News Cars-Themed Attractions at Magic Kingdom

[lentesta]

The root issue isn’t replacement. It’s a complete ignoring of context. This project is not actually responding the fundamental design and organization of Liberty Square and Frontierland. It’s a McMansion being plopped into an old neighborhood.

To paraphrase Harold Ramis in Stripes: they're not ignoring it, they're abandoning it.

There's no clear path forward with new attractions based on the original concepts of Frontierland and Liberty Square. They're problematic eras in American history.

Beyond that, the current attractions are not popular, generate no Lightning Lane or merchandise revenue, and provide relatively litle useful capacity.

Given the mandate to put IP everywhere and drive LL revenue, the creative and business cases seem like they're pretty clear.

 

[Scuttle]

Way too many of y’all want magic kingdom to stay a museum.

Let the imagineers cook. It could turn out bad or it could turn out really good, but there is way too much serious attachment over certain sections of the theme park.

Walt Disney never built the theme park in hopes that everything would remain the same and be preserved for 100 plus years.

He equally wanted Disney land to show case his own ips, but also to create a park that would continue to build off imagination.

If they actually had talent left at WDI we’d actually probably be okay with it for the most part. We all know WDI is a joke now.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I’m very curious about the why behind this decision. Like I can see chopping off the island like they did in California and have the riverboat just go in a small circle but this really doesn’t make sense to me.

In fact…. If they had done that - they could retheme the country bear side “critter bayou” and then big thunder into cars could be the “new Frontierland” - that would make sense.

I would love to be a fly on the wall and see how these proposals became this.

 

[vagabondarts]

To paraphrase Harold Ramis in Stripes: they're not ignoring it, they're abandoning it.

There's no clear path forward with new attractions based on the original concepts of Frontierland and Liberty Square. They're problematic eras in American history.

Beyond that, the current attractions are not popular, generate no Lightning Lane or merchandise revenue, and provide relatively litle useful capacity.

Given the mandate to put IP everywhere and drive LL revenue, the creative and business cases seem like they're pretty clear.

PROBLEMATIC

 

[Kamikaze]

His grandchild have been very vocally opposing it as have former imagineers. They were being very disingenious that they “got permission from the family” when only 1 of Roy’s family was ok with it

Got links?

 

[UNCgolf]

The Iger Company continues to think the average guest is a drooling moron who will happily lap up whatever they toss out.

And that’s why we’ve seen such stunning failures for Disney parks.

I have to be honest, that GIF made me chuckle when you juxtapose what he's saying with the fact he's sitting surrounded by hundreds or thousands of dollars worth of product.

 

[nickys]

But TSI is in the back corner of MK. It's not in the center of the park. It's not going to be seen by a lot of visitors. The castle is the center.

It’s visible from Frontierland, Liberty Square and anyone approaching from Fantasyland or the Hub.

Are you suggesting no one seems Rivers of America or TSI? Seriously?

 

[vagabondarts]

I have to be honest, that GIF made me chuckle when you juxtapose what he's saying with the fact he's sitting surrounded by hundreds or thousands of dollars worth of product.

It’s part of the parody of the skit they were doing on the video, having those items while saying the stuff they were saying

 

[Quietmouse]

If they actually had talent left at WDI we’d actually probably be okay with it for the most part. We all know WDI is a joke now.

Idk, avatar land in animal kingdom is quite beautiful from a theming perspective.

It definitely more so revolves around the budget and what it allows. If Disney is truly allocating as much as they say they are then it could be extremely well done.

 

[SplashJacket]

It wasn’t even on my radar, but this legitimately may be my breaking point.

It’s not that they don’t care about classic attractions or originality, this is just heinous.

 

[UNCgolf]

I mentioned this earlier in the thread and may be in the minority here, but I find that land appealing more in spite of all the references to cars than because of them. I would actually find it more visually appealing if it was a romantic recreation of Route 66 with the same architecture, neon lighting, and landscape without shoe-horning in car parts to everything.

I've always thought a Route 66 themed area of DHS could be great. That kind of architecture, lighting, etc. leading in to that same era of Los Angeles/Hollywood.

