MK Cars-Themed Attractions at Magic Kingdom

[Dreamer19]

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.

Wouldn’t improvements to Tomorrowland be first on the list if we were thinking logically?

 

[Raineman]

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

Multiple times I've walked through the hub just before/during/just after a parade/fireworks-if I ever make it back to WDW, maybe I'll just take the train instead.

 

[Adventureland Veranda]

I'm getting excited for the new view!

 

[Snapper Bean]

I acknowledge that I am in the minority but I actually think the scenery aspect of the Piston Peak is going to be better than the Rivers of America. Trees and rock formations and cascading water and geysers versus a flat river with trees on an island that next to nobody visits. I'm sorry that the boat doesn't go around anymore but as a guy who loves everything about Grizzly Peak at DCA I think this is going to be an improvement (even without considering the addition of the attraction).

 

[dmw]

@wdwmagic Is there a construction thread for this new land? I tried a search and did not find anything. But maybe I used the wrong key words. I'm not really into the arguing the replacing of ROA, but don't want to miss updates on construction.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I acknowledge that I am in the minority but I actually think the scenery aspect of the Piston Peak is going to be better than the Rivers of America.

I think several of us have hopes that this will be the case. The loss of the riverboat is inexcusable.

 

[James Alucobond]

Wouldn’t improvements to Tomorrowland be first on the list if we were thinking logically?

I think pure expansion would logically be first, so Fire Mountain plot, Main Street bypasses, re-opening of Stitch space, etc. All of that could be done to ease losses during subsequent improvements and then ultimately expand capacity overall.

 

[flynnibus]

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?

uhh.. Moana? Adventureland Treehouse? Pandora?

The attack on water features was a mid 20x0 period thing in the spirit of conservation... where fountains and smaller things were taken out all over. This really hasn't impacted major attraction elements.

 

[rle4lunch]

I acknowledge that I am in the minority but I actually think the scenery aspect of the Piston Peak is going to be better than the Rivers of America. Trees and rock formations and cascading water and geysers versus a flat river with trees on an island that next to nobody visits. I'm sorry that the boat doesn't go around anymore but as a guy who loves everything about Grizzly Peak at DCA I think this is going to be an improvement (even without considering the addition of the attraction).

Grizzly and Carsland continue to be impressive immersive rockwork and theming all these years later. Carsland at night is as close to accurate to the movie as you can get in real life. We can only hope that PP (terrible acronym) has as much effort put in to it.

 

[DisDude33]

Multiple times I've walked through the hub just before/during/just after a parade/fireworks-if I ever make it back to WDW, maybe I'll just take the train instead.

The train can be easier depending on where you’re going and how time you have to get there. Sometimes it’s actually much faster just to walk to your next destination.

 

[MisterPenguin]

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.

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

Fountain in Ratatouille Plaza.

Amazing water jets with Illuminous.

Waterfall in RotR queue.

Lakeside Amphitheater in DAK.

 

[Ayla]

@wdwmagic Is there a construction thread for this new land? I tried a search and did not find anything. But maybe I used the wrong key words. I'm not really into the arguing the replacing of ROA, but don't want to miss updates on construction.

I don't think there is, yet. Steve was probably waiting until a closing date was announced.

You could start one.

 

[Tha Realest]

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

It’s been used as a feature in just about every castle park. If it weren’t helpful in making these parks - the most successful of the Disney parks in their respective resorts - why did they keep replicating this feature?

 

[Professortango1]

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!

Yet,...Burbank want's to rip out a giant, historic portion of Magic Kingdom and leave a crater there for 5+ years. Burbank is acting like "Disney's Rivers of America" was somehow a useless thing that didn't help the park's incredible success over the generations??? ?

Burbank,...you are taking your most successful park, your crown jewel and dropping a bomb blast inside there,....for,....no,....damn,...reason. You are taking a 100% PROVEN success formula and shredding it. You are saying something is socially "problematic" when literally NOBODY is complaining about it being that way. You are taking Burbank's BEST "cash register" and smashing it with a hammer. Your customers are NOT complaining about RoA, it's only "you" that complain about it.

This reminds me of "New Coke". Some brilliant Coca Cola execs said: "We don't like the taste of Coke anymore,...so let's change this monstrously successful product into something new". Nobody asked for "New Coke"!!! It was pushed on their customers by stupid Coke execs and the consumer outrage was enormous. Eventually, somebody at Coca Cola decided to reverse this insane idea and get back to reality.

Sadly,...this decision Burbank is making can't be reversed.

Having a gigantic bomb-crater in the HEART of your most prized park WILL hurt attendance for 5+ years. Building Cars on the unused SIDE of the park would not have disturbed anything and would have made EVERYbody happy.

MK may be the most visited, but I've also known it to be one of the most divisive. It is the park I visit the least when heading to Florida as it's just a really discounted version of Disneyland without the key rides that I love at Disneyland (Rise, Indiana Jones, Pinocchio, Casey Jr, Mr Toad, Snow White, Alice) and clunkier versions of Space and Pirates. For many, even my Florida friends, the hope was that SDMT would be what MK was missing. It ended up being a huge disappointment for those wanting an excuse to visit MK. Tron was a step closer, but super short and not too aesthetically pleasing. In all honesty, I wish that Tron and Cosmic Rewind had been planned opposite, as Guardians fits TL far more and MK needed a hit, and Tron fits Epcot much better.

