What to do about the Speedway?

[mharrington]

I believe that the Speedway takes up a lot of space and yet is a low-capacity ride, not to mention that there is nothing really "futuristic" about a bunch of racing go-karts that use gasoline besides.

I (and possibly others) had proposed replacing it with something else. One of my personal ideas was to add in a Pinocchio ride (though not a copy of the ride at Disneyland). I have also seen suggestions for a small Alice area, possibly including a replica of the Alice maze from Paris to compliment the nearby teacups.

The problem is that the area sits right on the border of Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. Any addition to Fantasyland there would likely have to contend with Tomorrowland or vice-versa. That transition space was really poorly done. And now that area has not only Tron on the one side, but also Cosmic Ray's on the other.

One workaround idea for the Pinocchio ride (which I did not come up with, so credit goes out to who did) was to set it up so that Pleasure Island was viewable from Tomorrowland with its garish lights to blend in. I also added in the idea of rocks to help block out any visual disruptions. However, as much as I like the concept (which would have been a water thrill ride milder than Splash Mountain), I'm still not entirely sure how to do it in a way that makes sense.

I really want to replace the Speedway with something better, but it's set in a very awkward "twilight" space that would have to contend with visual disruptions no matter where it's located, either Fantasyland or Tomorrowland. So what could be done about it?

 

[comics101]

While it doesn’t solve the capacity problem, I always thought this was a creative way to solve the “limbo space” problem that the Speedway has:

Facing Tomorrowland, the surroundings reflect Internet City (or whatever it was called). Facing Fantasyland, the surroundings appear as Candy Crush.

https://www.parkineer.com/wreck-it-...uture-if-this-graphic-designer-has-their-way/

 

[mharrington]

While it doesn’t solve the capacity problem, I always thought this was a creative way to solve the “limbo space” problem that the Speedway has:

View attachment 728827

Facing Tomorrowland, the surroundings reflect Internet City (or whatever it was called). Facing Fantasyland, the surroundings appear as Candy Crush.

https://www.parkineer.com/wreck-it-...uture-if-this-graphic-designer-has-their-way/

And what of the gas-powered vehicles? Those things literally stink!

Where would it even go?

I actually had different plans for "Wreck-It Ralph" in the park, and it was actually brought on by outside circumstances. After the Buzz Lightyear ride in Hong Kong was rethemed to Ant-Man, I was thinking of doing the same thing to WDW's Buzz Lightyear. In this case, I was thinking of retheming it to Hero's Duty, where you would battle the Cy-Bugs and keep them from taking over.

 

[comics101]

And what of the gas-powered vehicles? Those things literally stink!

Go electric

 

[Hakunamatata]

They should update the track and add mini Tesla cars, circling a strip mine, sponsored by CATL. The CMs could be attired in the slave labor attire the workers wear.

 

[mharrington]

They should update the track and add mini Tesla cars, circling a strip mine, sponsored by CATL. The CMs could be attired in the slave labor attire the workers wear.

Is that supposed to be a joke?

Anyway, to get back to @comics101, where would this ride even go? Tomorrowland or Fantasyland?

I actually had different plans for "Wreck-It Ralph" in the park, and it was actually brought on by outside circumstances. After the Buzz Lightyear ride in Hong Kong was rethemed to Ant-Man, I was thinking of doing the same thing to WDW's Buzz Lightyear (but leaving all other versions alone). In this case, I was thinking of retheming it to Hero's Duty, where you would battle the Cy-Bugs and keep them from taking over.

 

[MickeyMouse10]

If it was up to me... I'd bulldoze it and put 2 or 3 attractions in it's place. Much like 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Speedway isn't worth the amount of real estate it takes up. Attraction wise, it is a pretty boring ride and it puts you out in the hot Florida sun for most of it.

There are loads of futuristic and alien Disney Movies that would be more appropriate. Wall-E, Stitch, Aliens, Futurama and some would say even the Incredibles come to mind.

 

[MickeyMouse10]

You could even put an Alice in Wonderland (dark ride) near the Tea Cups.

 

[mharrington]

If it was up to me... I'd bulldoze it and put 2 or 3 attractions in it's place. Much like 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Speedway isn't worth the amount of real estate it takes up. Attraction wise, it is a pretty boring ride and it puts you out in the hot Florida sun for most of it.

There are loads of futuristic and alien Disney Movies that would be more appropriate. Wall-E, Stitch, Aliens, Futurama and some would say even the Incredibles come to mind.

I would rather steer clear of anything Fox-related. The space was very poorly done, as is just as much in Fantasyland as Tomorrowland. Anything futuristic there would have to take Fantasyland into account.

