Magic Kingdom is about to look completely different!
Magic Kingdom
Disney World’s original park has seen many changes in the recent years including the addition of TRON Lightcyle / Run, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, and an overhaul to the Country Bear Jamboree.
Even more changes are on the horizon as the Magic Kingdom expansion progresses with the addition of Villains Land “Beyond Big Thunder Mountain” and the Cars expansion on Tom Sawyer Island. While construction has yet to start on the Cars expansion, Disney recently shared new details about this new area of the park!
As a refresher, Tom Sawyer Island along with the Rivers of America are set to close to make way for a brand-new Cars expansion that will feature two new rides. With this new addition, Tom Sawyer Island, the Tom Sawyer Island rafts, the Liberty Square Riverboat, and The Rivers of America are all set to close this year, although no closing date has been announced.
7 Disney World Rides That Will Permanently Close in 2025
Tom Sawyer Island
When this expansion was announced at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event back in August of 2024, Disney shared some concept art of the land along with the “Rally Race” attraction. At D23 in Brazil, we got to see some clips of Imagineering testing the potential “track” for the attraction.
©Disney
Well now we have even more Cars expansion details! Earlier this month, Disney shared some of its new projects at SXSW (South By Southwest). One of the projects that they showcased was the new Rally Race ride coming to the new Cars area. Imagineers took a trip to Arizona to take a ride in some real off-road vehicles to help provide some inspiration. They then worked with a motocross company to build a dirt track and work on creating the new ride vehicles.
©Disney
Imagineers want to make this ride as realistic as possible, so they are using a customized production vehicle with sensors all over to gather data on how it feels to drive on varying terrain while the ride is in its development phase. Just like Radiator Springs Racers in Disney California Adventure, you will get to ride in a car that has their own personality, except these cars are ready for a spin off-road!
©Disney
Along with the concept art of some of the new cars, Disney shared the 3D model that they have been using, otherwise known as a “3D Sketch.” One of the Imagineers working on the project, Michael Hundgen, said that, “Our primary goal is creating an emotional experience for our guests. For this Cars attraction, we need to invent a new type of ride vehicle. No one builds these in a factory because it has to do so much more than just carrying you from one place to another. We have to create a car that conveys a feeling when you ride in it.”
©SXSW
Along with what is to come to Frontierland and Tom Sawyer Island, Disney also shared looks at Avengers Infinity Defense and Stark Flight Lab which are two new attractions coming to Avengers Campus in Disney California Adventure.
©Disney
We are so excited to experience and explore all these new projects when they open! To stay up to date on all the latest Disney news, make sure to keep following along with us here at the Disney Food Blog!
All the NEW Rides and Attractions at Disney World in 2025 and Beyond
Join the DFB Newsletter to get all the breaking news right in your inbox! Click here to Subscribe!
WE KNOW DISNEY.
YOU CAN, TOO.
Oh boy, planning a Disney trip can be quite the adventure, and we totally get it! But fear not, dear friends, we compiled EVERYTHING you need (and the things to avoid!) to plan the ULTIMATE Disney vacation.
Whether you're a rookie or a seasoned pro, our insider tips and tricks will have you exploring the parks like never before. So come along with us, and get planning your most magical vacation ever!
Our handy (and portable!) ebook guides make sure you get the best deals and can plan a vacation of a lifetime.
The cars land is not an expansion of the magic kingdom it is a replacement of an existing attraction
It seems as though some of these articles are repeats. Is Disney changing because Epic is getting ready to open. U universal is offering many perks WDW has taken away.
First, I know this comment is long. If you want to spend the time and read it, thank you and I appreciate it. If not, feel free to skip it.
Like every other guest weighing in, I’m passionate about the past present and future of The Walt Disney World Resort. The debate of guests in favor and those opposed on this issue is getting crazy divisive. Plus it seems Iger, D’Amaro and any other decision makers are ignoring and refusing to even acknowledge it….which is unacceptable. I just want to know how others feel about some of these thoughts.
• Does Tom Sawyer Island & Rivers of America need updating and refurbishing? Sure, but in WDW what hasn’t.
• Guests in favor seem to believe it should go because it’s not a money maker, doesn’t draw large crowds and is costing Disney too much money to maintain.
