News Cars-Themed Attractions at Magic Kingdom

[Brian]

That is an excellent idea! And that is exactly why it will never happen.

I would think it's at least something being considered. After all, they did just do the boiler replacement a few years ago, and it wasn't cheap.

 

[ppete1975]

I don't really have any doubt the new area will look great. As a big national parks fan (where we go on the majority of our vacations) I really am partial to the look they are going for. Don't think Disney is cheapening out on it, they knew from holding back this announcement at D23 that it would be unpopular so they have to knock it out of the park. My biggest worry is that the ride will be unreliable. It's gonna be at least moderately high-speed outdoors in Florida so it likely will have significant downtime no matter the ride system

especially if its trackless... I really hope they go old school with the ride mechanics to make it reliable.

 

[larryz]

No way we are losing Rivers of America completely.

 

[Parker41056]

I hate that it's being used for Cars, that is what gets me the most. I personally despise that film, couldn't even sit through it, legitimately one of the worst Pixar films imo. If TSI was removed for Villains Land, I'd be more than welcome for that change. But to sacrifice it for Cars is just lame. Cars is not something I could see lasting 50+ years in the MK, unlike the original lands of the park. At least Villains probably has a very solid chance of having staying power.

I think Cars will be a massive audience draw and will turn out better than expected. Western River Expedition in that space would have been better thematically but wouldn't t print the merch like Cars!

 

[Jrb1979]

There is no doubt in my mind that this Cars attraction will be the #1 most popular attraction across all four parks (at least until Villains opens). Absolutely guaranteed.

The land also looks beautiful, so it will ALSO provide character, atmosphere, and beauty.

They're replacing a beautiful, unpopular thing, with something that will be tremendously popular *and is also beautiful.*

Unpopular is not a bad thing all the time. Parks need those things as well as new attractions. While many may not ride Rivers of America, there were some that did.

You need filler attractions in parks for capacity. Not everything needs to an E ticket

 

[zann285]

I'm asking because I literally don't know - but is the Belle suitable for open water? Its hull is so shallow....

Its been taken to the maintenance facility in Bay Lake of course, with help from other vessels is my understanding.

 

[DisneyDreamerxyz]

I always thought having the second pathway along the river while nice seemed odd - all that infrastructure was for the Davy Crockett boats and Mike Fink Boats they got rid of years ago. There used to be a sign that said Rivers of America along the path by the water but it disappeared a few years ago. They have been slowly removing the theming of Tom Sawyer Island for years. I will miss it and will definitely go sit on Aunt Polly’s dock a few times before it’s gone. Most guests never get over there and it’s closed at night which doesn’t help. The riverboat most people don’t do either, I remember I had a family member visiting and I was trying to get them on everything and I could not convince them to do the Riverboat.

 

[doctornick]

What we’re losing, however, is breathing room, and that isn’t unimportant either. Not every inch of “unused” space needs to be filled; in as crowded an environment as the Magic Kingdom, a bit of visual and spatial respite from all the busyness is a wonderful thing.

The greater space in MK definitely is an improvement over how constrained things feel in DL. Even at its worse, MK never gets as claustrophobic as DL (well, I guess during fireworks; but not during the day)

 

[Kamikaze]

Absolutely ridiculous.

Zero water in the Magic Kingdom.

Bewilderingly ridiculous that they’ve imploded the best land in the park.

Circus tents remain in Fantasyland. A spinner clogs Adventureland. Tomorrow has countless ugly vistas and remains a concrete jungle with an active pollution.

But sure, let’s obliterate the tranquil zen with a loud and obnoxious and out of place ride.

Unbelievable

I mean, if you ignore all the other water features.

 

[PREMiERdrum]

Its been taken to the maintenance facility in Bay Lake of course, with help from other vessels is my understanding.

There are some great pictures around that show her traversing both SSL and BL, but I wasn't sure how worthy she'd be with payload.

 

[Parker41056]

YOU DON'T SAY, @Horizons '83.

Convert Tomorrowland to Wreck it Ralph Sugar Rush Racers. Use electric vehicles and add indoor areas for a top notch lighting package.

 

[JD80]

Absolutely ridiculous.

Zero water in the Magic Kingdom.

Bewilderingly ridiculous that they’ve imploded the best land in the park.

Circus tents remain in Fantasyland. A spinner clogs Adventureland. Tomorrow has countless ugly vistas and remains a concrete jungle with an active pollution.

But sure, let’s obliterate the tranquil zen with a loud and obnoxious and out of place ride.

