Honestly I think the reasoning is that none of that area is IP. Classic non-IP rides may be allowed to stay if they’re popular, but anything that is there primarily for visual reasons has to be an ad for merch in the park stores.
Unless you count Pocahontas, I suppose?
I guess so. I forgot about her.
For some reason something over me is sensing the same even though with Disney done deal seems done deal but that is probably me comparing it to Splash Mountain which that was a reason to do.
You’re acting as if they’re ripping any and all reference to Americana out of every Disney park in the world.
But with different motivations, I don't think there is any agenda beyond replacing non revenue generating space with revenue generating space. The boat and the lower island will be a loss but I did a keys tour in 2010? and brought up the small footprint they had to work with while we were in the utilidoor looking at a map of the MK and the guide pointed at the north end of the river......
They want to say that Splash Mountain was change they was looking into back since 2018. Even if it was, it's since after that it's a non-stop cleaning. Country Bears was saved but basically now they sing Disney and they renamed the character that if the name was so bad they could renamed just before. Then came closing down the shooting arcade in a part of Frontierland that doesn't need to be demolished for expansion turned into a DVC space for crying out loud. One right the other as if knowing if they can toss Splash Mountain and those Animatronics out of the window then they can absolutely anything else. Oh Peter Pan got a modification swap! This stuff isn't in between years, it's all roasting right after the next right after Splash between Splash openings on both coasts.
this is exactly it. Everyone who supports this and justifies it by saying "It's just one area of the park" or "It's just one attraction" are missing the point entirely. These "it's just something small" changes compiled over decades significantly degrade the park experience. It's the same reason the parks are just becoming their own list of IP to experience rather than a cohesive theme. Disney didn't become popular because you could experience the latest hit movie there, they became popular because it was an entire world of one normally cohesive story (yes you could nitpick for days which short-lived show or attraction doesn't fit this idea but still). Unfortunately the new visitors to WDW now only have a shred of what that cohesiveness used to be like so even when you try to explain it to them they simply don't understand what used to exist. It might sound harsh but I genuinely don't think people understand what they like sometimes and what draws them into the parks. Sure you might book that trip to see the newest attraction but the reason you actually feel confident spending the thousands to do so is because you are pining on it being an out-of-this-world experience, not because of that one actual attraction. If the small chinks in the armor of cohesiveness continue over decades, that confidence in spending your money will go down and I think we're already starting to see that.
Going to play devil's advocate though and ask, should Disney just be catering to long-term fans and refuse to replace opening day attractions? They need to appeal to all audience, the old and the new, in order to get people to return. I'm not saying that Cars fits into Froniterland, but sometimes some old attractions do need replacing to add something that will appeal to a broader audience
Great to see someone thinking the same as I am thinking. I remember Walt on one of the Sunday shows telling us about the Florida Project. There is enough space to add to all their thoughts and desires in the future. Instead of removing an attraction they have the space to add attractions. Yes, they show a Villain's Land beyond Thunder Mountain, a cars land can go there also. Keep the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island. It is a shame that current management is all about eliminating attractions to add attractions.
So add an attraction that fits the "land" and Park they are putting it in. Cars fits absolutely nothing in the Magic Kingdom... I am all for a Carsland area...but the park that has the least attractions (DHS) needs it... MK would be better off with the Coco boat ride or something actually themed to the American Frontier... Something that would not involve destroying the central feature for two lands that would also kill two currenntly running attractions...They are forever altering the fabric of the park for this shoehorned addition....
We're all now discovering that "Beyond Big Thunder" was just code for RoA. Hypothetically, If they did announce a Coco attraction or something themed to American Frontier to replaced RoA, would we still be seeing the same reaction?
Out of curiosity, what changes would you make to update Tom Sawyer's Island, rather than replace it. Bear in mind the massive elephant of the room that is the ADA, so accessibility has to be considered in any construction plans on the island. "The ADA requires that all new construction of places of public accommodation, as well as of "commercial facilities" such as office buildings, be accessible." Tom Sawyer Island is the most inaccessible area of WDW and its closure was inevitable for that sole reason. It was either leave it in disrepair or build something new with access for people with disabilities
