Magic Kingdom to lose ROA, Riverboat, and TSI for Cars Land

[TP2000]

If they built a 2nd riverboat for MK they could theme it to Princess and the Frog and have a meet and greet on it for $$$. Of course Disneyland does this for free but MK could charge and give them a cupcake. Heck make one floor a bar and advertise the Disney themed booze cruise if they simply must make it a profit center.

They're too stupid in TDO to think of that. And their boss, Josh D'Amaro, apparently lacks the vision to guide them better.

Without a Fantasmic! on their river, and with a second riverboat at their disposal, the possibilities for evening upcharge events are endless for them. But to think of that, you can't have the mind of an office drone, with all your personality sucked dry by Zoom calls in your PJ's and an unhealthy over-dependence on air conditioning and Starbucks.

To come up with good ideas like you just did, you have to have a showman's mind and realize a Disney park is a show...

Wouldn’t this capacity only matter if they were seeing people actually fill the capacity?

Yes, that's how ride capacity works.

Disneyland and Magic Kingdom have basically the same annual park attendance, at around 17.5 Million in 2023. But Disneyland has a couple dozen extra rides than Magic Kingdom does, and Magic Kingdom notably lacks C and D tickets without height requirements, while Disneyland has an embarrassment of riches for those rides. For over 30 years now, TDO has let their Rivers of America become nothing but a stagnant drainage canal with one boat on it, while the rest of the park bursts at the seams with too many people and not enough rides.

The people in TDO and Burbank who made the decision to ignore Disneyland's wild success of rerouting the railroad and river to create 10 acres of park expansion space for Star Wars Land are not good at running theme parks. So it's almost understandable how they don't know how to utilize the park ride capacity they already have, but abandoned in shortsighted budget cuts in the 1990's and 2000's.

 

[TP2000]

Is there any actual evidence to this at all, or are we cutting Disney a ridiculous amount of slack based on one person's tweet?

I liken that Tweet from the college professor about how it's impossible in Florida to fix a cement pond (please say it like Granny said it in The Beverly Hillbillies) to the wise folks here who once tried to claim that the Al Lutz rumor that Star Wars Land would take over the northern flank of Frontierland was false because...

• You'd have to reroute the Disneyland Railroad, and they can't do that!
• You'd have to reroute the Rivers of America, and they can't do that!
• You'd have to move the Circle D corral where the horses are kept, and they can't do that!
• You'd have to take out machine shops and backstage facilities that are there, and they can't do that!
• You'd have to remove the recycling center that is behind Big Thunder Barbecue, and they can't do that!
• There's a CM break room back there that they can't get rid of, and it just got a new plasma TV for Judge Judy!

Disneyland did all that, and more. And plussed up and improved the Rivers of America and the Disneyland Railroad in the process. Not a single break room TV was safe during 2016-2019, and the horses now commute in from Corona.

TDO simply has a PowerPoint that says it will be cheaper and easier to just plop a Cars ride where the river used to be. Luckily, they have a professor at UCF (a school that Disney has donated Millions of dollars to) who can give them cover and tweet out a vapid excuse why Disney can't fix a cement pond.

 

[CaptinEO]

I liken that Tweet from the college professor about how it's impossible in Florida to fix a cement pond (please say it like Granny said it in The Beverly Hillbillies) to the wise folks here who once tried to claim that the Al Lutz rumor that Star Wars Land would take over the northern flank of Frontierland was false because...

• You'd have to reroute the Disneyland Railroad, and they can't do that!
• You'd have to reroute the Rivers of America, and they can't do that!
• You'd have to move the Circle D corral where the horses are kept, and they can't do that!
• You'd have to take out machine shops and backstage facilities that are there, and they can't do that!
• You'd have to remove the recycling center that is behind Big Thunder Barbecue, and they can't do that!
• There's a CM break room back there that they can't get rid of, and it just got a new plasma TV for Judge Judy!

Disneyland did all that, and more. And plussed up and improved the Rivers of America and the Disneyland Railroad in the process. Not a single break room TV was safe during 2016-2019, and the horses now commute in from Corona.

