News Cars-Themed Attractions at Magic Kingdom

[Tonto]

Disney has lost the ability to plan and estimate it's construction and projects costs. Everything they do now goes WAY,...WAY..over budget before it gets slashed HARD before they finally finish.

I don't know how much the budget was for the new Epcot park bench, LED light, planter, stage area and cafeteria building. But I was told by a friend that it was "ridicules" an "astronomical" waste for what was finally delivered. I was told they should be ashamed of themselves at what it cost.

Burbank and Glendale are severely broken today....

Nah. I think things are changing. Pay attention. Ya sound like an old crazy rabid dog.

 

[Tonto]

your post was well thought out and written.
EPIC is projected to be a huge disruptor though. For reasons you mentioned.
Even with the height requirement thing being a big current issue for Uni, and a bigger issue in the last ten years than it used to be:

let's reflect on what Disney has built more of in the last six to ten years than ever before?
Thrills and coasters.
Slinky
Guardians tower
incredicoaster
Guardians rewind
Indy retheme
Tron
Monsters Inc Coaster.
Splash to Tiana
Test Track
Cara thrill being the main replacement of ROA
Villians' focus on thrills.
Lion King Flume.

Their majority of new builds and rethemes, as well as announced plans have had a focus on thrills because that is what the audience is braver for than the past.
And it's in direct response because they know EPIC is a disruptor and competition.

I’ll say this! Epic will be great. With that said what does Epic offer that they don’t have already? More rollercoaster, potter, and an undwhelimg Mario ride that I can’t believe they are bringing to the states.
Epic to me already has an outdated mall feel to it. Look I’m not naive Epic will be huge. From what I’m seeing and hearing this park feels Very odd. The central hub feels like a generic mall. Im no where ready to announce Uni as the king of anything, especially after these announcements.

I’ll take mountains over large buildings any day!

 

[JD80]

What are the build times for the recent attractions?

News - Walt Disney World launches new seasonal Water Park Pass

they do look at turnstyle and how many people enter each day. Of course they do but you know what they'd do if it got too crowded? They'd stop offering the special pass for sale. If a place is completely empty it looks less desirable to open another location or provide more amenities. If...

forums.wdwmagic.com

Toy Story Land was announced in 2015, Broke ground in 2016 and opened in 2018.
SWGE broke ground in 2016 and opened in 2019.
Skyliner construction started in 2018ish and opened in early 2019.
Pandora construction started in 2014 and opened in 2017.
Riviera construction started in 2017? and opened in 2019.
GMR closed in 2017 and MMRR opened in 2020.

It was only projects that started in the pandemic era and beyond that took forever, i.e. Tron, Guardians, Epcot etc.

I wrote that about a year ago. You can add TBA re-do to that list - Jan 2023 to June 2024 and Test Track June 2024 to Summer 2025 if you want to add recent attraction re-imaginings.

New Fantasyland took 4? years.
New poly tower is 1.5 years?

I expect any land to take 2-3 years. Cars Land probably 4 to account for the required canal infrastructure they just permitted for.

 

[Tonto]

I apologize if my post came off as rude. I understand talking about the logistics of this stuff, but I guess I’m just less focused on that stuff and moreso on the guest experience. I also think having things like the Rivers and Liberty Belle do so much for ambience more than anything, and that isn’t something that can be measured on a spreadsheet, and I’m worried that they’re not considering the atmosphere and magic that will be lost once it’s gone.

I do agree about the ambiance. It’s the little things like hearing the horns from the river boat. With that said, I think this area will bring another aesthetic to the area. I’m just not sure how this is going to work out.
I would think that the cars ride will be louder than a river boat. It’s definitely going to change the area. Hopefully Disney knocks this out of the park because I do think we all have some level of concern.

 

[Two Ears]

Nah.. Magic Kingdom is about to become a 2 day park. Don’t be so ready to give Universal the keys to kingdom. You should try being hyper critical with Univeral as well. When you do you will realize you are bringing a lot of bias to this discussion.

about too? cars and villans together is at least 5 years away. Probably longer. And still highly uncertain as to whether this will end up being as big as they say.

Epic is opening next year.

And their point wasnt that mk loses out. It was the other 3 parks and the hotels. Construction walls up in HS, MK and AK aint goint to help the problem either. Wdw is going to be losing lots of money for the next couple of years is my guess.

hopefully they stay brave through this period and not only follow through but ramp up the expansion plans.

