MK Cars-Themed Attractions at Magic Kingdom

[TrainsOfDisney]

You can't monetize Liberty Belle and TSI.

You can…. But those aren’t great solutions either.

How did the ROA help make the park a success?

It’s part of the design of the park - there really isn’t one thing that makes the park a success.

 

[Smoky]

How did the ROA help make the park a success? Genuinely curious. It's aesthetically great, but that feels like a stretch.

I don't think Disney has ever once said that the ROA are problematic. It's just a large chunk of real estate in a park with capacity issues.

I also don't see how New Frontierland is smashing anything with a hammer. In fact, the average guest will be happy for a Cars attraction because it's incredibly popular.

Finally, let's take this for what it is. Nostalgia. Many on here have been going to MK since the 70s and can't stomach the ROA not being there because of the memories they have with family/friends. If it comes out like they've now shown, it'll be a positive for the park.

Man, if only WDW had room for expansion without ripping out classic attractions. Shucks. Oh well!

 

[EagleScout610]

I highly doubt they're moving the train station given they just did a renovation of it when Tiana's was built. The most I can see happening is a repaint to make it feel more "National park" and less "Wild west"

 

[flynnibus]

I remember learning that the Tower of Terror (visible from Epcot when looking at Morocco) was colored and designed by Imagineers to blend in as a part of Morocco so that guests wouldn’t be taken out of the Epcot theming.

There is no comparison to the Imagineers who implemented that and the lazy and careless individuals putting a cars attraction in between the “Bayou” and a Haunted Mansion.

You're saying this without even knowing what those views even look like... all while accepting you can look at the BTMRR from the Haunted Mansion to begin with... or looking at a mountain while standing in front of president's hall.

I’ve read some posts saying “bUt WuT aBoUt Da CaStLe aT dE eNd uV mAnE sTrEeT?!” Completely missing the point.

Thematically, Disney Parks have become a mess.

Many think the rules are just repeating what choices others made before...

 

[DisDude33]

I highly doubt they're moving the train station given they just did a renovation of it when Tiana's was built. The most I can see happening is a repaint to make it feel more "National park" and less "Wild west"

You are applying logic to this situation, are we sure Disney will do the same?

 

[ToTBellHop]

I highly doubt they're moving the train station given they just did a renovation of it when Tiana's was built. The most I can see happening is a repaint to make it feel more "National park" and less "Wild west"

While I share your skepticism (because it seems like a ridiculous decision), it would not be the first time they spent money to update something only to remove it a couple years later.

 

[rle4lunch]

Sounds like Disney is taking sightlines seriously with this project. It would be great if they did a little work to fix some "original sin" sightlines issues in this area. This would include raising some of the facade heights in Frontierland to block the Adventureland buildings behind them (or add Frontierland theming to the backsides of those Adventureland elements), and putting a "bear cave" tunnel transition between Frontierland and Adventureland with rockwork/waterfall to block the tiki skyline, like this:
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All the while MK Fantasyland looks tacky like a cartoon renaissance fair compared to DL's... They should've really taken the time to expand the level of detail from New Fantasyland to the older part. It's a stark difference between the two areas.

 

[Smoky]

For all the people wetting themselves over these cartoonish and silly water features (now THAT'S a pun) that may or may not happen, when was the last time Disney added any kind of serious water feature? Serious question. I genuinely can't think of one. The only thing that comes to mind is Disney Springs. Why would they change now?

 

[CoastalElite64]

RSR the ride looks to be larger than the entire area for Piston Peak.

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I was pointing out the race track portion. I'm not factoring in the dark ride/preshow area as this version won't have that. The racing part is my favorite part of the ride, so I'm optimistic.

 

[Eric Graham]

The train is one of my favorite parts of Disney in fact. Here's another story from ABC News about the expansion:

Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World to get 'largest expansion' with new national park-themed attraction

A new attraction is coming soon to Frontierland in Disneyland Park.

abcnews.go.com

 

[Purduevian]

You don’t remember 2021’s launch of Genie/Genie+ and Disney wanting more of a push for smartphone necessity in the parks?

My phone time in the parks went up in 2012 with the launch of MDE and FP+. Genie/Genie+ really didn't move the needle for me. I was always hunting/refreshing for better FP+ rides/times just as much as I was with G/G+.

Both could be used decently with pretty minimal phone time. However, to really get the most out of either product required similar amounts of time on the phone.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

This will probably will never happen, but I'd love for them to move the Frontierland Station to the Villains land, with a larger station and flat entry with no steps. I've always found the Frontierland station to be a pain (cramped space).

I'm originally from the west coast though, which has four stations, all rather easily accessible. Maybe they could splurge and do four in Florida? It'd be a great way to add a letter to the map without spending a whole lot more, since they're probably doing work there anyway. One can dream, I guess.

