News Cars-Themed Attractions at Magic Kingdom

SirLink

Well-Known Member
And the original announcement for Hong Kong Disneyland also included Frontierland. Disney ended up having to pay 100% of the cost for Toy Story Land, Mystic Point and Grizzly Gulch because they didn’t build what was originally promised.
There was never a Frontierland even in the press releases from back then they always stated Main Street and 3 lands in the initial first phase. Also the expansions were funded based on the ownership so "Disney put up $650 million and the HK government $750 million".

Link
 

phillip9698

Well-Known Member
Maybe just maybe the frontier is just outdated. Unless they’re well over 50 most people didn’t grow up with fond memories of the frontier or media glamorizing it. The frontier means nothing to the current generations bringing their kids to Disney parks. Nothing.

The closest I got to the frontier is knowing how to avoid dysentery playing Oregon Trail! And I’m 40+ with 2 elementary aged kids, aka prime Disney park demographic.

Maybe fans of Yellowstone can fill that riverboat going forward, but they sure aren’t the demographic to do anything on that island.
 
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lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
There was never a Frontierland even in the press releases from back then they always stated Main Street and 3 lands in the initial first phase. Also the expansions were funded based on the ownership so "Disney put up $650 million and the HK government $750 million".

Link
There was a Frontierland, complete with new attractions.

The three lands were specifically not financed based on ownership. Disney was forced to make up for not properly building out the park.
 

easyrowrdw

Well-Known Member
I respect your opinion and you’re certainly entitled to it, but I think if you give the replacement a chance, your family may be pleasantly surprised. Like it could very well be a net improvement, if for nothing else then navigation alone. Not to mention Villains Land and whatever eventually comes to the expansion plots in the future.
I appreciate that. I don’t see navigation being a big issue, but Disney probably does. Still, others have demonstrated, there appear to be numerous ways to address crowd flow without razing the river and island.

Regardless, my position remains that Cars has no business in Frontierland or near Liberty Square. Rise of the Resistance is my favorite ride. I enjoy it more than the river or Tom Sawyer. But it doesn’t belong in Frontierland either. I’m sure the Cars rides will be fun. Disney should put them in Hollywood Studios where they belong.
 
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Stripes

Premium Member
Guys,...EVERY Disney Castle park in the world has a similar water/river feature to its design. ALL of them! It's for a good reason. This portion of every park is there to create an ATMOSPHERE.
As a Disneyland native, I’ve never thought MK’s ROA did a good job of creating an atmosphere. The river feels distant and it’s not well integrated into the park.

Compare the views from the main walking paths at Disneyland:
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Compared to the views from the main walking paths at MK.


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psherman42

Well-Known Member
Echo Lake, really?? It’s a retention pond. MK will have more water than Echo Lake when all is said and done, and that’s not including the castle moat and Jungle Cruise. People are reaching so far to tear this decision down.
Comparing the river to the castle moat or Jungle Cruise is honestly ridiculous. The moat barely exists anymore and only people riding jungle cruise gets to experience it. Everyone walking through Frontierland/Liberty Square can see and enjoy the river.

As for Echo Lake, while it may be a “retention pond” it’s still a nice area of the park to sit and enjoy some downtime. MK deserves something similar.

And what percent goes to TSI? I bet it’s way below 10%.

I’m glad the company is finally doing something to differentiate these parks. Disneyland exists, if you want something closer to Walt’s original vision then go there. Let’s let the MK evolve for future generations.
MK can evolve for future generations and differentiate from DLR without getting rid of RoA. And to act like they’re clones is pretty silly too. There are many attractions at each that the other park does not have.

But Disney was never meant to be just a thrill ride park. It was always meant to have something to offer for everyone. This argument is also flawed in the fact that I remember way back in the 90s when certain attractions were consistently walk ons...Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Small World, Peoplemover, Jungle Cruise. Now, a lot of things can contribute to longer wait times (FP/LL, running less vehicles, etc) but would we consider any of these attractions unpopular today? It comes down to Disney CAN and should still have a mix of thrills and non-thrills. If people want to thrill seek and nothing else, there are plenty of other parks for that.
This is the biggest reason why while I love Universal, it has always come second to Disney. As much as I enjoy thrill rides, I need more of a balance.

