News Red Car Trolley to close February 8, 2025

[wdrive]

My favourite thing to do in DCA in sit on that little ground floor outdoor terrace at the Carthay Circle and drink a few expensive cocktails, maybe a little plate of food, and watch the world go by.

They don’t seem to understand that anymore. Or if they do they want rid of it. If you’re not rushing to your next Lightning Lane they don’t want you in the park it seems.

 

[CaptinEO]

Goodbye to the Trolley.



Also can anyone explain why it has to be removed? Surely the maintenance barn could just be relocated or they could build this Avenger's ride elsewhere.

To me it seems like operations wanted to cut their maintenance budget by removing an attraction.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Also can anyone explain why it has to be removed? Surely the maintenance barn could just be relocated or they could build this Avenger's ride elsewhere.

I was told in the rivers of America thread I was selfish for thinking this way because that extra money would just raise the ticket prices and “nobody” rides the riverboat. How dare you think so selfishly like me! Haha.

 

[Charlie The Chatbox Ghost]

So, in the span of less than a month, they've announced they're removing:

• Tom Sawyer's Island
• The Liberty Belle Riverboat
• The Red Car Trolley

Anyone noticing a trend with what attractions they seem to be sacrificing? It's all attractions that require little to no wait, have no IP attached, and have no ability to sell Lightning Lane+ or Virtual Queues. The attractions replacing these, Cars and Avengers, will 100% be VQ/LL+. It's all about maximizing profits and removing "free" experiences. MuppetVision and the Hall of Presidents are also rumored to be on the chopping block, so it's very clear what Disney is doing.

I miss Eisner.

 

[Phroobar]

What's next? The Frontierland shooting gallery being turned into a DVC booth? Sorry MK, too soon?

 

[mickEblu]

Why did they announce it as being discontinued rather than closing? I may be grasping at straws but seems odd to say discontinued. I've tried to find the blog post for when the Railroad was temporarily closing at WDW to see what terminology they used, but they've removed any blog post from before 2020

It’s an odd word choice but sounds final to me. “Discontinue operations” might mean they re going to park it somewhere for photo ops. See it’s still here… for you to take pictures. It didn’t go away, it just doesn’t run anymore.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

It’s an odd word choice but sounds final to me. “Discontinue operations” might mean they re going to park it somewhere for photo ops. See it’s still here… for you to take pictures. It didn’t go away, it just doesn’t run anymore.

Yeah…. Park it by the entrance and let the characters wave from it.

 

[CaptinEO]

So, in the span of less than a month, they've announced they're removing:

• Tom Sawyer's Island
• The Liberty Belle Riverboat
• The Red Car Trolley

Anyone noticing a trend with what attractions they seem to be sacrificing? It's all attractions that require little to no wait, have no IP attached, and have no ability to sell Lightning Lane+ or Virtual Queues. The attractions replacing these, Cars and Avengers, will 100% be VQ/LL+. It's all about maximizing profits and removing "free" experiences. MuppetVision and the Hall of Presidents are also rumored to be on the chopping block, so it's very clear what Disney is doing.

I miss Eisner.

Eisner was all about removing/redoing rides to replace with IP, his last 5 years or so were disastrous. Iger worked very closely with him. They both diminished the experience to chase profits.

I'd wager the next CEO will be cut from the same cloth.

 

[CaptinEO]

I was told in the rivers of America thread I was selfish for thinking this way because that extra money would just raise the ticket prices and “nobody” rides the riverboat. How dare you think so selfishly like me! Haha.

It is weird to think that 10 years ago Disney was fine with redoing all of Rivers of America to place Galaxy's Edge in Disneyland where as now they are just filling in Florida's.

If GE was made today would they have removed RoA at Disneyland? Seems like a lazy and easy choice.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

It is weird to think that 10 years ago Disney was fine with redoing all of Rivers of America to place Galaxy's Edge in Disneyland where as now they are just filling in Florida's.

I hesitate to mention this but Lassiter was still part of the company during that time. That most likely helped.

 

[Charlie The Chatbox Ghost]

I hesitate to mention this but Lassiter was still part of the company during that time. That most likely helped.

