Following the announcement that two Cars-themed attractions are coming to Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World has offered more details about the expansion. To accommodate the new area, Tom Sawyer Island and the Rivers of America will be demolished. Here’s the announcement:
It’s time to leave Radiator Springs and head west into exciting new locations. To make way for this completely new frontier, the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island will be transformed into vast and rugged terrains for a rally race with some of the world’s most iconic racers.
“We are thrilled to create this original Cars adventure and put our guests in the driver’s seat as we—quite literally—explore a new frontier in Frontierland,” shared Michael Hundgen, Walt Disney World Portfolio Executive Producer at Walt Disney Imagineering. “Part of pioneering this new story includes tapping into the themes of exploration and adventure that inspire so many of us to keep propelling forward. Anytime we touch Magic Kingdom, we recognize the massive responsibility that exists to get it right and tell stories that connect with our guests.”
The new area will bring you along for the ride (pun intended) with a brand-new thrilling rally race through the mountains, climbing trails, and dodging geysers, in addition to a second attraction geared towards fun for the whole family.
Ahead of work revving into high gear next year, guests will have plenty of time to experience the charm and nostalgia of Frontierland as it is today.
And cruising just around the bend, guests will be able to venture Beyond Big Thunder Mountain into an all-new land dedicated to Disney Villains. Inspired by the wicked characters fans know and loathe, the multi-acre expansion will include two major attractions, plus dining and shopping. Walt Disney Imagineering is pushing creative boundaries to dark and mysterious levels to bring this new, first-of-its-kind land to life.
Together, these new additions to Magic Kingdom will represent the largest expansion in park history.
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!
HEY YO! LET ME GET SOME DISNEY TIXS BRO! LETS GO!!!! WHAT WE RIDIN FIRST?
Good. It’s time to leave this relic from the early ‘70s behind and give the guests something new and modern.
We LOVE that iconic sternwheel boat and HATE this change! Disney destroying its heritage for ever-more IP. Had a lot of cars on the frontier, did we?? Disney has completely lost its way.
So they should keep a area that doesn’t draw alot of foot traffic because it hurt you snowflake feeling I’ll let you know a little secret wdw doesn’t look like it did when it opened up
Disney made Tom Sawyer movies back in the days those islands are “IP” I love when people use buzzwords they don’t bother to learn the meanings of to complain about things.
“Cars” is IP. “Star Wars” is IP. “Mickey Mouse” is IP. Disney either created or now owns the rights to such things. Disney does not own the rights to Clemens’ work or any of his characters, and the two connected islands at WDW were built decades before Disney’s minor 1996 movie, “Tom and Huck,” after which Disney briefly renamed the island. To call Tom Sawyer’s Island one of Disney’s Intellectual Property attractions is a ludicrous misunderstanding of Intellectual Property and what an IP attraction is.
SAD SAD SAD. One of the funnest things to do at Disney is the old steam boat and take a break on the Rivers. I hope they change their mind.
I’m waiting for Disney to officially confirm this. Notice there were no quotation marks around the paragraph about replacing Rivers of America, but there were around the paragraph of Michael Hundgen explaining the ride.
If they do this no one will ever forgive them. Those are pieces of American treasure right there! How is a ‘cars’ land more iconic than exploring the Tom Sawyer island!?
Merchandise
I’m all for expanding the park but to dismantle some of the oldest part of the park, like Tom Sawyer Island (BTW) you can rename it- is terrible. It’s a great place to explore when the park is overwhelmed! It also ties in to Walt’s love of nature.
Do away with the very outdated Tomorrow land raceway.
Unfortunate
This is just wrong. I guess Disney wants more money from lightning lane charges.
Putting a whole area dedicated to darkness when Disneyland has always been light and wonder, will only bring more darkness into our world and without light, darkness will prevail and spread. Which will be devastating for generations to come.
This is awful. They are going to destroy a beautiful a d classic part of the park; one which is integral to the theming of Liberty Square and Frontierland. I have no objection to Cars land, but Walt Disney World has so much land where it could go. Save Rivers of Americs. Put Cars land in Hollywood Studios.
They really seem to want to get rid of all the water in the park. First they removed the 20000 Leagues attraction and its water, then the water around the hub and now the Rivers of America. It’s going to be a hot place…
Why don’t they put the new cars where the pollution cars the speedway is and leave these things other things alone.
The current Tomorrowland Speedway is LARGER than the Rivers of America area shown to be used for cars. They are actually going to destroy the most themed and magical part of the park, and leave the Speedway eyesore? Placing Cars, between Tomorrowland and Fantasyland (across from Seven Dwarfs Mine Train), and Circus area, would be a much better fit. It would provide a perfect transition. Even in the future, there will be places like the Cars area. The Cars area could feature older cars, as well as some more futuristic cars, which could even been the basis for a new Cars movie.