MK Cars-Themed Attractions at Magic Kingdom

[WaltWiz1901]

Updates and enhancements are great, but overall I want to go back and experience the “real” Magic Kingdom, not Igers version of it.

chances are we still would be, had WDW management not unleashed MyMagic+ upon their unexpecting audience. the effect that had on the resort, mostly to its detriment, more often than not just squeaks by

 

[JD80]

Who are these people? Are they in the room with us?

What people?

 

[BrianLo]

Who are these people? Are they in the room with us?

I actually don’t totally agree with the points being made, but that opinion absolutely nothing should change is somewhat a minority undercurrent.

Thread 'Would you lock Disneyland in its 1989 state?'

Feb 22, 2025

The year is 1989. You’re visiting Disneyland from the future. Splash Mountain just opened. Tomorrowland is starting to show its age but it still has most of the TL67 attractions. The Peoplemover and the Skyway are still running. Star Tours is still a baby. Country Bears and Captain Eo are still packing em in. No Indy. No Toontown. No Fantasmic. No DCA. No GE. But you have all the Mountains, POTC and HM. You are given the opportunity to forever lock Disneyland in its 1989 state. Knowing what you know about the future. Do you do it? You still get to live your life as it is in 2025 except for...

• mickEblu
• Replies: 112
• Forum: Disneyland Resort

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[JD80]

What would the psychology be of a Disney adult who goes to a Disney forum and diagnoses the psychology of people? Asking for a friend?

Honestly you are taking this way too seriously- Joe Rohde has posted wonderful thoughts on how theme parks become a stand in for “sacred places” that are outside the world of change.

Almost, if not all, of us agree the current rivers at DL is better. That was a significant change but it was for the better.

There is change and there is destruction. Muppets and Rivers and Fountain of Nations are all destruction for no good reason in my book.

I mean if you don't want to engage in serious conversation that's on you.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I mean if you don't want to engage in serious conversation that's on you.

Huh? I made multiple points in the post you quoted and you didn’t respond to one.

What is your take on cars in magic kingdom? You seem to be criticizing those who want the rivers to stay rather than explaining why cars is a good thing.

For the record - I think there are some potential positives about the cars expansion. But they don’t outweigh the loss of the riverboat and a central design point of the castle parks for me.

 

[Agent H]

While I appreciate the sentiment of this post, I don't agree that it's was ever intended to be an "idyllic view" of the past.

• Fantasyland is a collection of fairytales and stories with a variety of themes. There is nothing past or present about it. They are a collection of fantasy settings. This land has no cohesive setting or theme and will never really go out of style.
• Adventureland is based on a mid 20th century sense of adventure with jungle exploration and pirates. It only appears to be looking back because this idea of adventure is nearly a century old. Today's sense of adventure is mostly with space, science and technology. If you were going to build Adventureland today without any bias to the existing parks it would look COMPLETELY different. So your idyllic view of this land is pure nostalgia.
• Tomorrowland is based on, again, mid-20th century view of what the future would be that evolved into a cute retro vibe over time as that style of pop culture faded. Again, if Disney were to remake Tomorrowland without bias to what came before it, it would look completely different.
• Frontierland is a setting for cowboys and indians. Again, another mid-20th century pop culture setting that slowly grew out of favor with the cultural zeitgeist. At this point the TVs and Movies of the past are long out of favor and the majority of people visiting are no longer those that have fond memories of westerns they watched as kids. If Frontierland were to be remade without bias it would probably closely resemble what we're getting. Vistas of nature's bounty, forests and mountains. It's a shame the river has to go, but I hope we still get water in some fashion.
  • Frankly if Disney were to remake a land it wouldn't be a Frontierland it would probably be some other theme.

So the psychology here is that a combination of your own nostalgia for the parks, your own desire for things to remain the same. Fear of change perhaps. The other is that the parks have remained generally the same for 50+ years at this point that they in themselves have become sacrosanct and in becoming sacrosanct they have become more than their original intention and design to you.

I mean is that a bad thing? Also crazy to think Adventureland would have a very real chance of being replaced by galaxies edge in a new US park.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I mean is that a bad thing? Also crazy to think Adventureland would have a very real chance of being replaced by galaxies edge in a new US park.

Not anymore…. They cut it from Paris cause it’s not as popular as they thought.

 

[Agent H]

Not anymore…. They cut it from Paris cause it’s not as popular as they thought.

I thought they cut it from Paris because Star Wars isn’t super popular over there plus they paused on a bunch of projects because of Covid.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I thought they cut it from Paris because Star Wars isn’t super popular over there plus they paused on a bunch of projects because of Covid.

Why would they plan it for Paris if Star Wars isn’t popular in Paris?

