First Permits Filed for Disney World's New Cars-Themed Area, Replacing Tom Sawyer Island

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Cars Land Permits

Posted: Monday August 12, 2024 4:35pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Walt Disney Imagineering is moving quickly following the recent announcement of plans to redevelop Magic Kingdom's Tom Sawyer Island and Rivers of America into a new Cars-themed experience.

The first permits for the project have been filed with the South Florida Water Management District today, specifically for modifications to the stormwater basin located behind Tom Sawyer Island and Big Thunder Mountain.

Cars Land Permits

As is common with major projects at Walt Disney World, extensive preliminary work related to water management must be completed before new construction can begin.

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

Disney has announced that construction on the new Cars-themed area is slated to start in 2025.

It was confirmed today that the Cars-themed land will directly replace Tom Sawyer Island and Rivers of America, though no closing date has been set. Disney assures guests, 'You will have plenty of time to experience the charm and nostalgia of Frontierland as it is today.'

Describing the upcoming area, Disney stated, 'Soon, you'll be able to explore the uncharted territory of the great outdoors with an expansion in Frontierland themed around Pixar Animation Studios' Cars. It's time to leave Radiator Springs and head west into exciting new locations. To make way for this completely new frontier, the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island will be transformed into vast and rugged terrains for a rally race with some of the world's most iconic racers.'

Cars Concept Art

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Incomudro1 hour ago

Don't worry... Present day Disney is on a quest to make things worse.

TrainsOfDisney2 hours ago

Yes….. like modern cars in Frontierland! Haha

UNCgolf2 hours ago

They definitely are to an extent, but it could be much worse.

Brer Panther2 hours ago

I'd probably be more okay with Indiana Jones if it wasn't replacing Dinosaur. I'd still raise an eyebrow at it being in Animal Kingdom but to remove something that fits the park with something that's about humans irks me. I'd argue they're already doing that.

James Alucobond3 hours ago

Probably this? But that proposal in general had the feeling of being exclusively push from the higher-up IP proponents and none of the pull that you would normally see in response from someone downstream in Imagineering. It's a healthy push-pull dynamic that can sometimes still make things work in the era of IP mandates, but the AK announcement felt like an executive spoke directly to the concept artist. It was weird.

UNCgolf3 hours ago

Bruce Vaughn was brought back to head Imagineering after the Moana/Zootopia concept -- maybe he pushed for a change? I have no idea.

Fox&Hound3 hours ago

I think the point is that, whether we like it or not, they are changing the definition of Frontierland away from cowboys and indians and wild west and going in a different direction. I agree Cars does not fit with FL as we know it, but it may end up fitting with their newly defined FL.

Fox&Hound3 hours ago

So what changed? Did someone put their foot down an demand thematic integrity? Not being silly, I truly do not know.

Disgruntled Walt4 hours ago

I wouldn't have as much of a problem with a Cars Land tacked on the outside of Magic Kingdom. I'm not a fan of single-IP lands, especially in MK, but I can live with it. It's the fact that they are fundamentally changing one of the CORE lands of MK and eliminating a big part of what makes the park special—that's the bigger issue here.

UNCgolf4 hours ago

Does anyone like this even exist, though? Who has been supportive of Cars at MK while also defending DAK's theming?

Centauri Space Station4 hours ago

I do and that’s fair i just mean if DL lost ROA then they wouldn’t have any river or boats at the resort at all.

lazyboy97o4 hours ago

Again, things elsewhere have no bearing on the spatial design of Frontierland. Lousy tile work in your kitchen isn’t somehow made better or less worse because you have good tile work in the bathroom.