You know...
Isn't it a bit odd that they built Tiana's Bayou, which is adjacent to a river with a riverboat on it - fitting the theme - as a riverboat featured heavily in the film, and the waterway does fit well with the outdoor theming of Tiana's - and now they are going to take it away?
I was thinking this today. They really could have leaned into that and it’s disappointing that it seems like they won’t.
As a Disneyland native, I’ve never thought MK’s ROA did a good job of creating an atmosphere. The river feels distant and it’s not well integrated into the park.

Compare the views from the main walking paths at Disneyland:
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Compared to the views from the main walking paths at MK.


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Okay but they literally have a boardwalk that travels along the edge of the water.
 

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Stripes

Premium Member
Okay but they literally have a boardwalk that travels along the edge of the water.
Yes they do have a tiny boardwalk that very few guests actually wander over to. Meanwhile at Disneyland, the main route to Galaxy’s Edge walks right along the river.

Furthermore, the RoA at Disneyland have the Explorer Canoes and Hungry Bear Restaurant which is right on the Rivers of America.

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Sir_Cliff

Well-Known Member
Found on Facebook. Problem solved.

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This did make me laugh, but is honestly not a bad representation of what they're doing for those who are envisioning a beautiful recreation of the Pacific Northwest. What they are proposing is a beautiful recreation of the Pacific Northwest in the same way this would be a beautiful reconstruction of an old fashioned riverboat. I'm sure if this what was going in, we'd also hear discussion of the 'subtle' nods to the Cars films from those waving away any thematic issues!
 

Sir_Cliff

Well-Known Member
Overall, I still feel like this is a monumentally terrible idea and I think you really said it well. The plan just seems so far out of line with what I thought Disney parks were supposed to be. I told my kids about the plans to remove the river and Tom Sawyer's Island. They were all unhappy, as they love the island. My youngest is worried it will be gone before we can go back again.

Others have said this won't be anyone's breaking point, but I think it's mine. We've spent an unreasonable amount of our vacation time and money at Disney World. We bought annual passes and DVC and were looking to buy more. I'm definitely not buying more now. I'll play out my AP and give my kids what we've already planned but I really don't see Disney World being a part of our vacations once the destruction begins.
I also wonder whether this will just be one of many breaking points that wasn't or if it will mean something more significant due to the symbolism of putting a Cars land so front and centre such that it dominates two of the original lands in the park.

Personally, I have been surprised at how much this announcement has flicked a switch in me toward being done with them. I'm not willing to say it will be a terrible mistake and they'll regret it, because I don't really know if there are masses out there clamouring for the Magic Kingdom to be re-made into IP-lands. I was already pretty over WDW due to the costs and over-complicated planning processes, though, so this feels like a final push toward finding it hard to imagine I would ever be able to justify the time and money it would take to visit the place again. Maybe others want interchangeable parks that allow them to step into different IPs, but that's not what got me interested in Disney parks.

That said, I would visit Disneyland again if I happened to be in LA and Disneyland Paris is a pleasant 2-3 hour train ride away from where I live, so if the person I usually catch up with there while she's visiting family in Paris suggests it, I am sure I will go. I can't for the life of me imagine a circumstance where I would spend precious vacation time and bags of money to fly to Orlando and enter into the worlds of Cars, Tomorrow, and Fantasy, or however it ends up in coming years. I'm honestly curious if I will switch back to being interested in going again.
 

TrainsOfDisney

Well-Known Member
I'm not willing to say it will be a terrible mistake and they'll regret it, because I don't really know if there are masses out their clamouring for the Magic Kingdom to be re-made into IP-lands.
I’m with you 100% - it’s definitely going to hurt them as a nostalgia brand, and I think universal already beats them with the best modern rides (and cars for sure ain’t gonna change that).

It’s also strange to say “MK needs it! They need more capacity” when multiple attractions, restaurants, and entertainment options have been cut, closed and left to rot. Which is it?
 

psherman42

Well-Known Member
Yes they do have a tiny boardwalk that very few guests actually wander over to. Meanwhile at Disneyland, the main route to Galaxy’s Edge walks right along the river.

