News Cars-Themed Expansion at Magic Kingdom

[MerlinTheGoat]

Could Tesla-style Full Self Driving me done here on a known course without driver intervention? Probably not yet, but that type of thing isn't far off.

Definitely not IMO. That tech is extremely dangerous and there are no signs of that changing any time soon. Especially not within the next 5 or so years. And if that artwork is ANY indication of the general path the vehicles will take, I would not want to ride it if it was a trackless self driving system. Accident waiting to happen.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Coco and Encanto both do not fit in Frontierland though, neither thematically nor aesthetically.

Aesthetically I feel they could fit more than modern cars. Thematically…. That’s all over at this point.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

Coco and Encanto both do not fit in Frontierland though, neither thematically nor aesthetically. Much of the complaints I have read about Cars is the poor fit in Frontierland or MK in general, but I think Coco or Encanto would have been a much more glaring case of using popular IP for the sake of it disregarding proper fit.

I’d prefer no IP at all, but those days are long over. Cars and the potential setting fits very well aesthetically IMO - especially next to BTMRR, far more than the other proposed options despite them not needing to utilize modern vehicles for Encanto and Coco.

I can see that argument with Encanto, but Coco a worse thematic fit than Cars?

Essentially, you would be building a small Mexican village which flows a lot more easily from Big Thunder than a world of cartoon cars zooming around. Frontierlands have had "Mexican" elements going back to Disneyland and cowboy culture in general involves a lot of mixture between Mexican and US elements.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

It is like a hybrid of RSR and Indiana Jones.

You’re getting that from the very blue sky concept art!?

 

[wdwmagic]

Definitely not IMO. That tech is extremely dangerous and there are no signs of that changing any time soon. Especially not within the next 5 or so years. And if that artwork is ANY indication of the general path the vehicles will take, I would not want to ride it if it was a trackless self driving system. Accident waiting to happen.

Yeah it's too early now, but this will be a real possibility a bit further down the line. If these systems are good enough to drive across the country by themselves, they could do a very efficient job on a known course, especially when various helping technology can be added along the ride path for guidance.

 

[wdwmagic]

This is going to be one of these attractions people don't know they'll love it until they ride it. It looks like a blast. It is like a hybrid of RSR and Indiana Jones. I kind of wish there was a way they could've incorporated Monument Valley behind Big Thunder as that rockwork would have fit in beautifully and blended in nicely. Heck, they probably could have done both and created a seamless transition in the ride from the desert canyons of the west to the mountain trails. but I am willing to give this a chance.

I agree that it will be extremely popular. If it is grand in scale, I think it could be fantastic.

 

[EeyoreFan#24]

I would have to think this is artistic license. I can't imagine any ride system that could safely simulate this type of action outside without having some sort of track. Putting aside the issue of weather, the RSR ride system seems to be the best fit for this.

I’m right there too. I’m good with trackless Mickey, trackless Star Wars, etc. However, I have a hard time believing it’s mature enough for something like a trackless test track or RSR.

Plus, sure it looks better and maybe different maintenance, but what would it do to improve the ride experience here?

 

[TheRealSkull]

You’re getting that from the very blue sky concept art!?

According to Josh, this isn't blue sky anymore.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

According to Josh, this isn't blue sky anymore.

The artwork is blue sky I meant…. Maybe blue sky isn’t the correct word but it’s not realistic - it’s all concept.

So maybe concept art is more appropriate.

 

[TheRealSkull]

I agree that it will be extremely popular. If it is grand in scale, I think it could be fantastic.

Especially if it is taking inspiration from the Radiator Springs 500 1/2 short (which it suspiciously looks like it is), then yes, this absolutely will fit well in this area:

 

[doctornick]

The reason I’m bullish on ROA staying is this; Disney has primed prepared and mostly unhindered land ready behind BTM, way would they choose the more expensive route of having to altered existing infrastructure (draining the rivers, filling, demolition) when they just build where there is less cost to prep the land?

That's generally my thought as well. I guess the counter point would be that the land north of RoA is probably swampland and needs significant remediation to use. And they'd have to deal with the railroad berm in terms of where to locate things.

