Walt Disney World sets last day for Tom Sawyer Island

Shakes head....So sad and frustrating, and I don't even have a large affinity for TSI or RoA - sure, they're nice diversions, but ultimately their appeal is their escape from the hustle and bustle of MK because very few park guests actually lingered in these areas. So I can see the rationale here, but there must be a better way than dozing this space for a Cars attraction.

I'm here for "Mine train through nature's wonderland" and increasing capacity. The criticism is also valid tho. How is this going to affect the Haunted Mansion sight-lines? The new york ret-con is hilarious.

I'm happy there is some water, but they should add a play area in the spirit of the fort. I hate how Disney feels like they have to announce this to keep up with universal, keep investors happy, appease fans, and win the media war. I don't want to have updates on this every month for the next five years. They haven't even moved dirt yet.

Can you imagine if they announced a fifth gate, and said that cars, Villains, Monsters inc, Indiana jones and Encanto are the areas. The world would go crazy and would rightly compare with Epic.

Instead they have caused controversy by taking out much loved attractions.

It's not to late Disney... keep ROA/TSI, keep Muppets and dino land... keep the goodwill and the memories/reasons why we love WDW and let us embrace fully the new attractions. Rather than saying they are great... but wish they hadn't taken away what was there before.

There is no hiding it, getting rid of ROA and TSI an appalling decision.

@Smithjoe77 - It is too late. They've already started work to create the backstage staging areas for the Cars project. There's no turning back now.

I think this is great. Disney hit it out of the park with Cars Land at DCA and this original attraction seems like it's going to be a winner in terms of the theming and family thrills area. Rivers of America will be missed but there is no denying this will increase rider capacity and interest in checking out the new area. FWIW that poster they released is gorgeous too.

Glad progress is being made on this.

Being at Disneyland last month just proves how a big water area like the Rivers needed to offset the heat. At least the waterfall here but still a big annoyance.

Again, I can't understand the reluctance just creating a fifth gate for this stuff rather than radically remake a key part of the park for this.

They don't even need a fifth gate, they just need an excuse to put this in any of their other parks that are severely lacking attraction numbers compared to MK. Trying to cram more into that park is a mistake when you've got parks there that have less than half the number of attractions.

I get Disney, they are strapped for space (they need so much more land for timeshare/hotels) so sure get rid of the rivers of America and put a Cars land in it, it looks amazing and will be an improvement to Disney's profit as this can be milked with pay to play tickets.
And when this is done, rip off Monsters land from Epic into villain land so we can cheer for villains as we do in the new "show", it's so American lol.

this looks like it's going to retain a lot of water, including much of the western bit of the rivers of America. I think this looks great and, if they pull it off, will be an improvement to the park.

@Jacob - To be fair, the amount of water shown on the current "cartoon-y" drawing is pretty similar to the original CG concept drawing that was initially released when the Cars attraction was initially announced. If you look, there is a river-like feature on the initial CG drawing that goes along the left side of the attraction footprint that is fed from TBA and the large mountainous waterfall feature in the foreground. The new drawing merely enhances the presence of water with greater color contrast (blue water with green trees and tan "dirt") where the more-realistic CG drawing used more subdued color choices that made these water features blend into the landscape.

Similarly, the geysers and smaller water features in the upper part of the new drawing are pretty similar to the original concept drawing if you look carefully. Again, those geysers, pools and smaller streams are all in that CG concept drawing, just more subtle because of the style, but these features are more clear and "pop" because of the drawing style of this new drawing.

This is not a function of WDI changing course because fans complained or of Disney as a whole listening to guest feedback to an announced concept, this just Disney reframing this attraction to show that the original concept did actually retain water features that will still be part of the area after the removal of RoA.

Frankly, I do think if the ride is actually good, it will be immensely popular, but I'm not sure it's necessarily a "needle mover" in terms of generating revenue or increasing capacity. I'm not sure putting an attraction with a footprint the size of RoA into that plot really changes the calculus that dramatically in terms of overall park capacity. In fact, I would argue by putting a ride here will probably make everything feel more crowded in the area since space that people could roam freely or sit on GIANT vehicles (Mark Twain and Columbia), will now be consumed by ride space that has to remained "locked out". Sure, people can't walk on water, but I think that even with light crowding, the RoA space with a massive ride in the center is not going to yield much of an increase in optimal capacity for MK. Now, if this attraction was placed into a backstage area with a reworked RoA/TSI to ease the transition to the Cars IP, you'd get far more bang for the buck, which is what Villains Land will probably provide. Swapping RoA/TSI for this Cars land will not provide that much of a benefit in terms of additional revenue from increased park capacity.

@jacob:
I tend to agree, though I will sorely miss TSI. WDI has addressed my main concerns about keeping as much water around as possible and I think the concept art does a great job of conveying how this new area will slide right into the Frontierland milieu. TSI unfortunately lies on a very valuable tract of much-needed land in one of the most visited vacation spots in the world and is based on (alas) an aging IP out of touch with modern tastes outside of literary circles. Sadly, facts is facts is facts. July 6 is actually my birthday so I’ll pour one, two or several out for TSI. And i salute you @Robert for your shared love of this land as well as your great collection of stories contained in your book. The kid that tried to stay on-island overnight might be my favorite.

