News Cars-Themed Attractions at Magic Kingdom

[spresso81]

EPCOT's American Adventure fills this role. It's literally its purpose.

And Moana does not belong in Epcot's Future world (build a Fiji pavilion and I am good to go - would say Polynesia but that is French and do not think it would mesh with our little rat friend). I mean we can go back and forth.

Replacing HoP with a Muppets show may be great for a year or two. However, in 10 years when the Muppets show is empty and HoP is a bit less empty who really cares. That is where principals and standards at least give you a leg to stand on.

Now if you can upgrade HoP to include the Muppets and joke/interact with the presidents again I think we can all win.

Sadly, in today's world very few people win with these changes. As the everyday guest who may even like the new Cars ride will pay $30 for it on top of their ticket price then have to fight through 5,000 people on a tight corridor to get to the ride and probably pay for parade access as nobody will physically be able to watch the parade in Frontierland in the future.

 

[Ice Gator]

I’m actually amused at how much people are overreacting to losing ROA and treating this as some politically charged disaster on the same level of incompetency as Tiana’s despite there being no indication of that.

Cars is a dumb IP to replace it with, but MK is desperate for more capacity and unique attractions that the other parks don’t have. TSI is a waste of space for the world’s busiest theme park and I’ll die on that hill.

I see people calling them out for “expansion pads being wasted”, but I’m sure that they know what they’re doing more than Disney pass holders speculating on a blog.

 

[Starship824]

I suppose there is the water fall, and ice? I think what struck me is how the meandering of the river which speaks to frontier and the Mississippi, is gone. I just don’t see the new vision clearly. In the past, I’d trust their direction, but I suppose I am frightened now considering how new Epcot turned out. I just don’t know if they have a handle on things. You can take Incredibles out of Contemporary fairly painlessly if that was ever decided, but these kinds of things are structural and exhaustively expensive so the land’s vision has to be spot on.

Exactly how I feel. This could be great but I don't know if I trust them. Maybe if they have the fantasy springs team on this.

 

[doctornick]

Fantasmic is a key differentiator.

Sure. But that's not something intrinsic to the DL RoA - they could add it to MK or a similar show if that's what they "need" to make it popular. And they can cut off access to Pirates Lair (or stop running the canoes etc) if the issue is that they are wasting money running and maintaining things that people don't enjoy. I'm sorry but the version of TSI out there - still called Tom Sawyer I might add - isn't any more utilized than MK's.

 

[donsullivan]

You're going to have to define what a laydown yard is.

Laydown yard is a construction term for the area where all of the materials that will be used in the construction project are stored until they are used. In a scenario where you are building a coaster, the track and other components will all arrive and need to be stored somewhere to be staged for installation- that's a laydown yard.

 

[MrPromey]

The final frontier.

If it just being "the west" is all that matters, why not go full meta and put a mini Disneyland park out there?

Maybe throw up a Holloywood Sign?

Get some deal going with In-and-Out Burger?

Those are all western things, if this is the standard we're talking about.

Sounds ridiculous, right?

That's my point.

 

[AdventureHasAName]

Solutions jump right out at you when you look at an overhead map. The area in purple (below) could easily be used to make a massive Villains Land, while still keeping a functional Rivers of America so as to not disrupt themeing for Liberty Square and Frontierland. And the Villains Land could now semi-incorporate the Haunted Mansion. This area is massive - matching the size of current Fantasyland. Even if you kept the entirety of the Rivers of America, the footprint is still big enough to match the size of the other lands in the park.

The Cars attraction could be placed in the area of the Tommorowland Speedway (in orange on the map) and, if you were willing to spend the money, you have plenty of room to build one hell of an attraction.

Of course, this took 45 seconds for me to create using Google Maps and Adobe Illustrator, so it's understandable that modern day WDI couldn't figure it out.

 

[doctornick]

How do you get guests back to that area?

with a guest path? The same way they did in DL?

The most "complicated" thing is that they need a bridge over the canal which is something they have in Epcot which opens nightly. And a bridge in MK would only need to open once in a blue moon and never during operating hours.

 

[PizzaPlanet]

Muppets in HoP could be fantastic if it’s as well-written as the Great Moments in American History show (which never should’ve stopped). The question is will they use AAs to represent the characters or live puppeteers…

 

[Winter]

They literally will have to replace the river with other water reservoirs for storm management. They aren't creating more land out of this. If they wanted to make Villains bigger or add other stuff there is literally the "blessing of size" and acres of land to the north they can use. MK does not have any issues with not enough land. Not even remotely.

The reservoirs will be outside of the park. Rivers of America is inside the park.

The park is restricted to being inside the border of the railroad unless they completely retrack it.

 

[wdwmagic]

First Permits Filed for Disney World's New Cars-Themed Area, Replacing Tom Sawyer Island​

First Permits Filed for Disney World's New Cars-Themed Area, Replacing Tom Sawyer Island

First Permits Filed for Disney World's New Cars-Themed Area, Replacing Tom Sawyer Island

www.wdwmagic.com

 

[Quietmouse]

My hope is that they utilize the land in a way that encourages exploration.

