News Cars-Themed Attractions at Magic Kingdom

[basas]

Very sad to see them destroying my favorite area of the park. Honestly, I love Cars and think RSR (even as a clone) would make a great addition to Magic Kingdom as an extension of Frontierland…moving geographically further west… I was even excited to hear the Cars area announced the other day because I assumed this was ‘sort of’ the plan. I expected they were going to shorten the RoA and park the riverboat to make room for the expansion but…wow…I did not expect this.

Next up they will gut Liberty Square and I fully expect to see Main Street USA rebranded as “Mickey Ave” eventually, too. This is a company that seems ashamed of its American roots…it’s very sad to see and I can’t believe Walt would approve…

And for the folks who insist that we don’t care about TSI or the riverboat and are just making a fuss because we’re “against progress”…that’s an ignorant opinion and I’ll leave it at that.

By the way, I’m a millennial and a huge fan of Mark Twain’s stories…

 

[doctornick]

I feel sick to my stomach.

I'm actually with you. I am having trouble focusing on work and feel shaky. I'm actually surprised at how much this has bothered me. It feels like a big part of my youth is just being ripped out and trampled on.

I mean it is lunchtime now and I don't have much of an appetite.

 

[duncedoof]

Seeing some people talk about how much space the river used to take, how many potential guests weren't using it, etc. It's so sad to see park goers think like executives now.

That space not being used for any main attractions was a concern since day one. They built anyway, because they realized these parks need some natural and relaxing spaces that synergize with everything built around them, existing for their own sake. Sometimes it's not all about numbers on a chart. Some people just don't get it.

This will alter the vibe of everyone attending the park on any given day in ways they won't even realize themselves. I bet you, you'll see more general stress in the people inside MK.

 

[Haymarket2008]

It's confounding to me that they, at the VERY least, aren't going the Big Thunder in Disneyland Paris route. A perfect and effective example of the right way to use a space like this.

Tom Sawyer's days were numbered, we all knew that. The river is a step WAY too far.

 

[John park hopper]

Disney relies on IP way too much don't they have any people with original ideas and imagination to come up with original and totally new ideas.

 

[doctornick]

I don't even believe that anymore. I can only imagine they're paving that river next, except the bare minimum they would need to keep Fantasmic running.

Honestly, I don't want it to happen, but if they were getting rid of DL's RoA, I would at least feel better that they are being consistent and there is a purpose behind it. Kind of like both places losing Splash, which was awful. But why crap all over one resort but allow the other to have proper nostalgia? If RoA/TSI is deemed "problematic", it should be dealt with appropriately everywhere.

 

[KDM31091]

Seeing some people talk about how much space the river used to take, how many potential guests weren't using it, etc. It's so sad to see park goers think like executives now.

That space not being used for any main attractions was a concern since day one. They built anyway, because they realized these parks need some natural and relaxing spaces that synergize with everything built around them, existing for their own sake. Sometimes it's not all about numbers on a chart. Some people just don't get it.

This will alter the vibe of everyone attending the park on any given day in ways they won't even realize themselves. I bet you, you'll see more general stress in the people inside MK.

Exactly; because more and more attractions are stressful to get VQ, long wait, crowd inducing, and fewer and fewer are relaxing.

 

[lazyboy97o]

That’s just false.

People will be complaining that their kids liked it. Some people are complaining about TSI, but mostly everything is complaining about the ruined views.

A speedway replacement makes the area infinitely more visually interesting. A RoA makes it far less visually appealing, or lateral, at best.

The poor placement of TRON will seriously compromise the design any Speedway replacement.

 

[doctornick]

Disney disagrees... literally

An insider on this thread already indicated that this wasn't even the cheapest option, but was chosen specifically to get rid of RoA/TSI. Other options were available and not pursued.

 

[DavidDL]

And we should probably remove the word “expansion” from the thread title, tbh.

 

[Kamikaze]

I'm actually with you. I am having trouble focusing on work and feel shaky. I'm actually surprised at how much this has bothered me. It feels like a big part of my youth is just being ripped out and trampled on.

I mean it is lunchtime now and I don't have much of an appetite.

Your youth still happened. Nothing was 'trampled on'.

