Disney Files First Permits for Cars & Villains Land Construction in Magic Kingdom
Imagineering has filed the first permits for the not-so-Beyond Big Thunder project encompassing Cars and Villains Lands expansions to Magic Kingdom. This post covers details about the permits, implications for the Walt Disney World Railroad, Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island–plus speculation about a future in-park hotel and more.
During the Parks Panel at the 2024 D23 Expo, Walt Disney World announced two all-new Cars attractions in a reimagined area of Frontierland at Magic Kingdom. This is not Radiator Springs or a clone of Cars Land from Disney California Adventure, but it’s sizable enough for us to consider it Cars miniland at minimum. Along with this, they officially announced Villains Land expansion at Magic Kingdom.
Subsequent to D23, Walt Disney World revealed that the Cars area will actually replace the Rivers of America, meaning that Tom Sawyer Island and the Liberty Square Riverboat will permanently close. This news let a lot of the air out of the tires, so to speak, from Walt Disney World’s otherwise blockbuster D23.
These first permits were filed with the South Florida Water Management District almost immediately after Walt Disney World’s ‘clarification’ about the location of the Cars land. The timing of all this was clearly purposeful. As discussed in our Beyond Big Thunder post, we were advised by Imagineering back in early April that the permits would be filed in the coming weeks. They presumably reconsidered, as those would’ve let the cat out of the bag that the Rivers of America would be filled in to some degree.
The “to some degree” part of that was anticipated. As explained at the time, it was highly likely that the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island would both be “condensed.” From a purely operational and crowd flow perspective, one of the obvious goals of the ‘Beyond Big Thunder’ project was eliminating the Big Thunder Mountain and Haunted Mansion dead ends. We just did not know at the time that this meant completely filling in and losing the entire Rivers of America.
Anyway, the new mid-August 2024 permits filed with the South Florida Water Management District relate to stormwater displacement modifications and construction laydown yards. There are low-lying areas to the northwest of the Rivers of America, necessitating additional work to establish usable gravel laydown yards in the first place.
Water management permits are always the first to appear for a project of this nature. Think of approval on these as a necessary prerequisite for beginning substantive construction–this type of permit is required is when waterways are going to be rerouted or water is displaced.
Basically, before the Rivers of America can be drained, Disney needs to explain how they are going to replace the lost stormwater runoff capacity. Such is the nature of construction in the swamps.
As for the gravel laydown yards, there will be three in total around the northwestern perimeter of Magic Kingdom. Two will be located beyond the berm, meaning outside of Magic Kingdom guest areas, with the third laydown yard that should be visible from within Magic Kingdom along the northwestern banks of the Rivers of America. These gravel laydown yards will be used for construction equipment, heavy machinery, materials staging, earth-moving, etc.
Tom Sawyer Island and Rivers of America have no closing date at present. Walt Disney World has only indicated that work will kick “into high gear” in 2025, but before then, that “guests will have plenty of time to experience the charm and nostalgia of Frontierland as it is today.”
If you want to review the permit package for yourself, you can do so on the SFWMD site by searching for 407 Basin Stormwater Modifications. Fair warning: it’s over 1,000 pages in total spread out over numerous PDFs. And this isn’t even the “exciting” stuff. There will likely be many more “meatier” permits filed in the months and years to come as Imagineering brings the Cars and Villains Lands to life.
As a bit of color commentary and context, these types of staging areas are common for large-scale construction projects at Walt Disney World. It might seem shocking that the gravel laydown yards are like triple the size of the actual expansion area, but that’s not uncommon–especially since this isn’t a single uninterrupted staging location.
There have been similar laydown yards for all sorts of major expansion projects, from New Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom to Pandora – World of Avatar at Animal Kingdom. The one for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and Toy Story Land was similarly massive, dwarfing the size of the expansion itself.
What’s more interesting about these staging areas, in my opinion, is that they should result in land that was previously marginally suitable for construction to become suitable for building. Meaning that the staging areas themselves could be construction sites in the future.
This could simply mean this area is an expansion pad for the Villains Land. Should it be well received, Walt Disney World might greenlight another attraction to be built in this space. That would certainly make sense, especially with Villains Land being more of an open concept land instead of another single intellectual property expansion.
Equally likely, from my perspective, is an in-park hotel overlooking the Villains Land. To be clear, this is purely speculative–I’ve heard zero credible rumors about a hotel being part of the ‘Beyond Big Thunder’ project. I just know how Walt Disney World management salivates at the prospect of more high-dollar hotel inventory, and this would certainly check that box–and in a highly desirable location.
