News Cars-Themed Attractions at Magic Kingdom

[Horizonsfan]

Looks like the Railroad track will be right outside of the one laydown yard. I do have to wonder if they will eventually close the railroad and put in a construction access road to tie this yard to the construction area.

You could do a temp road and still maintain operations similar to a parade crossing. I could see delayed openings & longer waits at the stations, but full closure for an extended period doesn't seem immediately necessary.

One would think they'd want the capacity, especially if that BTMRR redo ever surfaces.

 

[Disstevefan1]

Was there a reason it was on chopping block?

Because TWDC for some reason prefers to erase and change rather than to simply to add.

 

[davis_unoxx]

Alligators are a danger in any waterway bigger than a drinking fountain. You’re next, World Showcase Lagoon!

Ugh, I was at the Seas Pavilion yesterday and was thinking to myself, this is the stuff I love the old Disney. Walked to bakery in France Pavilion after too. This makes me really sad, people don’t come back to Disney just for the rides but the atmosphere.

 

[scottb411]

This definitely expands capacity at the Magic Kingdom with the number of guests enjoying the cars and villain's attractions vs TSI and the Riverboat so that is a good thing. Also, I think this will help with parade viewing and the guests trying to get around those watching the parade from a logistics standpoint. That has always seemed to be an issue in Frontierland so I like the added capacity for that part of the park for pedestrians to be free from interrupting parade watchers.

There are a lot more places around Disney World to enjoy water views than when the park first opened like the Boardwalk area and the river around Animal Kingdom. If you want to go on a Riverboat, you can visit the city of New Orleans or Downtown Sanford in Orlando:

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If I were Disney, I would move the boat over to Fort Wilderness and/or the Wilderness Lodge in some capacity and do some sunset and fireworks cruises on the boat in Bay Lake if they were able to configure so that it can be safely steered.

 

[larryz]

The final frontier.

Sorry, Disney can't use that phrase -- Paramount owns Star Trek.

 

[UNCgolf]

Alligators are a danger in any waterway bigger than a drinking fountain. You’re next, World Showcase Lagoon!

I said that somewhere, half-jokingly and half-serious.

The World Showcase Lagoon and the ROA are actually quite similar in how they worked as part of the overall environment and area design. So... are we going to eventually reach a point where they decide they need to fill in the lagoon because that's all underutilized space that can be filled with attractions etc.?

 

[basas]

Something to be aware of. Plans to replace TSI and Rivers of America have been on the cards for years. What to put here has only recently been finalized.

I can remember rumors going back decades about better utilizing this space, but I find it hard to believe the intention was always to go scorch-earth. I remember reading about putting an e-ticket on the island, utilizing the back half of RoA, parking the riverboat, building a bridge, etc, but never have I seen any rumor inducating that the entire area would be wiped from the park. This seems like a more recent idea and seems like it even caught insiders by surprise. Correct me if I’m wrong?

 

[davis_unoxx]

Here’s another shot I got last week, this Gen Zer will miss the river! Remember all, it’s not just TSI. But the magIc of walking along the river at night. I really hope this doesn’t go through, but unfortunately seems too late. Between this, polyday inn, Epcot, and Tiana. What’s going on with Disney? I haven’t seen any company in recent history get so much negative reaction to their products.

 

[Disstevefan1]

Alligators are a danger in any waterway bigger than a drinking fountain. You’re next, World Showcase Lagoon!

COMING SOON: World Showcase Planter with rust accents.

With broken lighting effects included for FREEEEEEEEEEEE

 

[TheRealSkull]

Suppose they are just removing the south side of the river? Sorry I'm late to the party with this news.

 

[ToTBellHop]

COMING SOON: World Showcase Planter with rust accents.

With broken lighting effects included for FREEEEEEEEEEEE

Actually, on his deathbed, Walt told Roy to promise him he would one day build a Zootopia area connecting all of the World Showcase nations together. Perhaps that dream will be fulfilled in the 2030s.

 

[GhostHost1000]

COMING SOON: World Showcase Planter with rust accents.

With broken lighting effects included for FREEEEEEEEEEEE

Nothing is free at Disney. We’ll have to pay for the broken effects too.

 

[The Chatbox Ghost]

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?

Exactly. I don’t care about the PNW not being Wild West, because Frontierland has just been about everyone past the colonies since the 90s. I just want the vibes to persist. I want to look on the water and feel a sense of peace and relaxation. Hopefully they can do that while adding some noise blocking to keep the screams at a minimum.

 

[GenChi]

The big loss here isn't losing historical attractions or even the view.

The big loss here is that the river was the place to take a rest from Disney. This is where to go to when everything becomes overwhelming and you just need to get away from the shoulder to shoulder crowds, the screaming kids, the hyperactive oversensory of the rides and worlds, rude guests, the upcharges, everything for a half hour. If you needed to recharge or destress you could get on that boat and let your mind go before heading back to the rest of MK renewed. It felt like a immersive different world in itself and it's an intentional design, back when they were making this park they could have put the swampland water out further and built attractions where the river is, but they knew people really needed that so that guests can be calm and spend more without having to leave to get away. It might be hard for the Disney Adult who wants to live in an immersive Disney community to grasp, but the average guest can only take so much before being overwhelmed, and don't want to be immersed or swarmed with people the entire time. That's part of the reason Starcruiser failed, they overestimate how much the average guest wants to stay immersed without break.

