Possible Frontierland expansion

MisterPenguin

President of Animal Kingdom
Premium Member
Realizing that all the discussion about expansion at MK is pie-in-the-sky hopes and wishes, I still find the topic fascinating. The one thing I can't picture, however, is where they would be able to expand the park. I guess that they could repurpose existing space (i.e. finally put something in the Stitch space, or perhaps replace the Speedway) but let's say that they decide to finally build Fire Mountain or Villain/Bald Mountain (yes, I know, neither are going to happen). Where could they go? In this image from Google Maps, I really only see four places that have open space for building. The red area abuts the monorail line and is on the other side of Caribbean Way, so that's probably out. The blue area is parade storage/staging, so that's out (unless all of that can be moved - perhaps to the green area?). The purple area is behind New Fantasyland, so that seems out and the green area abuts the new Tron coaster, so maybe something could happen there?

Maybe the area on the other side of RoA can be developed? Would be interested to hear from those far more knowledgeable than me what options even exist. View attachment 455360

See...

According to @marni1971, green are the easy pads and yellow and orange require more work to use. The yellow pad south of Space Mountains seems to be off the table since they expanded the retention pond added retention walls.

Red and purple are armchair speculation. Red is a little bit easier and purple much harder, since it would require big changes in water management and maybe demolishing It's a Small World (we can only hope!). Access to orange, red, and purple is very difficult since the placement of HM, RoA, BTMR, and the train leave almost no access to that back area. One of them has to drastically be moved/altered.

View attachment 376156
 

ᗩLᘿᑕ ✨ ᗩζᗩᗰ

HOUSE OF MAGIC
Premium Member
If we're talking pie-in-the-sky hopes would this be possible?

possible.png
 
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A Noble Fish

Well-Known Member
The thought of a Frontierland Expansion hasn't and still doesn't make sense all things considered. Tomorrowland still needs the most work, Fantasyland could use a true headliner, and Adventureland could easily modify Jungle Cruise's layout to expand Adventureland with an E-ticket. The park doesn't need rollercoasters now, so an E-ticket high capacity dark ride seems like a sure-fire bet in any land.

I think filling in the current back side of the south/southeast portion in Tomorrowland would do wonders. An aesthetically pleasing sit-down restaurant would be welcome. Relandscape the entire Tomorrowland and update the park's current rides like Space Mountain and Peter Pan. Might I add finally replacing Stitch, and overhauling Buzz are equally as important.

Getting rid of the Speedway also wouldn't be that difficult. You could make a sub-land with a flat ride and a dark ride that has TRON as the weenie. If you put a large pond on the southern Speedway side under the sub-land, Tomorrowland would be far prettier. Imagine fountains that shoot up as the Peoplemover moves on by. It's neither unreasonable or all that expensive.

There are a plethora of IP's that would fit the theme and aesthetics of Fantasy/Adventure/Tomorrowland. I'm all in for a non-IP ride, but even then Adventureland really might be the place for that judging by the expansion plots. With Nintendo getting an edge on videogames in theme parks in a few years, why not get a Portal ride in Tomorrowland or the Disney owned Wreck-it-Ralph/Big Hero Six/Wall-E/Alien/Marvel/Incredibles? Or Moana/Aladdin/Indy/Jungle Book in Adventureland? Or Beauty & The Beast/Tangled/Sleeping Beauty in Fantasyland? Many of these could even be better off at the other parks anyway, so you can pick the best fit for the land. Frontierland gets us what? Pocahontas or Woody's Roundup? I don't see them going the non-IP route, so I don't see the logic there either.

Jungle Cruise is pretty much safe as it is especially with the movie now coming out. I doubt it will flop like Tomorrowland or the Lone Ranger. It looks better made than those, and it could easily be a fun movie that does similarly well. It probably will do even better than TRON: Legacy if it has low competition and solid word of mouth. Of course, COVID-19 has made it all the more unpredictable, but I think the skippers will still have a home.

I'm excited anytime there's expansion if it's well-done, so if it's Frontierland I'll be applauding them too!
 
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jt04

Well-Known Member
Is there any actual reason why this was bumped? Last update I have on this was 2016, and I'm currently calling it dead:

New CEO and people speculating what happens after the 50th.

Thing is the park desperately needs to address the dead end created by Splash and BTMRR. I think it is reasonable to assume that concern is on management's radar. Including park ops. And I'm sure Imagineering could provide some solutions that can be implemented over the next 5 years (or 10).
 

jt04

Well-Known Member
The thought of a Frontierland Expansion hasn't and still doesn't make sense all things considered. Tomorrowland still needs the most work, Fantasyland could use a true headliner, and Adventureland could easily modify Jungle Cruise's layout to expand Adventureland with an E-ticket. The park doesn't need rollercoasters now, so an E-ticket high capacity dark ride seems like a sure-fire bet in any land.