This strikes me as a way to ‘sell’ the project internally, as the room capacity would be incredibly valuable and help recoup the costs of the expansion. In fact, there’s already pretty much a blueprint for this: Fantasy Springs at Tokyo DisneySea, which is also at the back of that park and has a hotel overlooking the new land. Even though such a Magic Kingdom hotel wouldn’t be on the monorail line, it could probably dethrone Grand Floridian as the flagship Walt Disney World resort.
Speaking of speculation, it’s also safe to expect that the Walt Disney World Railroad will close for another few years.
In case you missed it, Walt Disney World Railroad closed for the construction of TRON Lightcycle Run in Tomorrowland at Magic Kingdom. It went down on December 3, 2018 and did not reopen until December 22, 2022 after being closed for 1,481 days (but who’s counting?!).
It’s entirely possible that the Walt Disney World Railroad goes down even longer this go-round. Back with the last closure, we heard so many fans complain that it was poor planning by Disney to take the trains offline so long. That is incorrect. It was entirely by design–a feature, not a bug.
Taking the Walt Disney World Railroad down under the pretext of construction offered the company considerable operational cost-savings. It also resulted in minimal pushback from guests and fans since it was visibly obvious that building the new roller coaster interferes with the railroad.
To be clear, I have zero insight into Walt Disney World’s plan for closing the railroad to accommodate construction of the Cars and Villains Lands. I’m simply sharing what happened in the past, as that’s probably the best predictor of the future.
What we do know is that starting in 2025, the railroad tracks will be between the gravel laydown yards and the construction site on Tom Sawyer Island and the Rivers of America. It’s entirely possible, if not probable, that the WDW Railroad will need to be taken out of service to facilitate work and vehicular traffic back and forth across the tracks from the staging area to the site. Whether that closure occurs in mid-2025 or Walt Disney World is able to push it back until 2026 is anyone’s guess.
Longer term, the construction of Villains Land will almost certainly necessitate a closure. Not only is there the same issue with staging to site access, but the Villains Land will actually be built directly alongside the Walt Disney World Railroad. While it’s possible this new land manages to stay inside the berm, we wouldn’t bank on it.
That could mean that a track re-routing is necessary to accommodate Villains Land. More optimistically, there could be another station added at the far back of Magic Kingdom, about halfway between the existing Frontierland and Storybook Circus stations. Getting super speculative and combining the two points above, having an in-park hotel with a railroad station (similar to Disneyland Paris, but on the backside) would be savvy.
Ultimately, it’s good to see these ‘Beyond Big Thunder’ projects kicking into high gear so soon after their official announcements at the 2024 D23 Expo. While we can certainly debate whether Cars should be replacing the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island in the first place, it’s good to see them moving in an expeditious manner regardless.
At least for me, it would be worse to announce all of this, then have Disney sit on their hands for a few years, only to have the best part of the project–Villains Land–fall through due to the delays. The second phase of Disney projects is infamous for never happening, and that’s usually because work doesn’t start until the first phase is open. I’m glad that is not happening here.
Unfortunately, this does mean that “saving” the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island is an absolute lost cause. We’ve had readers ask us whether petitions, emailing Walt Disney World Guest Communications, etc., are good ideas. Our response is that we always recommend contacting the company to respectfully express your disappointment and explaining how the company’s decisions and practices will impact your vacations and future business (or lack thereof) with Walt Disney World.
While I don’t see any value in petitions, contacting Walt Disney World over this is a good idea. But it’s not going to alter the trajectory of the project. It’s way too late for that. The wheels are already in motion, and have been since 2022. This decision is not going to be undone.
On a positive note, hearing from diehard fans who are displeased by projects like this is precisely what gives the company pause and serious consideration before proceeding. Meaning that contacting the company will not change this decision, but it may be what helps save Carousel of Progress, Journey into Imagination, or Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room (random examples–not suggesting any of them are currently on the chopping block).
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Your Thoughts
Excited that Imagineering has already filed permits for the Cars and Villains Lands in Magic Kingdom? Or were you hoping that there was still time for a change of plans if enough fans voiced their displeasure with the closing of Tom Sawyer Island and Rivers of America? Are you optimistic that this will usher in an era of expansion at Walt Disney World? Excited or underwhelmed by the plan? Or, are you in wait and see mode with this? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback—even when you disagree with us—is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
I remember when Tom Sawyer Island was the Swiss Family Robinson treehouse. I get the nostalgia, but time marches on and many of the kids do not know either of those references. I also like a new adventure, so I will look forward to these new experiences.
Um, no … Tom Sawyer Island in Magic Kingdom has always been Tom Sawyer Island since 1971.
The Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse is in Adventureland, over near the Jungle Cruise & Aladdin’s Magic Carpets. It still exists there. The one in DisneyLand was re-themed to Tarzan for a while and has since been re-re-themed to “Adventureland Tree” or something like that. 🙂
Bluntly said… The riverboat and Tom Sawyers island is not the future. While it’s charming and I may like those things, it’s not what is going to build generational fans. Not to mention how valuable that space is… it just makes sense to evolve that area.
A friend told me this the other day… Disney is not revamping the cabins to be modern FOR YOU. They aren’t removing Tom Sawyers island for a Cars area FOR YOU. They are doing it for your grand kids and the general fan who probably doesn’t read all the Disney blogs and videos.
Gotta let it go ya’ll.
The poor train just can’t catch a break. Feels like we just got it back and now it’s going into hibernation again.
My daughters immediate reply to this announcement, “Of course Disney is destroying The Rivers of America, it’s to Americana and wholesome”. Ouch. It’s only a matter of time until Liberty Square will be gone.
While I haven’t been to TSI in a few years, I will say that was only because they made it a bit hard to get to! What a peaceful place. I will miss the SOUND of the riverboat whistle the most! I’ve trusted Disney in the past and unfortunately this just feels like the corporate plan to mess up what older fan base Disney held, like swapping out the delicious waffle at sleepy hollow for a cheaper unhealthy version! Fingers crossed they know what they’re doing
I’m sad for the people who care about the river and Tom Sawyer island. However, I do trust that the modern Disney imagineering that has brought us pandora, galaxy’s edge and new fantasy land, will be mindful of sight lines and making the area cohesive. Disney acknowledged that they understand the responsibility they have to get the changes to MK right. I think the concept art shows this and it doesn’t feel like Toy Story land type addition.
My son is so excited for the villains land. He has Scar stickers all over his wheelchair and has been telling everyone Disney is going to build this awesome place. You would think he was at D23! He is 5 and loves all the bad guys 🙂 For those who are excited, Target is selling a villains t-shirt for kids. I think they have been laying Easter eggs for a while.
Of all the braindead decisions that Diz has made recently, replacing the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island with a car ride surely tops them all! First of all, the river anchors Frontierland. It sets the scene. Second, having a modern car ride in this land is a blatent violation of THEMING, since THERE WERE NO CARS IN THE WILD WEST!!! Second, the MK already has a car ride- The Tomorrowland Speedway. The park cannot have two car rides! Since the Speedway badly needs updating, it makes far more sense to remove it and build the proposed ride in its place. Now, as for the Villains Land, it seems obvious to me that the obvious place to put it is the forested acreage just north of the iasw building. This way, THE RIVER CAN BECSAVED!!!
Absolutely agree 100%. Disney are on countdown to completely ruin the magic of the Magic Kingdom.
You can definitely have a solid discussion about if it makes sense to lose ROA/TSI, but I think saying it’s not thematic is a reach. At best there are two current attractions that are themed to the wild west BTMRR and MKRR (and that’s a push since those trains were actually built in the 1920’s and restored to that period), Either version of Splash or Tianna’s is solidly set in the south. The rivers of America is a stand in for the Mississippi which is also not the wild west and the paddle boat era was over pretty much before the wild west even began. Tom Sawyer is set in pre civil war Missouri, not the west and at least 25 years before the start of the “wild west”. Frontier Land is just that it’s about going to whatever frontier is new to you regardless of if that’s a wagon train, rail road or route 66. The folks who packed up cars and went west during the dust bowl were pioneers as much as any other and I think there is a way to make this fit thematically. I am hopeful that some quiet space is saved even if it isn’t ROA if done right that could be an advantage since TSI has limited access. The art looks like cars has a water feature and it will need to go somewhere I am holding out for a slimed down river that might still server as a break between frontier land and liberty square. I think you are right that they won’t keep to car rides and as Tom I think pointed out in an earlier post part of putting in the duel rides in this spot is so that they can eventually get rid of TSW and use that for a new ride as part of a Tomorrowland refresh. Skipping the thematic problems of a cars ride like the one planed seems out of the question. There are some significant constraints on what you can do in that space given existing buildings and the people mover track overhead something like this I think is unbuildable in that space. There is space behind IASW but that space is maybe big enough for a single dark ride at best. It’s roughly the size of IASW’s footprint you would need four times that space to build any land with 2-3 rides restaurants and shopping with space for later expansion. The only real option is behind BTMRR. Did they have to take all of ROA/TSI no but anyway you look at it there were going to be significant changes. I’m not sure a shrunk down version of the two would make people less upset. At least this way we get something new when there is a desire to provide Imagineering with the budget to do it right.
