News Cars-Themed Attractions at Magic Kingdom

[TomboyJanet]

The word on the street is the sponsor (Chevrolet) expressly rejected this option. They are paying for their IP to be the focus, not Pixar.

Well that kinda strangely worked out in some miraculous way to at least keep Epcot a bit more epcotty and less generic "every other park but we didn't have enough room in one so we stuffed rides in different one"-y

 

[spresso81]

It’s interesting that you frame the “moral superiority” of people who aren’t happy with the loss of RoA/TSI as being upset purely because of politics/Walts beliefs or hatred against Imagineers. Most people in this thread and on Twitter have been expressing that they’re majorly upset with the loss of the atmosphere- the “park” part of “theme park”. We don’t hate Imagineers, they are told what to do by corporate, they don’t have a say in what stays or goes. I’ve already talked about why dozens of times. The people screaming “Woke Disney hates America” are a small minority of fans who are just screaming to fuel the culture war. They don’t represent the fandom as a whole, like how the Save Splash crowd don’t represent everyone who liked Splash.

Also you call the parks “slop” at the end there- so you’re agreeing this Cars situation is not great?

Totally agree The Chatbox Ghost.

I think some of the potential political reasoning questions stem from trying to understand the logic beyond TDO trying to fill up as much land as possible in the MK to make more profit.

I will really miss the view from BTM looking over ROA to the castle!

Also, the riverboat was such a gem. Where can you ride a working riverboat even if it went along a rail. So relaxing. I did not go for years and the in 2017 for my parents 50th anniversary we all went on and it was a blast. My wife who never went on before loved it more than anybody.

 

[hopemax]

Well that kinda strangely worked out in some miraculous way to at least keep Epcot a bit more epcotty and less generic "every other park but we didn't have enough room in one so we stuffed rides in different one"-y

Yep, why is why so many people are curious to see how it works out!

 

[Quietmouse]

What I’m hearing from Disney twitter insiders is that this land is supposed to look like grizzly peak lite at dca.

With waterfalls, streams and proper foliage this honestly can look just as fitting for frontier land.

Yes , the ip is questionable.- but the general theme seems to be very much a fit for the land.

 

[the_rich]

What I’m hearing from Disney twitter insiders is that this land is supposed to look like grizzly peak lite at dca.

With waterfalls, streams and proper foliage this honestly can look just as fitting for frontier land.

Yes , the ip is questionable.- but the general theme seems to be very much a fit for the land.

One of my favorite areas in any stateside park.

 

[DisneyRoxMySox]

Clearly not enough. The version of the guardians that’s in Epcot will never be a thing again it was just a moment in time like Back to the future. In 5 years the theme of the attraction will be as dated as Captain EO is now

It’s almost as if general overarching seemed lands (future world, fantasy land, Asia) allows for well sitting IP attractions to go into place and also allow for them to be changed out once the IP’s lose popularity.

Disney theme parks are holistic experiences. They represent the sum of their parts, and are not judged only for a handful of aspects. Everything that engages your senses over the course of your visit contributes to your enjoyment. Not just rides, shows or food, but everything in between that you come into contact with or glance from a distance. Even the things you don't see or are unaware of impact your visit, because they occupy someone else's time and energy.

Disney has spent decades whittling down their theme parks into a set number of activities, based on metrics and averages. They then took that data and built entire theme parks based on it, only to find out they were unsuccessful. Disney has spent billions trying to correct their own mistakes because it turns out theme parks can't be measured merely by the numerical sum of what can be seen. 7.4 attractions in a day is meaningless if the environments they're placed in, the burdens and expenses guests must endure to see them, or operations are all lackluster. Worse still if you're a customer who cannot visit all those 7.4 attractions because of physical limitations or a lack of interest.

Walt Disney Studios Park was a park with nothing but IP. Had more than 7.4 attractions, some of which were good, but it was still the least visited Disney theme park that now Disney is sinking enormous sums of money in to make it more appealing. Some of that money is going into a massive lake, new pavement and landscaping because it turns out, people like when theme parks look like parks. It's what Universal is boasting about when discussing Celestial Park.

Disney fans love the dopamine effect that comes with new attraction announcements, but they often don't realize what goes away until it's too late. This isn't a concern with losing Tom Sawyer Island and the Riverboat specifically, it's about a disregard for operations, attraction variety and placemaking entirely in and effort to maximize marketing. It's the Paul Pressler mindset that wanted to replace attractions with gift shops and killed unique stores in favor of generic Pooh plush and t-shirts, taken to a new extreme. Now whole buildings and lands are being overhauled to be "more Disney", while forgetting what made those spaces "Disney" in the first place.

A low capacity kiddie ride and a noisy thrill attraction are not what this specific acreage of the park needed. Tom Sawyer Island was a place for kids to run around, while still holding appeal to adults much more than subsequent play areas built in Disney's theme parks. The Riverboat was a relaxing ride that did not require reservations to see and was popular with older guests who cannot do more intense rides. Both attractions could also be seen by those not experiencing them which added to the overall ambience of the park. It's possible the new Cars ride will do the same, but again, it's something that's being worked into an area that was built from scratch to have this specific river as a focal point and backdrop. Replacing that and a half century of natural tree growth instead of just building the ride somewhere else is incredibly short sighted, and probably not the best use of resources either.

