MK Cars-Themed Attractions at Magic Kingdom

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AidenRodriguez731

Well-Known Member
JohnD said:
I don't understand the logic that unless it has an on average long wait, it’s not worth retaining. Does everything in a theme park require guests packed in like sardines?
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No but I think it goes to show the level of care the average public has for this ride vs stuff like muppets or splash. If I were to be so bold? No one really showed up to care about Tom Sawyer, I would say it’s probably best for it to go
 
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MickMinn22

Active Member
Very happy to see to see all the fans out to celebrate and say goodbye. Our last two visits in December and May we made sure to visit the island and ride the river boat. One of my families favorite traditions was eating ice cream sundaes from aunt Polly’s on our last MK day of each trip. While I’m excited to see the new piston peak area, WDI has to pull out all the stops to make this work.

It will be interesting to see how long it takes until we have noticeable changes (boat removed, water drained, demolition). Next trip is September, I’m not expecting much movement prior to that.
 
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AidenRodriguez731

Well-Known Member
phillip9698 said:
Disneyland exists.

It’s the park Walt actually set foot in. It can remain the shrine you wish the Magic Kingdom to be.
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^ bingo, MK has spent way too long being the shadow of Disneyland. It needs this and other unique experiences to show it’s not just Florida Disneyland. It needs a better identity and I think this new expansion begins giving it
 
Captain Barbossa

Captain Barbossa

Well-Known Member
Just got back from visiting my state museum to see the Heroes & Villains: The Art of Disney Costume exhibit from the archives. (Fantastic stuff, will go back before it leaves at the end of October) Anyway, while looking at the museum’s exhibit on the evolution of water transportation in the state, and across the country, there was a little boy and his father next to me looking at models of various vessels. I kid you not, the little boy excitedly pointed to a model of a steam powered riverboat and said “Hey dad, that looks like the Liberty Belle at Disney World! I can’t wait to ride it next month!” The dad’s response indicated that he was unaware about the closure or he wasn’t going to tell him, at least not then.

My heart broke for the kid :(
 
TrainsOfDisney

TrainsOfDisney

Well-Known Member
flynnibus said:
We know their concept - how good of an attraction and setting it will be for the park is still TBD.
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As a concept do you personally find it compelling?

phillip9698 said:
Disneyland exists.

It’s the park Walt actually set foot in. It can remain the shrine you wish the Magic Kingdom to be.
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So the 50+ year history of the Magic Kingdom doesn’t count?
 
Moth

Moth

Well-Known Member
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Figments Friend

Figments Friend

Well-Known Member
Animaniac93-98 said:
Increasingly little is left of The Magic Kingdom of the 20th century.

Its been a long time in the making, done in increments small enough over the decades that most guests wouldn't notice.

For a park that opened with a disproportionate number of shows and no thrill rides because it was assumed the Floridian audience would skew older, the character and stroller park we know of today is a far cry from that.

Rides like Mr Toad and Snow White were designed to amuse their creators as much as the children of parents who were drawn to the resort for its appeal to everyone. A variety of recreation and concepts, accessible attractions, sophisticated technology and good showmanship. In those days, Disney resorts and attractions were not designed strictly with children in mind or for their merchandising potential. Some of Magic Kingdom's stores operated at a loss knowing they would support the park as a whole in some indirect way. Magic Kingdom was a success because it was far above the competition when it came to quality, and for its cross generational appeal. It wasn't all cartoon characters all the time.

Yes, the park had IP, but in the case of Frontierland what tied Davy Crockett, Tom Sawyer, Ichabod Crane, Pecos Bill and later Br'er Rabbit together? All were examples of real American folklore and popular fiction. They may have been the "Disneyfied" version, but they gave a sense of cultural lineage to what Disney was doing, that was then expanded with their own original mythology of Country Bears and Big Thunder Mountain. Cars will never have that. It's self-reference strictly for the sake of name recognition.

Other lands expanded on broader popular concepts outside of Disney's own library. Tiki culture, the space race, genuine nostalgia for the past (back when some people were still alive to remember 1910s America), American history, and more. The power of the park's original lands was that the themes were broad enough to encompass many topics and settings. Think about how varied Adventureland is at touching so many time periods and parts of the globe, all in one area. This gives them appeal beyond what may be the typical Disney movie watching audience, crucial for the park's ability to generate revenue and weather Disney's general popularity with the public (which is always cyclical).

Up until the 90s and the introduction of New Tomorrowland, WDI was proving they were capable of advancing and modernizing the park in a way that displayed creativity, while pushing technology. The early financial woes of Euro Disney caused a ripple effect across all Disney parks that initially started with an effort to wipe out anything that wasn't considered to be pulling its weight financially, and only got worse from there. That's when the old stores and entertainment offerings started to close and one of the park's original E-tickets was shut down in half-secrecy to see if they could get away with it. Then any decision thereafter had to justify itself in ways no other had been scrutinized before. The park languished for years in a limbo of underinvestment and cheap replacements, all while abandoned areas of the park continued to stack up in quantity.

New Fantasyland was the first big investment the park had seen in decades. Another opportunity to bring the park forward into the future and breath new life...and it stopped short at every opportunity to do so, with a disproportionate amount of its acreage devoted to point of sale locations. But at least it was appropriate for Fantasyland.

Tasteful updates to the park have happened in the 21st century. The 2007 "re-haunting" of HM, tech and show updates to HoP, the miraculous return of the original Tiki Room (in some form), the long overdue reopening of the Adventureland Verandah, PhilharMagic, the replacement of the cheap Birthdayland RR station with a proper building etc. If given the opportunity, and a level of trust, WDI can still get it right. It's not just about money. It's about appreciating what's there.

But instead of respecting the park's history and audience, we're getting this. All while rides like Space Mountain and CoP have been begging for a proper refurbishment and genuinely good ideas like the Main Street Theater and Moana expansion of Adventureland get turned down. It's been so frustrating for someone who was such a fan of this park continue to see it get worse because fewer and fewer people care and have such low expectations to begin with.
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Excellent post.

Everyone, please read this again.
It’s all true.

-
 
TheMaxRebo

TheMaxRebo

Well-Known Member
JohnD said:
I don't understand the logic that unless it has an on average long wait, its not worth retaining. Does everything in a theme park require guests packed in like sardines?
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I don't think everything needs to have a long wait, but operations will want it to have some use. They did just build journey of Water that has a regular flow of people but rarely a long wait. Or something like Philhamagic or IASW that generally don't have long waits but regular flow of people (IASW can get waits in busy days)

But the river and TSI take up so much space for very little capacity usage I think it is a different ballpark

There is a difference b/w things the average guests uses as a filler attractions and something they just greatly skip even if no wait
 
JohnD

JohnD

Well-Known Member
TheMaxRebo said:
I don't think everything needs to have a long wait, but operations will want it to have some use. They did just build journey of Water that has a regular flow of people but rarely a long wait. Or something like Philhamagic or IASW that generally don't have long waits but regular flow of people (IASW can get waits in busy days)

But the river and TSI take up so much space for very little capacity usage I think it is a different ballpark

There is a difference b/w things the average guests uses as a filler attractions and something they just greatly skip even if no wait
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I agree with one thing. They want to monetize more of the park. Put in a Cars ride with LLMP or LLSP, then $$$$, Can't get that with Liberty Belle or TSI. Can't have anything anymore built into entrance revenue. Quiet areas take things in? Screw that.
 

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