Conversely, shutting down the riverboat and/or TSI saves operating costs. So that unfortunately may be appealing to the bean counters.

 

[Magicart87]

The camp that detests the googly-eyed Cars ruining their Frontierland.. Just curious, How would you feel about the Country Bears racing through the mountainside?

 

[2600loop]

It is very odd and probably very telling they only revealed art that doesn't give any sense of where it's going. If they wanted people to know how it fit into the park, they would have shown some kind of overview of the land more akin to the Blue Sky Beyond Big Thunder art they showed a few years ago rather than the pretty uninspiring art they showed. I suspect they thought revealing that would get an even less enthusiastic/hostile reaction.

I agree they want the bump in enthusiasm without all the anger this will draw from destroying a theme consistent area and replacing it with a shoehorned IP

 

[Chef idea Mickey`=]

My feeling about Carsland is that it is very well-done for what it is. However, I don't feel that I love it as much as a lot of people do and would have much preferred it was a Route 66-themed land perhaps with a few Cars attractions. For me, the charm in that land comes from the 1950s/60s architecture, the neon, and the desert atmosphere. The constant references to cars, car parts, etc. do more to take away from than add to that atmosphere for me.

That said, it is popular!

Let's hope the most reason it will not be is because of all the ones saying no clones keep it unique to DCA and yet they are okay with Galaxy's Edge, and TBA being two clones on both coasts. I'm positive they would be ecstatic if they were getting a clone of the same Pandora just because Animal Kindom is unique as a park in itself.

 

[LSLS]

Yeah, honestly I'm much happier with this than Encanto or Coco. Feels like this is an easy fit for frontierland. Though like others have said, don't destroy the river for it.

 

[ChrisFL]

I would think it would have to be. The test track ride system for an attraction outside in central Florida is a recipe for major downtime. That's been my issue with this whole D23. A bunch of announcements, with very little information on any of the projects.

If they had more details, they wouldn't have time for the too-long MUSIC segments!

 

[Sir_Cliff]

The camp that detests the googly-eyed Cars ruining their Frontierland.. Just curious, How would you feel about the Country Bears racing through the mountainside?

I think a more accurate question is whether speedboats and jet skis zooming around Rivers of America (with or without big smiling faces) would take you more out of the theme of Frontierland than the Country Bears.

What is coming across to me in this thread is that it wouldn't take a lot of people out of the theme because they just interpret it as "outdoors".

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

I don't know what ride system this will use, but I don't think you can make a determination based on the concept art. While this isn't always the case, it's not at all uncommon for concept art to paint out track bars or whatnot. Like this old art for Indiana Jones Adventure at DL-

Just because there isn't a slot in the track in the art, doesn't mean there won't be one. That said, if Steve was explicitly told by a Disney spokesperson that it's a new type of ride system not related to the existing TT/RSR one, i'm more inclined to believe it.

 

[Rutt]

Here we experience the story of our country's past ... the colorful drama of Frontier America in the exciting days of the covered wagon and the stage coach ... the advent of the railroad ... and the romantic riverboat. Frontierland is a tribute to the faith, courage and ingenuity of the pioneers who blazed the trails across America - oh, and cars from the big city that can talk.​

​

Josh D’Amaro​

August 10th, 2024​

Completely unrealistic, unlike the talking bears, rabbits, foxes that made it up previously.

 

[TheRealSkull]

The artwork is blue sky I meant…. Maybe blue sky isn’t the correct word but it’s not realistic - it’s all concept.

So maybe concept art is more appropriate.

I think there is a clear difference though. Respectfully, I don't believe what we saw was blue sky concept art. The art we received for Beyond Big Thunder in 2022 was very abstract. The Cars artwork was very specific enough to draw the conclusion we will see the Piston mountain rockwork and audio animatronics of cheering cars characters. The fact we even got a glimpse of the ride vehicles is insane, too.

It's not on the level of specifics that Topical Americas is, but nonetheless, it is way clearer than just a blue sky concept.