TDO simply has a PowerPoint that says it will be cheaper and easier to just plop a Cars ride where the river used to be. Luckily, they have a professor at UCF (a school that Disney has donated Millions of dollars to) who can give them cover and tweet out a vapid excuse why Disney can't fix a cement pond.

You'd think Magic Kingdom goers would understand better than anyone that Disney has no qualms filling in lagoons and replacing what used to be there. Just look at 20 thousand Leagues Under the Sea (so sad I never got to ride it).

 

[Adventureland Veranda]

You'd think Magic Kingdom goers would understand better than anyone that Disney has no qualms filling in lagoons and replacing what used to be there. Just look at 20 thousand Leagues Under the Sea (so sad I never got to ride it).

The castle moat is taking up valuable fireworks cupcake party real estate. That will be filled in next when they retheme Main Street USA to Mickey Avenue Featuring Tiana and Kylo Ren.

 

[mickEblu]

The castle moat is taking up valuable fireworks cupcake party real estate. That will be filled in next when they retheme Main Street USA to Mickey Avenue Featuring Tiana and Kylo Ren.

Yea but when was the last time you used the moat?

 

[JSouth25]

I remember feeling slightly disappointed after D23 that WDW got a lot more announcements than Disneyland, then the RoA bombshell news dropped and I instantly felt grateful for what we got, lol.

 

[BuzzedPotatoHead89]

I remember feeling slightly disappointed after D23 that WDW got a lot more announcements than Disneyland, then the RoA bombshell news dropped and I instantly felt grateful for what we got, lol.

Agree. Let WDW get the “upgrades”.

 

[mickEblu]

I remember feeling slightly disappointed after D23 that WDW got a lot more announcements than Disneyland, then the RoA bombshell news dropped and I instantly felt grateful for what we got, lol.

Funny how that works. I found myself not complaining about a few things I would usually complain about because of the MK ROA news.

 

[October82]

You'd think Magic Kingdom goers would understand better than anyone that Disney has no qualms filling in lagoons and replacing what used to be there. Just look at 20 thousand Leagues Under the Sea (so sad I never got to ride it).

It’s neither an easy trip nor the same experience, but the attraction of the same name at TDS is a worthy spiritual successor.

 

[einlanzer]

While there may be some at the company that are self-hating Americans I don't see that as the driving force. The driving force is, we all really know, money. And in 2024 the Cars IP is far more recognizable and profitable than a river and explorable island based on 19th century literature. It's why people keep expecting them to get rid of Autopia & Subs in a big DL Tomorrowland overhaul: too large of a land footprint to go unused for more modern - and profitable - IP rides.

Except... it isn't. Disney just foolishly thinks it is because they are guided by ignorant, greedy shareholders and data structured around IP. Very typical corporate nonsense that has basically ruined everything from General Electric to Nickelodean to Rainforest Cafe since the 80s & 90s.

The parks became as popular as they are because of the cohesive theming of the lands that all "think big" with a storybook quality and natural beauty driven by relatively unshackled creativity and accented by familiar characters and specific settings that attempt to create a more authentic and magical & elegant sense of immersion.

The more they destroy that with IP vomit trying in vain to make you feel like you're inside the set of a mediocre movie from 2003, or a dramatically overpriced courtyard marriott in the case of hotels, the more they will lose consumer interest, erode the nostalgia driving adult Disney interest, and undermine their own success. Which is what we already see occurring.

 

[jmuboy]

It’s heartbreaking and makes me realise how lucky we were that it was saved at Disneyland.

May just be a knee jerk reaction from me but I think this might be me done with Disney theme parks. They’re not what they were when I became a fan of them. Theme and atmosphere be damned, let’s just get the hottest IP in. This is clearly the new direction and is not what I enjoy when I visit the parks.

After ROA, Red Car trolly and likely the Muppets all killed by Disney in a month I woke up this morning thinking “I’m done with Disney”

I’m actually in Orlando now headed to spend a day at the pool ( instead of a free day at Epcot with a CM friend). Just too disillusioned with Disney. D23 was going to be a high water mark for the parks. And 36 hours after Josh D got off the stage the actual drum beat of bad decisions started.

Sad days indeed