 

[mharrington]

You could even put an Alice in Wonderland (dark ride) near the Tea Cups.

Wouldn't that stick out as much as anything Pinocchio-related? It too would be jutting out into Fantasyland.

 

[Disney Dad 3000]

I'm one of the few that actually likes the speedway. By insisting on putting Tron where it is, I think they have to (or at least should) put a TL themed area in its place if they did end up closing the TSL. Something that accentuates the Tron canopy with views from Cosmic Rays. If they'd not canned a retheme to the TSL to match Tron, that would have at least worked thematically.

If it went away, I'd prefer something like below. Purple being a small footprint flat ride accessible from the path the Dumbo/7D/MTP intersection and then using light blue for all TL stuff. Any track area that still existed to the right of the PM I'd use for more plaza space.

 

[MickeyMouse10]

Wouldn't that stick out as much as anything Pinocchio-related? It too would be jutting out into Fantasyland.

No, I don't think it would take up too much space. It's about the size of other short dark rides.

 

[MickeyMouse10]

I'm one of the few that actually likes the speedway. By insisting on putting Tron where it is, I think they have to (or at least should) put a TL themed area in its place if they did end up closing the TSL. Something that accentuates the Tron canopy with views from Cosmic Rays. If they'd not canned a retheme to the TSL to match Tron, that would have at least worked thematically.

If it went away, I'd prefer something like below. Purple being a small footprint flat ride accessible from the path the Dumbo/7D/MTP intersection and then using light blue for all TL stuff. Any track area that still existed to the right of the PM I'd use for more plaza space.

View attachment 728955

Yeah, that looks good.

If done right it could even open up some walking space for the Tron Lightcycles.

 

[mharrington]

No, I don't think it would take up too much space. It's about the size of other short dark rides.

I had done some research on Google Maps, and it seems to take up almost as much space as Splash Mountain. The Speedway is about 135,000 square feet in area while Splash Mountain is about 101,200 square feet in area.

Actually, the idea for how to do Pinocchio over in that particular area is based on this old video that I found (go to 26:19):

 

[Architectural Guinea Pig]

Combine the cheap casey jr circus area and the speedway and make discovery land. (Toontown works too) Just compare the number of lands from MK and DL and you can see that MK desperately needs more.

 

[comics101]

Anyway, to get back to @comics101, where would this ride even go? Tomorrowland or Fantasyland?

I actually had different plans for "Wreck-It Ralph" in the park, and it was actually brought on by outside circumstances. After the Buzz Lightyear ride in Hong Kong was rethemed to Ant-Man, I was thinking of doing the same thing to WDW's Buzz Lightyear (but leaving all other versions alone). In this case, I was thinking of retheming it to Hero's Duty, where you would battle the Cy-Bugs and keep them from taking over.

I'd keep the queue/load pretty much where it is in Tomorrowland. The exterior would be themed to the "Internet City," which lends itself to the Tomorrowland location.

I really like your Cy-Bugs idea though! That's a neat concept.

 

[J4546]

Electrify it, add some set pieces to the track to blend it into tron and also widen the pathway between the ton/sm gift shop and speedway. That would clean up that entire area a lot. Maybe even keep the og fiberglass car shells because at this point they are kinda retro futuristic, add some lighting perhaps

 

[mharrington]

Also, for another comparison, the Frozen boat ride's footprint is roughly 38,000 square feet in area. That's tiny compared to the Speedway!

 

[Bryan_the_Imagineer]

Here's my solution for TLS:

1. Place a copy of Alice in Wonderland from DL at the southwestern side Of TLS. (near Mad Tea Party)
2. Place a new version of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride at the middle (and the section near Barnstormers Maintenace Area) of TLS.
3. Build a Tomorrowland Pavillion in the remaining space. The Pavillion will include extra seating for Cosmic Ray's, a Fountain, an Arcade, and some interactive games similar to the ones found at Project Tomorrow at EPCOT.

 

[mharrington]

Here's my solution for TLS:

1. Place a copy of Alice in Wonderland from DL at the southwestern side Of TLS. (near Mad Tea Party)
2. Place a new version of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride at the middle (and the section near Barnstormers Maintenace Area) of TLS.
3. Build a Tomorrowland Pavillion in the remaining space. The Pavillion will include extra seating for Cosmic Ray's, a Fountain, an Arcade, and some interactive games similar to the ones found at Project Tomorrow at EPCOT.

Wouldn't Alice and Mr. Toad both jut out into Tomorrowland and make them visible from Tron? More importantly, how would they ease the transition into Tomorrowland?