Cars may be stuck in neutral…
At this past summer’s D23 Ultimate Fan Event, Disney made a litany of announcements about the future of their theme parks, including the bombshell that the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island at the Magic Kingdom would be closing to make way for a new Cars area in Frontierland, part of the largest expansion in the park’s 50+ year history. The announcement was controversial, with many longtime fans upset at the changes coming to the park. However, that may be the least of its issues right now.
During the aforementioned D23 event, Disney representatives including CEO Bob Iger repeatedly mentioned that the announcements – – including the Cars project, as well as the Magic Kingdom’s villains land, Tropical Americas at Animal Kingdom, and the Avengers Campus expansion at California Adventure among others – – were not blue sky projects and instead were “shovels in the ground” starting in 2025. This seemed to be a rebuttal against past criticisms that Disney was sidestepping concrete announcements for “what if?” projects while competitors like Universal built at a seemingly much faster clip.
The only problem? The Magic Kingdom’s Cars project has been anything but “shovels in the ground” in the months since it was announced.
Things seemed to start promisingly, as Disney filed their first construction permit for the project in August, shortly after the announcement. This initial permit was for the construction of a stormwater management master treatment facility just east of Magic Kingdom, which would be needed for land-prep work and draining of the Rivers of America. However, the following month the the South Florida Water Management District requested further information from Disney about the work associated with the permit.
In a letter to Disney, the wrote in part, “The additional information requested by letter on September 11th, 2024, has not been received by the South Florida Water Management District (District). This information is necessary for the District to timely complete the processing of the above-referenced ERP application. The requested information was to be provided pursuant to the timelines outlined in Section 5.5.3.5, ERP AH, Vol. I to avoid denial of the application. If you are not ready to submit a complete response you may voluntarily withdraw the application prior to the application being denied… Should you fail to fully submit the requested information, or to withdraw the application, within 10 days of the date of this letter, the application will be considered incomplete and District staff will process the application for denial, without prejudice to your right to reapply at a later time.”
Disney responded in early December 2024, with the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (CFTOD) requesting a 60-day extension in providing the information as part of the “ongoing discussions” between the state and Walt Disney World over the permit. On December 9th, the South Florida Water Management District responded and agreed to give Disney until January 9th, 2025, to file the additional information.
Doing some rudimentary math, this seems to indicate that it would take until late January at the EARLIEST for the project to be fully approved, which would then likely indicate that work wouldn’t begin until the spring of 2025, and that’s likely a generous reading. While it’s unclear how much this would disrupt Disney’s timeline – – it’s still 2025 after all – – it’s not a large leap to say that it likely that these permit issues have delayed progress from where Disney was initially planning to be at this stage.
These delays likely won’t upset – – and would perhaps even given fleeting hope – – to those who are upset that Disney are replacing the Rivers of America. However, it seems incredibly unlikely that Disney would abandon the heavily-hyped project. Especially given Disney’s attempt to justify the placement of modern anthropomorphic vehicles in Frontierland by claiming that “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.”
Disney’s anticipated – – and controversial – – Cars project at the Magic Kingdom is hitting some permit-induced roadblocks that could be delaying the land off the initial timeline and keep it from crossing the finish line. Stay tuned to AllEars for more updates on the plan’s evolution.
The Ridiculously Detailed History of Disney World’ Frontierland
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Are you excited for Cars at the Magic Kingdom, or hoping these delays drag on for a long while? Let us know in the comments below.
Honestly, I hope the Cars project is denied. Cars doesn’t belong in Frontierland! If they really want to have the attraction, why not stick it in Tomorrowland where the Speedway is, and brung the charactersintothefuture, insteadof putting them out west?
As for Villains Land, it does fit with the Haunted Mansion, and I can’t really say I’d be adverse to it replacing Liberty Square!
So maybe they’re not going to close the rides there down as quickly as they had promised??? Or is that too much to ask, that Disney actually tries to keep as much as possible open till necessary,for those guests who might be visiting?
Once again, THIS HORRIBLE RIDE BELONGS IN TOMORROWLAND, WHERE THE SPEEDWAY DESPERATELY NEEDS HELP!!!! (Or, Diz could remove the Studio’s Indy Stunt Show and place this ride there, which seems to offer more room).
I hope these delays drag on so long that Disney eventually gives up on the CarsLand idea, as it is now proposed. CarsLand would be fine somewhere else (especially at a 5th gate); just please don’t drain Rivers of America!