News Cars-Themed Attractions at Magic Kingdom

Incomudro

Well-Known Member
View attachment 810658

A little reminder about early D23 concept art - this was the released art for Toy Story Land. Not only does the coaster have way more theming and kinetic elements - there are 2 buildings in the artwork for meet and greet, retail, and possibly the Woody Roundup show.
And - the coaster is in a trench that Andy dug.
That is a big thematic element they left out.
What we got instead is a regular coaster bolted in place.
 

ednamodedarling

Well-Known Member
The difference here is they are very aware of what they are up against and the expectation with this project. They aren't dumb. They know that this needs to be home run. Toy Story land replaced a dead zone of DHS. The backlot tour does not hold the nostalgia that the river does. I trust this will be something special when all is said and done.
 

TrainsOfDisney

Well-Known Member
The difference here is they are very aware of what they are up against and the expectation with this project. They aren't dumb. They know that this needs to be home run.
Did you quote this from the splash thread? That’s what all the insiders and experts said.
And before that they said the same thing about the Star Wars hotel.
 

Gringrinngghost

Well-Known Member
Apologies, but anything involving visuospatial skills makes my brain scream. Are you saying no they don't go with the river because it's in the wrong area, or yes they go with filling in the river but only up to a point?
It's not from the visuospatial skills, its merely from where the stories stand. Big Thunder Mountain has always been the technically isolated child.

When you boil down the stories, You have the Rivers of America which tries to blend it all in, but doesn't allow for it. The liberty belle is a stern-wheeler and one that you predominately see around the Mississippi River. It does fit in for Tom Sawyer Island which also takes place along the Mississippi. You also had Splash Mountain which took place in the antebellum south, and now Tiana's bayou Adventure which takes place in Louisiana which is closer to the Mississippi.

I could see the long term plans being that you can unify Frontierland with Cars taking place in the American west, and since there is discussions for Pecos Bulls to a Tiana;s Place that they can have an small defacto New Orleans Square and a more American west style Frontierland, that doesn't have a Mississippi element.
 

October82

Well-Known Member
Can they do anything to make the unusable land, useable ? The idea of a built out magic kingdom is a weird concept
The categories refer to whether an area is expected to suffer frequent flooding of if that area has conservation requirements attached to it. Flooding risks in some area are expensive but not impossible to mitigate. In other areas, there may not be a feasible mitigation at a cost that justifies the expense. I’ll leave it to more knowledgeable people to comment on the land immediately around MK.
 

Ghost93

Well-Known Member
Yeah, if old school Disney World did something crazy with single IP areas (like say an entire island just be based on a Mark Twain book) then eventually it would no longer be relevant and require a major overhaul
Oddly enough, the decline in attendance of Tom Sawyer's Island might be a good idea why NOT to dedicate an entire land to just one IP. Tom Sawyer's Island used to be very busy when the brand was more well known, but it's a total deadzone today.

Themed lands like the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Pandora, Galaxy's edge, etc. are all great for now and may have several decades before needing a major overhaul or retheme, but I imagine that one day they will all become as irrelevant to the general public as Tom Sawyer.
 

DarkMetroid567

Well-Known Member
There’s zero analogy between this and Fantasy Springs. The latter is far more ambitious and, consequently, expensive.

Again, however, no one is saying Disney can’t do good rock work and water falls. It’s the concept that is intrinsically flawed.
Analogy is that both lands arguably stick out from the rest — actually Fantasy Springs is a worse offender. I’m incredibly excited to visit in a few weeks, but I’m not sure ambitious is the right word for it.
 

October82

Well-Known Member
Oddly enough, the decline in attendance of Tom Sawyer's Island might be a good idea why NOT to dedicate an entire land to just one IP. Tom Sawyer's Island used to be very busy when the brand was more well known, but it's a total deadzone today.

Themed lands like the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Pandora, Galaxy's edge, etc. are all great for now and may have several decades before needing a major overhaul or retheme, but I imagine that one day they will all become as irrelevant to the general public as Tom Sawyer.
Although I agree with the general point, I don’t think the Tom Sawyer IP, if it can be called that, is at fault here. Many Disney parks contain low capacity play areas in this style and Disney (and its competitors for that matter) continue to build them with or without an attached IP.

They’re not intended to be headlining attractions but to inexpensively serve families with children. Tom Sawyer is part of the American lexicon and most people - still - will be familiar with the IP in a very different way to their familiarity with Cars. And that’s the problem for Disney - they can’t sell Tom Sawyer merch or Disney+ but they can sell you Cars. So that’s what we are getting.
 

