Land Clearing Preparations Begin Behind Magic Kingdom for Cars-Themed Expansion

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Construction Equipment and Land Clearing Behind Magic Kingdom for Cars Expansion

Posted: Saturday April 26, 2025 1:!5pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Visible signs of early construction activity are now appearing behind Magic Kingdom, the next major step as Disney gears up for the Cars-themed expansion project.

Construction Equipment and Land Clearing Behind Magic Kingdom for Cars Expansion

Heavy machinery and silt fencing have been spotted in place at a site located backstage, near Floridian Way behind Big Thunder Mountain and Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. According to earlier permit applications, this area is expected to serve as laydown yards — temporary construction zones used for storing materials, staging equipment, and supporting ongoing work during the multi-year redevelopment.

Construction Equipment and Land Clearing Behind Magic Kingdom for Cars Expansion

Once cleared, the laydown yards will serve as a critical support base for the major transformation ahead, which includes the complete replacement of Tom Sawyer Island and the Rivers of America with a new off-road rally-themed Cars attraction.

Wide view of the new Frontierland, with two Cars-themed attractions replacing Tom Sawyer Island

Recent permit filings by Walt Disney Imagineering also show preparations for a trailer compound nearby, which will likely house project management offices for the expansion.

Disney has previously announced that construction on the new Cars-themed area is scheduled to begin in 2025, with more visible changes expected in the coming months. A closing date for Tom Sawyer Island and the Liberty Square River Boat attractions is still to be announced.

Cars Concept Art

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JustInTime2 days ago

My contact mostly has ties to MK. I can ask!

twilight mitsuk2 days ago

what about RNRC?

JustInTime2 days ago

I did. :(

LittleBuford2 days ago

Did you hear this from an insider? Very sad if true.

JustInTime2 days ago

I’ve heard ROA will not be open for MNSSHP season. I was hoping for one more party but that’s not looking good.

Disstevefan13 days ago

You would think Disney would give advance notice as it might influence folks to plan a visit WDW to get a last visit to TSI, the fort and one last ride of the riverboat. Having said that, we keep trying to apply logic in Disney's decisions when many of their decisions do not follow logic.

MJL923 days ago

Curious if they'll try to time the closure around Big Thunder's reopening. If all of that was down at once Frontierland would be an actual ghost town. I'm sure there's still a ton of backstage work to do before they start filling the rivers. If you check the permits, there are several tree filled plots that are going to get cleared as staging, probably before any work starts in the parks.

Gusey3 days ago

When it comes to closures, Disney determines how popular they think an attraction is to give fans enough time to say goodbye. There is not pattern unfortunately. Country Bears had 18 days notice. Triceratop Spin had 2 months notice. It's Tough to Be a Bug had 1 month and a half notice. Muppet Vision had 6 months notice

Agent H3 days ago

Scrap starlight or cars? Cause those 2 different questions would get 2 very different answers.

Disgruntled Walt3 days ago

Good point. Maybe they should just scrap the whole thing! It could ruin Starlight to have to dodge construction walls!

Agent H3 days ago

I don’t believe they will want to clog up the pathways more while Disney starlight is still brand new.

Animaniac93-983 days ago

Disney doesn't always give significant notice on attraction closures. They could easily just give a date 2 weeks out And there's a lot of things Disney has not given dates for this summer at WDW.