In my opinion, MK needs something like this. I wish they had not removed the ROA, but the WDW ROA wasn't as spectacular. I also wish they were adding a Tall Tales section to Frontierland rather than a Cars area, but if they can deliver something that is akin to RSR's level of enjoyment and beauty, then it will be a win for MK, no doubt.

Right now, Radiator Springs Racers is the sole driving force for me to visit DCA. Sure, I ride some other stuff when I am there, but what makes me walk across is the esplanade is RSR. And I don't even like the Cars films.

Right now, MK is the park most threatened by EU (for me.) My next Florida trip I am skipping MK and spending an extra day at EU. I don't have kids, but I can't imagine parents thinking Fantasyland looks more fun and interactive than Isle of Berk. I can't imagine teens clamoring for HM over Monsters Unchained or POTC over MOM.

 

[Marc Davis Fan]

Yet, MK is the park that represents Disney to most visitors, and the one they will remember as "Disney." As such, it absolutely needs to blow people away. While I wish they were not replacing Rivers of America, I hope that Piston Peak and Villains Land contain the stunning terrain and groundbreaking massive-scale attractions needed to make MK a creative centerpiece of the theme park world again.

 

[flyerjab]

Fountain in Ratatouille Plaza.

Amazing water jets with Illuminous.

Waterfall in RotR queue.

Lakeside Amphitheater in DAK.

Pandora is filled with water features.

 

[LittleBuford]

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?

To add to the answers you've already received, people are less concerned with what may be added than what may be taken away. And it seems they may be taking less of the river away than originally planned, which would be a good thing.

 

[mattpeto]

. I consider MK to be WDW's weakest park. It simply lacks the unique features and "wow" factors in the other three - ToT and SWGE at DHS, WS at EPCOT, nearly all of AK.

Tron, 7DMT, HoP, PeopleMover, CoP, Bears - there are unique attractions at MK.

I also think people are too quick to dismiss entertainment at MK. Happily Ever After, the replacement for Wishes are both beloved shows. Obviously there are factors in Central Florida (being able to shoot off pyro daily, pyro launch points, bigger castle) give it a distinct advantage over Disneyland, but they shouldn't be discarded.

Festival of Fantasy, even if it's slightly modified from returning after Covid runs daily and it will be running simulatenously with Starlight. Disneyland didn't even run Magic Happens for the entire year and with PtN, there is no daily parade during the day.

 

[Raineman]

I concur with @Professortango1 above. I consider MK to be WDW's weakest park. It simply lacks the unique features and "wow" factors in the other three - ToT and SWGE at DHS, WS at EPCOT, nearly all of AK.

If what you're looking for is wow factor, then I can understand why you think this way. But MK is still the flagship park at WDW, and it's appeal for decades now has never been the wow factor-it's appeal to most has been nostalgia, both in the subject matter (very few attractions/restaurants in MK are based on any IP introduced during and after the early 90s) and in the cherished memories of past visits. I am one of the "nostalgia" people, and WDW, and MK in particular, is changing in such a way as that nostalgia is being stripped away, as the focus is clearly moving away from people like me and towards guests from the younger generations who want "new" and "exciting" and newer IP, and that is the main reason that my desire to return to WDW has diminished significantly in the last 5-6 years. The balance between old and new that WDW has maintained so well for years is slipping away. I hope the newer generations enjoy the parks for years to come, but there will come a time when they will be lamenting the loss of their favorite attraction, and they will know exactly how and why us "nostalgia" people felt the way we feel about ROA.

 

[FerretAfros]

Only took six years for them to forget this….

How ironic.

In 2019, Disney is proudly stating this on social media.

In 2025, that sentiment has been suddenly forgotten.

Makes you wonder….what changed that mentality.


View attachment 862267

That image is of Disneyland's TSI, whose layout is based on a napkin sketch that Walt created. While it kept his general layout, there were incremental changes over the years, most notably the Fantasmic! infrastructure in the early-90's, lawyer-guided removals in the late-90's (which mysteriously never hit the mirror-image copy in TDL), and Pirates Lair overlay in the 00's. About a third of the island was removed in 2016/17 when the river was shortened to make space for Galaxy's Edge, though the guest-facing areas saw minimal change.

The post is from April 2019, when Disneyland was gearing up for the May 2019 opening of Galaxy's Edge.

The Parks Blog didn't write a nostalgic post about Walt for warm fuzzies. It was to assuage fears of the new land's impacts on the park and say "I told you so" to people who doubted how the isolated, single-IP, tightly-scripted new land would fit in the park. Much like yesterday's release, the media team was doing damage control.

Disneyland's river was saved largely because of the popularity of Fantasmic! (whose popularity was ironically curtailed by the 2017 revisions to the show), not because of some wistful reverence for Walt. The river remains, but it's a shell of what it once was; instead of venturing off into the untamed wilderness, it's now full of theatrically staged tableaux nearly entirely within sight of walkways and guests to remind you that you're still in a theme park. The trip around the river is quick, even with the reduced speeds of the big boats, making it difficult to feel like it's taken you anywhere special.

The river remains and has a lot to look at, but the experience feels hollow now. The new land is out of scale with the rest of the park, is a dramatic thematic departure from the other lands, and ultimately wastes a lot of space at the most constrained Disney park on the planet. That's what the Parks Blog was bragging about, not a reverance for the guy who created the place. And somehow, that's still significantly better than what WDW is getting.