The Magic Kingdom is about to carve up dirt for Cars in order to hit the dirt
While Disney only just announced the Cars expansion to the Magic Kingdom at recent D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, you can discover all their reveals here, they are not slowing down at all.
Once the new Cars rides were revealed, speculation about where they were going kicked in and now Disney have revealed where, The Rivers of America, Tom Sawyer Island and the Liberty Belle Riverboat are all closing and the space they take up will be transformed into the Cars land.
“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. 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”
While the initial announcement showed a few close ups of one of the rides, the new below art shows its position in the park, as well as the first look at the second attraction, that was not revealed at all.
As you can see, the attraction is going to take up a lot of space, but before we dive into the space, I do want to call out the new attraction, at least what we can gauge from it.
As you can see in the close up of the art, there are a lot of Guido looking cars in the center. If I were a betting man, I would say that this is the same ride system for Buzz Lightyear Alien Swirling Saucers in Disney’s Hollywood Studio, The Happy Ride with Baymax at Tokyo Disneyland and of course, Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree at Cars Land.
The number of pylons looks like they would be rotating points, which would also double as speaker poles and maybe lighting for nighttime rides. Of course, until Disney officially confirm, this is all speculation.
Now as for the placement, the ride will take up the space currently used by the Rivers of America. As you can see by the zoomed in image below, the top left is where the Country Bears Musical Jamboree is located, along with the shops and dining of Frontierland. The tree line to their right is the current berm around the Rivers of America, then the new ride is in there, so as you can see, there is no place for the river.
For those who want to ride the riverboat one more time, you have plenty of it, as major works are not expected to begin until 2025, though the exact closure date has not been announced. In the screenshot from Google Maps below, you can see where in Red, the new Cars rides will go and Green for the new Villains Land.