Why would they have Stars Wars themed space mountain, Darth Vader meet, and star tours if it isn’t popular in Paris?

Galaxies Edge didn’t perform the way they hoped - clearly.

 

[JD80]

Huh? I made multiple points in the post you quoted and you didn’t respond to one.

What is your take on cars in magic kingdom? You seem to be criticizing those who want the rivers to stay rather than explaining why cars is a good thing.

For the record - I think there are some potential positives about the cars expansion. But they don’t outweigh the loss of the riverboat and a central design point of the castle parks for me.

You said I was being too serious. You posted an opinion and made a joke. I didn't think there was much of a back and forth there.

I posted my opinion of cars a page or two ago for the 10th time since it was announced. But here it is again.

I love change. I don't find specific attractions or corners of the parks sacrosanct. My nostalgia and love of WDW comes from being at the parks and watching them change over time. It's the same conversation I have with my wife at times. She misses our kids being small but I always say I'm excited to see how they continue to grow.

I think Cars-maybe-a-land could be fantastic. It's extremely high risk because you're removing the river so they have to nail it 100%. I'll be critical if they aren't successful. However I think that part of the park is wasted land in general and that overall adding Cars + Villains will be a massive improvement to MK. From more rides, to better logistics, to better crowd control (hoping that they have some firework viewing area to alleviate crowds from Main Street).

There are pros and cons like with most things. Can't wait to see what they have cooked up.

 

[JD80]

I mean is that a bad thing? Also crazy to think Adventureland would have a very real chance of being replaced by galaxies edge in a new US park.

Is what a bad thing? If you were to design a brand new theme park, would you design it based on the sentiments and popculture of 80-100 years ago?

 

[SamusAranX]

Is what a bad thing? If you were to design a brand new theme park, would you design it based on the sentiments and popculture of 80-100 years ago?

Depends on what it is.

Some concepts and IP are timeless.

 

[Agent H]

Is what a bad thing? If you were to design a brand new theme park, would you design it based on the sentiments and popculture of 80-100 years ago?

Is it a bad thing that parts of the parks have become beloved and revered beyond their as you put it “original intention and design”? Also if I was designing a park I would design it based on what I would want to see which if I was building from scratch would include in the case of Adventureland the Indiana Jones ride the jungle cruise mystic manor the tiki room a treehouse a Moana attraction and maybe an Aladdin ride.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

From more rides, to better logistics, to better crowd control

Yes - the logistics and crowd control are the wins. The way Big Thunder was designed as a dead end is problematic unfortunately. “More rides” could be built without filling in the river.

Now personally - I would have built Moana and a new entrance directly into Moana / Adventureland to be used by monorail, resort boat, and foot traffic. Main Street is getting crazy overcrowded. But the reality is that doesn’t answer the Villians land problem.

If you were to design a brand new theme park, would you design it based on the sentiments and popculture of 80-100 years ago?

Of course not. And then it wouldn’t be Disneyland, it would be epic universe.

 

[WaltWiz1901]

The nature of ["The parks aren't a museum"] is to people wanting something to stay the same forever.

as another general rule of thumb, I'm not inherently opposed to change if the replacement/change is better than or at least on equal footing as what's being replaced/changed. Tony Baxter has said something very much along the lines of this quite a number of times

way too often, the response seems to be used to shut down (oftentimes very reasonable) criticism towards a net negative change

 

[Jrb1979]

Is what a bad thing? If you were to design a brand new theme park, would you design it based on the sentiments and popculture of 80-100 years ago?

I would design a new based on Cars and Monsters Inc. That's the IP that the families that make up the majority of guests are nostalgic for.

Also if I was designing a new park I would make it in the mold of Animal Kingdom. A set theme throughout the park.

 

[Andrew C]

personally I don’t think that sounds like a good idea. It doesn’t solve any of the problems I have with it which are that it smells terrible it takes up space that could be used for something significantly better and yet feels too short at the same time and it’s a thematic nightmare.

well, the refurb was supposed to fix much of that...and they aren't going to replace it now, so there ya have it.

 

[Agent H]

well, the refurb was supposed to fix much of that...and they aren't going to replace it now, so there ya have it.

Apologies. I deleted my post by accident.

 

[HMF]

I thought they cut it from Paris because Star Wars isn’t super popular over there plus they paused on a bunch of projects because of Covid.

Maybe it would have been more popular if it wasn't frozen in time between the two least popular Star Wars movies.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I would design a new based on Cars and Monsters Inc. That's the IP that the families that make up the majority of guests are nostalgic for.

Monsters must be more popular then I realize - I like it but it doesn’t seem that popular compared to Inside Out, Incredibles, Coco, etc.