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

[Misted Compass]

I think my thing is you guys would also start complaining if Disney started consulting historians and doing historical rides based on what the historians are saying because "it's not the right history".

I don't remember anyone complaining when the Frederick Douglass exhibit was being added to Lincoln.

 

[Rich T]

Some of us actually remember a pre-Iger, even a pre-Eisner, Disney but don't look on it with rose colored glasses.

But you don’t need rose-colored glasses for this. RoA and its riverboat are right there! Look at it—It’s still one of the most beautiful theme park settings on Earth.

 

[Too Many Hats]

You're remembering Disney Parks from a bygone era (pre-80s) that still was never a living history museum. And even then the majority of visitors today never experienced that version of a Disney Park.

Simply untrue. As recently as the mid-2000s, the educational component of Disney parks was still alive and well. Epcot was still a park that celebrated science/technology/world cultures and Hollywood Studios still revolved around tv/filmmaking. Animal Kingdom survived even longer as a park with an educational message.

 

[haveyoumetmark]

Saw this Tweet earlier, and I believe it's 100% on the money.

Is someone gonna tell this drama queen that Cars is about Americana? And at a high level, the attraction is inspired by roadtrips through National Parks… is that not Americana? Main Street is a tribute to Walt and the legends that built the company, it’s not going anywhere.

I empathize with folks lamenting the loss of something beloved to them from their childhood, but the pearl clutching wears me out.

 

[Disney Irish]

But you don’t need rose-colored glasses for this. RoA and its riverboat are right there! Look at it—It’s still one of the most beautiful theme park settings on Earth.

I don't hold any attachment over the WDW version, sorry.

 

[Too Many Hats]

 

[Too Many Hats]

 

[Disney Irish]

Simply untrue. As recently as the mid-2000s, the educational component of Disney parks was still alive and well. Epcot was still a park that celebrated science/technology/world cultures and Hollywood Studios still revolved around tv/filmmaking. Animal Kingdom survived even longer as a park with an educational message.

And none of that is a living history museum. Yes Disney Parks have had edutainment. But it was always a caricature of any actual education. And was still something that the company started to get away from during the Eisner era.

 

[Too Many Hats]

And none of that is a living history museum. Yes Disney Parks have had edutainment. But it was always a caricature of any actual education. And was still something that the company started to get away from during the Eisner era.

Nobody used the term "living history museum" except you.

 

[Too Many Hats]

I empathize with folks lamenting the loss of something beloved to them from their childhood, but the pearl clutching wears me out.

You're worn out because, for a few hours, some people online are expressing disappointment that a 53 year-old theme park land (at the most famous theme park in the world) is going away?

 

[Disney Irish]

Nobody used the term "living history museum" except you.

Its in reference to Rich stating that Literature and History is for rubes. The point is that a Disney Park has never and should never have been used for actual literary and history lessons.

 

[Disney Irish]

You're worn out because, for a few hours, some people online are expressing disappointment that a 53 year-old theme park land (at the most famous theme park in the world) is going away?

I can't speak for the poster, but its not just this project.

 

[GigglesMcSnort]

And none of that is a living history museum. Yes Disney Parks have had edutainment. But it was always a caricature of any actual education. And was still something that the company started to get away from during the Eisner era.

They definitely still have great edutainment available.

You just have to pay for it in the form of tours like Wild Africa Trek, Behind the Seeds and Dolphin Encounter. But to be fair, they're all really good and worth the money, at least once (in my opinion).

And even without paying, the pavilions at the World Showcase all have educational displays and/or shows about the local culture and history. You can easily spend a day getting immersed there, just taking in all the details of each "country".

 

[Rich T]

I don't hold any attachment over the WDW version, sorry.

Fair enough. It’s one of the few things in MK I genuinely like a lot.

 

[Too Many Hats]

Its in reference to Rich stating that Literature and History is for rubes. The point is that a Disney Park has never and should never have been used for actual literary and history lessons.

What do you mean that it "should never have been" used for literary/history lessons? Is it a bad thing that 9 year-old me found World of Motion, The Living Seas, and Spaceship Earth intellectually stimulating? That the Mark Twain references in Magic Kingdom led me to read A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court? Objectively, WDI used to strive to both entertain and educate, and many guests were indeed affected by this.

 

[RedGinger]

This is utterly tragic, and it makes me completely irate at Disney for the decision.

 

[Disney Irish]

They definitely still have great edutainment available.

You just have to pay for it in the form of tours like Wild Africa Trek, Behind the Seeds and Dolphin Encounter. But to be fair, they're all really good and worth the money (in my opinion).

And even without paying, the pavilions at the World Showcase all have educational displays and/or shows about the local culture and history. You can easily spend a day getting immersed there, just taking in all the details of each "country".

Understood, I didn't mean to say that there is none today if that is how it came across. Just that the company had started to get away from that for a long time now, even if there are recent examples added over the last 20 years.

 

[Phroobar]

Re-contextualize the land. Lean into the "hard facts." Consult leading historians and build a serious-minded boat/dark ride called "River of Democracy" that meaningfully and artistically engages with the centuries-long struggle for equality and suffrage for all Americans, honoring not only the top-down legal achievements of prominent men and women leaders but also all the ordinary people who participated in these movements and sacrificed and to whom we owe an enormous gratitude. Acknowledge this country's missteps, its violence, its non-linear progress, but also celebrate the resilience of its people.

Or bulldoze the land and build a Cars ride.

I almost fell asleep reading that.

 

[GigglesMcSnort]

What do you mean that it "should never have been" used for literary/history lessons? Is it a bad thing that 9 year-old me found World of Motion, The Living Seas, and Spaceship Earth intellectually stimulating? That the Mark Twain references in Magic Kingdom led me to read A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court? Objectively, WDI used to strive to both entertain and educate, and many guests were indeed affected by this.

Times change, unfortunately.

When we were kids (and I'm making a completely uneducated guess that we're at least roughly in the same ballpark of age, given the attractions mentioned), going to Disney World, and being in awe at those different things, we couldn't look up all the world's knowledge from the touch of a button on our smartphones (that sort of technology was only available in science fiction).

Kids these days aren't impressed by that stuff anymore.

 

[Too Many Hats]

I almost fell asleep reading that.

Haha. My point is that it wouldn't be impossible for WDI to re-contextualize Frontierland in a manner that would be acceptable to the DEI committee and/or "woke" people online. They just don't want to.