News Cars-Themed Attractions at Magic Kingdom

[Mr. Sullivan]

Maybe it’s just me but I really don’t feel that “the park’s legacy” argument works here.

This isn’t Disneyland. MK’s version of Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island et all has never, ever been on the level of importance or significance that Disneyland’s is. Unlike Disneyland’s version, this particular corner of the park gets really ignored beyond it just being a way to get to the rides in the area people care about.

The RoA and riverboat are deeply integral part of Disneyland’s identity, especially with Fantasmic! being performed there and it’s co-relationship with other nearby attractions. That has NEVER been the case for Magic Kingdom. It has never been a highlighted point of the park, has never been held up as one of its sacred jewels. It has always just been “Disneyland has it so we do too.”

MK’s version of Frontierland has been incredibly weak for decades. Among the worst (if not THE worst in the world, bottom two). It getting a massive overhaul I feel has been an inevitability for ages.

I understand nostalgia for RoA. I do. I have it myself. I’ve loved it. But the park isn’t really losing anything critical to it’s existence and identity here.

This was never sacred ground here. I do feel the image of a river and riverboat is indeed a fixture and foundation of Disney iconography, just that that comes from a completely different park.

If you want to knock this from a thematic point of view, I’ll gladly join that. I don’t think Cars really belongs here either. But I really also cannot start to pretend that MK’s RoA or TSI is or ever has been important to this park, let alone a part of its legacy.

 

[Jrb1979]

I mean great, but then why not do the reverse? Use the north area as much as possible first and then if you really need to use the RoA footprint in the future do it when there is no other choice for space. I don't think people would be as upset if it came down to "we have no where else to expand" situation.

Why you ask? They know the hardcores will be the most upset and they don't care about them.

The other part, park theme doesn't matter anymore. It's not just to those in charge but also to the majority of newer guests. They want flashy and new IP

 

[Dwebble]

I have no attachment to ROA or TSI (although I enjoy the scenery). However, Disney is showing they will do anything they can to not increase capacity. They just keep replacing it. Attendance may be down right now, but as we've seen in recent years, they need the additional capacity for crowd management.

...in what possible world does a large land with multiple rides not represent an increase of capacity over the riverboat and Tom Sawyer's Island, of all things?

 

[flyerjab]

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.*

I’m in agreement here. I want to start, however, by saying I respect the nostalgia and attachment some super fans have for this part of the park. I’ll never say people are silly for being attached to things that I don’t personally share the same feelings for.

Having said that, we were just at Disneyland for the first time 2 weeks ago. We went to both parks. The ride with the longest standby was RSR. And for good reason; I had always heard people lavish that ride with praise. And now I understand why. INCREDIBLE EXPERIENCE. I waited in a ridiculously long standby for that and it was worth every minute.

If this is built, and is a trackless, all-terrain ride, the park goers will eat…this…up. Period. There is a dedication on the forums that doesn’t exist in the hordes of “normie” park visitors. I agree with @CaptainAmerica on this point. If this is themed to the level that Carsland is, the line for this will stretch back to the castle.

We visited TSI once, and then never again. We went on the Riverboat almost never. It was hot and you got to see figures of animals and Native Americans. There is a reason why. In Walt’s day, the frontier was a focus of movies, books, etc. I don’t feel that westerns are as big as they used to be, relative to other genres. Walt picked this because it was a popular story to tell. But that was then.

Everyone on here says that they need to fix and expand the parts of the parks they already have in WDW. Well, this is that happening in real time now. The amount of people to queue up for this ride in one day will surpass the number of people that do TSI and the riverboat in one week. That’s what they want, maximize profit and distribution of guests. The current Frontierland does not do that. Adding this will.

 

[marni1971]

I knew this was being considered since 2016. I didn’t think they’d be daft enough to approve it.

It’s not over yet either.

 

[Brian]

Maybe it’s just me but I really don’t feel that “the park’s legacy” argument works here.

This isn’t Disneyland. MK’s version of Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island et all has never, ever been on the level of importance or significance that Disneyland’s is. Unlike Disneyland’s version, this particular corner of the park gets really ignored beyond it just being a way to get to the rides in the area people care about.

The RoA and riverboat are deeply integral part of Disneyland’s identity, especially with Fantasmic! being performed there and it’s co-relationship with other nearby attractions. That has NEVER been the case for Magic Kingdom. It has never been a highlighted point of the park, has never been held up as one of its sacred jewels. It has always just been “Disneyland has it so we do too.”

MK’s version of Frontierland has been incredibly weak for decades. Among the worst (if not THE worst in the world, bottom two). It getting a massive overhaul I feel has been an inevitability for ages.

I understand nostalgia for RoA. I do. I have it myself. I’ve loved it. But the park isn’t really losing anything critical to it’s existence and identity here.

This was never sacred ground here. I do feel the image of a river and riverboat is indeed a fixture and foundation of Disney iconography, just that that comes from a completely different park.

If you want to knock this from a thematic point of view, I’ll gladly join that. I don’t think Cars really belongs here either. But I really also cannot start to pretend that MK’s RoA or TSI is or ever has been important to this park, let alone a part of its legacy.

You're just saying that because you're about to take over MuppetVision and Star Tours.