 

[Quietmouse]

your post was well thought out and written.
EPIC is projected to be a huge disruptor though. For reasons you mentioned.
Even with the height requirement thing being a big current issue for Uni, and a bigger issue in the last ten years than it used to be:

let's reflect on what Disney has built more of in the last six to ten years than ever before?
Thrills and coasters.
Slinky
Guardians tower
incredicoaster
Guardians rewind
Indy retheme
Tron
Monsters Inc Coaster.
Splash to Tiana
Test Track
Cara thrill being the main replacement of ROA
Villians' focus on thrills.
Lion King Flume.

Their majority of new builds and rethemes, as well as announced plans have had a focus on thrills because that is what the audience is braver for than the past.
And it's in direct response because they know EPIC is a disruptor and competition.

I would argue that it’s just Disney adding and diversifying their attraction portfolio. Among those coasters you listed they have definitely also added a fair share of non coaster attractions.

That said even cosmic rewind is only a 42 inch height requirement. That’s the average height of a 5 year old. Slinky is 38 inches.

These are coasters that are still family friendly by design and doesn’t necessarily outcast kids from having to sit outside the que because they don’t meet the requirements.

 

[Two Ears]

Frontierlands aesthetics sadly was ruined when they replaced the splash exterior with the giant brocoli. It doesnt fit.

 

[Quietmouse]

about too? This is at least 5 years away. Probably longer. And still uncertain.

Epic is opening next year.

And their point wasnt that mk loses out. It was the other 3 parks and the hotels. Construction walls up in HS, MK and AK aint goint to help the problem either. Wdw is going to be losing lots of money for the next couple of years.

what is epic universe doing so radically different that’s not currently found in island of adventure ?

Coasters? - check

More Harry Potter ? - check

Height requirements galore ? - check

The only thing that raises my interest about epic is the horror themed universe and Nintendo land.


But undeniably dark universe will probably be designed for more older teens, and Nintendo land will probably take a phase 2 expansion to really get the ball rolling. The mario kart ride they have out now is okay, and I’m sure the donkey Kong ride will be fun.

But they really should remember that Nintendo is an ip that caters to kids as young as 3. They should have really considered making that section of the park more accessible with more attractions that contain no height requirements. A few dark rides/boat ride would have been amazing for Nintendo land.

Again, I’m very much in the boat that universals has something major on their hands with being able to use the Nintendo ip. It’s an ip that’s bigger than Harry Potter and is a huge threat to Disney if universal steers the right direction with the ip.

Also, I heard that universal has rights to use Pokémon now as well. Again, absolutely massive.

I think if Disney has anything to worry about is less to do with epic as a whole and more to do with universal ability to use Harry Potter, Nintendo and Pokémon all in the same theme park. That alone are 3 ips that are collectively worth hundreds of billions in value.

 

[celluloid]

I would argue that it’s just Disney adding and diversifying their attraction portfolio. Among those coasters you listed they have definitely also added a fair share of non coaster attractions.

That said even cosmic rewind is only a 42 inch height requirement. That’s the average height of a 5 year old. Slinky is 38 inches.

These are coasters that are still family friendly by design and doesn’t necessarily outcast kids from having to sit outside the que because they don’t meet the requirements.

Besides Starfall Racers, EPIC will have comparable height requirements.
DHS and EPCOT is is very similar situation. Those and DAK will take the biggest hits.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Assuming they're that far along with actual engineering/architectural design and planning.

Disney often overlaps design and construction. Design work does not have to be very far along to start demolition and site prep.

 

[Disney Analyst]

what is epic universe doing so radically different that’s not currently found in island of adventure ?

Coasters? - check

More Harry Potter ? - check

Height requirements galore ? - check

The only thing that raises my interest about epic is the horror themed universe and Nintendo land.


But undeniably dark universe will probably be designed for more older teens, and Nintendo land will probably take a phase 2 expansion to really get the ball rolling. The mario kart ride they have out now is okay, and I’m sure the donkey Kong ride will be fun.

But they really should remember that Nintendo is an ip that caters to kids as young as 3. They should have really considered making that section of the park more accessible with more attractions that contain no height requirements. A few dark rides/boat ride would have been amazing for Nintendo land.

