Disney World's Cars Ride: Is a Trackless All-Terrain Ride System in the Works?

Aug 12, 2024 in "Cars Land Magic Kingdom"

Gallery / 3 Photos
Cars Concept Art

Posted: Monday August 12, 2024 8:35am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Disney surprised fans this weekend with the announcement of a new Cars-themed attraction set to be built as part of an expansion in Magic Kingdom's Frontierland. While Disney has a history of successful car-based rides like Test Track at EPCOT and Radiator Springs Racers at Disneyland in California, both of these attractions rely on a slot-car ride system running on a smooth, purpose-built track.

Cars Concept Art

What stands out about the concept art for Walt Disney World's new Cars attraction is the absence of any visible tracks or guide slots. Although it's always challenging to draw definitive conclusions from concept art due to potential artistic license, the artwork can sometimes offer valuable insights.

The three released pieces of concept art show cars racing on rugged outdoor terrain with no flat tracks, similar to those seen in Disneyland's Radiator Springs Racers. According to Disney, the ride experience will allow guests to "take on wild terrain as you race across the landscape, climbing mountain trails, dodging geysers, and—Mater's favorite—splashing through mudholes."

Cars Concept Art

This description aligns closely with a ride system developed by Dynamic Attractions called the "Automatic Guided All-Terrain Vehicle." This system features capabilities such as steep inclines and declines, banking, rapid acceleration and deceleration, and near-miss elements. It also supports multiple vehicles operating simultaneously, with the ability to cross paths with each other. Additionally, the system can function both indoors and outdoors and is designed for easy theming. Each vehicle is capable of seating six riders. You can see the All-Terrain ride system in action in the video below.

Adding to the intrigue, Dynamic Attractions has a long history of collaboration with Walt Disney Imagineering, contributing to major attractions like Test Track, Radiator Springs Racers, Soarin', Avatar Flight of Passage, and Space Mountain.

Since Disney World's Test Track already utilizes a slot-car system, it would make sense for Disney to avoid duplicating this technology in another attraction. This increases the likelihood that Imagineers might opt for a different, perhaps more innovative, ride system for the new Cars attraction at Magic Kingdom.

While any discussion of the ride system is purely speculative at this point, it will be fascinating to watch as this new attraction takes shape, with construction expected to begin in 2025.

Cars Concept Art

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celluloid3 hours ago

Japan's river/TSI is very different and is always busy as well as it's food and beverage. OLC aside, I don't see it changing drastically soon.

Disstevefan14 hours ago

Japan does whatever the heck Japan wants to do. Take Splash mountain for example. If TWDC wants to force OLC to change Splash, TWDC will have to pay OLC bug bucks.

Starship8244 hours ago

It has a dedicated gift shop right next to it. https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/shops/magic-kingdom/memento-mori/?CMP=OKC-17901683_GM_wdw_shops_mementomori_NA

Disstevefan14 hours ago

OK then let’s call it the intentional stoppage of maintenance. To me, to stop doing the required maintenance is neglect.

Disstevefan14 hours ago

It’s obvious they were neglecting Dinosaur prior to the announcement of its demise. This is fixing something AFTER they announced its demise when they realize the schedule will slip and they are forced to keep it open longer then they expected. Not the same thing as TSI.