Others will have a different youth.

 

[disney fan 13]

I have perspective about the whole thing. I loved running around TSI as a child, but I haven’t visited it at all in recent years. So I agree with the pro removal side that this will be popular with the majority of guests, some of whom inevitably did not know TSI was even there. However, I do think TSI would be a much more heavily traveled (to its detriment) if you didn’t have to take the boat to the island and there was a walkway.

More to the point. It feels illogical that they would choose to rip out the river, which is a part in some way of every castle park besides Shanghai (which itself still has a large water feature.) for this expansion. Disney seems to have looked at the cost of expanding beyond the berm and decided it was too expensive. However, at the same time, every time a new castle park has been built, the imagineers decided that either ROA or some other big water feature was essential to the fung shui of the castle park. Time will tell who’s right.

Is the ride gonna be good? Hopefully, probably.

Is the area going to be well themed? Sure.

Is it gonna be a hit? Yes.

Is it still disappointing they’re taking out the river? Absolutely.

As with the shooting arcade, Disney doesn’t seem to value experiences that not everyone does or is lesser traveled unless you have to pay extra for it. Not everything in a theme park should need to be done every trip for it to be meaningful. There’s benefit in putting things “off the beaten path”, it makes the park feel bigger.

Someone mentioned up thread Disney is taking the park out of theme park, I’m not a Walt-ist. Parks have to change with the times, but I do think that in the quest to stay relevant, Disney can forget that people, even children can enjoy classic things, things that have stood the test of time, unlike some of the fad rides Disney has built in the 21st century. Sometimes Disney can forget the principles of design that made something classic in the first place.


P.S To the people in the thread saying nobody besides us would care about this removal. Obviously Disney thought it was a controversial move by holding off until the end of the convention to reveal TSI would be removed.

/end rambling rant

 

[Mr. Sullivan]

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

LMAO

Honestly I still believe that’s going where Launch Bay is. I don’t want Muppets gone if it doesn’t have to be. Though I’m hearing a lot of talk for something else Muppets.

 

[corran horn]

Earthquake to Disaster? Back to the Future to Simpsons Ride? Dueling Dragons to Dragon Challenge? Woody Woodpecker's Nuthouse Coaster to Trollercoaster? Granted two of those rethemes are now completely gone and replaced with brand new attractions, but still...

RIP Poseidon real soon now too.

 

[doctornick]

It's confounding to me that they, at the VERY least, aren't going the Big Thunder in Disneyland Paris route. A perfect and effective example of the right way to use a space like this.

Tom Sawyer's days were numbered, we all knew that. The river is a step WAY too far.

Yep. Want to get rid of TSI (the name and pathways), totally get it. Use the island in a different way, fine. But do something creative with it and keep the waterfront.

 

[Mondo]

It’s not just that the river is gone - that’s bad enough - but the whole area looks so chaotic and noisy. Looping roads, revving engines, snow and dust and water rapids, it’s too much. There’s a serenity to River District that should never be tampered with.

 

[basas]

I forgot to add one thing…

My last visit to Magic Kingdom (this February), Tom Sawyer island was far from deserted and the riverboat was packed (I couldn’t get a spot near the railings). It wasn’t a busy day at the park, either. It’s been said in this thread that “no-one” went on these attractions and that is absolutely false, especially the riverboat.

 

[Sectorkeeper71]

Coco in Frontierland makes about as much sense as Tiana.

So when are the shovels moving then?

 

[Sectorkeeper71]

You think this is bad, wait until they turn spaceship earth into Starbucks lol

“Like a grand and miraculous beverage, our planet has sailed through the coffee bar of time.”

 

[SplashJacket]

The poor placement of TRON will seriously compromise the design any Speedway replacement.

Not necessarily. Tokyo’s original plans for the BatB expansion involved taking out their whole Cosmic Rays equivalent block. There’s enough land to have a decent sized attraction that integrates well with Tron.

My vote has always been retheme Cosmic Rays to a battle bot BH6 diner and put a C or D ticket BH6 ride at the speedway and then lean into neon for the facade and create a pond underneath the people mover that has water features that react to the trains passing. Then they could build a new larger attraction at the old Skyway station / current stage.