October82

Well-Known Member
Analogy is that both lands arguably stick out from the rest — actually Fantasy Springs is a worse offender. I’m incredibly excited to visit in a few weeks, but I’m not sure ambitious is the right word for it.
Fantasy Springs is almost completely isolated - by design - from Tokyo DisneySea. Independent of what you may or may not think about its success, it is a $1 billion+ expansion with multiple attractions and highly detailed environments. Well beyond what is proposed for Cars in even the most optimistic reading of the concept art. There really is no comparison.

IMO, there is no chance you won’t be impressed - Enjoy your trip!
 

DarkMetroid567

Well-Known Member
Fantasy Springs is almost completely isolated - by design - from Tokyo DisneySea.

There really is no comparison.
Sure, but you can even use the water implementation as a point of comparison. TDS is incredible because of how water plays a central role in the story of the park, to the point that it functions as a transportation system. TDS has a cohesive identity, and then Fantasy Springs is just…. there.
 

October82

Well-Known Member
Sure, but you can even use the water implementation as a point of comparison. TDS is incredible because of how water plays a central role in the story of the park, to the point that it functions as a transportation system. TDS has a cohesive identity, and then Fantasy Springs is just…. there.
I’m not sure what your point about the role of water is. Sure - DisneySea is great at using it - a few Cars waterfalls doesn’t compare.

And yes, if it were up to me I wouldn’t have put FantasySprings in DisneySea. It belongs in TDL. But WDI and OLC at least understood that it didn’t fit with the rest of the park and did a great job of separating it into its own space. If Cars were shown the same care - as the IP is in DCA - few people would be as opposed
 

CoasterCowboy67

Active Member
Sure, but you can even use the water implementation as a point of comparison. TDS is incredible because of how water plays a central role in the story of the park, to the point that it functions as a transportation system. TDS has a cohesive identity, and then Fantasy Springs is just…. there.
How are springs not the connection to water? Just like harbor, waterfront, coast, delta, island, etc. Fantasy Springs, and DisneySea as a whole, is very thematically consistent
 

TrainsOfDisney

Well-Known Member
Now are you interested in some form of Woody's Roundup there?

Sorry, I didn't understand the objections.
At Toy Story land? There wasn’t an objection to it there - it would be a wonderful addition to the land and the park.

The objection was having it replace Country Bears. Which was an actual proposal that changed thanks, in part, to fans and influencers. :)
 

DisneyHead123

Well-Known Member
It's not from the visuospatial skills, its merely from where the stories stand. Big Thunder Mountain has always been the technically isolated child.

Just my way of saying I don't do well with maps, so if you're trying to tell me something with a map my response will be: "Uuuuuhhh... wut?" lol. Much more of a verbal thinker.

When you boil down the stories, You have the Rivers of America which tries to blend it all in, but doesn't allow for it. The liberty belle is a stern-wheeler and one that you predominately see around the Mississippi River. It does fit in for Tom Sawyer Island which also takes place along the Mississippi. You also had Splash Mountain which took place in the antebellum south, and now Tiana's bayou Adventure which takes place in Louisiana which is closer to the Mississippi.

Ok, the liberty belle is a stern-wheeler. And Lightning McQueen is (stops, Googles, copies and pastes from Reddit)... a Chevy with an iron block 5.86 L displacement pushrod V8. There are degrees of blending in, I would say Rivers did it a bit better than Cars, if not perfectly. By way of example - it is one thing to have dinosaurs from two different eras in the same scene. It's another to have dinosaurs eating at McDonald's. Different degrees of "not entirely accurate". One has kind of a superficial believability if you're just there to have fun, the other is going to pull even the most casual viewer out of immersion.

I could see the long term plans being that you can unify Frontierland with Cars taking place in the American west, and since there is discussions for Pecos Bulls to a Tiana;s Place that they can have an small defacto New Orleans Square and a more American west style Frontierland, that doesn't have a Mississippi element.

Maybe. But I kinda think they will backtrack on this one. Just my two cents, but Disney being a beloved landmark and all, I think there is a relative unity of opinion on a "What the heck!?" sentiment here that crosses a lot of demographics. If there is a pressing reason to fill in Rivers (like money or long term sustainability, which I've seen mentioned here,) I think they will still do that. But I think they will veer towards a more thematically appropriate replacement.
 

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