Lightning McQueen's Racing Academy Permanently Closes to Make Way For New Villains Show at Disney's Hollywood Studios

Oct 08, 2024 in "Lightning McQueen's Racing Academy"

Posted: Tuesday October 8, 2024 9:30am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy has permanently closed its doors at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, marking the end of the Cars-themed attraction that has entertained guests since its debut in 2019.

The closure of Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy paves the way for the new Villains-themed live entertainment experience, which is set to open in the summer of 2025. This new show, featuring iconic Disney villains like Cruella de Vil, Captain Hook, and Maleficent, will be staged in the Magic Mirror’s mysterious realm, bringing guests closer to these notorious characters through immersive live production numbers.

Permits for the construction work were filed earlier this year, assigning Whiting Turner Contracting Company to oversee the transformation of the venue.

Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy was known for its cutting-edge racing simulator, where guests could watch Lightning McQueen and other characters from the Cars franchise on a 200-degree screen in a high-energy show.

Construction will ramp up in the coming months, and more details about the Villains show are expected to be revealed soon.

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danlb_200015 days ago

The character was also created well after the contract was signed, so it it likely that Disney could use him.

llewmmu15 days ago

Wiccan being usable depends on how you look at his involvement, his main association in the comics is the team The Young Avengers. Which is technically not part of the avengers itself as it was a new team formed for different characters and not The Avengers with swapped out members, but it does bare their branding. So would that count as Avengers Family, or unrelated group with a shared name? Lawyers probably have to work that out.

MagicHappens197115 days ago

He is the child of the Scarlet Witch so I'm not sure how complex that would get in the "families of" part of the contract, but I would think that he's probably safe.

Starship82416 days ago

Well at the very least I would assume Wiccan is probably fair game right? We know Doctor Strange is good.

MagicHappens197116 days ago

Generally off limits, I agree, but as I mentioned Agatha is on a billboard behind the Chinese Theatre which generally implies that the character is not off limits

doctornick16 days ago

The fantastic Four are their own thing, not really in the Avengers "family". But, alas, the FF are represented at Uni with their restaurant - and the Fantasticar! - plus the Dr Doom ride (who is clearly in their "family") so they and their associates are generally off limits for WDW.

MagicHappens197116 days ago

The rights only apply to their original Comic roots, but Agatha first appeared in a Fantastic 4 comic which then ties to the Avengers, so I would want to say no. Although she appears on a billboard in DHS which in previous cases has been indicative of them having the rights to use her.

djlaosc16 days ago

I know that it won't happen, but does anyone know if the rights to Agatha Harkness are available for WDW? I'm guessing not, as she will link to Scarlet Witch, which would link to Avengers/X-Men, but not sure. She would have a song available to perform, if they are going for a cabaret type of show...

Ice Gator17 days ago

You’d be surprised to find out where they manufacture a lot of their vehicles/animatronics- Roush Engineering in Michigan did a lot of work on Disney and Universal Studios attractions. When I was there I also got a glimpse of the Ratatouille vehicles for Epcot, Millennium Falcon pods for HWS, and Harry Potter Forbidden Journey ride vehicles for Tokyo. At the time they were also designing the Secret Life of Pets animatronics on Solidworks. This was early 2019, and I had to sign an NDA because certain attractions like SLOP hadn’t been announced at the time.

SplashJacket18 days ago

I think it’s biggest issue was it wasn’t grand/good enough to really market it, so I didn’t even really know it existed for most of its life and I spend my free time on an Internet Disney forum.

SilentWindODoom18 days ago

I... had... no idea this theatre existed. I always thought this replaced the Jack Sparrow show for some reason until I saw the name "Sunset Showcase" and was confused why it would have that name. What a weird, out-of-place place for this, creating an additional dead end in a park full of them. They actually built the car animatronic in Michigan? I've never heard of any other figures being made in the state famous for auto manufacturing. Is that a normal thing, or just special for obvious reasons? While you've stated extra reasons, at that age for me the latest bad guys were Jafar and Scar, so they were too delightful even at their wickedest to totally avoid. Although parks villains and film villains are different. One of my vivid memories from my first trip around that age was the Sheriff and Prince John walking through a group of children taking small trinkets off of them (scrunchies and the like). It was rather horrifying. Fortunately, my parents said "Let's get out of here." It was an out of character moment considering they absolutely horrified me by making me believe I was driving Mr. Toads and screaming at me not to drive down the train tunnel. They also had me convinced to reach out further to grab the gold ring during Magic Journeys! Muppet loses its featured spot?!?! What does that mean? Thanks… Muppets Haunted Tower, coming to a Studios near you!!! In a new casting call, Disney Live Entertainment is seeking Actors for the new Villains show: Wait. "Cannibal Cove"? No. Go back. "Cannibal Cove?" Is this an established thing?

discos20 days ago

There should be, they just wouldn't be live equity performers.

mattpeto21 days ago

I was kind of hoping some of other less common villains would be represented as well.

jrhwdw21 days ago

Good to see TDO keeping their focus on this! Now let's see a casting call for Starlight!