Big changes are coming to Magic Kingdom!
Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin is getting a makeover, Tom Sawyer Island is permanently closing, and Lightning McQueen is moving in! We have finally gotten some major updates about the biggest changes coming to the Disney park, and we are hunting for clues and details. Grab your magnifying glass and let’s dive in!
In case you missed the news, Magic Kingdom is getting its very own Cars area in Frontierland, and we are pumped! The new area will be called Piston Peak National Park, and it will see the Cars head into new frontiers.
The new area will replace Tom Sawyer Island and the Rivers of America, which will officially close on July 7th, 2025. While we are so sad to lose such a staple in the Magic Kingdom, we won’t lie. This new concept art has us super excited for the changes ahead! That’s why we’re diving in to see what hints and clues we can discover within the new area. Starting off strong, we have the brand new character Ranger J. Autobahn Woodlore!
This ranger is inspired by Ranger J. Audubon Woodlore, the park ranger from Disney’s Humphrey the Bear and Donald Duck cartoons. This is the cutest and most subtle nod to a previous character! So many people will miss this one, so we appreciate the detail and thought here. Was this a clue? Not necessarily, but we love him and he’s in the concept art.
This family-style attraction will feature an animatronic of Ranger J. Autobahn Woodlore in a pre-show, where he’ll tell you about the history of Piston Peak and its folklore.
Second, we spotted a little building off to the bottom left of the art! This building is the loading area for the Liberty Belle Riverboat in Liberty Square. We are so excited to see that this will be maintained in some way, even if the boat is going away.
You can see the Riverboat Landing here. If nothing else, this will serve as some nice shade with fun views of the new attraction. Change is hard, but we love it when little things can remain.
Speaking of nods to the attractions we’re losing, we noticed two barrel bridges in the concept art! If you’re fans of Tom Sawyer Island like we are, you are probably a fan of the barrel bridge!
It’s a silly thing that kids and adults alike enjoy running back and forth on Tom Sawyer Island to help burn off some energy and throw your friends and family off balance. This is another subtle nod to what we’re losing, and even if Disney didn’t intend it that way, we’re taking it that way.
Next up, we are obsessed with the river that’s in the concept art! While it isn’t the Rivers of America, it is a river! One of the best parts of the River of America is how it brings the park to life, so we were super relieved to realize we wouldn’t be losing it.
In the same clip above, we also noticed that the boardwalk along Frontierland is staying there! This is a huge win if you’re a parade skipper because this boardwalk is an awesome way to navigate around the crowds.
Towards the top of the art, you’ll spot Tiana’s Bayou Adventure! One thing we noticed is that it looks like the water from the mountain is flowing into Piston Peak, making the areas more connected and seamless.
When this area was first announced, several fans online questioned how the Cars intellectual property would fit into Frontierland. This section of the concept art really shows Disney’s attempt to mold the changes seamlessly, and honestly, we think they did a pretty good job. As we continued our search, we spotted these snowy mountains, which we had previously seen in other concept art from Disney!
We knew that the attraction would go through these peaks based on the older art (which you can see below). Now we have a clearer idea of how it will fit into the attraction. Disney also intentionally incorporated Big Thunder Mountain into the skyline of Piston Peak, which can be seen below.
Another nod we spotted was the rainbow geysers! These line the larger attraction track and offer tons of water features that we so desperately crave. While we love the look, that’s not the only reason we’re pointing them out here.
If you didn’t know, in the original Big Thunder Mountain concept art, they also had rainbow geysers, which didn’t make it into the final product. This leads us to wonder if this is a way of nodding to the original art while also tying the Cars area into the Big Thunder Mountain area more seamlessly. You can see the original Big Thunder Mountain concept art below!
As we continued to try and place each piece of older concept art into the new map, we noticed this green gazebo! Call us crazy, but this gazebo looks like the area that Lightning McQueen and Mater are parked in for the Rally Race attraction.
Maybe this is a reach, but this could signify the end of the attraction, where you find out if you won the race or not! We don’t see the spots for the other cars watching the race, but that doesn’t mean we’re wrong. You can see the older concept art below.
Speaking of the Rally Racer attraction, Disney shared that the Rally Race ride will load in the Visitor’s Lodge. This is the main building here in the center signifies the Visitor’s Lodge. Disney described it as an A-frame mountain lodge, and it is huge in the art! We’re assuming it will hold quite a few folks in there.
The other family-style attraction will load in the Ranger’s Lodge. We aren’t sure if this looks big enough to host a pre-show with an animatronic, but we will just have to cross that barrel bridge when we get there. We’re sure Disney knows what they’re doing here.
Finally, one thing we are hoping we are wrong about is that Westward Ho Refreshments is missing from this concept art. If we’re correct, Westward Ho should be along the boardwalk roughly across from Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn.
If you don’t know, Westward Ho Refreshments is a walk-up stand with jalapeno poppers, breakfast sandwiches, Mickey cinnamon rolls, mini corn dogs, and the famous candied bacon skewer. Sure, this building might just be covered by the trees in the concept art, but let us make one thing clear: we are unwilling to lose the candied bacon skewer.
So this is our formal request for Disney to scribble in that little building the next time we get an update on the new land. Thank you in advance. These are just a few of the details we’re catching as we continue to search through the new details from this art! As always, be sure to keep following AllEars for more Disney news and updates.
Disney Shares Ride Queue DETAILS for NEW ‘Cars’ Area in Magic Kingdom
Are you excited about these changes? Tell us in the comments!
This is the first time I’ve been okay with the transformation of Frontierland. Keeping the River and the Boardwalk are HUGE. And the National park theme, combined with nods to Tom Sawyer’s barrel bridge and keeping the majestic riverboat dock building, retain the feeling of a western frontier.