MK Cars-Themed Attractions at Magic Kingdom

[Chef idea Mickey`=]

I’m excited for this project if for nothing else it will finally make MK feel more unique rather than just a lesser version of its siblings.

It needs also unique snacks better treats than candy to stick out!

 

[Chef idea Mickey`=]

This is just so shortsighted. Cars racing past the Haunted Mansion. Cars racing past the runaway mine train. Cars racing past the Country Bear Musical Jamboree.

The amount of "settling" I see in this thread is somewhat disheartening. It's because they think people won't care that they make these dumb decisions. I suppose it's not surprising that the podcasters on here are in favor, but I've yet to find one that's critical without being somewhat crazy. Maybe I need to start my own. I have a hunch there are many more "Disgruntled Walts" out there than just me.

Only one I can think of is La Reina Creole or myself lol

 

[Chef idea Mickey`=]

honestly going to say that just as the Magic Kingdom is not Disneyland (and vice versa), Disney is not Universal, and building mostly nearly 1:1 clones of the same attraction - especially in the same country - borders on being every bit as "Universal" as their repeated, and repeatedly scattershot, attempts to come up with the next "Potter swatter".

I'm not completely against and can actually get behind building a popular attraction more than once, but IMO it's equally as important, if not more, that each park (even the Disneyland-style ones) maintains some sort of distinct identity, and that means claiming a few unique attractions to themselves

For Frozen, Cars, Big Hero 6 it's ridiculous.

 

[JohnD]

After Florida approved the necessary permits, the conversation on X has approached "The Sky Is Falling!" proportions. You would think we didn't know about this project before the permits were approved. I'm sad to see ROA go too but geez.

 

[FettFan]

The Magic Kingdom is Dead.

 

[KDM31091]

After Florida approved the necessary permits, the conversation on X has approached "The Sky Is Falling!" proportions. You would think we didn't know about this project before the permits were approved. I'm sad to see ROA go too but geez.

I think it’s also just the implications. To me, ROA going essentially means nothing is sacred to Disney. They truly don’t care at this point, and will demolish anything to sell more LLs. It’s business and I get it, but you need to balance things. Not every single attraction has to be a headliner or lightning lane sale generator. It’s important to have the smaller attractions too. The execs just don’t care and deem any of those attractions expendable, “wasted space”. Is TSA underutilized? Sure. It is. But it doesn’t have to be. They have chosen to not update or utilize it, and now that’s the excuse to just get rid of it.

Losing the water element entirely is an even bigger issue to me. They could have at least kept a small portion and docked the boat for scenic value snd at least a small nod to the fans. Today’s Disney doesn’t care though, and that’s scary; especially with so much truly abandoned or wasted space in the parks anyway, there’s no need to eliminate functioning attractions. Expansions should be expansions. Everyone’s tired of the constant replacements. The attraction lineup never seems to grow.

 

[JohnD]

Losing the water element entirely is an even bigger issue to me. They could have at least kept a small portion and docked the boat for scenic value snd at least a small nod to the fans. Today’s Disney doesn’t care though, and that’s scary; especially with so much truly abandoned or wasted space in the parks anyway, there’s no need to eliminate functioning attractions. Expansions should be expansions. Everyone’s tired of the constant replacements. The attraction lineup never seems to grow.

I agree with you here. Fill in the lower half for Cars Land. Keep the upper island. Move the dock for Liberty Belle just west of HM. Continue walking past the new Liberty Belle dock up to Villain's Land.

 

[WorldExplorer]

I think it’s also just the implications. To me, ROA going essentially means nothing is sacred to Disney. They truly don’t care at this point, and will demolish anything to sell more LLs. It’s business and I get it, but you need to balance things. Not every single attraction has to be a headliner or lightning lane sale generator. It’s important to have the smaller attractions too. The execs just don’t care and deem any of those attractions expendable, “wasted space”. Is TSA underutilized? Sure. It is. But it doesn’t have to be. They have chosen to not update or utilize it, and now that’s the excuse to just get rid of it.

Losing the water element entirely is an even bigger issue to me. They could have at least kept a small portion and docked the boat for scenic value snd at least a small nod to the fans. Today’s Disney doesn’t care though, and that’s scary; especially with so much truly abandoned or wasted space in the parks anyway, there’s no need to eliminate functioning attractions. Expansions should be expansions. Everyone’s tired of the constant replacements. The attraction lineup never seems to grow.

The fact that Cars in Frontierland might be the single stupidest most blatantly unfitting concept they've ever done (and they've done/plan to do many) definitely doesn't help the "Disney doesnt' care" vibe.

Maybe next they can rip out it's a small world for a Stitch attraction.

 

[EricsBiscuit]

Don't be sorry for us. I've got faith that when its all said and done this will be good for Magic Kingdom. The worst Frontierland in the world has been in dire need of attention and upgrading for my entire lifetime. It, like most things in Magic Kingdom, is a downgraded version of what is done better in other castle parks around the world. It's not as beautiful as Paris', it's not as energetic and lively as Anaheim's and Tokyo's, and it's not as unique as Shanghai's and Hong Kong's. It's not the worst thing in the world to look at, but it lacks and has always lacked in comparison to the other examples around the world.

MK is the most visited park in the world, and I've long been tooting the horn that it needs to actually set itself apart from the other castle parks in ways that aren't just having the inferior versions of attractions but on a larger scale. It needs things that are unique to it, and the idea of going in and changing the lands to do that is not a poor one. The concept of a National Park interpretation of Frontierland is a smart one, and if executed correctly (and yes, I admit that's a big if), then it could instantly bump up from the bottom to near the top. MK needs to stop trying to do what the other parks are doing and just do MK. A completely unique interpretation of Frontierland that's not trapped in this frozen state it's been in since the 80s is the perfect opportunity for that.

