Chiming in for the first time since this absolute supernova of information dropped last week.
I know that parks need to change. That's obviously why they're adding new things and replacing those that aren't up to speed anymore. I don't even need to start on Walt's quote of the parks always changing. But not all change is progress. It has to make sense from a wide perspective.
When this Cars land was announced at D23, I was very worried about the fact it was going in MK's Frontierland. Seeing Big Thunder Mountain in that first concept image made me afraid of the worst possible outcome. What I liked most about it though, was that this will be a completely new and different attraction, not just a value engineered cut and paste of Radiator Springs Racers. From the look and sound of it, the major ride by itself seems to be a very fun experience, even though the final product will certainly not be all what was conceptualized.
Since this was announced last week to be replacing Tom Sawyer Island and the Rivers of America, I fell into a world of depression, fear, and disbelief. I wasn't even fond of the rumors about the river getting shortened to just a donut around the main island, and the worst possible reality is here now. Trust me I know that the island may not pull in big crowds anymore, and the riverboat and river are maintenance nightmares. I'm also aware of the suitability issues of the land I thought they would use for this expansion, and possible problems with how the land would be accessed. Cars is an IP that sells really well, and while not the best fit for Magic Kingdom, would actually go nicely in the area north of BTM and the maintenance canal as a transition to the Pacific Northwest and modern times. But there's a bunch of stuff about thematic cohesion, ambience, and peacefulness that the island and river provide that many others have already brought up.
I understand that Cars could be a family friendly addition to offset Villains land, but - look around, much of the Magic Kingdom is just that! Dumbo, Buzz Lightyear, Mad Tea Party, Winnie The Pooh, SDMT, Little Mermaid, Peter Pan, the carousel, Small World, Country Bears, Tiki Room, Jungle Cruise, even the Magic Carpets. It's already here. With that in mind, if they really can't expand onto those existing pads in the back right now and keep the riverboat running, I think they could just keep the island, dock the riverboat and repurpose it for something else (not my favorite idea but here we are) and just replace the back half of the river with Villains land, leaving a circular river around the island and the stretch of it going past BTM and connecting to the backstage canal. You'd still have an area of the currently most attended theme park in the world where you can just relax or run around without the stress and loudness of the main park, and the part of the river closest to the pathways. An advantage of the smaller, not as popular rides at a Disney Park is they give depth to the attraction line up - they're extra things guests can experience while the major headliners are already packed.
I just can't imagine Magic Kingdom without the Rivers of America. Like many have said, it's a unique example of scenery, cohesion, and ambience. Ironically, it's being replaced by a mini land that, based on its location, doesn't help the thematic progression of Frontierland at all. I'm not trying to be a downer right here, but these are just my views on the subject. I hope that Cars and Villains land will turn out to be something decent at least.