That's an outcome that I think can't be expressed conventionally in spreadsheets. That's what these execs and the "everything needs to be 1 hour waits or it's not worth keeping" crowd here don't get. It was meant to be less crowded by design because it served its purpose of having guests escape the crowds when they need it so they stay in the parks happy to get more value out of them later. I know a lot of people who used it for that purpose, and it help both the guest and company needs. Now you're removing it for loud car vehicles from a massively popular IP which will bring the overcrowding, noise pollution, screaming kids, and general madness of the rest of the park here. There's now just about nowhere for people to get away from it at MK, especially for regular guests.

The impact of removing the river scenery and riverboat will show itself over time, just like not having any shade. They only look at a spreadsheet and shareholder opinions and see it doesn't have 1 hour waits and stampede-prone crowds around, so it needs to go. What they won't be able to find out immediately is when they find out guests are more stressed, overwhelmed, and wanting to leave sooner while spending less in later parts of the day. They aren't going to immediately get it because they'll see the stat of it being more crowded so it has to be better for the park. But they'll eventually see when guest response and individual spending at this park specifically decline. They might figure it out if they visit after this happens. But by the time they do it'll be too late to turn back.

 

[MSM]

To be clear, I would much prefer if they saved the river and the views to this plan. I'm referring more to the posts that this is a huge strategic mistake that will cost visitors, the posts about how this is another sign of the "demise" of Disney, and especially the ones that want to make it political.

You can dislike the decision without also taking it as a direct attack on you as a person, lol

I too want additions and not replacements! For me Disney Parks were the ultimate theme parks in that you could immerse yourself in the theming itself and not just go from ride line to ride line, The Rivers of America and Tom Sawyers Island are part of Walts legacy and somewhere you could immerse yourself in that theming. Its rather like removing the trees and greenery around the castle and main street and putting down astroturf! Finally, Walts original park didnt need IP's everywhere to be a success!!

 

[SirLink]

Something to be aware of. Plans to replace TSI and Rivers of America have been on the cards for years. What to put here has only recently been finalized.

Yip, there was a raft ride at one point that they were pondering before the economic downturn in 2014. TBH that made more sense than Cars ... but I'll let D'Amaro destroy the parks the way he feels fit.

 

[tallica]

The land north of the Berm is swamp land, and would require reclamation work as well as the rerouting of roads and waterways.

In addition there is potential firework safety issues north of berm.

 

[Ghost93]

People can find plenty of shade, boredom, a place to relax, and water on Tiana's Bayou Adventure. With the thrill elements mostly removed (beyond the drop) it's now primarily a relaxing/ambiance type ride.

 

[SirLink]

How is this the “largest expansion in Magic Kingdom Park history” if it just repurposes existing guest space?

See New Fantasyland was billed as the largest expansion to Magic Kingdom.

 

[KDM31091]

The big loss here isn't losing historical attractions or even the view.

The big loss here is that the river was the place to take a rest from Disney. This is where to go to when everything becomes overwhelming and you just need to get away from the shoulder to shoulder crowds, the screaming kids, the hyperactive oversensory of the rides and worlds, rude guests, the upcharges, everything for a half hour. If you needed to recharge or destress you could get on that boat and let your mind go before heading back to the rest of MK renewed. It felt like a immersive different world in itself and it's an intentional design, back when they were making this park they could have put the swampland water out further and built attractions where the river is, but they knew people really needed that so that guests can be calm and spend more without having to leave to get away. It might be hard for the Disney Adult who wants to live in an immersive Disney community to grasp, but the average guest can only take so much before being overwhelmed, and don't want to be immersed or swarmed with people the entire time. That's part of the reason Starcruiser failed, they overestimate how much the average guest wants to stay immersed without break.

That's an outcome that I think can't be expressed conventionally in spreadsheets. That's what these execs and the "everything needs to be 1 hour waits or it's not worth keeping" crowd here don't get. It was meant to be less crowded by design because it served its purpose of having guests escape the crowds when they need it so they stay in the parks happy to get more value out of them later. I know a lot of people who used it for that purpose, and it help both the guest and company needs. Now you're removing it for loud car vehicles from a massively popular IP which will bring the overcrowding, noise pollution, screaming kids, and general madness of the rest of the park here. There's now just about nowhere for people to get away from it at MK, especially for regular guests.

The impact of removing the river scenery and riverboat will show itself over time, just like not having any shade. They only look at a spreadsheet and shareholder opinions and see it doesn't have 1 hour waits and stampede-prone crowds around, so it needs to go. What they won't be able to find out immediately is when they find out guests are more stressed, overwhelmed, and wanting to leave sooner while spending less in later parts of the day. They aren't going to immediately get it because they'll see the stat of it being more crowded so it has to be better for the park. But they'll eventually see when guest response and individual spending at this park specifically decline. They might figure it out if they visit after this happens. But by the time they do it'll be too late to turn back.

Exactly. As the park gets more crowded, with more stampede prone FOMO attractions and no escape or retreat, more overwhelming, hotter with less shade and fewer water features, people will inevitably stay for shorter periods, returning to their hotel or in the case of locals, home. Eventually, this will lead to lost revenue. But by then it will be far too late.