New Disney Villains Show to Replace Lightning McQueen's Racing Academy at Hollywood Studios in 2025

Sep 03, 2024 in "Disney Villains Unfairly Ever After"

Gallery / 4 Photos
Villains Show concept art

Posted: Tuesday September 3, 2024 3:08pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Disney’s Hollywood Studios is set to introduce a new live entertainment experience centered around Disney Villains in the summer of 2025 at Walt Disney World.

Villains Show concept art

The new show will take place at the Sunset Showcase, located on Sunset Boulevard, and will feature dozens of iconic Disney villains .

According to Disney Live Entertainment, the production will be staged in the setting of the Magic Mirror’s mysterious realm, a reflective environment designed to bring guests closer to some of Disney’s most notorious villains. Characters such as Cruella de Vil, Captain Hook, and Maleficent are confirmed to make appearances as they break through the glass to take the stage in live production numbers

Villains Show concept art

Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy is scheduled to close on October 7, 2024, making way for the preparation and construction needed for the upcoming villains-themed production.

Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy is scheduled to close on October 7, 2024

Lightning McQueen's Racing Academy opened in March 2019, themed around the popular Pixar "Cars" franchise and features a life-sized, animatronic Lightning McQueen, voiced by Owen Wilson.

Lightning McQueen's Racing Academy show

In the show, guests are welcomed into a state-of-the-art racing simulator where Lightning McQueen appears on a 200-degree screen to share his racing expertise. The experience includes high-energy sequences and a narrative where McQueen is challenged to race against virtual competitors. Throughout the show, he is joined by characters like Mater and Cruz Ramirez, who offer support and advice.

Opened in 2015, Sunset Showcase was designed to serve as a flexible location for a variety of events and entertainment offerings at Disney's Hollywood Studios.

The venue was first introduced as the home for Club Disney, a dance party experience featuring Disney characters and interactive elements aimed at younger guests. Club Disney offered a colorful and lively atmosphere, complete with music, video projections, and activities, but it was short-lived and closed in 2016.

Club Disney Dance Party overview

After Club Disney, Sunset Showcase hosted a range of limited-time events before becoming Lightning LacQueens Racing Academy in 2019, including themed dance parties and special ticketed events, including the "Club Villain" event, which featured Disney villains in a cabaret-style show, along with themed food and drinks.

Club Villain overview

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seabreezept8133 days ago

Those benches are rough....says the person who sat through Racing Academy twice during Rider Switching RnRC

Agent H3 days ago

I hope they get rid of the bench seating for that reason as well.

Giss Neric3 days ago

I feel like if the seats are going to be benches then that I don't mind it being on the shorter end. I need my back rested on something cause I tend to slouch after a while.

wdwmagic4 days ago

Scrim Installed Between Rock 'n' Roller Coaster and Sunset Showcase as Villains Show Progresses https://www.wdwmagic.com/attractions/magic-mirror-villains-show/news/20mar2025-scrim-installed-between-rock-n-roller-coaster-and-sunset-showcase-as-villains-show-progresses.htm

gerararFeb 17, 2025

This is gold! Thank you. One day I hope to see one of these rare B-mode shows live haha.

DisneyFanatic12Feb 17, 2025

(My apologies for not knowing their stage names, if they have any. I’ll refer to them by the section they lead) Twice when the Warthog section leader was missing, the giraffe section leader took over her songs (notably Circle of Life). Can You Feel The Love Tonight was a solo by the lion section leader, which was interesting because the Giraffe section leader was still there who usually does the duet to my knowledge. Was interesting to hear the Giraffe section leader sing the Circle of Life, as she seemed to try and sing it low(er) the first time and then sang in a higher pitch the second time which seemed more natural and comfortable for her. Once I saw the Giraffe section leader missing, which was just as you mentioned. Can You Feel The Love Tonight became a solo with the guy covering. As for sections when the Warthog section leader was missing, once I think I saw the Lion section leader lead both the lions and the warthogs, with a similar spiel at the beginning. The other time I saw the elephant section leader lead both the elephants and the warthogs. Could have also been the Elephant section leader leading both times, don’t remember super well. I believe when the giraffe section leader was missing the giraffe section was lead by the lion section leader. Anyways, sorry for the rambling, but the “B-mode” is pretty interesting to see, especially considering how rare it is to see.

gerararFeb 17, 2025

I’ve only ever seen that recorded on video once! The girl singer was missing so the Can You Feel The Love segment was only done and sung by the one guy singer, so it makes for an interesting B-mode alt sequence. Also in the finale that same guy singer sings the parts for the missing one.

DisneyFanatic12Feb 17, 2025

Not that this confirms or denies that they have stand ins, but I have seen the show run with only three singers multiple times, which leads me to believe there aren’t many, if any, extras.

Agent HFeb 15, 2025

No real reason just for fun

Disgruntled WaltFeb 15, 2025

Why are we tracking their response to this?

Agent HFeb 15, 2025

Here’s them responding to getting it wrong in the comment section of the video still no retraction on the main site

discosFeb 14, 2025

Unless equity rules have changed, Lion King would have more than 2 actors per role since they can only perform 4 shows a day with a max of 20 per week. Next week for instance there are 53 performances so that's at least 3 full casts of singers needed. There are probably 4 performers who do the role regularly plus other actors on property who sub/understudy each role for emergencies. In Beauty and the Beast & Frozen, actors can do 5 performances a day with 25 performances a week. So whether it's 4 or 5 shows per day for Villains, we'd still be looking at a minimum of 3-4 equity performers per role if they schedule shows every hour. These extra 3 equity roles will definitely help more actors on property get full-time hours, especially if some split their time between two different shows. Plus there are two more equity roles for Mermaid that are being added into the mix. It might be only 5 new equity roles but that's about 20 different performers! So lets hope both new shows run a substantial amount of performances per day.

gerararFeb 14, 2025

I'd be surprised if they do that many. BATB has 4 Belle's and 3 Gaston's (currently) with 1 or 2 on deck each day. Lion King has 2 for each singer, which is surprising tbh. They may have stand ins but I only ever see the same 2 actors rotate. Villians would probably have at minimum 2 per role. If it is 7-9 showings, that would be nice and similar to the Frozen sing-a-long of every hour and no lunch break/gap.

discosFeb 14, 2025

I wouldn't be surprised if they go the route of Festival of the Lion King and do a show every hour. Right now Lion King does 7-9 performances a day. There would be more than enough demand for the show. This would allow for two separate sets of Equity cast per day.