News Cars-Themed Attractions at Magic Kingdom

[billy023]

As much as I hate to see the rivers of America and Tom sawyers Island go. I am excited for because let's be honest our ROA and TSI are by far the worst versions of them and most people will probably prefer this. Also there were massive issues with how people were going to back there without getting rid of the river boat. It looks like it'll still have a lot of water elements so hopefully it won't feel like a "concrete jungle".

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.

 

[DCLcruiser]

These are big laydown yards and one right up against the railroad..

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

 

[doctornick]

They’ve got far more fails than wins as it stands right now.

Honestly, this is not on WDI and the Imagineers. I think Cars and Villains will likely be well designed. This is all about the idiots calling the shots on what to spend money on and where to put it.

And what to destroy.

 

[MrPromey]

While building out the other side of the path would create a stronger pedestrian experience, it would do so in isolation and in contradiction to the story. Frontierland doesn’t have a lot of chronological separation from Main Street, USA. The shootout on Main Street is a classic western trope. But Frontierland wasn’t telling an urban story like Main Street, USA. Even with these new attractions, it’s still supposed to be telling a story of great expanses of land. Adding a second block creates a very urban typology.

... a second block with autonomous SUVs no less - very frontier land feeling, eh?

 

[Kamikaze]

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.


View attachment 808829

How do you get guests back to that area?

 

[J4546]

sorry does anyone know what this shows? is it water retention ponds or more space for expansion?

all i make out of these permits is there is a massive amount of land being graded and ready for expansion behind big thunder. Perhaps something way out of left field is coming and they are moving all the backstage stuff behind Tianas/potc and gonna make room for a land and pathway around tianas

 

[Disney Analyst]

These are big laydown yards and one right up against the railroad..

View attachment 808832

Laydown yard meaning... a place to go laydown and nap when construction worker tired?

 

[RobbinsDad]

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.

I get your apprehension, and when it's all over the area could look like a horrible, Cars version of TSL. But the renderings, again as shown, appear to focus more on the mountain/forest aesthetic of the Rocky Mountain West and not the Cars themselves, except the Piston mountain of course.

 

[DCLcruiser]

... a second block with autonomous SUVs no less - very frontier land feeling, eh?

The final frontier.

 

[Obi-Ron-Kenobi]

Which could be fine if they manage to keep the beautiful views the rivers currently offer intact. I hope more of the water is saved than the concept art makes it look like.

Also, despite all the talk about them renaming Frontierland as a whole, I can see the name "Frontier" still fitting with a more American nature inspired area. It's literally the American frontier- dusty western towns, lush southlands, and the green and cold pacific northwest. If they changed the name it would be a bad choice.

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?

 

[Horizons '83]

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

I want to say that those will be staging areas for materials, off-site construction of show elements etc.

 

[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…