MK Cars-Themed Attractions at Magic Kingdom

[CoastalElite64]

The last reports of any consequence on the supppsed merch juggernaut is incredibly dated. Like, over a decade old. But it’s repeated as gospel it still sells a ton of merch without any backed up evidence.

You can say the evidence people have used is outdated but at least it was backed on data.

Now if your opinion is that sales have slowed down that can be said about every franchise after its peak.

Regardless, Disney knows how much Cars has made for the company.

 

[Emamba]

“…announced that a new area inspired by the Pixar Animation Studios film “Cars” will be coming to a reimagined section of Frontierland at Magic Kingdom. “The American West has always been about keeping your eyes on the horizon … believing in yourself, carving your own path, and striving toward success. That goes for miners in the mountains, bears from the country, a princess from the bayou … or a racecar from the big city,” - Disney Parks Blog

 

[CoastalElite64]

Nothing is stopping Disney from having dedicated cars merch stores at WDW and yet…. There isn’t one.

Cars is a hugely successful franchise - because of merch though. That is true.

They started adding more merch, and for adults too, so more will come. The kids that watched the first Cars movie are now in their 20s.

 

[BrianLo]

That’s not how this works. When people make baseless claims as to how popular the merchandise is, I’ve repeatedly asked for some recent evidence more recent than, say, 2011 that it still moves a lot of merch like it may have in the 2000’s. Nothing. Someone here (not necessarily this thread) pointed out the franchise used to be singled out in the earnings reports given how much it made, but that’s been many years ago.

Again, can you or anyone else point to some recent evidence it remains the merchandising juggernaut it was once reported to be?

That was me. Disney calls out nine franchises in their 10Q’s and Cars was last in the top nine in 2022, when Stitch overtook its spot in 2023.

The combo of tracking the 10Q and these very recent comments from Deadline would lead me to believe Cars is now either 10th or 11th. The other franchise frequently mentioned but not currently in Disney’s 10Q is Lion King. Knowing that just had a 2024 film entrant, it’s possible Cars has fallen to 11th. But either way the revenue is both beyond its prior peak, but also not insignificant.

The reckless priorities of the company that they feel they need a Cars attraction warrants this effort, would be the third clue the revenue remains still significant.

Retail sales for Stitch have grown from $0.2B in 2019 to $2.6B in 2024, representing a ten-fold increase. Stitch is one of 11 evergreen franchises for the Walt Disney Company that has surpassed $1B in retail sales last year (Stitch being in the top 10).

‘Lilo & Stitch’ Hula Dances Past ‘A Minecraft Movie’ As Disney Pic Becomes Highest Grossing MPA Movie YTD With $957M+ Worldwide

EXCLUSIVE: Disney’s A Lilo & Stitch continues to upend the box office with the duo taking out Warner Bros and Legendary’s pigs and chickens pixelated pic A Minecraft Movie to become the highest grossing MPA movie year-to-date with $957.6 million worldwide and $553.9 million international. A...

deadline.com

 

[BrianLo]

Interestingly, this information on Stitch specifically taking off is newer than when I last looked at this. I now suspect they actually order their top 9 by gross and it’s not randomly listed. Here’s 2023 and 2024 for sake of discussion.

2023
1) Mickey and Friends
2) Star wars
3) Spider-Man
4) Disney Princesses
5) Avengers
6) Frozen
7) Toy Story
8) Winnie the Pooh
9) Lilo and Stitch

2024
1) Mickey and Friends
2) Star wars
3) Spider-Man
4) Disney Princesses
5) Lilo and Stitch
6) Frozen
7) Avengers
8) Winnie the Pooh
9) Toy Story

 

[mickEblu]

I wouldn’t be worried about the sounds from the Cars main ride bleeding over to other areas of Frontierland or Liberty Square if we’re going to judge based off RSR. All you hear is the ride system anywhere outside of the attraction. I’d be more worried about the kiddie ride that will most likely have an ongoing music loop and character narration like Maters or Luigi’s. But I’d imagine that’s why it’s located where it is in the concept art.

 

[JackCH]

Interestingly, this information on Stitch specifically taking off is newer than when I last looked at this. I now suspect they actually order their top 9 by gross and it’s not randomly listed. Here’s 2023 and 2024 for sake of discussion.

2023
1) Mickey and Friends
2) Star wars
3) Spider-Man
4) Disney Princesses
5) Avengers
6) Frozen
7) Toy Story
8) Winnie the Pooh
9) Lilo and Stitch

2024
1) Mickey and Friends
2) Star wars
3) Spider-Man
4) Disney Princesses
5) Lilo and Stitch
6) Frozen
7) Avengers
8) Winnie the Pooh
9) Toy Story

All I see is evidence they should do more with Galaxy’s Edge. Perhaps theming to OT.

And good Lord Spider-Man is such an icon. Separated from the rest of the Avengers and he is still third. It’s no wonder Universal wants to hang onto that contract.

 

[JohnD]

Sigh... I'm finally Disney-ed out. After visiting DINOSAUR, MV3D, and Liberty Belle on my last trip (I went to TSI on an earlier trip) and even flew out to Disneyland for the first time, I'm in no mood to be surrounded by construction everywhere. Especially in MK when the heart and sould of the park have been ripped out. So I'm thinking Pigeon Forge in the Fall and literally made plans last night for USF next Spring.

 

[TheCoasterNerd]

Oh Twitter….er, ‘X’.

