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On Saturday night, Josh D’Amaro revealed so many cool attractions that will be opening at Disney’s theme parks in the next few years and beyond. I ranked all the announcements during Episode 239 of the Tomorrow Society Podcast and felt great about most of the news. This morning, Disney threw us a curveball with additional details about the Cars expansion for the Magic Kingdom. A Disney Parks Blog article clarified it would be replacing the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island.
I’m still optimistic about most of the announcements, particularly the Disney Villains land; brand new Avatar land; and Monsters, Inc. door coaster. But losing the Rivers of America has me questioning my excitement about the changes. I recorded a quick extra podcast today that’s basically an epilogue to the full episode. This Episode 239.5 just focuses on this news on what’s leaving, including the Liberty Square Riverboat. I had a few thoughts about this new info and how I feel about it.
What do you think of Cars replacing the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island? Leave your thoughts in the comments section!
Show Notes: Rivers of America
Read the Disney Parks Blog article from August 12, 2024 that revealed that the new Cars land would replace the Rivers of America at the Magic Kingdom.
Check out my thoughts on everything Disney announced during the Experiences Showcase on Saturday night during Episode 239 of the Tomorrow Society Podcast.
Support the Tomorrow Society with a one-time contribution and buy me a Dole Whip!
Hey Dan! I haven’t listened to podcast 239 yet, but this latest one was the perfect length to listen to while walking my dog this morning. We are the same age and your thoughts mirrored mine very closely. I’m sure that lots of people have said this, but Disney has built their brand on charm and warmth, while Universal is more about thrills and a kind of mischievousness. This seems to be linked to the attitudes prevalent to the time periods in which each was built. The earliest parks (Disneyland and Magic Kingdom) have many sweet and comforting attractions such as the Tiki Room, Country Bears, Small World, etc. Epcot came next and delivered an earnest, hopeful, slightly whimsical tone. After this, things start to shift; Universal Studios Florida is loud and unapologetically sarcastic. “This isn’t Disney, we don’t have to be nice to you” is a hilarious quote from (I think) the Horror Make-Up Show. The fact that Universal started up so much later than Disney means that Disney carries the feeling of times gone by, while Universal has a much more modern vibe. Losing the Rivers of America, the steamboat, and Tom Sawyer Island makes us wonder if Disney has decided that they need to be “more modern” in their approach to the parks and the attractions within them. Deep in our hearts, we know this would be a huge loss. Part of what we love about Disney is the barber shop quartet, neat and tidy Main Street USA, the atmospheric Haunted Mansion which has no big drops, speed, or jump scares. We love to stroll through Frontierland and hear banjo music, or a humble accordion playing in Columbia Harbor House. The optimism present in Tomorrowland and the queue music in Space Mountain. Do I love The Matrix movie and the big budget Pirates of the Caribbean movies? Sure I do. But I also love Emmett Otter’s Jug Band Christmas, and Labyrinth, and the Little House on the Prairie books. Not everything has to be sleek and high-tech, and the more high-speed our world gets, the more we long to slow down a little. The Rivers of America was refreshing to look at, and Tom Sawyer Island was a little like Magic Kingdom’s Central Park. It felt appropriate for Haunted Mansion (plus Harbor House) and Liberty Square to be seated next to a riverbank. It’s hard not to feel that instead of trying to beat Universal at their own game, they should try harder to lean into what they do best- charm, delight, and harken back to simpler times.
Thanks Melanie! I’m glad to hear that the short podcast worked for your dog walking this morning. You make great points about the parks matching the style of when they were built. Islands of Adventure even feels different than the main Universal Orlando, and that was less than a decade later. I feel like ever since Disney was blindsided by the success of Harry Potter, they’ve been trying to find a way to match that type of land. I love Pandora: The World of Avatar, and the Galaxy’s Edge attractions are good. But I don’t think either really changed the game as much. They’re still kind of going that way and now trying to compete with Epic Universe with Villains and more. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as it can lead to great attractions. But they’ve also adopted a similar strategy of replacing classics, and Disney has to understand that for a lot of guests, people visit because they’re different than Universal. I enjoy both resorts for different reasons, but all the small moments and little atmospheric touches are still more prevalent at Disney’s parks. It’s not really just about Tom Sawyer Island or the Rivers of America either. It’s more the recognition that ambience and the environment just aren’t valued the same at this moment.
Well said! I think that there are still many people who value quaintness and charm, not everything has to be in-your-face, edgy, sleek and streamlined. We long for the days before technology blew up, we enjoy spending some time in that more relaxed frame of mind. I hope that the trend of basing all new attractions on IP will not be permanent, sometimes it’s enough to create beautiful surroundings and atmosphere. Here’s hoping!
Thanks again, Melanie. I have a feeling that as long as current Disney leadership is there, we’ll still see any major attractions all based on IP. What I’m questioning is how much this focus will change the parks for good. It’s one thing to add a new land; it’s another to remove a classic area of the park. That’s a trickier part of it. I’m also now wondering where the Monsters, Inc. coaster will go based on rumors it might replace the Muppets. I hope those aren’t true, especially since the Studios needs more to do.