• So with prices always going up, since when have guests become so concerned with the financial burdens of the Walt Disney Company? Why are those in favor of burying it suddenly worried about a better use of its footprint and Disney’s ability to pay for it?
• TSI, RoA & The Liberty Belle are, and always have been part of a themed area in Frontierland. They’re like any other themed area across WDW and it’s resorts.
• Guest’s don’t stay away from Frontierland just because it exists. Just like guest’s don’t stay away from Tomorrowland because of any of its areas or attractions.
• The area was inspired by the original RoA in Disneyland, which Walt Disney himself envisioned. Today, it’s still the one and only thing that he personally designed. He never intended it to be an overcrowded, money making or long queued attraction. He created it to be an area, in an otherwise crowded park, to relax & breathe while still having plenty to do. And for over five decades in The Magic Kingdom it never needed to be more than just that.
• Some guests, myself included believe it should stay. We’ll even go as far as to say yes, it could be altered and use a fresh look. Still many proponents believe we’re solely adverse to change, too nostalgic and can’t understand the money Disney is losing. Again, where did this sudden interest in Disney’s bottom line come from? Disney has never avoided going above and beyond for it’s guest experience, yet now we’re expected to accept the opposite.
• Could a Cars attraction be popular? In all likelihood it could be. But, after seeing the recent Monsters Inc. promos compared to the sketches and ATV videos they’ve put out there for Cars……there’s not a lot to be excited about, is there?
• Here’s where my problem lies. A couple years back something named The Beyond Big Thunder “expansion” Project was revealed. It included the long awaited Villiansland. It also consisted of Coco/Encanto attractions that later became the Cars idea. Both, as the project’s name implied, were being built on land “Beyond” BTM. Other than construction being an inconvenience behind it, never was TSI & RoA in the conversation, let alone eliminating it.
• At the D23 last August they announced the BBTM Project was a go. Aerial concept art of Villainsland was presented along with attraction plans and ideas. Yet for Cars, they only showed two images at ground level and again a few details about the attraction. The aerial concept art showing the Cars footprint over a buried TSI & RoA was not released until after D23. Why?
• D’Amaro and whoever else involved absolutely and 100% knew it wouldn’t go over well and purposely withhold that part. They gladly accepted the applause, high fives and thanks knowing full well what was to come.
So if you got this far in my rant, I appreciate that you read it. The two sides of the argument are understandable and at times have valid points. It’s not a blanket black & white guest debate of “I love TSI & RoA” or “I hate TSI & RoA” There’s a third argument of why the execs were deceptive had to pull a fast one on it’s guests?…past present and future.
It was NOT abandoned nor “long” abandoned. Stitches great escape is abandoned, the old discovery island is abandoned… the riverboat was used many times a day and the island visited since opening ing day.
In my meaningless opinion, they need to do something with Stitch’s Great Escape…. Bring back Alien Encounter…. That attraction was AWESOME. Too bad if kids can’t handle it. Have a warning and a height restriction… It was a great ride. Also, where Body Wars was in EPCOT…. do something with it.
But, bottom line is none of us has a say, so Ronnie’s big comment means nothing. We don’t go in McDonald’s or Panera or Walgreens and comment on how they should do business….why are we doing it here.
THIS PLAN IS TOTAL MADNESS! Aside from destroying Frontierland, WDI seems like it intends to dump a gigantic pile of sand on the former River site and run their “cars” on them. Doesn’t WDI realize that it tends to RAIN in Central Florida EVERY DAY or at least half the year In no time, Frontierland will become MUDLAND!!!
Ridiculous! The Rivers of America is not the place for this. Put it in Hollywood Studios ! Save the Rivers!
Well, thanks for reading Moe, but I have to disagree on the McDonalds & Panera analogy. While those fast food chains have a much wider audience, and much cheaper Priceline, they can afford to lose and gain customers. WDW and the entire WD Co. Cannot, and should not ignore the opinions and concerns of its lifelong past, present and future guests. And as I’ve said, the proof that the overwhelming majority of its guests do not want this plan moving forward, is clearly evident in all of the forums, vlogs, blogs and any other form of unofficial Disney media