mickEblu11 hours ago

Wow Imminent? Is losing all that atmosphere worth 1 or 2 rides to them? This isn’t an MK situation where they have another expansion pad to connect to is it? See if every castle park went Disneylands route or just lost the back half of the river I could view it as an acceptable evolution of a castle park considering modern day crowds and how much real estate the ROA takes. Losing the front half of the river in any castle park almost feels like replacing Mickey Mouse with Bugs Bunny to me. It’s such an integral part of the theming in that part of the park as well as the castle park experience in general IMO. Not to mention a large part of what sets Disney parks apart from other parks. Another thing to consider, nothing like the ROA will ever be built again in any theme park. That beautiful vista and that much real estate with an island in the middle and multiple boats and attractions moving about. That sort of layered place making and willingness to use that much space in that way will not be happening any time soon. No single cars ride or land could ever top it. Once they re gone, they re gone. At least in our lifetime. Let’s hope it never goes away at Disneyland or Paris. I can’t think of one IP land that does its job better than the ROA does especially at Disneyland. It’s partly due to the stellar design as well as the fact that rivers, trees and boats can be executed organically in a way that a land with living cars, Wizards/ magical creatures or aliens/ spaceships can’t. In Galaxies Edge the ships don’t move. We just hear them taking off on speakers in the bushes. Over on the ROA, Frontierland and NOS the boats move, the trains chug along the tracks and everything is “real.” And you have water, space, kinetic energy etc that can be enjoyed by any passerby. Not just people riding or with the right sightline. That level of immersion (especially with themes/ lands that lend themselves to being executed in ways that feel real and organic) and how they transport you to another time and place makes something feel classic/ timeless. If you get down to it everything at the Disney parks that are timeless have that quality to it/ them in one way or another. This is what used to set Disney apart and they re throwing it away for short sighted goals.

AidenRodriguez73113 hours ago

This new area is now called the "State Parks of America" or "Wilderness of America" boom

peter1143513 hours ago

I guess it’s a good thing those two nearby attractions won’t actually have clear views of the attractions roof. But yeah, you can continue complaining about a problem you’ve made up. Oh and seven dwarfs does have some unthemed roof top. But almost as if it was intentional you can’t see it from in the park or on the ride.

Casper Gutman14 hours ago

Seven Dwarves load is entirely contained in a fully-themed mountain. There is no unthemed roof. It also fits into the theming of the land on all sides of it. It also doesn’t have two elevated, partially outdoors, iconic attractions with clear views of the rides top directly next to it. If Disney was replacing RoA with a top-to-bottom-fully-themed, area appropriate attraction - say Western River Adventure or an American Tall Tale dark ride encased in a mesa that becomes the mountains of upstate New York on the HM side, the decision would still be questionable but there would be a LOT more to defend. The current plan is atrocious across the board.

Disnutz31114 hours ago

Funny that there is no gift shop of any kind for Haunted Mansions and less than 10 related items you can find somewhere else. This was a little shocking when I went in October. It was weird seeing its location but it had more of that Haunted Mansion in the woods vibe that made it work. It also has rundown and broken windows.

Casper Gutman14 hours ago

The Rivers of America isn’t the Mississippi, it’s… the Rivers of America. WDW’s Mansion is set, I believe, in The Hudson River Valley. Along the Hudson River. A River of America. Where there were steamships. Where, in fact, the steamship was largely invented in the early 19th century. Invented at a Hudson River Valley estate. Like the Haunted Mansion. Imagineers used to think about these things.

BrianLo14 hours ago

Definitely and even more so than WDW or DL they have Big Thunder already occupying the island. I think the likeliest ‘doomsday’ scenario for Paris is the riverboat is parked and the back end of the river is filled in. But the front end seems pretty locked to me. I do very much suspect Japan’s River announcement is semi imminent.

Animaniac93-9814 hours ago

I feel like if Paris changes anything about the river it will be very cheap and out of place. Like random Pixar character statues along the river to make it more "Disney" or part of some festival that stick around after

BrianLo14 hours ago

I don’t think anything with happen to Disneyland’s ROA again in our lifetime. Nor maybe Paris, but that’s because nothing happens in Paris. Disneyland’s has already been shrunk and is a legitimate revenue generator thanks to Fantasmic dining packages. Plus for some reason you’d think it was completely different companies operating Disneyland v WDW. It’s amazing how far DLR will go to preserve things when WDW constantly acts like it has run out of space. I think the complaints that WDW cannot seem to figure out how to expand are extremely valid and it’s getting tiresome how often we have to go back to this replacement well. Even if I’ve generally liked most of their replacements, such as MMRR.