News Cars-Themed Attractions at Magic Kingdom

[tissandtully]

Why are they lying to us saying "expansion" when Tropical America's isn't an expansion. Why are they saying Beyond Big Thunder projects as the largest expansion in Magic Kingdom's History when you then promote and combine Cars which is replacing something. Was I wrong thinking Coco and Encanto and Villans at first were beyond West North of Big Thunder. Would Coco and Encanto first concept set to replace TSI and ROA?

No one ever said Cars was expansion, Josh specifically said "reimagined Frontierland". Villains will be a very big expansion in area north of BTM.

 

[GhostHost1000]

- 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

Don’t forget the adult planter at Epcot and the lights that have had issues

 

[tissandtully]

Can something truly be called an attraction if it doesn’t attract people?

It’s amazing how empty that area was given how many people are now exclaiming how much they loved spending time in that area.

I can usually get a private ride on the riverboat, I guess that won't be the case anymore till it closes

 

[ABQ]

Not apples to apples, but seems a good place to post these.

 

[tissandtully]

Some big brain takes in here from people who have never built a theme park.

 

[J4546]

I think Disney is clearing out and preparing to build on a LOT of land west of Tianas and BTMRR. Perhaps villains land wont be in the northern part of the parks afterall...? Maybe they are gonna redo the backstage storage facilites and make way for some pathways going around Tianas into something new?

 

[Dizknee_Phreek]

By that logic that means they should never expand.

I'm just saying people seem to think this will help MKs capacity issues. And I don't see it helping as much as some people seem to think.

 

[basas]

Can't say I'm particularly excited, here, but I'm also nearing 40 and am clearly not a target audience member for Disney any longer at this stage. My kid nephew will be thrilled that Cars will be represented, he loves the franchise, so I'll be happy for him the way I was happy that he enjoyed Runaway Railway, but "it's ok, whatever, the kids will love it" is the mentality that's moving the parks further away from being the top-level experiences they were once known for being.

Liberty Square and Frontierland were clearly designed with a pretty thorough aesthetic plan in mind: a slowly revealed timeline that goes from the eastern colonies pre-Revolutionary War, out to the Mississippi around the 1830s, the lodges of the Rockies in the 1870s, and then the red rocks of the far west. It was essential to the "theme" of the, y'know, theme park. Not everything was perfect, e.g. the Haunted Mansion isn't exactly set in colonial America/Splash Mountain was set in the American southeast but situated by the far west-inspired Thunder Mountain, but through a lot of effort, artistry, and a keen eye for detail, such inconsistencies became very easy to gloss over and the whole could become greater than the sum of its parts.

Now, things are changing; this isn't inherently bad. The park is buckling under the demands of crowds, it needs expansion, and, unfortunately, shareholders want things to happen so they can profit more by any means necessary. And changes could be made that might force you to somewhat upend this initial theming...but that doesn't mean it can't be done tactfully, or with an eye towards something fresh and new. Like, people saying "how about an area themed to natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest/Rockies"? That sounds wonderful!

...However, we know what's driving this (no pun intended), and it's not an interest in American landscapes or culture. It's the shareholders saying "you're sitting on (insert IP here), get it in there, build a ride, and sell some merch". This isn't about having fun with a period/setting of American history, it's about shoehorning a property in and, given the company's recent track record, doing so with no real regard for thematic consistency, aesthetics, or place setting. That's fine if all you care about is individual rides, but a huge part of Disney's allure has always been the parks' general ambiance and ability to transport people to times/places, but that's clearly not the goal any longer since you can't overtly monetize that.

At this stage, I'd rather they just tear the band aid off: if all we're ever getting anymore are rides based on movies, then just drop the idea of themed lands altogether, stop insulting our intelligence. EPCOT has nothing to do with EPCOT anymore; the new Animal Kingdom plans mostly walk away from, y'know, animals; and now the themed lands of Magic Kingdom won't really meant for their purposes anymore at this rate, either. If we were being realistic then a ton of this stuff would be going to dedicated areas of Hollywood Studios, which always felt like Disney's best option for making its own Islands of Adventure-style park based around IP, but the current business plan is about immediate profits, not about long term quality and care.

