News Cars-Themed Attractions at Magic Kingdom

[AidenRodriguez731]

So they took the easy way out? Is that what you are saying? I am one of those that doesn’t feel that EVERYTHING at the parks has to be based on an IP. but to have come up with a better fit that made sense, they would have had to show some creative spark and put some effort forth. The two birds that are killed with one stone here are that it is based on an IP that will save effort ( not to mention while not a clone of RSR, the concept is the same but with a different backdrop) and it will sell merchandise. The whole “Tom Sawyer is a problem“ thing is just an axcuse to replace with more profitable concepts.

Sure we can say "Disney shouldn't rely on IPs" but that is their most valuable asset. And yeah of course it's profitable... its a company? They met halfway and still redesigned the ride to fit into a "Wilderness" style Frontierland with a theme of exploring the "great American Wilderness" that's what the theme of Frontierland is now. I think this new area looks very attractive. And sure I guess it's an excuse but it's been a problem people have mentioned for a while + even after this announcement NO ONE IS GOING THERE. It's 2 birds, 1 stone.

 

[AidenRodriguez731]

What are the new core idea(s) of Frontierland and Liberty Square? What are the unifying themes?

Set aside the time, expense, and disruption - do we have any confidence they’ll nail the thematic overhaul of those two areas with these changes?

Theme of Frontierland: Exploring the American Wilderness/Frontier (outside of the original colonies)

Theme of Liberty Square: Celebrating the Original American Colonies

Hope this helped!

 

[AidenRodriguez731]

I don’t really even understand what the theme of Frontierland is anymore. It’s kind of confusing as this is really more like Northwest California juxtaposed with the Wild West and the southern bayou.

Exploration of the American Frontier (a quick google search can show you that every area represented was at one point, part of the frontier as its a term that basically means outside of the normal civilization for Americans at the time) Which mean its perfect as you're leaving Liberty Square. Also the Rivers of America were based on... all of the rivers of America. They aren't nearby each other. And Tom Sawyer takes place is Missouri while CBJ took place in Tennesse, Splash in Georgia. Technically speaking, Splash is not even a part of the Frontier. But they reworked the look to work a little better. I think you would still be hardpressed to find someone who considers Missouri the "Wild West" or Tennesse

 

[ohioguy]

Horrible decision, with the "heart" of both Liberty Square and Frontierland gone. It's too bad they couldn't just dock the Riverboat somewhere for a dinner spot.

 

[AidenRodriguez731]

Horrible decision, with the "heart" of both Liberty Square and Frontierland gone. It's too bad they couldn't just dock the Riverboat somewhere for a dinner spot.

There is some water still over by BTM... It's techically possible for them to dock it by Tiana's and make a new Riverboat restaraunt of some sort right outside of Tiana's if they don't want to go with Peco's?

 

[GhostHost1000]

Disney execs: “hey let’s announce the destruction of RoA and TSI so folks stop talking about the Tiana failures ”

 

[jason976]

Do we think this whole plan will go the way of the CBJ toy story redo. The backlash to this is really bad. And they can't use the racism shield like they did with Splash.

I honestly don't think the backlash is as significant as some think. It’s mostly contained to the super fan community which is a small population comparatively speaking. I may be wrong but that’s my guess. I’ve seen a lot of positive reactions online as well.

 

[danlb_2000]

Sure we can say "Disney shouldn't rely on IPs" but that is their most valuable asset. And yeah of course it's profitable... its a company? They met halfway and still redesigned the ride to fit into a "Wilderness" style Frontierland with a theme of exploring the "great American Wilderness" that's what the theme of Frontierland is now. I think this new area looks very attractive. And sure I guess it's an excuse but it's been a problem people have mentioned for a while + even after this announcement NO ONE IS GOING THERE. It's 2 birds, 1 stone.

To me the problem isn't specifically IPs, it's the way they are being used. It feels like Imagineering is being given the hotest IPs, being told which parts of the park are underperforming and being told to just make it work. Look at the descriptions of Encanto and Indy for AK. It's clear that they are forcing an animal element into them to make them "fit" into the park instead of doing something that is a more natural fit for the park, even using other IPs. These sorts of decision seem to tie the hands of the Imagineering and it makes it difficult to do the very careful, well thought out design work that made Disney what it is today.

 

[CoasterCowboy67]

Perhaps they’re just very excited about by this new ride tech, Cars is the obvious IP, and this was the natural park to put it in. I don’t think they put it behind BTM to give Villains an expansive area. I’m all for cutting edge tech, but I do worry about the reliability of outdoor self driving cars when they’re struggling to make a flume work

And still doesn’t justify so much net new going into the park that needs it the least. Rather than building a 5th gate, they’re trying to make MK a 2-day park. And at the expense of AK and HS, who struggle to justify 1 day

 

[Deadly Danson]

I didn't say it's the best decision. I said of the two choices we have, this is the better one.

