News Cars-Themed Attractions at Magic Kingdom

[FigmentFan82]

Someone here said that this proposal and placement of Cars was a more expensive option, but it won out. And that the company is focused on long term thinking. To me, if true, this is a good thing. Opting to spend more now for a superior vision will have positive results for the future. Imagine all the rides whose budgets were cut to something lesser and now we're stuck with short experiences that are half of what they should have been.
I also think they still want Coco in the north west section beyond big thunder and are saving that plot for it for a phase III.
I get the sadness to the loss of a big section of WDW, but I also think this could be a really fun new experience.

 

[doctornick]

This is nothing like Splash because EVERYONE loved Splash. The hardos and the casuals alike. Killing Splash was universally hated outside of a micro-niche faction of culture warriors. This decision is going to be hugely popular with the normies.

Reaction to the news, sure (though hardcore fans are going to condemn this a ton). But the reason behind the decisions is certainly related.

 

[MK-fan]

This is an unforgivable loss, it’s about the overall thematic ambiance and there just taking it right out. I would lose it if this happened at Disneyland. Hopefully there will be a fan uprising against the removal. Kind of like when Mr. Toad was vacated but obviously the internet back then wasn't the same as it is now where everyone can easily voice their displeasure in many different ways. Fight the power!!!!!!!

 

[CaptainAmerica]

You don't think getting rid of Tom Sawyer Island and Fort Langhorn has anything to do with political correctness?

Not to mention if they remove Liberty Square and Hall of Presidents.

No I honestly don't. I think it's just an empty part of the park that can be used more effectively.

 

[Dear Prudence]

Unfriendly reminder that this has nothing to do with anything other than moving to more lucrative IPs. It's not about getting ride of anything for morality reasons, it's about money. Rivers of America were not lucrative. There was no IP to bleed money out of. It's always about money.

 

[doctornick]

No I honestly don't. I think it's just an empty part of the park that can be used more effectively.

It's already been stated this is the more expensive option than using virgin land to the north. Getting rid of what they view as "problematic" is the goal for the specific direction chosen.

 

[basas]

Unfriendly reminder that this has nothing to do with anything other than moving to more lucrative IPs. It's not about getting ride of anything for morality reasons, it's about money. Rivers of America were not lucrative. There was no IP to bleed money out of. It's always about money.

You may believe that…which is fine….but I do not.

 

[MagicHappens1971]

This new Cars “sub-land” of Frontierland looks great, seems to have some beautiful water elements that when coupled with the cars passing by will add/replace the kinetic energy of the riverboat/TSI. If it also winds up having as many trees as the concept art, I think it will have a great “national park”-esque vibe. The Disney of 2017 would've plopped Cars Land right out of DCA into Frontierland. They seem to be playing the long game, upgrade this underutilized space for a net positive attraction gain, and then continue to expand beyond the current park borders.

 

[DisCOT_97]

They should fill in World Showcase lagoon next cause ya know, what a huge waste of space! The views are all nostalgia, people need to get over it. Give us Hercules’ Greece Adventure or Luca’s Vespa Journey!

 

[UNCgolf]

I guarantee the day they announce a replacement for the Speedway, the exact same complaining we're seeing today will be made about that too.

I'm sure there will be complaining, but it won't be from all of the same people. I've been calling for them to replace the Speedway for years.

 

[AidenRodriguez731]

I'm guessing you're the guy who asked "How can Epcot be a Disney park without any Disney characters in it?"

I like the Disney characters in it I know I'm not a "typical Disney fan" in that way but I think the reason I go to Disney is for 2 things:

Great theming
Disney IP

Disney IP has been held like a sort of treasure, there's a million rides that I would want based on movies and everytime we get one announced I feel great that I can finally ride the scene. I love the Disney originals too but a lot of them are meh to me, especially Epcots. I also understand why a massive business like Disney would do stuff like fill in the ROA. Not only does it add very little capacity it also attracts very little people, and sell virtually no merchandise/make money, it's in prime real estate in a park that NEEDS it. As a guest, I found it kinda nice? but I would much prefer what we got in that concept art with mountains, geysers, and some water still retained.

 

[Chef idea Mickey`=]

I thought the idea of the Florida Project was to not be restricted by space and build anything they dream without the expense of what is removing something to add something new.

Yeah that was Walt but California company management don't want WDW to grow prosperous maybe Asia doesn't want it either.

 

[Dear Prudence]

You may believe that…which is fine….but I do not.

It's reality. You can choose to not believe it if you wish.

 

[John park hopper]

They should fill in World Showcase lagoon next cause ya know, what a huge waste of space! The views are all nostalgia, people need to get over it. Give us Hercules’ Greece Adventure or Luca’s Vespa Journey!

really what does the lagoon generate money wise --zip

 

[Raineman]

Great! Shorter lines for me!!!!

Did I capture the essence? Did I get it right? I've been working on my impression for a while now.

It's uncanny how close that is.

 

[DarkMetroid567]

That's not quite true. If you look at what Universal is developing for Epic Universe and the Kids Resort in Texas, you'll see that they are placing a lot of emphasis on the "park" part of theme parks.

I’ll give you the Kids Resort, but I swear that people invoke Universal as a proxy for what they hope Disney does without paying attention to what Universal is actually doing.

Almost none of Epic resembles a traditional “park” in anyway, beyond a few bits of Celestial Park. Especially not Nintendo and Harry Potter which will be congested on day 1.

 

[eddie104]

Wow I was hoping and praying this wouldn’t be the case.

I have a few thoughts…

• Technically this is a net gain in attractions so we are not really loosing anything in that regard
• Why they are spending so much money to shove Cars into this piece of land bewilders me.
• Ambiance and peacefulness is an important for a busy theme park like the MK so this is a complete blow in that aspect.
• Josh D'Amaro probably can’t wait till he becomes CEO so he doesn’t to keep announcing controversial changes.
• Bob Iger needs to leave at this point because I hate his favoritism.
• Overall I’m still kind of mixed about this project.
• It’s taking a previous underutilized space and turning into something more profitable which is the current Disney mantra for WDW.

 

[castlecake2.0]

It's already been stated this is the more expensive option than using virgin land to the north. Getting rid of what they view as "problematic" is the goal for the specific direction chosen.

What’s problematic is trying to get guests to the other side of it. There’s no where to build the paths needed for guest flow without altering the river and island. HM blocks the one side and TBA and BTM on the other.

 

[MissM]

Forgive me if someone on said this already, it's hard to keep up with 59 pages, but does this mean they're going to have a walkable path from Haunted Mansion now to Big Thunder? Before, of course, you had to walk all the way around the Rivers of America but the concept art looks like there's going to be open pathways? I'm just wondering how that's going to look/work with HM's queue being famously right on the waterfront.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I think he’s right. As I said in my other post, this is a company now ashamed of its American roots. Today it’s Frontierland, tomorrow it’s Liberty Square and don’t be surprised if one day its Main Street USA being converted into a version of Shanghai’s ‘Mickey Ave’.

We don’t know much about what Walt would have done (so I tend to avoid that), but it’s well documented that Walt was a patriot. I think he’d be ashamed to see his company run like this.

I 100% agree that the dynamic you're describing exists within TWDC. However:

1. Those voices have lost a lot of clout. Chapek wasn't a culture warrior himself but he was spineless and let the culture warriors win. Iger is kinda-sorta a culture warrior but he cares about money first and foremost and he realized that the Brand was being eroded. So he put out a mandate that Disney will no longer been seen as a propaganda machine.
2. I don't think those forces have anything to do with this decision.