Today, we’re talking about future-seeing talismans at Disney World, and no — not the crystal ball in the Haunted Mansion. That one seems to only work for Madame Leota.

No, we’re talking about something MUCH easier for people like you and me to get our hands on, and it doesn’t require you to join Madame Leota for a seance or have horrific dreams with Sorcerer Mickey. This one is made of paper and can be found at merchandise locations, park entrances, and even front desks at the resort hotels. That’s right, we’re talking about park maps!

Disney World’s park maps can sometimes help us predict the future! These maps tend to stay in the parks for a while as a tool for guests before Disney prints and distributes new ones. With that in mind, sometimes maps are distributed with park changes included on them — before they happen in the parks! We’ve seen three instances of this happen recently, so let’s check them out together!

1. Play Pavilion Removed From EPCOT Map

Back in January, we noticed a small change on the new EPCOT park map! On the previous map, the small yellow circle in the bottom left-hand corner said “Future home of PLAY,” but now all that remains is… an empty yellow circle.

This could mean several different things. The Play Pavilion construction could have been delayed, scrapped entirely, or altered in a way that pushes back the opening date. Either way, this map change indicates to us that guests probably won’t be able to visit the Play Pavilion soon. Otherwise, we’d probably see an opening date and a designation of what’s included in that area, like the next map we’re going to be talking about!

2. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Added to Magic Kingdom Map

A Magic Kingdom also got a new map in January, indicating a pretty massive change! These maps were distributed around the same time Splash Mountain closed to guests, and the maps already indicated that Splash Mountain was a thing of the past.

Instead, the attraction was labeled as Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, and right underneath, the ride logo is pictured with a “coming 2024” indicator! While we already knew Splash Mountain was closing, this only further confirmed plans for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure as well as gave us an estimate of when we could expect the attraction to open.

3. Dino Diner Removed From Disney’s Animal Kingdom Map

New maps were distributed in Disney’s Animal Kingdom in November of 2022, and among other changes we already knew about — like the end of Kite Tails and COVID-19 restrictions — we noticed something interesting.

Dino Diner was removed from the map! It had mysteriously disappeared from DinoLand in the park, and now the map reflects that. At the D23 Expo in 2022, it was announced that DinoLand would potentially be reimagined as a new land featuring Zootopia. Could this map change and restaurant removal indicate a phase-out of DinoLand? We’ll just have to wait and see!

While park maps may be viewed by some guests as useless with the addition of park maps to the My Disney Experience app, they actually can offer some useful information! (Not to mention, it’s a free souvenir that’s great for scrapbooking or collages if you’re the crafty type!)

As usual, make sure to follow along for more Disney news and updates. We post every day about things that could make your next Disney vacation easier! Click the link below to check out a FULL LIST of Disney park tips.

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Do you usually grab park maps? Let us know in the comments! 

The post Three Recent Disney World Park Map Changes That Predict The Future first appeared on the disney food blog.