ETA: I stayed up late for a BBC morning interview, and then I'm off to bed. Have a good night!

Got a bit of a shock on my short drive to work this morning to hear your dulcet tones! Had to check I hadn't somehow tuned into the DD! Thought you came across very well.

 

[psherman42]

The only real problematic thing about TSI is how inaccessible it was and how far behind modern safety standards it was

Honestly I think the Island has been doomed for a while purely because of how inaccessible the paths are. I don't think there's a single square foot of sidewalk on that island that is up to ADA standards or capable if handling more than the couple dozen guests the island gets in a day. And generally if one part of something gets updates beyond basic maintenence, then the whole thing needs to be re-inspected and brought up to modern codes for accessibility and for safety.

If I'm right (which admittedly I could be off) then Disney was likely faced with the choice of either entirely redo the island, let it rot taking up half that side of the park and remaining a lawsuit waiting to happen (I've literally found a rusty hatchet in the fort before sitting on a bench), or tear it out and give us an entire new land plus easy access to 2-3 HUGE land sized expansion pads. Tom Sawyer was never long for the world in its current form

I'm just happy the Cars area, despite being Cars, seems focused on exploring a peaceful natural environment full of rock work and water features.

What water features? Please point them out because I see one waterfall on the concept art and that’s it.

I normally defend Disney when they make changes to the parks. I try to see the good even if I’m sad to see a favorite attraction go. But I can’t ger behind this change. They are ripping out a part of the soul of the park and I’m not okay with that. Especially when the speedway is still there and an empty Stitch’s great escape.

 

[DisneyCane]

I’m very pleased they went this route over the alternative for phase 1.

This is going to be a hit, trust me!

It is not mutually exclusive for it to be a hit and a great attraction(s) but also make no sense thematically in the land they are putting it in.

Also, I won't pretend that the Splash Mountain theme fit with Frontierland either.

 

[KDM31091]

I also wonder how much of this is the seeming need to monetize every inch of the park. TSI and Riverboat dont require LL. Cars almost certainly will require you to pay up (probably $50 by the time it opens) or wait for 2 hours in the hot sun while cars zoom by. It’s so unfortunate that they want every inch of the park producing revenue or away it goes.

 

[Tha Realest]

Cars almost certainly will require you to pay up (probably $50 by the time it opens) or wait for 2 hours in the hot sun while cars zoom by.

Oh it’ll be on VQ and paid LL for two years or so.

At least while you’re “waiting” in your virtual line, you can take in the resplendent tranquility of the riverfront in Liberty Square…

 

[the_rich]

@Henry Mystic can u share anything about the other option?

 

[Robbiem]

didn’t disney try to sell something like this to OLC before fantasy springs?

IMO This is an odd choice. I would have thought this would work better at DHS where a nice rural land would bring a different vibe to a very urban design.

it looks like a big engineering challenge doing this

If the RoA is drained does anyone know how that affects the water system in Magic Kingdom? Would it mean the canal linking to seven seas lagoon could be filled in to make expansion easier?

 

[doctornick]

I prefer to replace Liberty Square with Cars and leave the area north of Big Thunder for another future expansion.

Those moves give us 3 new things (Cars, Villains, and the future land).

The other option seemed to be keeping LS and putting Cars in the area north of Big Thunder. That would give us 2 new things (Cars and Villains).

Well then they made the wrong choice. And it’s not even close.

 

[V_L_Raptor]

Walt Disney once said, "Here in Florida, we have something special we never enjoyed at Disneyland... the blessing of size. There's enough land here to hold all the ideas and plans we can possibly imagine"

Doesn’t sound like he would be a fan of ripping out iconic lands and attractions, when there was enough land to build them elsewhere.

That was YesterWalt. We’re in D’Amaro’s Tomorrow. The parks aren’t for us anymore.

 

[Tha Realest]

I prefer to replace Liberty Square with Cars and leave the area north of Big Thunder for another future expansion.

Those moves give us 3 new things (Cars, Villains, and the future land).

The other option seemed to be keeping LS and putting Cars in the area north of Big Thunder. That would give us 2 new things (Cars and Villains).

I think those are really the only two choices we get right now. I mean, sure, we could add more land for more things, but given what we know right now, those are the two choices.

So I value the future of that undeveloped land higher than I value what's in Liberty Square right now. Keeping in mind that the originals of these attractions still exist in Disneyland, I'm super comfortable saying that.

I appreciate the post and the logic behind the rationale here, but I am skeptical we’ll get a “future land to be named later.” I get the desire to keep options open for down the road, but presumably Autopia and (if I had to guess) a remodel or reimagining of Space Mountain is in the cards in the not so distant future.

 

[GenChi]

Threadly reminder that Pecos Bill is going to manage to outlive Splash Mountain, Country Bear Jamboree, Shooting Arcade, Tom Sawyer Island, the entire Rivers of America...