocent wish and lived happily ever after. According to Disney's backstory, someone once made an evil wish at the Well. The wish was so powerful that it corrupted the stone itself, broke the Wishing Well apart, and allowed its poisoned magic to spread through the surrounding forest.

That corrupted magic attracted some very familiar faces. Disney's villains began arriving one by one, each hoping to claim what remained of the Wishing Well's power. Those who managed to harness that magic used it to create their own homes throughout the land — fortresses, palaces, and other structures shaped by the personalities of the villains who built them.

Those locations won't just provide scenery. Disney says they will contain the area's attractions, food, merchandise, and other experiences. It's a clever approach that lets Imagineers pull characters and ideas from across Walt Disney Animation Studios while placing them within a completely new story created specifically for Magic Kingdom.

A Maleficent Coaster Is Coming

The first major attraction is centered around Maleficent.

It's a coaster. Guests will come face-to-face with the Mistress of All Evil before racing through enchanted briars surrounding her mountaintop fortress. The attraction's story centers on guests accepting an invitation from Maleficent and venturing into her domain.

Concept art shows Maleficent towering over the scene while ride vehicles move through a twisted environment filled with enormous thorns and dark vegetation, with her fortress rising in the distance.

Disney's biggest tease, though, involves what the coaster itself might do. Imagineers say the attraction will use elements they have never attempted on similar attractions before, describing the project as something intended to break new ground. Disney hasn't explained exactly what those elements are just yet — so there's still plenty to look forward to, including details about the ride system, track layout, height requirement, and how Maleficent will appear during the experience.

The Magic Mirror Hosts the Second Attraction

The second headlining attraction takes a completely different approach. Rather than another coaster, Disney is building a dark ride featuring multiple Disney Villains — and the Magic Mirror will serve as host.

Guests will discover the Magic Mirror in the catacombs beneath the Evil Queen's palace. From there, the Mirror transports riders into what Disney calls the