Disney World Quietly Drops Key Theme Park Expansion

One already announced Disney World theme park project looks to be officially dead.

In the high-stakes battle between Walt Disney's (DIS) - Get Free Report Disney World and Comcast's (CMCSA) - Get Free Report Universal Studios for Orlando tourists, both companies sometimes announce new projects that never actually happen. 

Sometimes the ideas were just rumors based on ideas that the companies talked about internally finding a way to the public.

Disney, for example, has long debated the idea of a land, or maybe even an entire fifth gate/new theme park, devoted solely to its villains. 

Universal Studios has long dealt with ideas to revamp its KidZone, which is themed to a character few kids know, Woody Woodpecker, being revamped with rides based on characters from Smurfs, Ice Age, Pokemon, and Nintendo.

Some of those ideas will be part of Epic Universe, a new theme park being built by Comcast/Universal in Orlando, while others were simply projects that came close but never fully happened. It's rare, however, that an idea actually gets talked about with the public but ends up not getting built.

That's what's happening at Disney World: A project that was publicly announced in 2019 now appears to be dead.

Epcot's 'Play Pavillion' No Longer in Disney's Plans 

When Disney in February 2019 first outlined its plans for a new project that would take over the "Wonders of Life" building, many insiders were skeptical that it would ever get built. That's because plans for what was tentatively dubbed the "Play Pavillion" were much more vague than the company is when it's formally saying that a project has been greenlit.

"Built on the power of play, [the Play Pavillion] introduces an immersive and interactive 'city' where you can explore, create and interact with some of your favorite Disney characters," Walt Disney Imagineering portfolio executive Zach Riddley said at the time. "This innovative, new pavilion is beyond anything we’ve ever created and is completely unique to Epcot."

That sounds really nice, and it was part of a broader announcement about plans at Epcot, but it was always vague and on many occasions it has been rumored to be dead. Fans wanted to blame that on former CEO Bob Chapek, but Bob Iger, the newly reinstated CEO, has done nothing to change the fate of the project.

Now, while Disney has not commented on the status of the Play Pavillion, it has removed the project from a public-facing map.

"With the start of the Epcot Festival of the Arts, there is a new park map for Epcot. Of note is the fact that Disney has removed the Play Pavilion tag that used to inform guests that the golden dome in World Discovery is the “Future Home of PLAY!,” Blog Mickey first reported.  

Disney Fans Can Still Blame Bob Chapek

The Play Pavillion never seemed like a fully formed idea, but it was not just a blue-sky project, according to Theme Park Insider's Robert Niles.

"Contrary to some reports and rumors, Disney did do quite a bit of work on the Play Pavilion before stepping away from the concept. The basic structure of the building has been repaired and reinforced. The roof no longer leaks, and the structure is in good condition to provide a home to whatever new concept Disney might choose to place there," he wrote.

And, while Iger now sits in the CEO chair, his predecessor was almost certainly the one to make this decision.

Now, with the building at least in somewhat better condition, Disney's new boss can be part of the process of trying to find a use for it. 

In the past, unused but inhabitable Epcot venues have been used for corporate events and to host popups during the park's various festivals.