Did he really have much of a say over the parks? He was just the head of Pixar and WDAS, iirc

 

[mickEblu]

This feels like the whole WDW “blessing of size” thing East coasters complain about. You just got all this DL Forward land rezoned for attractions and you can’t find somewhere to relocate a little trolley barn? Really? SMH

 

[lazyboy97o]

Did he really have much of a say over the parks? He was just the head of Pixar and WDAS, iirc

He was Principal Creative Advisor at Walt Disney Imagineering.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Did he really have much of a say over the parks? He was just the head of Pixar and WDAS, iirc

He did - for a short time. He’s the reason we got the seas with Nemo ride and the submarines back.

 

[Cheney!]

He did - for a short time. He’s the reason we got the seas with Nemo ride and the submarines back.

He's also why we got Pixar Pier...

 

[MoonRakerSCM]

Why did they announce it as being discontinued rather than closing? I may be grasping at straws but seems odd to say discontinued. I've tried to find the blog post for when the Railroad was temporarily closing at WDW to see what terminology they used, but they've removed any blog post from before 2020

I see it as a PR thing that they're increasingly obsessed over. "Close" is a negative word so they strive not to use it. Guests wont think bad things if we dont use bad words etc...

I'm very grateful I was fortunate enough to visit DCA during its glory years. That 2012-2016 window was the best that park ever was or ever will be. I wish I had been able to appreciate it more at the time instead of looking forward to the park's promising future that never arrived.

Wasn't it exciting back then? We had a wholly rethought park... with a backstory of Walt arriving in California with street life and little easter eggs abound. We had a brand new land with banging 50s music that as much as it was solely IP based, its devotion to adoring the nostalgia of Route 66 was beyond appreciated... grizzly peak extended into the airfield and made the area look so much better... Paradise Pier was rhe problem child but was having little touches and flair added to it to have a little lipstick...

 

[CaptinEO]

I hesitate to mention this but Lassiter was still part of the company during that time. That most likely helped.

I've never really been a fan of the guy, he always acted creepy and off putting. A lot of Pixar's success attributed to him is from stolen ideas from his Pixar colleagues. Cars is the biggest example, even the character designs were ripped off.

In an advisor role in Imagineering I don't think he had final say over anything. All he is credited for with the parks is having them put more money into his Cars Land.

People called him "The Next Walt". Walt was a grown up with a creative vision. Lassiter looked and acted like a man child.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

He's also why we got Pixar Pier...

There are a few things I liked about Pixar Pier when it opened… and some huge mistakes. The carousel being #1 on the list.

 

[CaptinEO]

This feels like the whole WDW “blessing of size” thing East coasters complain about. You just got all this DL Forward land rezoned for attractions and you can’t find somewhere to relocate a little trolley barn? Really? SMH

"Blessing of Size" doesn't matter when you have "burden of ops budget".

From the reading I've done with former imagineers the reason rides are redone or rethemed instead of "added to" a park are because of ops budgets.

This was the situation with the closure of Rocket Rods, Submarine Voyage, and 20k Leagues. I imagine the same can be said for Tom Sawyer Island and Red Car Trolley.

 

[Consumer]

I see it as a PR thing that they're increasingly obsessed over. "Close" is a negative word so they strive not to use it. Guests wont think bad things if we dont use bad words etc...

Wasn't it exciting back then? We had a wholly rethought park... with a backstory of Walt arriving in California with street life and little easter eggs abound. We had a brand new land with banging 50s music that as much as it was solely IP based, its devotion to adoring the nostalgia of Route 66 was beyond appreciated... grizzly peak extended into the airfield and made the area look so much better... Paradise Pier was rhe problem child but was having little touches and flair added to it to have a little lipstick...

Paradise Pier was great in 2012. It definitely still needed a few touch ups, but the boardwalk was one of my favorite spots in all of DCA. The music, the popcorn lighting, the kinetic energy, the original World of Color. It really felt like another part of Main Street USA. I get that people will always hate the "unthemed" carnival rides, but the land itself was incredibly atmospheric in a way that Pixar Pier simply isn't.

Hollywood Land was the stinker of DCA 2.0, but Tower of Terror and the Red Car Trolleys helped carry the land. There were plans for a remodel of the Hyperion, as well as other aesthetic changes for the land that would have greatly elevated it. Had Bob Chapek not replaced Tom Staggs, it's very likely we would have seen those changes implemented, just like we had seen with Condor Flats becoming Grizzly Peak in 2015.