I'm not completely sold on the IP attached to it yet but if what they build actually resembles that concept art and we actually get a truly unique, energetic, and nice looking National Park spin on the land, then MK's Frontierland may finally become an interesting place to be.

There’s no way that MK’s Frontierland was the “worst.” In any case, the whole stretch of RoA at MK was amazing. It was a masterclass of themed design. They have now gone through and ruined almost every part of it, downgrading Splash, CBJ, removing the shooting arcade, and now removing the river outright. It is a travesty.

 

[JohnD]

The fact that Cars in Frontierland might be the single stupidest most blatantly unfitting concept they've ever done (and they've done/plan to do many) definitely doesn't help the "Disney doesnt' care" vibe.

Maybe next they can rip out it's a small world for a Stitch attraction.

I think Frontierland is going the way of the DINOSAUR. They're slowly fading it out. Current leadership would be more than happy to see it go. The only thing left remotely connecting to Frontierland is BTMRR which isn't going anywhere. Country Bears is now singing modern Disney songs. Shooting Arcade is a DVC lounge. Peco Bill's could be rethemed to Tiana in a heartbeat. They already did the comparable thing in DLP. Trading Post? Another easy retheme. Splash or Tiana never really fit the theme either way. Yes, Splash was the better ride.

 

[Ayla]

Probably should put this to a poll but was curious, would people be more in favor of the Cars concept being scrapped if it meant giving Villains a larger presence?

Scraping it not to save ROI, but to give Villains land more attractions? Hypothetically, would that be the lesser of the two evils... if in contention.

No. I want both of them scrapped.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I think Frontierland is going the way of the DINOSAUR. They're slowly fading it out. Current leadership would be more than happy to see it go. The only thing left remotely connecting to Frontierland is BTMRR which isn't going anywhere. Country Bears is now singing modern Disney songs. Peco Bill's could be rethemed to Tiana in a heartbeat. They already did the comparable thing in DLP. Trading Post? Another easy retheme. Splash or Tiana never really fit the theme either way. Yes, Splash was the better ride.

At this point it feels more like "Domestic Adventureland" focusing on exploring different parts of North America contrasting to existing Adventureland which is more exploring South America, Africa, and Asia

Which definitely removes nostalgic elements for people that visited and enjoyed Frontierland but also probably resonates more with guests who don't have that as Frontier/Westerns aren't as popular as they were in the past

 

[WorldExplorer]

I think Frontierland is going the way of the DINOSAUR. They're slowly fading it out. Current leadership would be more than happy to see it go. The only thing left remotely connecting to Frontierland is BTMRR which isn't going anywhere. Country Bears is now singing modern Disney songs. Peco Bill's could be rethemed to Tiana in a heartbeat. They already did the comparable thing in DLP. Trading Post? Another easy retheme. Splash or Tiana never really fit the theme either way. Yes, Splash was the better ride.

If they want to phase out Frontierland then they should pick something that actually works to retheme it to and do a whole land redo (let Big Thunder stay standing in the corner as its own thing). Making a bizarre pastiche where the only thing tying everything together is "there's some wood" is not the answer.

 

[Ayla]

I'm still not happy about this but I've just accepted it and I'm interested to see what they do here. I really hope they have some great Imgineers on this and it turns out great.

I learned my lesson on Tiana. I loved Splash, understood why it needed to be re-themed, hoped it was incredible and was so terribly disappointed.

I have zero faith in the current disney engineers.

 

[THEMEPARKPIONEER]

It looks to me all the way at the ends of the concept art that there is a body of water, are they keeping the other half of the river?

 

[JohnD]

I learned my lesson on Tiana. I loved Splash, understood why it needed to be re-themed, hoped it was incredible and was so terribly disappointed.

I have zero faith in the current disney engineers.

I don't want to go down a rabbit hole (he he) but I understood the argument why it needed to be re-themed. Moving on, they were so desirous to wipe Splash from our consciousness ASAP that they didn't put any thought into a replacement with just as an engaging story. PATF, for example, with Facillier. So, yeah. Is there any imagining left with Disney's Imagineers?

 

[Jrb1979]

I have come around on Cars as an attraction and it looks very good. I do feel this is the beginning of the end for WDW as older fans know it. If Cars is a major draw, I can see Disney doubling down and slowly replacing the lands in MK to a bunch of mini IP lands.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Which definitely removes nostalgic elements for people that visited and enjoyed Frontierland but also probably resonates more with guests who don't have that as Frontier/Westerns aren't as popular as they were in the past

Or maybe, themed entertainment should be seen as its own thing and not just as a series of references to other media.

 

[Ayla]

At this point it feels more like "Domestic Adventureland" focusing on exploring different parts of North America contrasting to existing Adventureland which is more exploring South America, Africa, and Asia

Which definitely removes nostalgic elements for people that visited and enjoyed Frontierland but also probably resonates more with guests who don't have that as Frontier/Westerns aren't as popular as they were in the past

I’m a 50 year old woman. Exactly how many westerns do you think I’ve watched? Shockingly, unlike today’s younger crowd, some of us can enjoy things without them having to be explicitly tied to some other thing.

 

[KDM31091]

It looks to me all the way at the ends of the concept art that there is a body of water, are they keeping the other half of the river?

As far as what I can tell from the permits, no. It seems a very small portion will remain, but it’s just the backstage part that feeds into the seven seas lagoon. Nothing we will be able to see or anything. Maybe they will put a tiny pond in the villains land, because it does look like it in the art.