News Cars-Themed Attractions at Magic Kingdom

[BuzzedPotatoHead89]

If that’s what people wanted most out of theme parks, Kings Dominion and Cedar Point would be competing with Disney as the most profitable parks.

I agree, but Walt Disney World is selling the “Resort” aspect and the FOMO part of missing out on the biggest new rides to the market.

The intangibles that historically differentiated the park are just that… intangible. But from a sheer/cold business marketing and balance sheet standpoint it’s a proverbial “tree falling in the forest”. There’s no KPI performance metric for it, and it doesn’t move DVC/timeshares or in park per capita spending numbers.

 

[plutofan15]

Yeah, that's what happens when care isn't taken to maintain something...

As an engineer, I can assure you that everything has a lifespan regardless of how it may be maintained. At some point a structure will either fail or become far too expensive/labor intensive to repair or maintain.

 

[TheRealSkull]

I bet those people who were begging that a Cars Land clone wouldn't be built in DHS would much rather prefer that now as opposed to what has been announced.

Man just think if it had been this way: Galaxy's Edge in Echo Lake/Indiana Jones area expanding out into the parking lot. Toy Story Land where it is now. Cars Land where Galaxy's Edge currently sits. Monsters Inc Land where Animation Courtyard is. Hollywood Studios would have been a full day park by then. Then we could have just had Villains Land and all would have been fine.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

No because I assume the Imagineers have a vision

This is not part of Imagineers vision - this is a mandate from above.

Now I am certain the imagineers will do their best with that mandate, although parts of the Epcot expansion make me wonder on basic design skills.

 

[DarkMetroid567]

I honestly don’t know how they would’ve expanded ”Beyond Big Thunder“ by building along the edges of the river without ruining the aesthetic of the Rivers of America anyway. They would’ve needed to craft the sight line in Frontierland (blocking views of the river) to prevent guests from seeing Villains from Frontierland.

I think people would hope for a DL-style shortening of the RoA.

Otherwise, you’d need to create an astronomically long dead end further than the dead end that BTMR already is, or create a strange entrance in Fantasyland by Rapunzel toilets or Small World. Both would still be obnoxiously long.

 

[Chef idea Mickey`=]

I bet those people who were begging that a Cars Land clone wouldn't be built in DHS would much rather prefer that now as opposed to what has been announced.

Man just think if it had been this way: Galaxy's Edge in Echo Lake/Indiana Jones area expanding out into the parking lot. Toy Story Land where it is now. Cars Land where Galaxy's Edge currently sits. Monsters Inc Land where Animation Courtyard is. Hollywood Studios would have been a full day park by then. Then we could have just had Villains Land and all would have been fine.

Crazy right?

 

[DisneyHead123]

I agree, but Walt Disney World is selling the “Resort” aspect and the FOMO part of missing out on the biggest new rides to the market.

The intangibles that historically differentiated the park are just that… intangible. But from a sheer/cold business marketing and balance sheet standpoint it’s a proverbial “tree falling in the forest”. There’s no KPI performance metric for it, and it doesn’t move DVC/timeshares or in park per capita spending numbers.

My take… Disney is never going to compete as a “rides first” kinda park. Because rides are (relatively) cheap and easy to make. They exist in every parking lot carnival and fair these days. And if you want to just go pound rides all day, there are places that are: 1. Much better suited to that but 2. Still not making nearly the profit Disney does. Disney’s rides have always existed as an extension of other elements of the parks.

So sure, it’s not reflected in spreadsheets, but executives are not literal robots incapable of making inferences or observations. If people want theming and immersive environments, it’s not rocket science to figure that out. I think we’ll get there, I just worry about what will be lost in the process.

 

[Architectural Guinea Pig]

4 thousand replies and a fifth of a million views in 5 days... This thread is now the top dog haunting spot for slightly non-toxic wdwmagic forum users!

 

[Wall-e]

This is not part of Imagineers vision - this is a mandate from above.

Now I am certain the imagineers will do their best with that mandate, although parts of the Epcot expansion make me wonder on basic design skills.

You are probably correct. The Imagineers were given a box to work in and this is was they came up with. But if anyone has watched any of those Disney ride documentaries they give the impression that there are still some organic processes that go into bringing a ride to fruition.

 

[Chef idea Mickey`=]

Also if there was such a desire for attractions and lands like this in a theme park, why doesn’t epic universe have something like this going in?

I see it more like this Disney tries to bring Park into a Park fast at Epcot because they know Universal is doing that with Epic Universe with Celestrial Park. Disney has a 2017 concept art with all water areas just like Epic. Disney then removes any trace of water and doesn't even bring back a small fountain after gutting down Fountain of Nations. Epcot ends up looking like a community college campus instead in the end.

Disney is still upset at Epic so they decide to go opposite of Park from a Park and demolish that from Magic Kingdom. They know they can't get Epcot close to the 2017 concept anything close to Epic Universe right now. Disney thinks going opposite is their own game and now at the same time anyways are removing history at the same time which that's something else they want to follow or want to do by.

Those are just my guesses I'm not them. Why I'm saying this because Epcot and Frontierland doesn't seem to matter to them and those should be the best kept parts of parks in WDW in my honest opinion.

 

[bwr827]

No one's mentioning if the weight is distributed over the entire concrete floor or not. (It is.)