Don’t give Bob any more bad ideas….

View attachment 869723

Thank the lord for the big-a$$ sinkhole that makes it impossible to have anything but water there

 

[Brer Panther]

this is isn’t for shareholders.

But when it comes to the universe, we're ALL shareholders!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Oh Twitter….er, ‘X’.

Don’t give Bob any more bad ideas….

View attachment 869723

Major E-Ticket themed to Cars 2 where to do a road rally that visits all the countries!

 

[lazyboy97o]

Thank the lord for the big-a$$ sinkhole that makes it impossible to have anything but water there

There isn’t actually a sink hole.

Sinkholes of Orange County, Florida , 2008

Map of This map was created by FCIT and represents reported sinkhole events in Orange County based on data gathered by the Florida Geological Survey (FGS) and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP). " This dataset represents a set of...

fcit.usf.edu

 

[LindseyDisney]

Okay, folks, it's July 9th. Where is my car ride? Why hasn't it been built yet? It's been three days, Disney! So slow!

 

[MickMinn22]

One thing I am interested to see as construction progresses in this area, does Disney use this construction as a way to prep future expansion beyond the berm. Do they make the railroad bridge permanent and build a walkway under it similar to DL toontown which can be used to access the lay down yards for future expansion? I know nothing about the various permits filed and how water management could impact future use of these areas. This is all probably wishful thinking but would definitely be the time to prep for true expansion and increase the parks footprint.

 

[Ayla]

Okay, folks, it's July 9th. Where is my car ride? Why hasn't it been built yet? It's been three days, Disney! So slow!

So edgy.

 

[JD80]

One thing I am interested to see as construction progresses in this area, does Disney use this construction as a way to prep future expansion beyond the berm. Do they make the railroad bridge permanent and build a walkway under it similar to DL toontown which can be used to access the lay down yards for future expansion? I know nothing about the various permits filed and how water management could impact future use of these areas. This is all probably wishful thinking but would definitely be the time to prep for true expansion and increase the parks footprint.

You have to look through the land use agreements and suitability maps to get some hints.

Land use:

Pink color is for entertainment.
Brown is mixed use.
The Light green/yellow color is for Resource Management and Recreation.
Purple is for Hotel/Resort.

Suitability:

Red is suitable.
The lighter green is marginally suitable. All other greens are various levels of unsuitable.

All the red/light green you see around the NW/W corners of ROA are red/light green.

I wouldn't be surprised if we saw another resort on the lagoon before we saw any building outside the railroad.

 

[flyerjab]

That was me. Disney calls out nine franchises in their 10Q’s and Cars was last in the top nine in 2022, when Stitch overtook its spot in 2023.

The combo of tracking the 10Q and these very recent comments from Deadline would lead me to believe Cars is now either 10th or 11th. The other franchise frequently mentioned but not currently in Disney’s 10Q is Lion King. Knowing that just had a 2024 film entrant, it’s possible Cars has fallen to 11th. But either way the revenue is both beyond its prior peak, but also not insignificant.

The reckless priorities of the company that they feel they need a Cars attraction warrants this effort, would be the third clue the revenue remains still significant.

‘Lilo & Stitch’ Hula Dances Past ‘A Minecraft Movie’ As Disney Pic Becomes Highest Grossing MPA Movie YTD With $957M+ Worldwide

EXCLUSIVE: Disney’s A Lilo & Stitch continues to upend the box office with the duo taking out Warner Bros and Legendary’s pigs and chickens pixelated pic A Minecraft Movie to become the highest grossing MPA movie year-to-date with $957.6 million worldwide and $553.9 million international. A...

deadline.com

View attachment 869724

They recently signed a licensing and/or partnership deal with NASCAR in 2024.

I know many posters here give the current iteration of this company no props whatsoever. But there is no way that they rip out what some here apparently deem the nostalgic heart of this park for a somewhat dubious IP choice if it fell off the face of the Earth in terms of popularity (ie not a revenue generator of some kind).

I think they are looking at how ridiculously popular RSR is in DCA. If it reaches that level of popularity here it is a guaranteed money maker in terms of ILL sales. Then add the merchandise sales on top of that. This would fit their later parks operating model perfectly. I mean, like it or not, this is a guiding principal for them. How much revenue do they generate from the ROA and TSI? Can they monetize either of these with an ILL? That would be No and No, respectively. Cars is an easily recognizable brand that will generate revenue. YMMV as to whether it fits or not.

 

[solidyne]

Neither the number of attractions nor the number of restaurants has any bearing on this area's status as a land. It is a land if and only if the PARK MAP says so.

In the absence of a map, currently, we can only refer to the quoted "within Frontierland," i.e., not a land of its own.

I like "subland," personally.

 

[celluloid]

Can I be unpopular and say that’s fine? We are in the US, it’s somewhat redundant to have Americana at the parks. I wouldn’t want a Francophone ride at Paris either. I would take the train to Paris, or Versailles, for that experience.

That is a fair take.
I think it is also fair that with Walt's mission words and concept of the American Mythos and Americana are a bit different. American Mythos brings in the Caribbean fantasy version of piracy and fairy tales from other cultures.
I think The Americana Mythos is also another barrier that encouraged(Obviously never guranteed) direction that avoids a tribute to corporate flavors of the decade.

 

[lazyboy97o]

You have to look through the land use agreements and suitability maps to get some hints.

The Comprehensive Plan says nothing about what Disney intends to do.