D23: Giddy-Up Tow Mater! Cars are Coming to Frontierland.
The popular kids franchise is finding its way into a whole new Disney park.
Perhaps the strangest announcement made during the Horizons: Disney Experiences Showcase at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, was the addition of, not one, but two attractions based on the Pixar film franchise Cars to the Frontierland of Florida’s Magic Kingdom.
While Frontierland’s 19th-century wild west identity has become a lot murkier in the years since the fading of the Western film genre as mainstream entertainment, the additions of attractions such as The Country Bear Jamboree (more an animatronic extrapolation of Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry, in the vein of Hee-Haw than a western-style show) and Splash Mountain (based on a film set in the distinctly not-western state of Georgia) still could, with a little squinting, seem like they belonged on the fringes of an old west scenario; at least they were musical kissin’ cousins.
Cars has no such affinity and is a weird addition to a Land that is not only an opening day area for the Magic Kingdom in Florida, but also part of Walt Disney’s original dream for his first park, Disneyland.
Let’s face it, Westerns and automobiles are two great tastes that do not taste great together, which is a tremendous shame since Cars Land in Disney California Adventure is such a triumph and more Floridians should get to experience it.
Nevertheless, Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro bravely tried to make sense out of it:
“The American West has always been about keeping your eyes on the horizon … believing in yourself, carving your own path, and striving toward success. That goes for miners in the mountains, bears from the country, a princess from the bayou … or a race-car from the big city.” — Josh D’Amaro
It’s a little broad of an explanation.
The two attractions planned for the area, introduced by D’Amaro and an animated Tow Mater on the massive Honda Center video screen, will be a rally race through the mountains with your car dodging geysers and splashing through mud-holes, and a smaller kid-friendly attraction for the whole family.
The inconsistency with the Frontierland theming notwithstanding, Disney Imagineers have done a spectacular job with Cars-based attractions thus far and these will hopefully maintain the high standard.
Construction begins in 2025.
Enjoy this one? Here’s a story that goes into a lot of detail about what Frontierland is and isn’t:
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Kelly McCubbin is a columnist for Boardwalk Times