Let's say the weigh of the water is 10 tons. And you swim down three feet and lie flat on the concrete floor. Do you feel the weight of all 10 tons?

No.

You feel the weight of just the water above you in a column the shape of your body.

Are we describing the next Avatar film, the Weight of Water?

 

[Disgruntled Walt]

Yep, in that if we have the first American female president, it stays for 4 years with a new AA. In any other scenario, it switches to Muppets.

You have got to be kidding me

If they're going to let the current political climate dictate what they do with an original WDW attraction, they truly are lost. I sincerely hope both @wdwmagic and @lentesta are simply speculating here. I can't believe this is true.

 

[DarkMetroid567]

Also if there was such a desire for attractions and lands like this in a theme park, why doesn’t epic universe have something like this going in?

I’d hold off on these comparisons, because an unopened theme park shouldn’t become the de facto model for all parks

 

[Chef idea Mickey`=]

According to those in the know around here it does have to be there for a number of reasons. These are my favorite.

To balance out Villians Land. (Something for the youngins to do and to have something to eat crowds)

To eliminate choke points for the crowds expected to come to Villians and Beyond BTM.

To reinvent what we know of the Haunted Mansion/Liberty Square area.

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge in Disneyland has two entrances I think, Villans would be a problem if only has one entrance.

So the whole reason why the Rivers are going away is because of Villains Land even though the Land in itself is an expansion of it's own away from Frontierland. Removing the River makes it and Cars reason basically a road for Villians. A street currently to get to Villains area would be narrow not big enough. This is sad realizing this may be the cause here.

 

[Chef idea Mickey`=]

We all hope The Liberty Square Reiverboat will not be destroyed, but this is Disney, so....

It being a real one like Disneyland can't be used for Fanatsmic. I hear WDW's Fantasmic one of the reasons aside the stadium ambience is the ship is not like a magnificent ship. Now there be a freedom of it to have it.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

I speak in absolutes when what I’m saying is absolutely certain

You have no idea how many bats and pangolins I am going through a day to stop this from happening! Or is that not how the last pandemic started after all?

Better safe than sorry, either way.

 

[deix15x8]

They got the wrong park for this, they should have put it in Animal Kingdom! ducks

Now that you've broken your computer, think about it. It's an entire land themed to nature just like Animal Kingdom's lands. There is currently areas around the world and they've just added Central America, but have no North America land. Think of it not as Cars Land, but a North America themed land that features a large car ride. Instead of safari vehicles or river rapids, people travel in cars to explore North America and see the animals that reside there. Go back to the original Cars movie, start on a paved road and head off road to the natural wonders of the country that everyone has forgotten about. As your car takes you slowly through the land it keeps running into Matter animatronics that can be remotely operated to point out animals. Instead of a driver moving with the car pointing them out, make the person stationary talking through a character at the different areas and sharing info combined with a car radio.

The benefit though comes from at night. Where the current two animal attractions shut down at night you could then crank things up at night and convert it into a true Cars high adrenaline ride where your trying to get somewhere and Mater has a "shortcut" that takes you on a wild ride through the natural wonders of North America. That's the benefit of a dynamic ride system that can adapt to an animal mode and non animal mode. It gives Animal Kingdom what it needs, more animals with an emphasis on conservation while increasing the nighttime appeal of the park.

In addition to that ride you could add a primarily indoor ride, possible a boat (yes another one) or some kind of new dog sled ride (not sure how that would work) that takes you to the far north regions into the snowy tundra to see an additional set of unique animals and conditions. Seems like at it's roots this new Cars Land is based on the concept of North America which is exactly how Animal Kingdom lands are, and if done right fits perfectly to the original concept of the park.

 

[Dizknee_Phreek]

I think the thing that leaves me feeling unsettled about all this, outside of losing RoA, is how this was handled. The timing of the announcement about the placement of Cars was a slap in the face to fans. They could have waited a few months to at least give the appearance that it wasn't fully decided before D23. But it very clearly was. They were just too chicken to announce it in person. I don't know. It just felt super shady. We've all known that the company has drastically changed over the past few decades. But they've always appeared to try to pixie dust it with flowery corporate speak. It doesn't seem like they even tried to do that this time. And it feels defeating to me.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

Now that you've broken your computer, think about it. It's an entire land themed to nature just like Animal Kingdom's lands. There is currently areas around the world and they've just added Central America, but have no North America land. Think of it not as Cars Land, but a North America themed land that features a large car ride. Instead of safari vehicles or river rapids, people travel in cars to explore North America and see the animals that reside there. Go back to the original Cars movie, start on a paved road and head off road to the natural wonders of the country that everyone has forgotten about. As your car takes you slowly through the land it keeps running into Matter animatronics that can be remotely operated to point out animals. Instead of a driver moving with the car pointing them out, make the person stationary talking through a character at the different areas and sharing info combined with a car radio.

That would be kind of hilarious. You'd go to Africa, Asia, and Latin America and see beautiful animals and different ecosystems. Then, you'd enter North America and you would see... cars.

Remember, in the world of Cars (and thus the new centrepiece of Frontierland) there are no animals, just cars.

 

[Disgruntled Walt]

Remember, in the world of Cars (and thus the new centrepiece of Frontierland) there are no animals, just cars.

When you put it that way, how can anyone defend this?!