News Cars-Themed Attractions at Magic Kingdom

[Ragerunner]

I like ROA but I am excited for this change and expansion to Magic Kingdom. Give Frontierland a stronger wilderness look with lots of rock work, trees and water elements and it will have a Grizzly Peak feel.

 

[IMDREW]

So, I think walking around will be feeling like Grizzly Peak.

 

[LSLS]

AND, here is another example of why I completely believe they might trash Muppets/Star Tours to add Monster.

 

[spresso81]

This would have been a huge win if it was north of BTM and Villans land between Cars and HM plus behind HM.

Getting rid of ROA is either or a cost or political play.

Sadly, even Epic Universe will now have more water than the MK. Heck all of the Universal Parks will!

 

[lentesta]

I've been on these forums for many years, and this is the saddest news I've heard from Disney.

Tom Sawyer's Island is the only Walt Disney World attraction designed by Walt Disney. Its trees and caves are much needed respite for over-heated, over-stimulated kids. It is a refreshing escape from the Disney Genie rat race, long queues, sun-baked concrete, crowds, etc.

There's an argument to be made for Carousel of Progress.

Even more importantly, the Rivers of America are key to the vibe of Liberty Square and Frontierland. The river gives that whole side of the park desperately-needed room to breathe. It helps make Magic Kingdom livable and is key to the area's story. The Rivers of America are Frontierland's wilderness. Without the Rivers of America, Frontierland's theme disintegrates.

The original concept of Frontierland is problematic for a number of reasons: slavery and racism, the treatment of native Americans; women largely didn't have the right to vote. It would be incredibly difficult for Disney to develop a new story in that context. We got 70+ years out of the idea. Let's be happy with that.

Liberty Square's days are numbered. And this is not the morning for me to get banned from this board for explaining why.

I thought Disney had learned to appreciate the importance of water; they're totally reconfiguring Adventure World f/k/a Disney Studios Paris around a new lake. Now, they're replacing Magic Kingdom's main water feature with a cars land? I don't get it.

I'm hopeful the water features mostly stay. I think they learned their lesson with Galaxy's Edge.

 

[ZachPL]

So if they're keeping the Liberty Belle launch platform, does that mean it's the entrance to the new ride?

Doesn't really look like it to me, there is a walking path that seems to cross in front of the building. Looks like the start is more towards the middle where the banner is.

 

[lightningtap347]

I visit TSI every visit to mk and I can count on one hand the amount of times I've seen more than ten people on the island.

I love it, but let's be real here. This wasn't long for this world. I had previously said that they should have changed TSI to a purpose built Tiana attraction set in an actual bayou, and then rethemed splash to some other frontier theme (Western River Expedition?)

It's clear regardless though that they don't care about what they're putting where, and that their generally scared of using anything but IP that has already been proven to be popular.

There are multiple original ideas and even IP (Brother Bear) that would fit even better here, but they don't care about that, they just want to shove stuff haphazardly in a panicked manner. Regardless, removing the IP - I love the idea of the attraction (as it's just a reskin of an original idea).

 

[lentesta]

AND, here is another example of why I completely believe they might trash Muppets/Star Tours to add Monster.

That's how I'd bet. Separate thread though.

 

[GhostHost1000]

In a matter of 5 years they will have completely changed Frontierland, an area that didn’t really need to be “fixed.”

Let’s be honest. It’s not fixed until they bring back the toppings bar at pecos

 

[IMDREW]

If this happens, they really have lost the plot.

Good bye Magic Kingdom. You used to be good.

I dont think there's an If here anymore

 

[CaptainAmerica]

What we’re losing, however, is breathing room, and that isn’t unimportant either. Not every inch of “unused” space needs to be filled; in as crowded an environment as the Magic Kingdom, a bit of visual and spatial respite from all the busyness is a wonderful thing.

Hm, I think I agree in theory, but in my gut I just view Magic Kingdom as a lost cause in that respect. "Peace and quiet" is not something that I consider viable at MK, so I don't mind them YOLO'ing as much as they can cram into the gates.

 

[Brian]

Maybe if they get enough blowback on social media and through guest emails, they'll pivot the plans to include more water than they originally planned for or shown in today's concept art. Even just keeping a small section along the existing boardwalk (from the boat dock to Tiana's) would go a long way.

 

[GhostHost1000]

That's how I'd bet. Separate thread though.