I get it, a lot of people are nostalgic for TSI or ROA, but, I am not. I am glad to see new and exciting things happening at my favorite place. Personally, I (55) have never been to TSI or on the riverboat, and I am ok with that. They were nice to look at, but not the experience I was looking for after travelling a thousand miles. My kids (9 & 14) have never been there either. I think they are going to be way more excited to race in Cars or visit the Villains than to walk around a trail.
I love change, I love new stuff… and as someone once said… Magic Kingdom will never been done. (paraphrase) It is not a time capsule or a museum. It should change and grow with its audience.
And I CANT WAIT for Villains!
I know a lot of ppl are worried about the river going…While I like TSI/ROA and feel that they are attractions WDW SHOULD have, they are not well designed for modern crowds. I understand that’s part of the appeal, but I think for the majority of guests, those attractions have served as wonderful window dressing. thaT’s pretty valuable too…I love walking along the river path. What I mean by modern crowds, is literally the number of people. It’s a shame it’s not easier for more people to enjoy them! I’m not as worried after rewatching Bruce Vaughn’s interview bits from the Imagineering doc series on Disney Plus. He clearly understand the value of a sense of place. Also, Route 66 encompasses a pretty good chunk of what was considered the American Frontier. I am not the biggest cars fan, but given the above I do think that the imagineers will design the land in such a way that fits nicely with the theme.
Tom,
Thank you for the updates. Do you have any insight yet of the degree of « inconvenience » it will be ?
I experienced Fence-Land for so many years in Paris I don’t want to have the same for a almost lifetime trip to Florida
This is heartbreaking in a hundred different ways. It’s the Disney version of replacing Walden Pond with a Walmart. I think people are going to be shocked by how much the removal of the river negatively affects the rest of Frontierland and Liberty Square, which were designed to work in concert with the water. The Haunted Mansion appears positively menacing up on that hill, overlooking the river, and Big Thunder Mountain seems wilder and more dangerous swooping around those curves at water level. Both will feel diminished when landlocked and boxed in by era-inappropriate cars off-roading nearby.
A decade ago, I might have given Imagineers the benefit of the doubt that they would redo this area with care, thoughtfulness, and sensitivity. Not just to its surroundings but to what came before it. Their recent output suggests otherwise. After the usual budget cuts and corner-cutting, the end result will be one kiddie ride likely cloned from California Adventure and a two-minute attraction with a nonsensical story that requires a paid individual Lightning Lane just to get near it and that will break down thirty percent of the time. To some people, that will be worth the destruction of one of the most beautifully themed areas in any Disney park. To me, it clearly is not.
Finally, a word of caution for those of you whose response to this decision is, “I never set foot on Tom Sawyer Island. Bring on the Carz!” Don’t assume the areas of the parks that you love the most are safe. They are not. This decision is Disney declaring, as loudly as they can, that they no longer care about history or ambience or appropriate theming. All they care about is stuffing every inch of their parks with IP, charging you extra to experience it, and then hawking a T-shirt on the way out. Nothing is sacred. Everything is at risk. All bets are off.
THIS. I would have been ok with Villians land occupying this space, but a noisy, offroading Cars attraction is absolutely atrocious. It’ll destroy the entire ambiance of that area. Why can’t they flipflop the plans for Cars and Villians lands? It would make more sense in terms of thematics. I can only hope that someday, a new wave of Disney management with more innovative visions and appreciation for cohesive theming will try to restore some of the charm and nostalgia of Disney yesteryear. Even most of the hotels have suffered at the hands of the current management/imagineering teams. The charm and whimsy that sets Disney apart from all other theme parks is being stripped away, bit by bit.
Agree completely, obviously any hint of Americana pre WDW construction is on the chopping block. Frontierland is on its way out as is Liberty Square as a cohesive unit. The modern world has no sense of how we got here, nor does it care. The domino effect will soon (<10 y?) see this area of the park completely replaced with recent IP that completely fails to maintain Disney's vision of the magic and wonder of the original Disneyland and Magic Kingdom. Maybe the inevitable should be accepted by renaming the entire operation "SomebodyElse's World."
Well said. It’s really heart-breaking. But not surprising, given the utter blandness of the changes made in Epcot. The place is slowly becoming anti-Walt Disney in spirit. But at least now some can finally brag that their kids will enjoy villains as their heroes…
Its great that Disney is moving quickly on the changes.
While it’s sad to lose iconic attractions so closely associated with Walt, we’ll still be able to enjoy them at Disneyland.
If I remember correctly Walt himself drew up the rough plans for Tom Sawyers Island.