 

[JustInTime]

Yeah it clearly does not show that. It clearly shows the Riverboat Landing building at the edge of the attraction (who knows if it actually will remain or be rethemed), but nothing else in particular is touched. Seems clear to me the boundaries of the area are the lower portions of Tom Sawyer's Island and the ROA with a pretty clear delineation to what currently exists on the banks of the river.

To me, it does show that?

As it pans out you can see a new entrance to the land with a diverted parade route. Trees where Liberty Square is.

 

[GhostHost1000]

From my perspective, this leaves a ton more opportunity to expand Beyond Big Thunder. Coco could still live back there with an even bigger area for a Villains land. Maybe a phase 2.

We don’t need coco in MK. Of course that means they’ll put it somewhere now.

 

[999th Happy Haunt]

Disneyland is (and should be) the nostalgia/history park. Magic Kingdom has always been a copy. No sense in letting the most popular park in the world get stale.

This is how Six Flags parks are run

 

[DisneyDreamerxyz]

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!

Another thing about the Cars franchise I haven’t seen discussed is its appeal to little boys and how it balances all the Princess aspects of the parks. I’ve heard moms say things are too geared towards girls. Not to generalize but a lot of young boys have toy cars and trucks etc

 

[ednamodedarling]

They're saving that for another expansion.

Coco?

 

[SplashJacket]

Well, hate to see ROA go though honestly, I think we went to TS island once in our last 10 trips and rode the Liberty Belle twice, so not really missing much by way of attractions, but more so the aesthetics. I do hope they have a significant berm that separates Cars from the Haunted Mansion. This is going to be an expensive expansion.

Exactly, it’s the aesthetics and vibes of RoA.

It is the best looking part of the entire park. Looking over the river as you walk from liberty square and into frontierland...it is not always just about the attractions.

They’re going scorched earth on the best area of the park while ignoring the ugly areas.

Folks, we still have the originals in Disneyland. We're giving up a seldom-used copy for new(ish), more popular attractions. And we still have the entire north area for "Beyond Big Thunder."

We can argue about whether Cars belongs in Frontierland, and what "Frontierland" means. But on the whole, this is a net positive.

When I first heard the announcement for Cars, it was the one that fell flat.

I don’t ride liberty bell or go to TSI. I didn’t care if they permanently docked LB or closed TSI and cut off the back half of TSI for Cars, but this isn’t cutting off the back half and leaving the aesthetics of Frontierland, this is turning the whole thing into a Cars land.

Liberty Belle 365 days a year: Sits mostly ignored, not a highlight of anyone's Magic Kingdom day.

Disney fans when Liberty Belle is going away: REEEEEEEE no she's an iconic fixture of the Magic Kingdom and Walt will literally send lightning bolts from the sky if she ever goes away.

See also: Maelstrom, Ellen's Energy Adventure

If they permanently docked Liberty Bell, and then left a horseshoe shaped U from Big Thunder to HM for RoA and then put Cars by the fort, I wouldn’t really care. They could permanently dock LB and even make it an exhibit or restaurant or speakeasy snuggly bar and it would be really good.

They could add canoes where the current boat dock to TSI to increase the ambiance and vibe of the area.

That’s not what they’re doing, they’re exploding the area and putting cars.

This is like infilling Animal Kingdom’s lagoon and building Zootopia. Ridiculous.

They could’ve executed this with care, but that’s Not what they’re doing.

 

[GhostHost1000]

Coco?

Coco in Frontierland makes about as much sense as Tiana.

 

[castlecake2.0]

My prediction is that the riverboat landing building will remain and repurposed for shopping or dining, I also predict the river will remain in places on a smaller scale along with additional water features like what they did in Disneyland, just not a complete loop. It looks like cars will be hidden from current FL/LS with trees and theming.

 

[999th Happy Haunt]

I knew this was being considered since 2016. I didn’t think they’d be daft enough to approve it.

It’s not over yet either.

Who throws these ideas around? Higher ups? TDO? Imagineering themselves? There’s at least one very very bad link in the chain from concept to opening

 

[el_super]

The quiet part out loud. Shuttering stuff to open other stuff means the hiring of new staff is minimal while they can still say "Come see our new thing." This is more than the literal pennies I was losing my mind over with the fridge/microwave, but I'd place a bet this is the number one reason all these projects always involve closing things.

They always involve closing things, because that's the nature of adding new attractions: demand gets shifted elsewhere and the attractions at the bottom suffer a steeper falloff in visitation. It's the reason I keep saying the parks don't need more capacity, just better utilization.

 

[JustInTime]

I knew this was being considered since 2016. I didn’t think they’d be daft enough to approve it.

It’s not over yet either.

Omg. Can you hint or elaborate?

 

[el_super]

My prediction is that the riverboat landing building will remain and repurposed for shopping or dining, I also predict the river will remain in places on a smaller scale along with additional water features like what they did in Disneyland, just not a complete loop. It looks like cars will be hidden from current FL/LS with trees and theming.

Disneyland's river had to stay, in part, because you need water circulating and moving in order for it not to smell like stagnant water.

 

[Horizons '83]

I knew this was being considered since 2016. I didn’t think they’d be daft enough to approve it.

It’s not over yet either.

Liberty Square next on the chopping block?

 

[marni1971]

Omg. Can you hint or elaborate?

Not as of yet but I hope I’m wrong