News Cars-Themed Attractions at Magic Kingdom

[UNCgolf]

My understanding was the other option was Cars goes where Beyond Big Thunder will eventually be. So we'd keep Rivers of America, get Villains, and get Cars. And that would be it for MK under the current land development paperwork. (I could be wrong.)

I was ready to give up on the parks. Someone had to talk me off the metaphorical ledge.

Fun story: During that ledge moment I made a set of wildly inappropriate smart-axx comments on a group chat with ... individuals ... who, when they calmed me down, said they look forward to the public seeing them when we all release our "stories we'll tell when everyone has retired" stash.

Tons of programming to do today. Back tonight.

That sounds like a much better option for the Magic Kingdom than what they're doing, especially since they need multiple massive expansions to DAK and DHS and really need to spend a bunch of money on EPCOT too.

Magic Kingdom would be fine for decades -- especially since all they had to do was leave a small waterfront. They didn't have to leave all of TSI, or even any of it, really.

 

[Yellow Strap]

You say that, but you're actually wrong -- most people do care about it even if they don't consciously realize it because it's an integral part of the design of a large part of the park.

You're speaking for everyone? Most people don't...sorry. They really don't. They like the aesthetic now, but they really won't care much at all.
The same was said about Splash, Maelstrom, GMR...etc. Money talks.

This will bring in more ticket sales, more LL sales, more capacity, and more merch revenue.

 

[DCLcruiser]

Sorry if this was already posted. I'm about 25 pages behind and am not going to be able to catch up.

Not exactly "breaking news", just an interesting catch.

Thank you! I was so confused by the facades.

 

[lentesta]

This seems to ignore other previously identified sites such as the Fire Mountain site.

It does. I don't know why.

Knowing what I know about getting execs to make a decision, I suspect it was framed as "Choose A or B" in order to move forward quickly.

 

[lentesta]

What station and programme was it? I guess Radio 4?

BBC 5 - Wake Up to Money. Hope it'll be on the podcast version shortly.

 

[UNCgolf]

You're speaking for everyone? Most people don't...sorry. They really don't. They like the aesthetic now, but they really won't care much at all.
The same was said about Splash, Maelstrom, GMR...etc. Money talks.

This will bring in more ticket sales, more LL sales, more capacity, and more merch revenue.

Yes, they absolutely do.

You completely missed the point - go back and re-read my comment. GMR, Maelstrom, and Splash don't make any sense as comparisons because it has nothing to do with attractions; I don't care about Tom Sawyer Island being replaced. It has to do with architecture and design.

They cannot leave Liberty Square and Frontierland as-is now. That may already be in the works, but those areas have to be fundamentally redesigned once this change happens since they are eliminating the waterfront.

 

[lentesta]

that’s the other issue. Execs seem to be ignoring the climate in FL. This ride will seemingly have tons of downtime for rain.

It's 100% a concern. That's why I don't think it'll be the existing Test Track or RSR ride system.

 

[lentesta]

So basically we lost the ROA because they hate us?

America. They hate America. And rainbows, puppy dogs, and love.

 

[Tha Realest]

It does. I don't know why.

Knowing what I know about getting execs to make a decision, I suspect it was framed as "Choose A or B" in order to move forward quickly.

Not to go off topic, but one build that would seem to have been granted quickly would’ve been a Moana one (given its strength as an IP) yet that fell by the wayside. Knowing that the purse was opened for general buildouts now, is there a sense Moana was kept in the back pocket since that’s an easier sell even during more tight budgetary times?

 

[Yellow Strap]

It does. I don't know why.

Knowing what I know about getting execs to make a decision, I suspect it was framed as "Choose A or B" in order to move forward quickly.

Len,
Do you think the ability to use land already set for the park and not have to spend more to get unused ready for expansion was a major factor?

Could that money saved have helped us get Monstropolis greenlit now and/or Tropical Americas built faster on a 2 1/2 timeline?

 

[Wall-e]

They

They don't do this anymore.
They do the Riviera and Polynesian DVC.
That's the problem.

Maybe but at least in the case of the Poly Tower the concept art looks to be in line with the finished product. The point I’d like to make is that if WDI is given the resources to see this concept to it’s full conclusion then what we could be left with is an entire land/area that matches the atmosphere of WL. IF that happens this would absolutely deliver on atmosphere, kinetic energy and ambience.

 

[erasure fan1]

By your reasoning, they shouldn't do any Princess stuff because the target demo for that is 4-7 year old girls.

I'm not sure where you get that from. First off, the princess are far more relevant to a large range of girls. And they're also an iconic part of Disney in general. But if you read what I said, cars could absolutely become a classic ride. It's going to end up how great of a ride it turns out to be. Splash wasn't a great ride because of it's source material. I didn't say they shouldn't do a Cars ride. Is there better ips to put in the magic kingdom? Yea, I'd say so.

 

[Yellow Strap]

Yes, they absolutely do.

