MK Cars-Themed Attractions at Magic Kingdom

[co10064]

A few hours too late but I thought I’d chime in with a hot take:

I have never been impressed with Jungle Cruise. It may be because I was introduced to WDW post-Animal Kingdom. A ride with animatronic animals just doesn’t compare to a park filled with hundreds of live animals. And let’s face it—these days, half the appeal of the Jungle Cruise is the jokes. Take the skipper away, and the ride is nothing special.

On the other hand, Rivers of America/the Riverboat is arguably not as impressive or exciting as the Jungle Cruise; however, the park needs the ROA for its ambiance, visuals, and theming.

So if I had to take one away, it would be Jungle Cruise. But, of course, there is an expansion pad between Jungle Cruise and Pirates, and that needs to be used before JC is removed.

 

[co10064]

And now to double post:
I think I would be less upset about the ROA going away if all of MK’s dead space (e.g. Stitch) and expansion pads (Fire Mountain/Moana) had been used first.

 

[Disgruntled Walt]

And now to double post:
I think I would be less upset about the ROA going away if all of MK’s dead space (e.g. Stitch) and expansion pads (Fire Mountain/Moana) had been used first.

There are no excuses for them not filling the dead space and expansion pads. Heck, money isn't even a good excuse for not making the surrounding land suitable and opening up more expansions.

 

[MisterPenguin]

This is not the Jungle Cruise thread.

 

[solidyne]

This is not the Jungle Cruise thread.

So? People are comparing ROA (Cars) with JC. Seems relevant.

 

[truecoat]

I think coal is really what they would use honestly.

I know I would feel safer with coal VS. lithium ion batteries.

What's your fear of lithium batteries?

 

[The Mom]

Please stay on topic. Thank you.

 

[Disstevefan1]

What's your fear of lithium batteries?

Thermal runaway fires that cannot be put out.

To stay on topic, I hope the Cars Attraction is cancelled.

 

[Raineman]

With all this "just expand, not replace" talk, remember...

More attractions means more expense to run the operations of the park. More CMs to staff the attraction. More engineering hours for upkeep.

And if running the park's ops cost more... guess what Disney will do? Pass the cost to the guest.

And yes, I know that MK's attractions aren't providing enough capacity. So, apart from expanding, you can replace with a higher capacity attraction. You can do more crowd manipulation with surge pricing and reservations and blackouts. You can make the other parks more attractive by putting more attractions there.

Just can't keep expanding forever. Well you can, but ticket prices will rise proportionately.

In the case of Cars vs ROA/TSI/Liberty Belle: currently, there is minimal staff needed to maintain and operate the Liberty Belle, ROA and TSI. The new Cars area that will replace it, with multiple attractions, most likely at least one QS restaurant, and most likely at least one store, will require much more staffing than what it replaced. So, in that particular case, replacing instead of expanding still increases the cost of park ops. But the cost of any significant spending on attractions at a Disney park will always be passed to the customer, no matter what. It makes no sense to infinitely replace and not expand.

I have some hot takes but I’m just going to say them.

1. The ROA is just scenery. You don’t really experience it, you just look at it and I feel that getting rid of it to put in things that add capacity and absorb crowds is something MK desperately needs. I will die on that hill.

2. From everything I’ve read or seen about Walt over the years I don’t believe Walt would want the company holding on the classic rides just because they are “classic” he said on multiple occasions that Disneyland should always be changing and trying to improve.

Heck, if we really wanted to do what Walt’s ideas were, DL wouldn’t have any of the stuff he made 70 years later and WDW wouldn’t even exist because he didn’t have any intention of putting a theme part in his Florida project. He bought all the land to make a self sufficient city. I’m not sure if he had any interest in the being more than one theme part with his name on it. I will be significantly injured on that hill.

Cinderella castle is just scenery-nothing to really experience there, other than a restaurant. According to your logic, why not rip it out and put something there to add capacity? An important part of a THEME park vs an amusement park is the theming, which is significantly driven by scenery. World Showcase Lagoon at Epcot is just scenery-that's a huge area that could be paved over and used for multiple attractions/restaurants. But, without it, Epcot would not feel the same-the vibe, the atmosphere would be negatively affected. This whole idea that theme parks should have every available inch covered with attractions or "things to do" is very puzzling to me, because it is the antithesis of what Disney parks have always been.

 

[rd805]

In the case of Cars vs ROA/TSI/Liberty Belle: currently, there is minimal staff needed to maintain and operate the Liberty Belle, ROA and TSI. The new Cars area that will replace it, with multiple attractions, most likely at least one QS restaurant, and most likely at least one store, will require much more staffing than what it replaced. So, in that particular case, replacing instead of expanding still increases the cost of park ops. But the cost of any significant spending on attractions at a Disney park will always be passed to the customer, no matter what. It makes no sense to infinitely replace and not expand.