Ya, I understand the emotional attachment folks have to the attractions, but the real ORIGINAL is at Disney Land, not world. I’m less inclined to be so attached. Totally valid frustration for people for sure…I think we should all just take a deep breath and see what the imagineers come up with. After all, Route 66 does go through what was the American Frontier. There are all sorts of cool things they could do to make the theming as good as if not better than ROA/TSI.
TSI is no longer in its original form in Disneyland, though. They re-themed it and blocked access to the fort many years ago (IIRC the fort is now used as a prep area for Fantasmic).
“Do you seriously think I’d explain my master stroke if there remained the slightest chance of you affecting its outcome? I did it thirty-five minutes ago.”
No illusions about saving Rivers of America. I hope they at least keep the boat itself, though. It’s too nice to just scrap. Maybe park it by Grand Floridian or Port Orleans…
While they’re at it, why not just rename the whole Disney complex “Six Flags at Orlando” because that’s what it’s devolving into. I’m beginning to think that Imagineering concept meetings begin with somebody saying “OK folks, let’s see how badly we can screw things up today!”
Rivers is certainly not the best use of the large swath of land it occupies, but it offers a quiet getaway for people tired of milling mobs and aircraft carrier strollers, especially in the “Magic Kingdom”. Of course that isn’t in sync with the “More Profit Per Square Inch” philosophy that seems to have lately pervaded Disney, or the demographic they seem to want to attract. And is it me, or has Disney Imagineering failed to create any new “legacy” characters like Snow White, Peter Pan, Davey Crockett, or, (Horrors) Brer Rabbit for generations to come? And are they even trying? Do they even care?
Not one of the characters you’ve named were “created” by Disney Imagineering as you allege. The versions people are familiar with were created by the studio arm of Disney, and all of them are based on characters (or a real person, in the case of Crockett) from a much older era. The studio has definitely created memorable characters like Elsa, Anna and Olaf, Moana, Judy and Nick from Zootopia, or (horrors!) Tiana – and these characters have been given in-park representation just like the characters you name. And their rides are a lot more popular than Snow White’s Adventures or Davey Crockett’s Explorer Canoes.
Why couldn’t they have built this Cars attraction on the land behind BTMRR?? I’m baffled.
I read some speculation somewhere that during the presentation last weekend they deliberately did not tell the audience that the Cars section would be replacing the river and TSI because they knew the reaction would be bad. Do you think there’s anything to that ?
It’s also interesting that they didn’t confirm that the river is being replaced until the other day, when permits have been filed and this is going ahead. It really looks like they knew the fan reaction would be furious and they didn’t want to be up front about what was planned until it was essentially already happening.
I’m guessing they probably knew that discussing any closures or replacements would result in backlash, or at least taint the positive news. Then again, they didn’t share any locations or details for anything.
Thanks for this thoughtful analysis Tom. One blog centric question, I had to wade through 5 ads for a Republican congressman while reading this on my phone. OUCH! I’ve always seen you as trying to avoid a political stance on the blog, so this is a little shocking for me.
I don’t dictate which ads are served to whom. They’re contextual, meaning it’s showing everyone something different. My guess is that you live somewhere that’s going to have tight races and have been targeted to receive those ads for reasons beyond me.
And I’ve seen tons of ads for Democrats. At least they could give blog creators the choice of ad types. I’ve had enough politics to last me the rest of my life. I already know for whom I’m voting. Spare me!
I had to reply to this because ads are a crazy thing. Two thirds of my ads are in Spanish lol. I live in Central California where Spanish/English is spoken about 50/50. The other third of my ads are for nail fungus! I don’t even have nail fungus lol. Advertising is crazy!
I had to reply to this because ads are a crazy thing. Two thirds of my ads are in Spanish lol. I live in Central California where Spanish/English is spoken about 50/50. The other third of my ads are for nail fungus! I don’t even have nail fungus lol. Advertising is crazy!
Well, at least you didn’t get those ridiculous ads for Kackles the Incoherent Imbecile. I agree though, any ads are annoying these days, political ones especially.
Tom, really appreciate all of your updates (you must not be sleeping this week!) and live for your casually placed puns.
So optimistic about the future of the parks. Wondering if you agree that it seems like Disney is trying to have more differentiation across the rides/lands at the parks, perhaps to encourage people to visit them all? On the note of wild speculation… do you think that villains land could get its own nighttime show?
Big sigh. I love the villains land and how it is an overarching theme instead of a single IP! Really looking forward to this! But I don’t get cars land at MK. MK has lands not based on single IPs. Not to mention that rivers of America is quintessential MK everywhere. I don’t doubt it will all be really well done and I will still go enjoy the parks but losing the area is sad.