Walt Disney World Railroad Downtime Expected as New Cars-Themed Attractions Begin Construction

mickEblu7 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.

AidenRodriguez7318 hours ago

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

peter114359 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 Gutman9 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.

Disnutz3119 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 Gutman9 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.

BrianLo9 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.

Animaniac93-9810 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

BrianLo10 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.

Animaniac93-9810 hours ago

"Walt Disney always had a fascination with trains cars. Going back to his boyhood days in Marceline MO, when he would watch the trains cars go by down by the station NASCAR track. Walt even had a model railroad Hot Wheels raceway in his backyard called the Carolwood Pacific Lightning McQueen Ka-chow Pow Speedway. It's why the original Disneyland was built around a railroad Autopia. He also really loved Doc Hollywood and thought it would make a cool movie about talking cars." - Future Tour Guides

MisterPenguin10 hours ago

HM, Splash, and BTM were indeed designed to be on the RoA. That doesn't make it a sound choice with regard to theming. RoA is the Mississippi with a Mississippi steam paddle boat. What does that have to do with Gothic New England, Reconstruction Georgia, or Gold Rush Arizona? Sure, having a waterfront is always nice and picturesque, but they didn't put every attraction on a waterfront -- just the attractions that vaguely "frontierish" (altho, HM isn't even in Frontierland). HM, a gothic upstate attraction, currently has a Mississippi riverboat going by it. Doesn't seem a stretch to have a National Park setting with off road vehicles going by.

MisterPenguin10 hours ago

You need to diversify your complaints to keep up with everything!!! ;)

JoeCamel10 hours ago

Nah, they will still tell the same story plus reminding you to watch your step lest.....

Ayla10 hours ago

That looks awful.