One of the main reasons that people love Disney theme parks is that they allow people to experience their favorite stories in a different way, one that’s more physical and more “real.” Right now, Disney has found itself with yet another major hit with Encanto. Since the movie hit Disney+ at Christmas the film, and its chart topping music, has built a massive fan base, and when you see movies get embraced like this, it’s not uncommon to see theme park attractions follow. Encanto songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda is one person who wants to see that happen, and he’s already spoken to the CEO of The Walt Disney Company about it.
In an interview with The Wrap, Lin-Manuel Miranda talks about the surprising success of Encanto, the song “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” hitting number one on the Billboard charts, and just the general popularity this one movie has already gained. We could very easily see Encanto become an even bigger franchise, and Miranda says he already knows how he would like to see Encanto represented in the Disney Parks, he wants to see the casita brought to life for guests to explore. Miranda says…
I talked to [CEO Bob Chapek] and said, “I know there’s a world in which this casita lives in a theme park and we get to actually walk through it in real life.”
The first question that would arise when trying to blue sky an Encanto theme park attraction is just what sort of a ride would it be? You could make an Encanto roller coaster if you wanted to, but most would agree that simply wouldn’t feel like the right sort of attraction for that story.
Instead, something like the Haunted Mansion, which was initially conceived as an attraction guests would walk through, but with the ghosts replaced by the magic of the house, sounds absolutely perfect. Walt Disney Imagineering would be able to make the casita do all sorts of incredible things.
Whether this theoretical attraction is something you walk through or ride through, the basic structure sounds perfect. Lin-Manuel Miranda compares it to The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Undersea Adventure found at Disney California Adventure, which is a traditional dark ride that takes guests through the events and musical moments of the film, the same one that Miranda is part of transforming into a live-action remake. Miranda continues…
Well, I took my kids to Disneyland for the first time pre-pandemic a few years ago. And we sat through The Little Mermaid thing five times in a row. That’s where my brain goes. It’s like, I want to go in and out of this casita and see those characters and see the house respond because that’s something Disney can do that no one else can do.
Of course, the next question that one would ask after deciding what the Encanto attraction should be is where the attraction should go. It’s been suggested that perhaps Epcot should get a Colombia pavilion in the World Showcase that includes this attraction. South America is still entirely unrepresented there, and so it’s a piece of diversity the area could certainly use. Encanto’s representation is one of the reasons the film is so beloved. It’s also been suggested that Disney’s Animal Kingdom could use a South America section, though Encanto doesn’t really fit with that park’s themes of animals and conservation.
Of course an Encanto attraction could easily go in Fantasyland at Disneyland or Magic Kingdom, this is where all the other magical storybook rides exist, and Encanto is certainly one of those.
Wherever it goes and however it works, an Encanto attraction is something that Disney should certainly consider. The casita is a place many fans would love to visit and with Walt Disney Imagineering in charge the magic we could experience is nearly limitless.