Unbelievable

There is water surrounding the hub and in to Jungle Cruise.

 

[larryz]

The concrete at the base of the rivers isn’t really meaningful. It’s spread out and really only there to maintain definition and hold the track. I’d also guess they never really bothered to deal with any leaks.

But without the need to periodically remove a steam-powered riverboat for maintenance, they no longer need to maintain the lock they have in place to maintain the RoA water level. That saves bucks right there.

 

[ctrlaltdel]

Judging by the art, theres an entire full-size walkway between the two. They're currently doing a TON of work to DL's HM queue, so who says they can't change the WDW queue to have a couple of additional walls to block the view & sound? Right now its not a concern because theres a River next to it, but theres no evidence that they haven't considered the intrusion of the Cars attraction onto the HM's ambiance.

Yeah I think the current banks of ROA are clearly gonna the border between the attraction/new land and the liberty sqaure. My guess is that there is significant berm with new trees and potentially a small water feature, and the attraction looks to be sunken more by Liberty Square versus the transition to the rest of Frontierland.

 

[ppete1975]

I cant wait till 2030 when this is ready!!!

 

[Disstevefan1]

I would think it's at least something being considered. After all, they did just do the boiler replacement a few years ago, and it wasn't cheap.

I hope they do it!

But remember, TWDC has no issues with dragging stuff back stage and destroying it for the tax write off.

 

[JustInTime]

Judging by the art, theres an entire full-size walkway between the two. They're currently doing a TON of work to DL's HM queue, so who says they can't change the WDW queue to have a couple of additional walls to block the view & sound? Right now its not a concern because theres a River next to it, but theres no evidence that they haven't considered the intrusion of the Cars attraction onto the HM's ambiance.

It’s a concern if half of livery square is gone. For me, anyway. That’s part of the Mansion’s ambiance. It’s part of a New England town on the banks of a river.

 

[doctornick]

The original concept of Frontierland is problematic for a number of reasons: slavery and racism, the treatment of native Americans; women largely didn't have the right to vote. It would be incredibly difficult for Disney to develop a new story in that context. We got 70+ years out of the idea. Let's be happy with that.

Yet somehow totally fine for DL. That's what irks me the most - even if they are going with completely idiotic shortsighted reasons for these changes, at least be consistent. Stop treating MK like a second class citizen and letting DL keep its history. That's total crap.

 

[999th Happy Haunt]

Put your money where your mouth is next year water feature people

 

[Dizknee_Phreek]

This is a gut punch. Especially for my inner child - first the shootin' arcade, now TSI. Two of my must dos when I was a kid. Every trip, my mom and dad would eat breakfast at Tony's and they'd let my sister and I roam around by ourselves. It was our time to really explore our first tastes of "freedom" from the parents. We had a ritual - stop by Main Street Bakery for cookies (back when it wasn't Starbucks and actually had really amazing baked goods), ride the teacups, and then head over to TSI to burn energy where our parents would eventually meet back up with us.

Beyond that, that whole area is just a beautiful, peaceful space. Away from the hustle and bustle of MK. The dock by the fort with rocking chairs looking over to BTM is one of my favorite spots in all of MK. And to those saying DL has TSI...I mean, kinda. But it's not even the same theme. Parts of it were cool, but I still prefer MKs TSI with the fort.

As for capacity...is this even going to help? Something tells me no. Yes, you'll have more places for people to go. But won't that just allow Disney to cram MORE people into an already crowded park? And then what happens during the parades and especially the fireworks? I don't think Main Street can hold very many more people come firework time. IMO what they need to focus on is adding more capacity to the other parks to help draw people from MK and better disperse people that way.

Another thing I don't understand is why throw this Cars thing in? It seems last minute. When the Coco idea didn't pan out, why not just expand VL in BBT and let that be it? That's the land everyone really wanted anyway. Plopping Cars into the middle of FL just seems pointless and unnecessary. And why does Disney hate water so much?

People are constantly complaining about how much time they have to waste in line at Disney. So Disney's answer is to give us more long lines to wait in? Over the attractions we can easily get on with little to no wait? And yes, I know people will argue that "only 10 people take advantage of those attractions". Maybe...but what if Disney had invested more into TSI. Make some updates to it, leave the restaurant open all the time, give people reasons to visit the island more than "one and done"? As sad as I would be to lose the literary history theme of TS, I would have been understanding if they had turned it into a Tiana theme. But to take it and ROA out completely? What a mistake. None of this makes sense to me.