A brand new ride = brand new opportunity for Lightning Lane purchases. At the hourly rate they pay CMs, a family of 4 getting a Lightning lane ONE time pays the ride ops; a new ride = instant money maker for WDW right now.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I’m against the plan 100% - but this is not Disney being greedy to get LL’s - they are spending some serious money on this project.

The easy and cheap way to get more Money is to make the riverboat and island an upsell. Tianas riverboat ride with some prepackaged cookies (from Tiana’s foods co-op of course!).

TSI becomes an exclusive meet and “interactive” experience complete with a snack at aunt Polly’s.

No investment - extra income. Done.

 

[Phil12]

The Magic Kingdom is getting better all the time. Removal of the imitation boat and RoA is certainly a step in the right direction. TSI has always been one of the most boring attractions within the park and few will miss it. And I think we all need to look at the bright side. By getting rid of the water area, we'll no longer have those nasty ducks to deal with.

 

[Disstevefan1]

Do we think they will theme the construction walls?

After all, they will be up for at least 5 years or so..

 

[DisneyHead123]

I’m against the plan 100% - but this is not Disney being greedy to get LL’s - they are spending some serious money on this project.

The easy and cheap way to get more Money is to make the riverboat and island an upsell. Tianas riverboat ride with some prepackaged cookies (from Tiana’s foods co-op of course!).

TSI becomes an exclusive meet and “interactive” experience complete with a snack at aunt Polly’s.

No investment - extra income. Done.

There used to be a Tiana’s ice cream party type event but by the time my niece was born and interested in princesses it was gone. A bummer.

Unfortunately I don’t think sweet nostalgic rides like the Riverboat stand any kind of chance against the potential big profits of LL. I’m going to try to do math here, so watch out, lol. So TouringPlans says the maximum capacity for Radiator Springs Racers is 1,500 an hour. That seems like a decent comparison point for the new ride. TouringPlans also has LL at about 26% of the line, currently. So say for a shiny new ride, it’s running at or close to capacity with maybe some downtime each week. So say it’s averaging about 10 hours a day at capacity. That’s 3,900 people a day, right? If we’re talking a $15 ILL that’s over 400k a week on LL alone! Even with the summer slump, nighttime parties, a few other off weeks and downtime, I’m going to guesstimate that comes out to around 15 million a year. Not to mention whatever Cars merch they sell in the area, which I think someone said was a pretty big consideration. Maybe they throw a Lightning McQueen popsicle and slushy stand somewhere in there as well. We’re talking about an absolute money making machine that’s now easily churning out 20 million a year if not much more (I have zero reference point for merch sales).

I’m kinda resigned to the fact that this is the way things are going to be, because the risk / reward ratio almost demands it, from an investor POV. That’s why my hope is more that we get really good ride replacements. Nothing against Cars, but given the location, I would prefer a Coco Village and ride 1,000 times over Lightning McQueen.

 

[Disstevefan1]

I’m against the plan 100% - but this is not Disney being greedy to get LL’s

Yes it is

 

[AidenRodriguez731]

Yes it is

Source: I made it up.

There are FAR easier ways to make money off LL's than this plan. Now merch + LLs, this will sell a boatload but I still think this is them trying to update Frontierland into a new narrative about exploring the American Wilderness and kinda matching "Fort Wilderness" in a way.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

We’re talking about an absolute money making machine that’s now easily churning out 20 million a year if not much more

Is cars land at DCA a money making machine?

 

[DisneyHead123]

Is cars land at DCA a money making machine?

Presumably yes. Looks like Radiator Springs has an ILL option. Also, it’s an entire land with walkable areas, whereas I think the Disney World version will be primarily rides, with probably a store and snack area.

Not trying to be depressing, just realistic. There are versions of this new dynamic I could like. It’s certainly an incentive for Disney to build great new rides.

 

[flynnibus]

I’m against the plan 100% - but this is not Disney being greedy to get LL’s - they are spending some serious money on this project.

The easy and cheap way to get more Money is to make the riverboat and island an upsell. Tianas riverboat ride with some prepackaged cookies (from Tiana’s foods co-op of course!).

TSI becomes an exclusive meet and “interactive” experience complete with a snack at aunt Polly’s.

No investment - extra income. Done.

Some income - yes.. but you also described labor intensive stuff that isn't high volume and doesn't run continuously all day, every day, virtually on its own.

Getting an attraction that can sell ILL just prints money. Let's do some super crude math. Take something with 1400 Riders per hour.. give 30% to LL.. let's round down for the non-paid in there too.. so let's say 25% of capacity being sold. That's 350 people /hr paying $20 to ride. Assuming just 13hrs of operating a day.. that's 91k a day. That's over 33 million a year for basically no extra cost over running the ride you are doing anyways. A 300 million dollar ride can pay for itself OUTRIGHT in less than 10yrs.. on an attraction you hope will last 20+years. Nevermind all the other revenue streams like merch, etc a ride generates. That kind of 'free money' will make any exec drunk with to repeat that formula.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Getting an attraction that can sell ILL just prints money

Isn’t that always a revolving door? Like there is only 1 per park correct? Maybe I’m not folllwing.