Furthermore, the RoA at Disneyland have the Explorer Canoes and Hungry Bear Restaurant which is right on the Rivers of America.

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That first sentence is completely untrue. People use that boardwalk to get to Thunder Mountain/Tiana’s because it’s a bit of a shortcut. Any time I’ve been on it, there’s been crowds to navigate. I’m not trying ti argue which river is better, just point out that you can’t just post pictures from the main walkway in Frontierland to claim WDW makes the river feel distant and ignore the boardwalk that exists.
 

psherman42

Well-Known Member
I also wonder whether this will just be one of many breaking points that wasn't or if it will mean something more significant due to the symbolism of putting a Cars land so front and centre such that it dominates two of the original lands in the park.

Personally, I have been surprised at how much this announcement has flicked a switch in me toward being done with them. I'm not willing to say it will be a terrible mistake and they'll regret it, because I don't really know if there are masses out there clamouring for the Magic Kingdom to be re-made into IP-lands. I was already pretty over WDW due to the costs and over-complicated planning processes, though, so this feels like a final push toward finding it hard to imagine I would ever be able to justify the time and money it would take to visit the place again. Maybe others want interchangeable parks that allow them to step into different IPs, but that's not what got me interested in Disney parks.

That said, I would visit Disneyland again if I happened to be in LA and Disneyland Paris is a pleasant 2-3 hour train ride away from where I live, so if the person I usually catch up with there while she's visiting family in Paris suggests it, I am sure I will go. I can't for the life of me imagine a circumstance where I would spend precious vacation time and bags of money to fly to Orlando and enter into the worlds of Cars, Tomorrow, and Fantasy, or however it ends up in coming years. I'm honestly curious if I will switch back to being interested in going again.
This has broken something inside of me as well. Disney crossed an invisible line with me that I never even knew existed. And I’m honestly shocked by how I feel about it because I’ve never reacted this strongly to an announcement about a closure. I’ve always mostly felt excited for what’s to come even if a part of me was a little said to lose something I loved. With this, I feel no excitement, just sadness, disbelief, and anger. I’ve said it before but I really feel like they’re taking out a piece of MK’s soul, even if to some that may sound dramatic. I see people say over and over how no one goes to TSI or rides the riverboat anyway and for me, a part of the reason they’re frequent skips is because I assumed they’d always be there. I never imagined a day that Disney would decide to drain the river. While I’m sure that’s not the case for all guests, I also can’t imagine that I’m alone.
 
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Sir_Cliff

Well-Known Member
I’m with you 100% - it’s definitely going to hurt them as a nostalgia brand, and I think universal already beats them with the best modern rides (and cars for sure ain’t gonna change that).

It’s also strange to say “MK needs it! They need more capacity” when multiple attractions, restaurants, and entertainment options have been cut, closed and left to rot. Which is it?
Yes, it's kind of strange to me that they're trying to compete with Universal by becoming more like Universal. It's a little like when they scrapped traditional animation and brought out Chicken Little to compete with Dreamworks. I guess they will still be bigger and more resort like, so that gives them some advantage. Otherwise, it's increasingly becoming down to what IPs interest you the most.

I think they still want it both ways, pushing nostalgia to the fans to keep them on the hook while in reality dismantling the parks as they were originally conceived bit by bit in favour of this new model. I was more sanguine about the new Country Bears than others due to the fact it at least kept them around, but now I feel more like they might as well just stick Woody or Deadpool in there if that's where they're going with all this and stop playing at half-hearted fan service. Perhaps the strangest example of this announced at D23 is the Walt Disney audio animatronic figure. I don't think anyone asked for that, but for some reason they seem to think fans will eat it up and maybe it will stop them noticing all the other things they're doing.
 
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TrainsOfDisney

Well-Known Member
Perhaps the strangest example of this announced at D23 is the Walt Disney audio animatronic figure. I don't think anyone asked for that
That announcement really bothered me - Walts granddaughter is against it. It was wrong of Josh to say “the family approves” when that is not true.

People can argue what Walt wanted for the parks but we know he wanted a steam train and a steamboat cause he owned them himself!
 

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