MK Cars-Themed Attractions at Magic Kingdom

[DrStarlander]

I don't know about that...it might be kind of tacky againt the realism of the rest of Liberty Square.... Too Cartoony...

I respect that concern. But sculptures in rock cliffs are already a "real" part of patriotic expression so it may not seem that cartoony or out of place. In the same way that Snow White's Grotto at Disneyland is a quiet, aesthetic and nostalgic reference (to Disney history) I think it can be done in a way that feels mature and inspiring.

 

[Ayla]

I always wonder why that particular picture of Rushmore makes it online. I stood in front of those carvings a month ago and thought "Huh. It looks even smaller than it did 32 years ago."

 

[Captain Barbossa]

"Huh. It looks even smaller than it did 32 years ago."

 

[BrianLo]

Has anyone complained about those additions?

Still need a few more parades to get back to the golden age - but Starlight got us one giant leap closer to what it once was.

As far as characters go; yes the whole New Fantasyland / Rasulo era was fraught with how he just wanted to shove Meet and Greets everywhere. I know that’s a bit multifaceted for the reasons why many were angry, but there have been complaints on these topics in the past.

 

[Bocabear]

I respect that concern. But sculptures in rock cliffs are already a "real" part of patriotic expression so it may not seem that cartoony or out of place. In the same way that Snow White's Grotto at Disneyland is a quiet, aesthetic and nostalgic reference (to Disney history) I think it can be done in a way that feels mature and inspiring.
View attachment 888427

So something deeply patriotic facing Liberty Square and then Car parts facing the new attraction? I think it would great if it would just look like natural rocks....even on the Piston Peak side....

 

[EagleScout610]

I respect that concern. But sculptures in rock cliffs are already a "real" part of patriotic expression so it may not seem that cartoony or out of place. In the same way that Snow White's Grotto at Disneyland is a quiet, aesthetic and nostalgic reference (to Disney history) I think it can be done in a way that feels mature and inspiring.
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Knowing modern Disney the Frontierland version would be Tiana, McQueen, Henry the Bear and the goat from Big Thunder (in that order)

 

[DrStarlander]

So something deeply patriotic facing Liberty Square and then Car parts facing the new attraction? I think it would great if it would just look like natural rocks....even on the Piston Peak side....

I'm a little confused if you worried about it being "too cartoony" as before or too serious ("deeply patriotic") for the context.

I don't think it would be too cartoony or too serious (or, that "deep"). I mentioned Snow White's Grotto because there you have playful characters from an animated movie but the overall vibe is calm and restful and classy and a nice place to visit for a moment. That space could have been crass and cheesy and visually cacophonous, like something from a cheap mini-golf course. It's all about execution.

As for whether the source painting is "deeply" patriotic, it's been a part of pop and entertainment culture for decades (nearly 100 years, at least, based on that Disney magazine below). It was first painted for exhibition at the 1876 U.S. centennial exhibition in Philadelphia and so even the original was intended for a theme park of sorts. As people who lived through the Bicentennial know, it was widely co-opted by Disney and others playfully, so it's not particularly sacrosanct. (It's about right for a patriotic theme park land that also has a place to get funnel cakes based on the Headless Horseman and a ride with grin-grinning ghosts.) All that's to say, I don't think the juxtaposition you're describing would be that dramatic (and the "car parts" and Spirit of '76 wouldn't be visible at the same time anyway. Two different things on either side of a structure, that's theme park design).

I like natural rocks and waterfalls. But I think that Liberty Belle structure being the weenie of Liberty Square will be underexploited (for a $200/day theme park) if you go to it and there's nothing specific to Liberty Square there, just some Bwana Bob's-like merch carts and an unnecessarily sheltered view of a generic waterfall (which is not something meaningfully associated with Colonial life and villages or American history, kind of a non sequitur, arguably). I think that structure deserves specific content and a raison d'être that bolsters the land's theme and is worth walking into there for. Something nameable to see. And I think strategically, Disney ought to look for some ways to boost its patriotism cred, and this is an easy one.

So if not a sculpture-waterfall, I'd be hoping for something else.

 

[DrStarlander]

Apologies if this is old news but I just noticed the language on the Disney Experiences site and the details were interesting:

Did we know the places were specifically the "visitor lodge," "Ranger HQ" and that there would be "trails" to explore? Most of that is evident from the concept images but the word "explore" suggests to me more than a walkway from point A to point B but maybe something more akin to what was on Tom Sawyer's Island.

And should we expect to see an animatronic of the Autobahn ranger character inside the Ranger HQ? I'm guessing yes. And maybe that's the queue for the second attraction, based on the fun map.

It's surprising to me they haven't mentioned food as part of this area given how great a role the food offerings at DCA's Cars Land play.

 

[jah4955]

Apologies if this is old news but I just noticed the language on the Disney Experiences site and the details were interesting:
View attachment 892767
Did we know the places were specifically the "visitor lodge," "Ranger HQ" and that there would be "trails" to explore? Most of that is evident from the concept images but the word "explore" suggests to me more than a walkway from point A to point B but maybe something more akin to what was on Tom Sawyer's Island.

And should we expect to see an animatronic of the Autobahn ranger character inside the Ranger HQ? I'm guessing yes. And maybe that's the queue for the second attraction, based on the fun map.

It's surprising to me they haven't mentioned food as part of this area given how great a role the food offerings at DCA's Cars Land play.

