MK Cars-Themed Attractions at Magic Kingdom

PizzaPlanet

Well-Known Member
Assuming all goes well with the new ride system, will this render the Test Track/RSR ride system obsolete for future projects? I guess what I’m getting at is whether the old track-based vehicles have any advantages over the trackless ones that will be used here.
 

Bocabear

Well-Known Member
They could retheme Liberty Square and the continuing facades to a turn of the century Mississippi River delta town with Tall Tale Cafe facades becoming more like a New Orleans Square area...maybe then a rock portal like Carsland at DCA to transition into the West...only problem is there would be no continuation of that theme if Carsland is themed to the Pacific Northwest...
 

mickEblu

Well-Known Member
One thing I’m wondering- I’m sure quite a few imagineers know this is a bad idea but how many would vocalize it especially if their boss is on board? Not to mention how many would still be against it if it meant less or no work for them?
 

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
Recognizing the river that once existed and tying it into a new story sounds exactly like something Disney would do.
Except you then need the remains of the river in order to visually tell the story. Which is clearly not what’s happening and contradicts claims of needed efficiency.

I realize this is a lot like Main Street, but you could retheme all of the area from Columbia Harbor House to Tiana's as sort of early Americana theme.
How is what’s there not “early Americana”?

Big Thunder Trail, which tells the story of Rainbow Ridge. Disneyland’s Frontierland would feel hollow without it.
That defines the design of Frontierland at Disneyland? The riverfront that doubles as an amphitheater is secondary to that walkway?
 

Stripes

Premium Member
Except you then need the remains of the river in order to visually tell the story. Which is clearly not what’s happening and contradicts claims of needed efficiency.
We’ll see what actually happens. It’s just an idea. There are plenty of workable alternatives. I think Frontierland will likely be a gold mining town established near a wooded area with rocky cliffs and waterfalls. Prospectors discovered that the flowing stream created a prime spot for pioneers to pan for gold. It was a lucrative settlement. The town’s economy and its businesses were based around this lucrative site due to the miners needing food, refreshments, and entertainment while taking a break from a hard day’s work.

By making the land more intimate, it promotes the same sense of intrigue and discovery that the pioneers would have experienced.
That defines the design of Frontierland at Disneyland? The riverfront that doubles as an amphitheater is secondary to that walkway?
In terms of story, yes. I would argue the riverfront takes a backseat to the richness and depth of Rainbow Ridge. It’s my one of my favorite areas to take in the details in all of Disneyland.

Now, in terms of the design, obviously the river is the central organizing feature at Disneyland. However, at the Magic Kingdom it’s departure allows for the establishment of a new central organizing feature.
 
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RobbinsDad

Well-Known Member
How is what’s there not “early Americana”?
It is of course, but the idea is that the Old West portion of Frontierland between LS and CBJ without the river is kind of out of place. So the whole path could be rethemed to represent primarily Eastern/Southern U.S., then BTM and Carsland is Western.
 
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Bocabear

Well-Known Member
but Carsland is not "western" but "Pacific Northwestern"...which is another place entirely with a very different aesthetic...in an entirely different time setting....which then makes Big Thunder look like an outlier and out of step with the rest of the park....not sure then why they didn't just leave the new cars crap set in Radiator Springs which at least had some resemblance to the red rocks feel of Big Thunder.....it's making the park look like a hodgepodge of single attraction locations rather than distinct "lands" as it should always be....
 

James Alucobond

Well-Known Member
but Carsland is not "western" but "Pacific Northwestern"...which is another place entirely with a very different aesthetic...in an entirely different time setting....which then makes Big Thunder look like an outlier and out of step with the rest of the park....not sure then why they didn't just leave the new cars crap set in Radiator Springs which at least had some resemblance to the red rocks feel of Big Thunder.....it's making the park look like a hodgepodge of single attraction locations rather than distinct "lands" as it should always be....
I’m not sure I would consider Yellowstone to be explicitly Pacific Northwest. The Continental Divide actually passes through the park, which honestly makes it kind of thematically interesting as it sits along the switchover for waters that flow to the Pacific and Atlantic. I think you can pretty easily puzzle out a regional rationale on paper that works; the anachronism and implementation are the more likely problems.
 