Now to the question everyone is assuredly asking:
since there will be so much water retained in the new area, will the turkey leg carts still be MIA from this area? My guess is sadly yes lol

This actually looks decent! Is there going to be the major off-road ride in addition to a more "family-friendly" ride in the land? Or are they one in the same?

I will say this puts Liberty Square in a weird spot. Once this land opens, LS will only have Haunted Mansion & maybe Hall of Presidents [which I don't think is long for this world]. I could definitely see a Liberty Square retrocession in the future.

DISNEY BEAN COUNTERS TO DISNEY BRASS: MK generates X millions of dollars annually per square foot. But your river and island generate zero dollars per square foot. If you guys build an E-attraction there and surround it with shops and restaurants, that same plot of land will then generate X millions of dollars per square foot.

DISNEY BRASS: Makes sense. Let's do it.

It's always sad when longtime attractions close, but for the typical Magic Kingdom visitor of today, I think the new Cars area is going to be a lot more appealing than the Rivers of America. Personally, I've never bothered with either of the river attractions on any of my visits simply because they're a pretty low priority for me, and I have a feeling a lot of people who don't visit regularly feel the same way. Additionally, they are two relatively low capacity attractions that take up a sizable footprint in the world's biggest theme park, so it makes logistical sense to better utilize the space to fit the needs of the 2020s vs what they were in the 1970s. Will it significantly alter the feel of that section of the park? Absolutely. Is it unfortunate that Disney is moving in this direction rather than trying to preserve the original experience for future generations? Somewhat. Will it turn some people off Disney completely? Possibly. Is it objectively the right choice? Maybe.

@Beacher:

100%

Out with old, in with the new! I am sure the Cars land will be a hit attraction for the full family and it is a great IP but wouldn't it be better placed at Disney Studios?

My concern, as a traditionalist, is that Tom Sawyer Island was a fabulous and unique adventure for kids up to a certain age and a great opportunity for parents to join in with the experience. I have spent hours over the years and loved every minute seeing my kids and grandkids have such a unique experience.

Rivers of America, while truncated from the original and better version, offers a tranquil alternative to the bustle of queueing for the other attractions and was especially popular with the older generation.

I fully understand the principle of the park evolving but I do get annoyed when the attractions which make Magic Kingdom so original are replaced with typical Disney IP. How long before Carousel of Progress and Hall of Presidents are a mere memory?

For me, the logical place for Cars at Magic Kingdom is the Tomorrowland Speedway as it is hopelessly outdated, the antithesis of eco friendly and quite frankly, utterly useless. The throughput is irrelevant for such a lame and polluting attraction. Disney should have got rid of it years ago. Not even converting the car to electric should save it. And think of the space it would create.

@ProfPlum: I’ve long hoped that Cars (or anything) would replace that. IMO that whole side of the park needs love next, starting with Tomorrowland and moving all the way up to the circus “land”

I’m all for this. If done well it will replace a lightly visited area with a popular e-ticket ride. It’s not an egregious change, like converting a classic Disney dark ride into a meet and greet (Snow White). Perhaps the empty Alien Encounters can be converted to a ‘black sky” space with an homage to 20,000 Leagues, the sky ride, Mr. Toad, the swan boats, Slash Mountain, and all the other attractions that have gone by the wayside.

Yeah, all of that is cool, but will this area really eat up guests or will it cause excessive and avoidable crowds like other events expansions did? Will this have enough capacity to handle the inevitable rush of guests to MK to ride this thing? Will the supportive land be substantial or will it be a poorly shoehorned in attraction (a la ratatouille)? Whether or not this large swath of space will end up being breathable or end up as a crowded mess will change my opinion on what's going on here, because, let's be honest, the lack of crowds was the best part of the rivers and Tom's.

I think of all the things they have been doing at WDW recently, this looks to be one of the more tastefully done projects.

However, again, it makes no sense to me why they make every single thing they do now Disney branded IP. WDW used to have a big umbrella and appealed to everyone, not just Disney fandom, and I think that had always been one of it's major selling points. But over the past 15 years or so they have been doing everything they can to destroy that and the parks now don't feel special, unique, or creative anymore. They Disney/Universal experience has been reduced to "what IP miniland are we going to see next?" Who wants to go on a week+ long vacation and have everything they see be Disney branded IP? Such a bizarre strategy that no one wants. Visiting Epic Universe recently just gave me so much IP fatigue, like walking around the place just thinking this is the last thing Orlando needed. I would like to see a return to these companies Imagineering departments being allowed to be creative instead of the "content factory" job they have now.

The end of an era. Where would TPI be without TSI?

Walt is spinning so fast in his grave right now that if you attached him to a turbine, he could generate so much electricity that Disney could use the tagline “WE RUN ON WALT POWER!”

Fattyackin - totally agree. I'm with you all the way.

Joseph - I'm on the floor - ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.

walt didn’t care about magic kingdom. he got his disneyland park and in florida he primarily cared about epcot. he’s probably been spinning in his grave about that since it opened.