I think filling in the current back side of the south/southeast portion in Tomorrowland would do wonders. An aesthetically pleasing sit-down restaurant would be welcome. Relandscape the entire Tomorrowland and update the park's current rides like Space Mountain and Peter Pan. Might I add finally replacing Stitch, and overhauling Buzz are equally as important.

Getting rid of the Speedway also wouldn't be that difficult. You could make a sub-land with a flat ride and a dark ride that has TRON as the weenie. If you put a large pond on the southern Speedway side under the sub-land, Tomorrowland would be far prettier. Imagine fountains that shoot up as the Peoplemover moves on by. It's neither unreasonable or all that expensive.

There are a plethora of IP's that would fit the theme and aesthetics of Fantasy/Adventure/Tomorrowland. I'm all in for a non-IP ride, but even then Adventureland really might be the place for that judging by the expansion plots. With Nintendo getting an edge on videogames in theme parks this fall, why not get a Portal ride in Tomorrowland or the Disney owned Wreck-it-Ralph/Big Hero Six/Wall-E/Marvel/Alien? Or Moana/Aladdin/Indy/Jungle Book in Adventureland? Or Beauty & The Beast/Tangled/Sleeping Beauty in Fantasyland? Many of these would be better off at the other parks anyway. Frontierland gets us what? Pocahontas or Woody's Roundup? I don't see them going the non-IP route, so I don't see the logic there either.

Jungle Cruise is pretty much safe as it is especially with the movie now coming out. I doubt it will flop like Tomorrowland or the Lone Ranger. It looks better made than those, and it could easily be a fun movie that does similarly well. It probably will do even better than TRON: Legacy if it has low competition and solid word of mouth. Of course, COVID-19 has made it all the more unpredictable, but I think the skippers will still have a home.

I'm excited anytime there's expansion if its well-done, so if it's Frontierland I'll be applauding them too!

The speedway has a small enough footprint at this point it could be placed indoors without much trouble. 🏁
 

DVCakaCarlF

Well-Known Member
New CEO and people speculating what happens after the 50th.

Thing is the park desperately needs to address the dead end created by Splash and BTMRR. I think it is reasonable to assume that concern is on management's radar. Including park ops. And I'm sure Imagineering could provide some solutions that can be implemented over the next 5 years (or 10).
How do you propose that dead end continues? Into a bridge onto Tom Sawyer and then what?
 

jt04

Well-Known Member
How do you propose that dead end continues? Into a bridge onto Tom Sawyer and then what?

There have been proposals to extend a pedestrian bridge over the canal behind big thunder. There is a small gap for that purpose and an expansion pad beyond. This option could involve shortening the river as done recently at Disneyland for the Star Wars expansion.

Another option I thought of was a new train station on the expansion pad with the WDWRR being the only way in or out. Possibly accessed by boat also. But a land that seems remote from the rest of the park. But this wouldn't help with traffic flow as much as a pedestrian walkway would.
 

ImperfectPixie

Well-Known Member
ehhh not really...the Magic Kingdom existed and was amazing for 42 years without a splash zone. I think a majority would rather see a real attraction VS a splash zone...
My point is that it's something to do that doesn't require a fastpass or waiting in an hour (or longer) line. It might not be for you, but lots of kids like it, and it's a great place for the kids to play and get refreshed while parents can sit for a few minutes.
 

Master Yoda

Pro Star Wars geek.
Premium Member
My point is that it's something to do that doesn't require a fastpass or waiting in an hour (or longer) line. It might not be for you, but lots of kids like it, and it's a great place for the kids to play and get refreshed while parents can sit for a few minutes.
This^^^

Just because you don't like it, does not make it bad. Playgrounds, splash zones, and even the speedway have their place.
 

ghidorah97

Member
My point is that it's something to do that doesn't require a fastpass or waiting in an hour (or longer) line. It might not be for you, but lots of kids like it, and it's a great place for the kids to play and get refreshed while parents can sit for a few minutes.

I do agree with this. I'm certainly not interested in the splash zone myself (nor the Speedway - didn't even find it interesting when I was 7. Loud, slow and dirty little cars on an uninteresting track = no thanks), but I understand their purpose (Speedway less so, to be honest).
 

WondersOfLife

Blink, blink. Breathe, breathe. Day in, day out.
Guests “want” shorter rides, if you believe “survey results”.
NO ONE wants shorter rides... Except possibly TDO...
The survey logic is that guests want shorter rides so they can visit more rides.

I think average park guests (NOT Epcot fanboys. Don’t get your panties in a twist.) relate the length of a ride to its entertainment/thrill level. They think “long ride? Oh. I didnt like Universe of Energy, or Imagination, or Navi River Journey, or Little Mermaid.. but Space Mountain, Frozen Ever After, and Toy Story Mania are fun!”

it’s a bad play on words. Guests think “slower”when asked about ride time. They don’t even think about lengthy rides like say, Flight of Passage or AK’s Safaris... they automatically think of “boring slow rides.”

I’d be interested in comparing those results to an entire list of rides people like, didn’t like, and didn’t ride.
 

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