When Disney announced its plans to add the Cars and Villains IPs to Magic Kingdom at D23, the audience roared with excitement. Disney Parks and Experiences head Josh D’Amaro was all smiles as he soaked in the adulation of the crowd. But Josh had a little secret on that day, something he didn’t want the packed theater of Disney fanatics to know.
Concept art for Disney’s unnamed Cars attraction at Magic Kingdom
In order to get Cars in the Magic Kingdom, Disney would have to drain and destroy the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island. These opening day features of the Magic Kingdom specifically had Walt Disney’s fingerprints all over them, and represent an important time period in American history and literature.
Of course, Josh wasn’t about to announce that information himself. Instead, he waited until the D23 event was over and done with, a time in which he couldn’t be lambasted in person by the fans he’s supposed to be serving. The Disney company instead released some concept art along social media channels showing the Frankenstein’s monster that Frontierland was to become. Gone would be the serene old west setting. No longer would guests be able to meander along the docks beside the water or take a raft ride over to the island to get away from crowds.
Concept art for Frontierland expansion via Disney Parks Blog
Now, there would be out of place alpine mountains and cars with cartoon faces racing about, utterly shattering the theming and turning Frontierland into some bizarre crossroad of eras.
Disney, of course, expected some backlash. The sneaky announcement is proof of that. But, according to sources close to the Disney company, executives were shocked at just how negative the reaction was.
Concept art for Villains Land at Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World via Disney Parks Blog
Scooper WDW Pro recently covered this topic on his YouTube channel, citing sources close to the situation. According to the rumor reported by Pro, Disney was completely flabbergasted as normally friendly outlets (“pixie dusters” as they’re sometimes known on That Park Place and the WDW Pro channel) expressed negativity toward the deconstruction of Frontierland.
Pro prefaced this news by stating that it is a rumor and should, at this time, be taken with a grain of salt.
“What has caught Disney off guard is that the influencers who are typically positive about anything they do are not being positive about this,” Pro said. “So that is actually catching Disney off guard and according to the source, it’s causing Disney to reconsider some things.”
The source went on to say that Disney is considering altering plans to keep the bottom loop of the Rivers of America intact. This would preserve the main area for Tom Sawyers Island while only getting rid of the northern island that contains Fort Longhorn.
“I don’t like this idea,” Pro admitted. “But it’s a hundred times better than the idea they have.” Pro went on in his videos to show over 16 acres of unused expansion land that Disney could use for this project without damaging any existing experiences.
An image of Tom Sawyer’s Island via DocumentDisney YouTube
So why then was the idea to get rid of the Rivers of America ever on the table in the first place?
It’s believed by many that Tom Sawyer Island is specifically in the crosshairs of Disney’s Stories Matter department, and has been for some time. This division of the company examines existing content and experiences and suggest changes to make them more politically correct. This includes disclaimers on Disney Plus before Peter Pan, Dumbo, The Aristocats, and others. It also includes changing Splash Mountain to Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and altering the Native American scene in Peter Pan’s Flight.
Concept art for Disney’s unnamed Cars attraction for smaller racers at Magic Kingdom
Do you think Disney will change their minds about this? Will the company actually start listening to the fans with Universal’s Epic Universe breathing down its neck? Sound off in the comments and let us know.
Marvin The Movie Monster Montanaro is a YouTube commentator and personality specializing in movies, TV, video games, and professional wrestling. He can be found on his channels Tooney Town TV and Tooney Town Wrestling with daily content and weekly livestreams. He can also be found on That Game Place, the That Park Place video game channel.