Star Tours seems weird outside of the land but removing more attractions is a bad idea. I don’t like what they are doing at AK either. We need more things

 

[zann285]

For me it's not TSI, it's the river, the views, the pacing of it all. Gone.

This kind of reminds me of Harmonious, destroying a lot of the vibes in the heart of the park. At least with Harmonious, I could kind of look away from them in World Showcase, and I knew they'd leave one day (sooner than I thought even!). But this new Cars thing will rip out the quiet spots to chill while waiting for a table at Liberty Tree or the scenic docks and replace it with "offroad" Cars zooming past. A huge overall downgrade to the park experience.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I enjoy the riverboat a good bit, even if it is only something we do every third trip or so. I actually like it more than the train.

RIP

I always go on the riverboat thinking "it's hot, let's take a break." And then I get on the thing and realize "it's effing hot on this boat, too."

 

[zipadee999]

View attachment 808590
So yellow is confirmed Cars. I'm assuming Villians will be approximately somewhere in blue? Only that small portion of ROA will remain, any hope they move the Belle up there (even if it is docked)?

They couldn’t have removed the blue section and left us the yellow section? Frontierland and Liberty Square are designed to be along a waterfront area. Removing that water will extremely disrupt the flow and design of those areas, leaving them as an awkward, concrete wasteland. The back section cannot even be seen from those areas anyways, it’s a wonder why they didn’t just take that area and leave us the front portion so those lands still retain the waterfront nature they were designed with.

Not to mention the negative effect this will have on the mansion. The WDW mansion has possibly the best setting of any mansion, as it’s set on a hill perfectly at the bend of the river. It’s intimidating and commands attention from the entire area. Removing the waterfront will make our mansion look like Tokyo’s; shoehorned into a random concrete wasteland with no world-building or setting outside of the attraction gates.

I think that the railroad is the real thing to blame here. The best option would have been to reroute the railroad ala Disneyland and slightly shorten yet retain the rivers. Rerouting the railroad would have allowed them to access more land BBT like Disneyland did to get more space for Galaxy’s Edge. However, that takes money that Disney likely doesn’t want to spend for something that would retain a superior, more pleasant park, but likely not pack in more guests. Removing the river allows Disney to build the Cars attractions and sell more tickets because of them in the cheapest way possible, regardless of how it negatively impacts the rest of the park.

Unfortunately, here’s how Disney views it IMO:

Reroute train, shorten river, build cars: Build cars for more money

Remove rivers of America and TSI, anger fans, build cars: Build cars for less money

Disney doesn’t care about the feelings of the fans anymore.

 

[JD80]

something I don't think has been discussed yet especially when it comes to Villainsland is the railroad track. It'll be interesting to see what they do there.

Yes, but even more interesting is the canal back there. How are they going to divert it etc.

Red is the railroad, orange is the canal.

 

[doctornick]

View attachment 808579

Is that water in the circles? Could be the back half of RoA still being there.

Also what is that in the image where I'm pointing at with the arrow? (edit: is that the green awning of Mansion?)

If they retain some of the water of RoA, but keep the back part - as opposed to the front portion in front of CBJ and such - that is just bizarre.

I was bracing myself for losing the RoA and not having the boat traffic or island, etc, but this is insane to not keep a waterfront at all.

 

[AidenRodriguez731]

I'm gonna be real with ya'll. As a more recent Disney fan and parksgoer. I do not care about ROA at all. Filling it in does not make me think "this is Six Flags now" because thats an insane statement. Six Flags also has rivers with boats in them even! Tom Sawyer Island was kinda cool as a rest area but it was definitely a one and done thing and kinda took you out of whatever you were doing. This adds some nice needed capacity in some prime real estate that was just being taken up by water. I know there are people who care about it and I do understand it's sad but the average parkgoer does not care as much as you probably think they do. A new cars attraction might make someone change their trip to Disney, not a river with a few boats in it.

 

[dav23]

if you thought they cared about the park's legacy... check out the Epcot transformation.

Honestly even that doesn't bother me nearly as much though I know others may disagree. The things that people love about Epcot are still mostly there and in some places, like the France pavilion, are improved. The Rivers of America is Frontierland and provided an aesthetic and mystery to that half of the park that made it so different from the sensory overload found elsewhere in Magic Kingdom. This will change the fundamental dynamic of MK and what made that half of the park special. I guess we still have it in Disneyland, but this is a very worrying development.