Definitely would love the addition of a Villains Land station .... That is a pretty long stretch from the Frontierland one to the Fantasyland one. And it is going to be a long walk to go from Villains Land to the front, or even to the Hub, so having a station there would be good

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I'm shocked by the amount of positive from the most recent announcement. I for one am more optimistic about the project but I'm still upset we're losing the River. I really hope they save Liberty belle.

I think both things can be true....

I know I would not chose to fully remove RoA, and would not select Cars as an IP for Frontierland ... BUT given that is happening I think this latest artwork gives me hope the finished product will/can be really good and beautiful and fit the space, etc

Maybe some is just acceptance but I also think just b/c you aren't a fan of a choice made doesn't mean you aren't allowed to be excited about what is to come

 

[J4546]

For all the people wetting themselves over these cartoonish and silly water features (now THAT'S a pun) that may or may not happen, when was the last time Disney added any kind of serious water feature? Serious question. I genuinely can't think of one. The only thing that comes to mind is Disney Springs. Why would they change now?

Moana JoW?

Treehouse with water wheel and those buckets?

They also just added a small fountain and new wall for the AdventureLand bathrooms here in DL. Not a big feature but still quite better than the blank wall from before.

 

[Raineman]

Definitely would love the addition of a Villains Land station .... That is a pretty long stretch from the Frontierland one to the Fantasyland one. And it is going to be a long walk to go from Villains Land to the front, or even to the Hub, so having a station there would be good

Serious question-do alot of people actually use the MKRR as a way to get around the park quickly? I have honestly only ever rode it as a ride-getting on at Main Street station and doing the complete circle.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

For all the people wetting themselves over these cartoonish and silly water features (now THAT'S a pun) that may or may not happen, when was the last time Disney added any kind of serious water feature? Serious question. I genuinely can't think of one. The only thing that comes to mind is Disney Springs. Why would they change now?

Journey of Water uses a massive amount of water. They have the fountain at the entrance to Epcot, the waterfall from the floating mountain in Pandora and running streams in that area. A few that come to mind

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Serious question-do alot of people actually use the MKRR as a way to get around the park quickly? I have honestly only ever rode it as a ride-getting on at Main Street station and doing the complete circle.

We do - recent trip we were doing all of Tomorrowland and then rode the train to Frontierland to do that area, then again around and got off ai Main St.

We treat it as both an attraction and means of transportation

 

[Grantwil93]

Why would Iger be afraid of a franchise that has produced one 'land' in the parks and not the other franchise that has its own land in three different parks?

Because that franchise has content for all ages with children's animation, comics, books, movies, merch sales, etc.

It's an every quadrant franchise. It's possible iger doesn't see a way to break into that, that's worth the risk of failure.

Not saying I agree that it isnt worth trying, but its kinda why you don't see universal trying to compete with princesses directly either

Harry potter isn't directly a Universal franchise

And its fandom is HUGE. But its not exactly growing at a fast rate. It's built on the love of those who read the books as they came out and watched the films as they came out.

The only thing in years from that franchise that wasn't a financial disappointment was the recent Game. It's trying to find its growth again right now. Iger would think star wars and Marvel are the direct competition to something like Harry Potter.

 

[Gusey]

You never enjoyed Tom Sawyer Island, the Shooting Arcade, Country Bears, the Liberty Belle Riverboat, the Railroad Station, the dining, or the street performances?

I am starting to realize that this is a not a debate about old/new or IP/non-IP. It's about people who enjoy the whole aesthetic experience versus those who just want to get to the next "ride" ASAP just to get bumpity-bumped around and watch things go boom-boom.

I have experienced Tom Sawyer Island, Country Bears, Liberty Belle and the railroad (railroad only because of the whole route). Tom Sawyer Island was a hassle to get to and not a lot there except a few caves and some rocking chairs. For us, it was a huge time suck and meant we rant out of time to do other stuff at the park. Liberty Belle didn't have much to look at, and you don't get to sit down on it unless you run to the few seats onboard with a view. Country Bears at the time was the old version. Never heard of any of the songs and the audio was hard to actually listen to (I'll probably visit the new version to actually experience it). It's ok to actually experience an attraction and not enjoy it, but most of the current openign day Frontierland attractions are just not interesting to me (Plus don't get me started on Hall of Presidents)

 

[James Alucobond]

The Magic Kingdom is THE most visited theme park in the world. It's time-tested and well-proven for generations. From a revenue point of view it is THE absolute strongest park on planet Earth. It's NOT broken and only needs excellent daily maintenance to stay #1. It is the Disney park that will be LEAST affected by Epic Universe. It's the OTHER three parks that need serious financial lifting. Epic Universe is going to hurt the other three the most. Magic Kingdom will stay #1 as long as you properly maintain it. It's iconic in American pop-culture!

What’s being done is not necessarily how they should go about it, but Magic Kingdom absolutely does need work beyond maintenance. It’s not that it needs to chase higher status; it’s that it needs to better handle the crowds being number one now entails. Improving the other parks has never been shown to meaningfully pull attendance away from MK.