Again, I’m down for this concept, but on the sole idea that there are faux hiking trails to explore and hidden nook and crannies that really put you in the perspective atmosphere or hiking out west.

Again, if done well, this can be a great addition.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I see people calling them out for “expansion pads being wasted”, but I’m sure that they know what they’re doing.

What gives you that confidence? Epcot? Toy Story Land? Polynesian Marriott?

TSI is a waste of space for the world’s busiest theme park and I’ll die on that hill.

More of a waste of space than closed attractions and closed restaurants?

 

[Ice Gator]

Jeeze.. I don’t come on here often but Disney adults really remind me of the type of people that’ll get mad about a professional team changing their logos and or team name.

I’m actually miffed by how much people are overreacting to this. Cars is a dumb IP, sure, but I’m not going to sit here and gaslight myself that TSI and ROA are MK staples that should be preserved over an entire new land expansion and rides.

It’s the busiest theme park in the world and has been desperate for more capacity for years- I’ll take a new land none of the other parks have over a glorified playground hardly anyone actually visits any day.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

It was confirmed as 5 years and beyond big thunder.

Was he that specific about it? My memory of it is that he moved on very quickly from the artwork (which is apparently still an early concept) to talking about "all the projects we have planned..." and "preparations are underway."

I'll be honest, though, I'm even a little sceptical about the Coco boat ride if construction isn't even scheduled to begin until 2026. A lot can happen in a year and a half.

 

[FettFan]

Not really? Only recent fails I can think of was maybe Millenium Falcon and Navi River Journey, and neither of those are even bad, just decent.

- Harmonious
- Demolishing Communicore SW only to go “oh crap” and rebuild it into what can only be described as an airport cafeteria for character meets.
- Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser falling flat on its face
- Tiana’s Bayou Adventure being a buggy mess
- Giant abandoned waterfront theater at DAK because Rivers of Light never worked.
- KiteTales

 

[J4546]

My hope is that they utilize the land in a way that encourages exploration.

Again, I’m down for this concept, but on the sole idea that there are faux hiking trails to explore and hidden nook and crannies that really put you in the perspective atmosphere or hiking out west.

Again, if done well, this can be a great addition.

I wish theyd build a Camp Discovery style attraction in the US parks but they probably cant due to injury/litigation fears.

 

[BrianLo]

Sure. But that's not something intrinsic to the DL RoA - they could add it to MK or a similar show if that's what they "need" to make it popular. And they can cut off access to Pirates Lair (or stop running the canoes etc) if the issue is that they are wasting money running and maintaining things that people don't enjoy. I'm sorry but the version of TSI out there - still called Tom Sawyer I might add - isn't any more utilized than MK's.

I hear you. In the daytime, no it’s definitely not more utilized. But it has that dual function, like saying Hollywood Studios amphitheater is not utilized either. True in the sense of what you are saying. But in terms of desire to remove it, Fantasmic (and fireworks overflow) does drive a lot of usage and positive guest scores out of Disneyland. Magic Kingdom did not have that.

There’s a measurable ROI that can be shown to an executive as far as Disneyland is concerned. It is selling merch. It is selling reserved seating. Which is I think why it got kept, in a shortened format.

I think to your point, Tokyo is definitely next on the chopping block. They’ve been circling around that one for ages.

 

[basas]

I agree with this take on all fronts. I think it's odd that so many are worried about Rockies/Cascades feel seeming out of place, but had no issue with Splash Mountain (set in the old South) being stuffed between a wild west town and BTM. Like what are we even doing here?

In my opinion the loss of a scenic vista and a open-play space that is lightly used is a big bummer, but entirely understand Disney's need to make more money quarter over quarter. This is the life of a publicly traded company.

Lastly (also my opinion), people saying this has anything to do with Disney being anti-American are victim-shopping. And what's more American than tearing down natural beauty if it's the way of progress and profits?

America literally created the modern-day national park…and a Grizzly Peak-like area would be a great *addition* to WDW…*addition*. There is no victim shopping going on at all…

 

[AdventureHasAName]

... but MK is desperate for more capacity and unique attractions that the other parks don’t have.

Is it? It's a twice as "complete" as any of the other three WDW parks. If you built things people wanted to experience in the other parks, then you wouldn't have the overcrowding in this park.

I see people calling them out for “expansion pads being wasted”, but I’m sure that they know what they’re doing more than Disney pass holders speculating on a blog.

I'm not sure of that at all. In fact, I'd take the collective knowledge of the regulars on this message board over current parks management any day of the week (and twice on Sundays). I struggle to find good decisions and well-implemented plans that have occurred in the parks over the last twenty years. It is not the fault of the hardcore Disney fans that the WDW has plenty of CURRENTLY UNUSED space all over the place. All they have to do is spend money to build and staff it (which they obviously don't want to do).