Magic Kingdom Is Looking MUCH Different Today

MORE construction walls have arrived in Disney World! As of July 7th, the Rivers of America, including the Liberty Square Riverboat and Tom Sawyer Island, have permanently closed.

Rivers of America

We had the opportunity to be a part of the final voyage of the Liberty Belle and say our final goodbyes to this iconic part of Magic Kingdom on July 6th. And now, construction walls have begun popping up as construction commences on the new Cars area coming to Magic Kingdom.

The new Cars area, called Piston Peak National Park, will replace the Rivers of America area in Magic Kingdom. Piston Peak National Park is loosely based on Rocky Mountain National Park and will feature two brand-new attractions. One attraction will be a rally race ride, and the other will be a family-friendly attraction.

©Disney

So far, you can still see much of the river from Frontierland and Liberty Square, but we spotted a couple of construction walls pop up overnight. There is a wall covering the old entrance to the rafts for Tom Sawyer Island.

Walls up at entrance to Tom Sawyer Island Rafts

Cast Members are already getting to work, and we noticed some in high visibility vests using a small boat to get out to Tom Sawyer Island. The rafts that used to bring guests back and forth between the island have already been taken away.

Cast Members on Tom Sawyer Island

We also spotted some walls up around the sides of the Liberty Square Riverboat, where the walkways were to the boat.

Walls up by Liberty Square Riverboat

There is also a door blocking the old exit for the Liberty Square Riverboat. The entrance to the Liberty Square Riverboat no longer has signs up and we also spotted some shrubs in the old loading area for the riverboat.

Liberty Square Riverboat

It seems that workers were hard at work last night putting up the construction walls! The park map has also already been updated to remove the Rivers of America area, and the area is also empty when you look on the My Disney Experience app.

New park map without Rivers of America

Disney has not yet announced an opening date for Piston Peak National Park, but it seems they are hitting the ground running on beginning construction on the area. Of course, we will continue to keep an eye on the progress and provide you with updates!