If you're anything like this writer, you tend to stay away from the Universal side of Orlando once October rolls around. As much as I love a classic horror movie, I'm not exactly itching to spend a whole vacation getting chased by a hatchet-swinging clown through a foggy theme park at Halloween Horror Nights.
Although I'm much more at home at Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, there has been some new developments on both sides of the theme park war that could benefit the House of Mouse, especially with the upcoming villain expansion at the Magic Kingdom.
Unleash the horror... at Disney World?
Universal's next big project is Horror Unleashed, a year-round, Halloween-Horror-Nights-inspired entertainment venue that absolutely drips with terror. Just take a look at the preview footage for its newest haunted house inspired by Leatherface and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (see below).
Screams, splatter effects, and masked murdering maniacs aren't exactly something typically associated with The Walt Disney Company. So, where does this tie in to the new expansion coming to the Magic Kingdom? One word: immersion.
Disney might have invented the concept of environmental storytelling in the parks, but Universal Studios has been slowly improving the formula for years, and few things demonstrate that better than the movie-quality mazes at Horror Nights. Even Epic Universe is making some Disney fans envious with it's gorgeously designed worlds. But still, how does this all fit together?
Disney's new "Villains Land" presents the parks with a unique opportunity, embrace the dark side and go full throttle. Just as Universal has ripped Jason, Leatherface, and Freddy Krueger from the silver screen, Disney can pull visitors from the enchanted lands of princesses and fairytales into a twisted realm of ghoulish delights.
Disney doesn't have to go as gruesome as its competitor, but imagine what would happen if guests could walk through the thorns of Maleficent's cursed castle or the bones of Scar's elephant graveyard. With Disney's gift for bewitching the senses, it would be a monstrous masterpiece.
If ifs and buts were candy and nuts, we'd all have a merry Christmas. The real question, is what will Disney do differently with this piece of the parks? As things begin to look hopeful for the new Piston Peak Park, can the Villains' land be just as intriguing? Time will tell.
What would you want to see happen in the new expansion?