JMcMahonEsq

Well-Known Member
but Carsland is not "western" but "Pacific Northwestern"...which is another place entirely with a very different aesthetic...in an entirely different time setting....which then makes Big Thunder look like an outlier and out of step with the rest of the park....not sure then why they didn't just leave the new cars crap set in Radiator Springs which at least had some resemblance to the red rocks feel of Big Thunder.....it's making the park look like a hodgepodge of single attraction locations rather than distinct "lands" as it should always be....
Where do you get Carsland as being Pacific Northwestern? Cars and Radiator Springs in the movie is located along Route 66, which is in New Mexico/Arizona/Southern Ca area.
 

James Alucobond

Well-Known Member
Where do you get Carsland as being Pacific Northwestern? Cars and Radiator Springs in the movie is located along Route 66, which is in New Mexico/Arizona/Southern Ca area.
It’s set where Planes is, in a fictional version of Yellowstone. As I said above, I don’t see that as wholly Pacific Northwestern, but it is not in Radiator Springs.
 

AidenRodriguez731

Well-Known Member
And now let’s turn to the book of Rohde for one of my favorite passages….


Now, we theme park designers do not build temples or churches, and our stories are not sacred, but the underlying logic of the Eternal Return still applies to the best of narrative placemaking.

The real world is brutally amoral and relentless in its rate of destruction and replacement. There are few refuges from this assault. Theme parks, at their best, can be such places, secular though they are. People step out of the chaos and into an ordered ceremonial world where time is arrested. Beloved important moments are re-enacted in a space that is outside of history.

That's why it's such a shock when time intrudes, either with changes, or more tellingly with new events that are too anchored in contemporary relevance.”
Almost perfectly explains why things like Hall of Presidents and the shooting range were on the chopping block!
 

AidenRodriguez731

Well-Known Member
but Carsland is not "western" but "Pacific Northwestern"...which is another place entirely with a very different aesthetic...in an entirely different time setting....which then makes Big Thunder look like an outlier and out of step with the rest of the park....not sure then why they didn't just leave the new cars crap set in Radiator Springs which at least had some resemblance to the red rocks feel of Big Thunder.....it's making the park look like a hodgepodge of single attraction locations rather than distinct "lands" as it should always be....
Highlights different states/regions of the American frontier.
 

TheMaxRebo

Well-Known Member
Assuming all goes well with the new ride system, will this render the Test Track/RSR ride system obsolete for future projects? I guess what I’m getting at is whether the old track-based vehicles have any advantages over the trackless ones that will be used here.

We'll have to see but I have to think this ride won't get as fast as the slot rack system ... like can't see this getting anywhere near the 65 MPH TT can get or even what RSR gets to. The thrills here will be more the hills and turns and then also having the scenic views, etc. more than "speed"

So this will be more like Space Mtn that feels faster than it is vs RnRC - both have their place
 

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
It is of course, but the idea is that the Old West portion of Frontierland between LS and CBJ without the river is kind of out of place. So the whole path could be rethemed to represent primarily Eastern/Southern U.S., then BTM and Carsland is Western.
You’re still basically describing what is already there. Early southern settlements would be cities like Charleston or Savannah, which are also on the water.
 

Bocabear

Well-Known Member
It’s set where Planes is, in a fictional version of Yellowstone. As I said above, I don’t see that as wholly Pacific Northwestern, but it is not in Radiator Springs.
I wonder then why they didn't set Tiana's Foods Factory in the South Pacific where Moana is set...I mean as long as we are just moving IP to wherever....LOL why not set the new Cars area in Arizona like the films....at least it would be a closer match to the look of Big Thunder....instead of setting it in a place that is not even from any of the films it is based on......
 

Agent H

Well-Known Member
I wonder then why they didn't set Tiana's Foods Factory in the South Pacific where Moana is set...I mean as long as we are just moving IP to wherever....LOL why not set the new Cars area in Arizona like the films....at least it would be a closer match to the look of Big Thunder....instead of setting it in a place that is not even from any of the films it is based on......
It’s not wherever. It’s set in the same universe as cars unlike your princess and the frog and Moana example (I’m pushing fan theories to the side it doesn’t matter what you or me believe it matters what Disney believes)
 

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