Disney World Announces Brand New Show to Replace Hollywood Studios' Cars Experience

A brand new Disney Villains stage production is coming to Disney World in 2025.

By Charlie Ridgely

Both the universe of Cars and Disney's iconic roster of Villains are getting a massive level-up in the Disney Parks department in the coming years, as it was announced at D23 that both are going to be at the center of attractions at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom. Cars will have it's own area in Frontierland, with multiple attractions set to be added around where Tom Sawyer Island currently sits. The Disney Villains are getting an entire Villainland at the park. While both are set to be the focal point of some major Magic Kingdom overhauls, they're also going to both be connected to a much smaller change coming to Disney World's Hollywood Studios.

On Tuesday, Disney Parks announced that Hollywood Studios in Orlando, Florida will be trading in a Cars experience for a brand new Villains-themed show. Lightning McQueen's Racing Academy, which currently sits in the back of Hollywood Studios next to Rock 'n' Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror, is going to be shut down for good this fall. The area will reopen in 2025 as a new stage show starring the beloved Disney Villains.

There wasn't a lot of information revealed about this new Disney Villains experience, but Disney did share a brief synopsis that confirmed Cruella de Vil, Captain Hook, and Maleficent will be the three "main" villains in the live production. There will be plenty of others (over a dozen in all) but those three will be featured as they explore the realm of the Magic Mirror.

"The creative minds at Disney Live Entertainment will transform Sunset Showcase into the mysterious, reflective realm of the Magic Mirror," reads the synopsis. "The show will feature appearances by dozens of the most infamous evildoers, with fiendish foes Cruella de Vil, Captain Hook and Maleficent each breaking through the glass to take the stage in live production numbers."

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(Photo: Disney Parks)

Disney also released some key art from the upcoming show, which you can check out above. That art shows the three villains that were already mentioned, along with Jafar (Aladdin), Hades (Hercules), Ursula (The Little Mermaid), Scar (The Lion King), the Queen of Hearts (Alice in Wonderland), and Yzma (The Emperor's New Groove).

Lightning McQueen's Racing Academy only lasted a few years at Sunset Showcase, having just opened in 2019. The show still stick around for another month, with its final day set for October 7th. 

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