As for all the political wrangling going on in this thread; look, I'm a US history teacher, so it's rich to hear from some people saying something like "paving over the river is rewriting American history because something-something woke blah blah blah". To borrow a phrase that's been popular lately, such ramblings make these people seem, well, weird. The easiest answer is the one that's been in front of us all along: it's money, Disney wants more of it, and the only idea they have now for making is "keep copying Potter, we'll get it right, eventually." If the concern was really things being "problematic", they could still be producing all kind of original western-themed attractions and avoid just about anything "problematic" in the process, but they aren't doing that because they've become creatively bankrupt, not because they're driving a political agenda you've talked up in your mind to trigger yourself.

There is nothing weird about wanting to preserve history.

 

[doctornick]

Yes. Obviously. But if you actually look at the layout, there's no 'path' that can be built with the current configuration of the area. You'd have to move either HM queue or the River, as theres no way to build a path on the other side. This was the major issue with the Beyond Thunder concept in the first place.

Sure, it would take some stuff to do. no question. But the solution they went with is instead to do something more complicated and convoluted. That's not a logical way to do this.

And it has already been stated that this is not the cheapest option. They literally chose something more expensive because they wanted to remove something instead of having more stuff to do in the park.

 

[nickys]

No, I am arguing that it is not in the center of the park, as was stated. It's also off to the side so construction walls will not be an issue for the vast majority of the park. It's not like EPCOT's central spine.

You said “it’s not going to be seen by a lot of guests”.

 

[Satans Hockey]

Out of all the times I've been to the park I went on the boat once and didn't find anything special about it. Rarely ever saw many people using Tom Sawyer Island too. They need more rides that take up a decent amount of people and the cars ride helps there. I love the cars franchise though.

Also don't care if they eventually remove the hall of presidents either. I haven't been in there since I was a kid and I have 0 interest in ever sitting through it again.

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

By that logic that means they should never expand.

What an ironic comment to post in this thread...

 

[Disney Analyst]

The worst decision in the history of the MK

Actually, the worst decision was building in Florida where the summers suck, and hurricanes rule.

 

[Chef idea Mickey`=]

No one ever said Cars was expansion, Josh specifically said "reimagined Frontierland". Villains will be a very big expansion in area north of BTM.

and yet he couldn't say replacing Tom Sawyer Island and River's of America

 

[basas]

Some big brain takes in here from people who have never built a theme park.

Right, because the “experts” are doing so well at it right now…

 

[Chef idea Mickey`=]

Actually, the worst decision was building in Florida where the summers suck, and hurricanes rule.

California's planners don't know about that.

 

[doctornick]

By that logic that means they should never expand.

No the opposite. They should expand. What they shouldn't be doing - unless it is absolutely necessary - is replace. And it is most certainly not necessary in this case.

 

[basas]

Out of all the times I've been to the park I went on the boat once and didn't find anything special about it. Rarely ever saw many people using Tom Sawyer Island too. They need more rides that take up a decent amount of people and the cars ride helps there. I love the cars franchise though.

Also don't care if they eventually remove the hall of presidents either. I haven't been in there since I was a kid and I have 0 interest in ever sitting through it again.

Well if you’re Disney’s intended audience, count me out…

 

[duncedoof]

Not apples to apples, but seems a good place to post these.

Very much apples to apples. Depressing.

 

[James Alucobond]

Why are they lying to us saying "expansion" when Tropical America's isn't an expansion. Why are they saying Beyond Big Thunder projects as the largest expansion in Magic Kingdom's History when you then promote and combine Cars which is replacing something. Was I wrong thinking Coco and Encanto and Villans at first were beyond West North of Big Thunder. Would Coco and Encanto first concept set to replace TSI and ROA?

Replacing a thing that has been gone for years (Primeval Whirl) or that is sparingly utilized (TSI) still constitutes expansion from one point of view or other.