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

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