I'm still skeptical how they're going to "cram it all in" without it feeling too abbreviated. I can't help but believe the "see and explore the visitor lodge, Ranger HQ, trails and more" will all/mostly be via the 1 main attraction (either from the POV of the queue or the ride vehicle) imo

 

[Raineman]

Apologies if this is old news but I just noticed the language on the Disney Experiences site and the details were interesting:
View attachment 892767
Did we know the places were specifically the "visitor lodge," "Ranger HQ" and that there would be "trails" to explore? Most of that is evident from the concept images but the word "explore" suggests to me more than a walkway from point A to point B but maybe something more akin to what was on Tom Sawyer's Island.

And should we expect to see an animatronic of the Autobahn ranger character inside the Ranger HQ? I'm guessing yes. And maybe that's the queue for the second attraction, based on the fun map.

It's surprising to me they haven't mentioned food as part of this area given how great a role the food offerings at DCA's Cars Land play.

So they demolish an area that already had trails to explore-for a new area that will have trails to explore? Instead of trails based on a classic piece of American literature written by one of the most celebrated and well known authors in history, there will be trails based on a fictional world of talking anthropomorphic cartoon cars. But we have to keep little Aiden and Riley happy, right?

 

[Incomudro]

So they demolish an area that already had trails to explore-for a new area that will have trails to explore? Instead of trails based on a classic piece of American literature written by one of the most celebrated and well known authors in history, there will be trails based on a fictional world of talking anthropomorphic cartoon cars. But we have to keep little Aiden and Riley happy, right?

Well, no... The trails will not be based on a fictional world of talking anthropomorphic cars.
They will be based on the geography of a mountainous western US setting.

 

[Raineman]

Well, no... The trails will not be based on a fictional world of talking anthropomorphic cars.
They will be based on the geography of a mountainous western US setting.

Most likely with mountains shaped like car parts. And most likely with a sprinkling of anthropomorphic cartoon cars along the trails, too. The scenery will be inspired by the mountain areas of the western US, but probably not accurate to what the mountains actually look like. It's still set in a completely fictional world.

 

[LittleBuford]

Most likely with mountains shaped like car parts. And most likely with a sprinkling of anthropomorphic cartoon cars along the trails, too. The scenery will be inspired by the mountain areas of the western US, but probably not accurate to what the mountains actually look like. It's still set in a completely fictional world.

To be fair, nothing at Magic Kingdom is accurate; it’s all highly fictionalised. I say that as someone who really wishes this weren’t happening in the first place.

 

[Smoky]

So they demolish an area that already had trails to explore-for a new area that will have trails to explore? Instead of trails based on a classic piece of American literature written by one of the most celebrated and well known authors in history, there will be trails based on a fictional world of talking anthropomorphic cartoon cars. But we have to keep little Aiden and Riley happy, right?

TSI wasn't creating shareholder value and had to go, sorry.

 

[DrStarlander]

So they demolish an area that already had trails to explore-for a new area that will have trails to explore? Instead of trails based on a classic piece of American literature written by one of the most celebrated and well known authors in history, there will be trails based on a fictional world of talking anthropomorphic cartoon cars. But we have to keep little Aiden and Riley happy, right?

I personally think the whole project is dumb. But, now that the island and river are gone, I've shifted to wondering if they will do a great job (DCA's Cars Land) or a terrible job (Avenger's Campus) and hoping they'll do a great job.

 

[Disstevefan1]

I personally think the whole project is dumb. But, now that the island and river are gone, I've shifted to wondering if they will do a great job (DCA's Cars Land) or a terrible job (Avenger's Campus) and hoping they'll do a great job.

Everything is destroyed. All we have now is hope.

 

[Gusey]

Apologies if this is old news but I just noticed the language on the Disney Experiences site and the details were interesting:
View attachment 892767
Did we know the places were specifically the "visitor lodge," "Ranger HQ" and that there would be "trails" to explore? Most of that is evident from the concept images but the word "explore" suggests to me more than a walkway from point A to point B but maybe something more akin to what was on Tom Sawyer's Island.

And should we expect to see an animatronic of the Autobahn ranger character inside the Ranger HQ? I'm guessing yes. And maybe that's the queue for the second attraction, based on the fun map.

It's surprising to me they haven't mentioned food as part of this area given how great a role the food offerings at DCA's Cars Land play.

Yeah, they announced all of this when they shared the fun map, but everyone focused on the size of the water in the art rather than everything else.

 

[Raineman]

TSI wasn't creating shareholder value and had to go, sorry.

I am well aware of the "shareholder value" and "underutilized space" mindset, as it has been repeated ad nauseam in this thread, but nothing at WDW "has to go". And it's always interesting to me when people sound like they work in Disney's financial department when they talk about why an attraction/area had to go, or even why they are happy that a replacement is happening. For them, it's never about "I didn't really care for the old attraction, but the new one looks great", which is an argument/opinion that I can at least respect. The focus and agenda with Disney theme parks has always included financial considerations-it's always been a business-but there was a time when alot of other creative factors were just as important. Now, money is the overwhelmingly most important factor, and creativity/theming/originality take a backseat to it.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

TSI wasn't creating shareholder value and had to go, sorry.

Sure it was. It was a part of the worlds most visited theme park for 50 years.

The entire park as a whole works together to create shareholder value.

Will this change create more shareholder value? Possibly. If executed well, it certainly could. I have hopes that it will be done well but will always be disappointed in the loss of the riverboat.

 

[donaldtoo]

Sure it was. It was a part of the worlds most visited theme park for 50 years.

The entire park as a whole works together to create shareholder value.

Will this change create more shareholder value? Possibly. If executed well, it certainly could. I have hopes that it will be done well but will always be disappointed in the loss of the riverboat.

I too will always dearly miss RoA and TSI. Not losin’ sleep over it, but very disappointing, nonetheless.
I’ll reserve final judgment ‘til the new stuff is all fully completed, of course, but I just have visions of this being MKs Dinoland, if it’s not done well.