Obviously that version of DHS is dead, though.

 

[SteamboatJoe]

Aside from nostalgia warriors....

This is somewhat dismissive considering a big part of the appeal of the original Disneyland was the nostalgic look back it offered to parents and grandparents of that era. Maybe thats an argument for why some of these things should be replaced as time does march on, but the appeal of nostalgia should not be completely ignored (nor, similarly, overdone).

 

[Captain Neo]

lol at people getting mad because they think this is "woke"

That’s not at all what I said. Did you just feel the need to say something?

 

[lentesta]

PROBLEMATIC

I think I've iterated through the reasons upthread. Didn't want to fill everyone's feed repeating it.

 

[Captain Neo]

They're literally not.

They are for at least a year and then it will go into “rotation” whatever that meabs

 

[wdwgreek]

I am very curious about this. If they are able to make a buffer or berm between liberty square and this new frontier wilderness feeling, it could be interesting thematically. I'm think great northwest/ rocky mountain wilderness.

 

[UNCgolf]

Nobody applies logic on this site it’s always overly emotional on any changes Disney makes.

I agree with this, but it's that way on both sides, which is what makes it almost unbearable. There are people who vilify literally everything and people who praise literally everything. More importantly, both types of people completely dismiss any different opinions. It's nostalgia, or politics, or whatever reason someone can come up with to ignore what the person is saying rather than have to actually engage with it.

There's very little nuance or room for logical discussion.

 

[EPCOTCenterLover]

I agree Rivers of America is beautiful place-setting.

The Liberty Belle Riverboat, Tom Sawyer Island, and Hall of Presidents generate exactly $0 in Lightning Lane revenue.

I'm not saying that should be the primary factor in these decisions. But it's a top consideration for the company, and one that drives decisions about what to build. (Whether it should be is more of a discussion about what flavor of capitalism you prefer. And to paraphrase myself from earlier today, this afternoon isn't the time for me to get banned from this forum.)

ETA: I really, sincerely thank you all for putting up with me while I test lines for the next podcast. Thank you.

Can you explain why you would get banned? I don't understand.

 

[Quietmouse]

The Iger Company continues to think the average guest is a drooling moron who will happily lap up whatever they toss out.

And that’s why we’ve seen such stunning failures for Disney parks.

So wrong.

When you are spending serious money on a trip to Disney world you want value attached to your experience and do your research before booking such an expensive trip.- regardless if your a hardcore fan or someone who rarely ever visits Disney world.

The kids that go, are the main drivers of why parents go in the first place. The kids want to see Anna, the kids want to ride their favorite ip ride. Disney has a formula that works.

 

[billy023]

I never understood the Speedway in Tomorrowland. It was tucked away enough where I could ignore what I thought was misplacement. There’s no way to ignore Cars (with cartoon faces) in Frontierland. It’s so odd, and I can’t think of how even re-naming this land will really work in a real way.

I gave them the benefit of the doubt with the Epcot re-do and their vision for the new sections and in turn their naming. How that turned out, I truly don’t trust that this land re-do will land right.

The artists are being subverted by “spreadsheeters”. The grand spectacle that were each of the parks are being broken down into circus tent shows - the antithesis of what Walt set out for. I felt the spread of this approach was contained to things like Beauty and the Beast being shoe-horned into Grand Floridian or Ratatouille gently folding into France. Things that might interrupt my sensibilities but the whole staying cohesive enough.

But this expansion feels like the walls of un-visioning have finally broke into Magic Kingdom - a continuation of the horrendous new sight lines of the Polynesian tower, the absurdity of the grey box of the Riviera, Incredibles floating through Contemporary.

When we combine the ignorance of aesthetic and place with the gaul of raising prices so high and insulting add ons, well they’re really losing their grip on both fantasy and reality.

They should be listening to core fans. Their intensity of view on these things are what the “common” visitor cannot articulate themselves but are paying for when they visit. When you lose your core, it’s a race to the lowest common denominator. “Core” demographics and growth demographics might not align, however there is an artists’ way to lead that overlap and its up to the business side to follow. Right now, it’s reverse.