But maybe the new metric for Disney theme park success isn't a guest seeing 7.4 attractions in a day, it's a goal for 7.4 lightning lane sales per guest. Driven by a management team risk adverse and focused on consumer product sales and streaming data who still don't understand their product, assets or customers. The Magic Kingdom has been the world's most popular theme park for decades because of things like the RoA and everything else created for and around it. It was put there for a reason, and appreciated as a result.

I’m just quoting this so people have a chance to read it again.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

One of my favorite areas in any stateside park.

which international areas do you rate higher?

Main Street in Disneyland will always be my favorite - the trolleys, omnibus, steam train, and live period entertainment is all perfection. I could spend the entire day at Main Street and not get bored.

 

[lentesta]

Should I search this site, or his podcasts?

I'd just ask me. But that's me - I'm a direct kind of guy.

 

[the_rich]

which international areas do you rate higher?

Main Street in Disneyland will always be my favorite - the trolleys, omnibus, steam train, and live period entertainment is all perfection. I could spend the entire day at Main Street and not get bored.

I haven't been to any international so I can't judge them.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I haven't been to any international so I can't judge them.

Oh I see! I read that wrong. I’ve never actually ridden the thing cause I don’t want to get soaked - but it’s a lovely design. I like walking back at night through grizzly peak when leaving world of color - very quiet and the steam comes up from the water.

If they can recreate that - and muffle the sounds of kachow - they may get the atmosphere partly right.

 

[psherman42]

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
View attachment 809041

You really think one small section of water makes up for them bulldozing the entire river? That that small piece makes this all okay?

 

[psherman42]

I'm fine with this, makes more sense than trying to expand past the train-tracks at this time. Fills in what was essentially dead space in the park, and I think the mountains/waterfalls/trees will be just as nice to walk by as the river. Regardless of how TBA turned out ride-wise, its exterior is pretty spectacular.

If they even happen. You know water features are the first things cut. (See: Epcot redo)

 

[James Alucobond]

If they even happen. You know water features are the first things cut. (See: Epcot redo)

When rockwork is involved, it usually makes the cut. I also don't think the specific development woes that struck the EPCOT spine really translate to anything else.

 

[ToTBellHop]

File this next to the Splash Mountain, Great Movie Ride, Streets of America, Maelstrom and Universe of Energy petitions

Found them

 

[Dizknee_Phreek]

The word on the street is the sponsor (Chevrolet) expressly rejected this option. They are paying for their IP to be the focus, not Pixar.

That makes total sense. I worry what will happen when/if Chevy pulls their sponsorship. Funny how Disney used to feel more "Disney" when other companies sponsored attractions Too bad that didn't work out as well with Cirque du Soleil though.

 

[lentesta]

If it were a more suitable property, I’d be much more in favour. For example, it could be a Pocahontas themed river rapids.

The Cars movie franchise has generated $21.5 billion in merch and ticket sales.

Unless I'm reading that wrong, Cars is the highest-grossing Disney franchise without an actual ride in Walt Disney World.

This NYT article from 2023 says Pocahontas has earned about $707 million in ticket sales. Let's go Snoop-Dogg-with-the-Olympic-Torch wacky[1] and say Pocahontas earned 10x that in merch sales. Humor me. So Pocahontas has earned $8B.

So consumers are willing to part with 2.5 times as much money for Cars as for Pocahontas. And it's probably 7x TBH.

Cars has multiple theatrical sequels. They could easily make more. Pocahontas has had none. It has no clear future.

I'm not saying Cars is the perfect franchise. I'm not saying I agree with IP in the parks. But c'mon given what we know about how the company makes decisions about the parks, this is as clear-cut as it gets.

[1] In all sincerity, I have never been more proud to be an American than that moment.

 

[UNCgolf]

The Cars movie franchise has generated $21.5 billion in merch and ticket sales.

Unless I'm reading that wrong, Cars is the highest-grossing Disney franchise without an actual ride in Walt Disney World.

This NYT article from 2023 says Pocahontas has earned about $707 million in ticket sales. Let's go Snoop-Dogg-with-the-Olympic-Torch wacky[1] and say Pocahontas earned 10x that in merch sales. Humor me. So Pocahontas has earned $8B.

So consumers are willing to part with 2.5 times as much money for Cars as for Pocahontas. And it's probably 7x TBH.

Cars has multiple theatrical sequels. They could easily make more. Pocahontas has had none. It has no clear future.

I'm not saying Cars is the perfect franchise. I'm not saying I agree with IP in the parks. But c'mon given what we know about how the company makes decisions about the parks, this is as clear-cut as it gets.

[1] In all sincerity, I have never been more proud to be an American than that moment.

I think there are two different discussions here. Framing it as this was obviously the move Disney was going to make... I mean, yeah. I've made similar arguments before. Disney is going to do what they think is going to make them the most money in the short-term.

That doesn't automatically mean it was the right move long-term, though (or even short-term). Companies get that stuff wrong all the time; even majorly successful companies like Apple.

Regardless, discussing whether it was the best business move is a different discussion from whether people actually like it or how it will affect other things.

 

[Disney Analyst]

What I am sensing is a lot of people dislike the modern capitalistic society we find ourselves in, and I am waiting for someone to share the path onto a new and better system for us all.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Disney is going to do what they think is going to make them the most money in the short-term.

Not always - one of the reasons this move surprises me is it breaks the goal of inclusion that Moana, Encanto, and Coco all would provide.

 

[ToTBellHop]

Place Tomorrowland Speedway cars on this, add googley eyes, and I can have a Cars Off-Road Adventure running tomorrow!