It’s hard to imagine, but this time next year the Rivers of America will likely be drained and demolition will be underway on Tom Sawyer Island at Magic Kingdom. The land preparation work will support a previously announced Cars-themed expansion to Frontierland, and likely the highly-anticipated Villains Land as well. Both will be located in the west side of Magic Kingdom, and friend of the site Bioreconstruct recently took to the skies over Magic Kingdom to document the area before work begins.
Aerial Photos of Rivers of America & Tom Sawyer Island
The Cars-themed expansion to Frontierland and Villains Land were confirmed at the recent D23 Expo. At first, concept art for both areas didn’t give any hints as to where the lands would be located, but on the Monday after the Expo, Walt Disney World released concept art that not only revealed the layout of the Cars-themed area but also revealed that Tom Sawyer Island and the Rivers of America would be demolished.
The concept art above shows the southern half of the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island at Magic Kingdom after the Frontierland expansion. The area will take guests beyond Radiator Springs and into the wilderness on an all-new adventure in the Cars franchise. Disney says that the new area will be “part of the largest expansion of Magic Kingdom”, likely including the upcoming Villains Land too.
Here’s a look at the area roughly represented in the concept art above. Working clockwise, we can see the Liberty Square Riverboat load building in the lower left of the aerial photo, the Frontierland facades along the left side of the photo, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at the top middle, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad off to the right. The middle of the frame is where we’ll see a massive transformation over the next few years as Disney creates a natural wilderness to support the main attraction in the land, which will take guests into rugged terrains for a rally race with some of the world’s most iconic racers.
Before we get too much into the weeds, here’s an overview of Magic Kingdom from some 3,000ft in the air. In the photo below, we can see just how much potential there is in the upper-left portion of the park. The Riverboat and Tom Sawyer Island (and surrounding areas within the Walt Disney World Railroad perimeter) represent roughly 14+ acres, larger than Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. This is a lot of valuable real estate at the busiest theme park in the world, and Disney has decided that it’s time to finally maximize and optimize this corner of the park.
The next aerial photo was taken from just north of Magic Kingdom, looking back toward the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island. Keep in mind that the Cars-themed expansion represents roughly 4 acres of the possible 14 acres of development. The aerial photo below shows the northern half (more than half) of Tom Sawyer Island and the Rivers of America.
This section of land will likely be earmarked for the Villains Land expansion at Magic Kingdom, which will feature “two major attractions, dining, and shopping on an incredibly twisted grand scale”. If Disney wants to keep the land within the perimeter set by the Walt Disney World Railroad (seen cutting through the trees in the lower third of the photo below), they have some 10 acres to play with. Of course, it’s possible that they might expand beyond the train track, which would open up the space considerably.
Going back to the Frontierland expansion for Cars, early water management permits will lead to the dewatering of the Rivers, and possibly even the demolition of the boardwalk, which falls within the construction boundaries in the permit.
A little bit wider overview photo for the Cars-themed area brings Big Thunder Mountain Railroad into view, as well as some areas of Adventureland. It will be very interesting to see what Disney is able to do with this area that offers nowhere to hide. The attractions will be out in the elements (for the most part), and construction will be on display for years. While construction will likely impact the boardwalk area along the Rivers of America, it will not extend into the streets of Frontierland, which is critical to Magic Kingdom’s parade route. A new nighttime parade debuts next Summer.
Finally, here’s a look at the Liberty Square Riverboat in action, floating by Tom Sawyer Island – both will become relics to Walt Disney World history in the next 12 months. Disney has not announced a closing date for either attraction at this time.
For more information about the first stages of the project, check out our article below!
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!