You completely missed the point - go back and re-read my comment. GMR, Maelstrom, and Splash don't make any sense as comparisons because it has nothing to do with attractions. It has to do with architecture and design.

They cannot leave Liberty Square and Frontierland as-is now. That may already be in the works, but those areas have to be fundamentally redesigned once this change happens since they are eliminating the waterfront.

Outside of the bubble...they don't sorry. Its a hard reality, but true.

 

[Incomudro]

Maybe but at least in the case of the Poly Tower the concept art looks to be in line with the finished product. The point I’d like to make is that if WDI is given the resources to see this concept to it’s full conclusion then what we could be left with is an entire land/area that matches the atmosphere of WL. IF that happens this would absolutely deliver on atmosphere, kinetic energy and ambience.

Well, why shouldn't a cut rate barely themed tower look like the concept art?
Yeah, they can deliver on that.
Think they'd ever build a Yacht/Beachclub, Boardwalk, Animal Kingdom Lodge again?

 

[UNCgolf]

Outside of the bubble...they don't sorry. Its a hard reality, but true.

But they do. There's plenty of evidence to back that up.

You're looking at this as a Disney World fan thing, but that's not the point at all. It has absolutely nothing to do with Disney World specifically; it applies to all designed space. This instance of it just happens to be at Disney World.

 

[lentesta]

Len,
Do you think the ability to use land already set for the park and not have to spend more to get unused ready for expansion was a major factor?

Could that money saved have helped us get Monstropolis greenlit now and/or Tropical Americas built faster on a 2 1/2 timeline?

Hypothetically, I can imagine that ... stockholders ... are asking ... publicly and privately ... why the parks attractions pipeline was allowed to go empty. Hypothetically. Because tf do I know?

So if you're an exec, that starts a ticking clock that you need to address.

 

[Charlie The Chatbox Ghost]

You say that, but you're actually wrong -- most people do care about it even if they don't consciously realize it because it's an integral part of the design of a large part of the park.

When the waterfront is gone from LS/FL, people are going to dislike it. They may not even be able to place a finger on why, but they're going to think the area feels wrong now, and it's because that whole section of the park was designed to have a waterfront.

That doesn't mean Tom Sawyer Island itself needs to stay (I don't think it does) but eliminating the waterfront entirely is going to really screw up that section of the park and people are absolutely going to notice it, even if it's solely a subconscious feeling, and it's going to negatively affect their experience.

It's similar to if they filled in the World Showcase Lagoon and put a bunch of buildings there. It would really mess up the World Showcase, because the whole loop is designed with a waterfront in mind.

People really underestimate how important the water is to the overall feel of the area. The areas I dashed with yellow are expendable- nice to have, but not needed. The green loop is what is really important- you could even cut it in half if you wanted to (the half marked with stars is what I feel needs to stay at the very least). The water makes the area feel larger, it keeps the air cooler, it creates scenic and beautiful views that immerse you in the area, it adds kinetic energy- we don't need Tom Sawyer Island, but we NEED the rivers. Parks need water features. The pitiful moats around Cinderella Castle won't cut it.

 

[Gusey]

May be controversial to say on here, but I've asked a few family members about this and we all agree that we just find MK's RoA and TSI boring. It's something we avoid on trips because there isn't much to do, and it's too hot enjoy. There isn't much to actually look at along the river compared to Disneyland's and DLP's, and the Island is mainly just caves. There just isn't enough there to justify keeping it open beyond nostalgia and that was how MK was first built. We've seen from how the various Rivers of Americas equivalent and later Castle Parks have been created to allow major E-tickets to take place on their Rivers: DLP has Big Thunder Mountain in the middle of it, designed from scratch with the idea of having an E-Ticket in the middle. Hong Kong's River in Adventureland contains the Jungle Cruise surrounding their Tarzan's Treehouse. Eventually, they were always going to replace Tom Sawyer Island, and they need to close the Rivers to get guests to the attraction in the middle of the island.

 

[Yellow Strap]

Well, why shouldn't a cut rate barely themed tower look like the concept art?
Yeah, they can deliver on that.
Think they'd ever build a Yacht/Beachclub, Boardwalk, Animal Kingdom Lodge again?

Not like AK themed no...those days are gone. They want to keep things vanilla in the resorts

 

[Gusey]

View attachment 809039
People really underestimate how important the water is to the overall feel of the area. The areas I dashed with yellow are expendable- nice to have, but not needed. The green loop is what is really important- you could even cut it in half if you wanted to (the half marked with stars is what I feel needs to stay at the very least). The water makes the area feel larger, it keeps the air cooler, it creates scenic and beautiful views that immerse you in the area, it adds kinetic energy- we don't need Tom Sawyer Island, but we NEED the rivers. Parks need water features. The pitiful moats around Cinderella Castle won't cut it.

From the concept art, there is still water in those sections, you can see guests crossing a bridge over water to get to the Cars attractions. Hopefully, there will be a steady stream between the Frontierland town and the Cars Mountains