Again, I’m very much in the boat that universals has something major on their hands with being able to use the Nintendo ip. It’s an ip that’s bigger than Harry Potter and is a huge threat to Disney if universal steers the right direction with the ip.

Also, I heard that universal has rights to use Pokémon now as well. Again, absolutely massive.

I think if Disney has anything to worry about is less to do with epic as a whole and more to do with universal ability to use Harry Potter, Nintendo and Pokémon all in the same theme park. That alone are 3 ips that are collectively worth hundreds of billions in value.

Epic will be super fun in the summer season when the majority of the park shuts down every day due to weather

 

[2bornot2be]

So when is this getting started?

 

[Nevermore525]

Epic will be super fun in the summer season when the majority of the park shuts down every day due to weather

I’m excited for when there are days where corporations have possibly rented out individual lands since the only way to access them is through each portal.

Also excited for any bottlenecking in all of those portals since unless I’m mistaken those are the only way in or out of areas.

 

[Nevermore525]

As far as the loss of ROA/TSI, bummed at the loss of the visuals and ambiance.

At the same time looking forward to having a new area that’s accessible in the evening while avoiding the Hub during fireworks. Just having land space that will be available for more hours of the day to explore is a benefit.

The frontier area they showed for Cars can work, but they have to actually invest to do it right. We’ll see on that one.

 

[SamusAranX]

You are also a brand new member - which is a bit suspicious. Quite a few members joined to support this project.

That analogy really doesn’t work - more along the lines of you want steak and are upset that the kitchen wastes time and space on a vegetarian dish cause steak is all they should serve in your opinion.


When done properly yes. California is a huge state. Dollywood celebrates the Smoky Mountains and the heritage of the area.

The irony is that Iger, of all people, recognized DCA was a brand withdrawal and ponied up to make a cohesive, awesome park that just needed a bit more TLC for attraction lineup. Then they went off the rails

 

[rd805]

I’m excited for when there are days where corporations have possibly rented out individual lands since the only way to access them is through each portal.

Also excited for any bottlenecking in all of those portals since unless I’m mistaken those are the only way in or out of areas.

They are building a conference center -- it's the first immediate add-on to the park.

There are separate exits.

Feel free to delete your post now.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

The irony is that Iger, of all people, recognized DCA was a brand withdrawal and ponied up to make a cohesive, awesome park that just needed a bit more TLC for attraction lineup. Then they went off the rails

They got so close!!! If they hadn’t rethemed tower, kept shows in the Hyperion and properly rethemed the backlot area - they could be knocking it out with a great consistent theme.

 

[SamusAranX]

Also I think it should be known that IP for the sake of IP is not going away. However there is still a way to take popular IPs and integrate them into a properly themed ride. Check out this ChatGPT blurb with a prompt of a Cars Frontierland attraction, that fits the time era and checks the IP box:

“Get ready for an adrenaline-pumping ride with "Wagon Wheels to Turbo Thrills," where Disney’s Cars characters take you on an unforgettable journey through Frontierland! Join Lightning McQueen, Mater, and their friends as they drive you back in time to the 19th century to learn about their wagon ancestors. Your modern car transforms into a classic horse-drawn wagon, and you’ll race alongside the Cars gang through rugged mountain trails and across rickety wooden bridges. Feel the thrill of frontier adventure as you navigate treacherous terrain with a blend of high-speed excitement and old-time charm. Experience the fusion of Disney’s beloved Cars characters and the raw excitement of historic wagon races in this thrilling fusion of past and present!”

It boggles my mind that Imagineering is this creatively bankrupt, and MK may be altered beyond repair. You can’t unring the bell.

But AI and I can come up with a better, cohesive fit in 5 minutes.

 

[Nevermore525]

They are building a conference center -- it's the first immediate add-on to the park.

There are separate exits.

Feel free to delete your post now.

The existence of a conference center doesn’t take away the potential of corporate rentals of individual lands. The portals make it easier to close off lands to guests.

 

[MickMinn22]

The more I think about this project and compare to monsters, I don’t really think it’s a true cars land. Monsters to me is more of a true mini land while this seems more to me like cars attractions in whatever the new Frontierland is. Only thing that gets me is piston mountain top. I really hope they go more natural look. Hopefully that’s one of the concept art to final product changes.