3 Permanent Closures That Had to Happen for This Disney World Park Expansion

Some MAJOR things are on their way to the Magic Kingdom in the next few years, with construction in full swing on the Cars-themed Piston Peak coming to Frontierland and the Villains Land taking over the area “Beyond” Big Thunder Mountain.

©Bioreconstruct on Instagram

However, the tradeoff for these upcoming new lands is the closure of one of the park’s opening day areas, which led to an uproar from some fans and Disney traditionalists alike.

Back when these additions were announced at the D23 Ultimate Fan Event in the summer of 2024, fans were excited at the prospect of the long-awaited Villains Land and the idea of a new version of Disneyland’s Cars Land concept coming to Walt Disney World… until they learned that the latter would be replacing the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island.

Rivers of America

Based on the original versions from Disneyland, both the river and the island — an activity area haven for the young and young at heart — had been staples of the Magic Kingdom since the park opened in 1971. The closure of the river also brought about the closure of its watercraft, including the Liberty Square Riverboat, AKA the Liberty Belle.

Rivers of America

To say many fans were upset about these closures would be a slight understatement, as a cavalcade of criticism was unleashed on Disney for destroying a classic “Walt-era” element of the park. (It should, of course, be noted that Walt Disney had passed away before construction on the Magic Kingdom had even begun, though the original Rivers of America and Mark Twain Riverboat in Disneyland had been part of his initial plans for the park.).

This was compounded by the closure of the Frontierland Shooting Gallery — to be replaced by a Disney Vacation Club lounge — several months earlier, which left many fans feeling like the traditional version of Frontierland was set to disappear and be replaced by a land themed to a movie that doesn’t match the time period.

McKim’s Mile House

As time went on, Disney released further details on Piston Peak and how it will integrate into the theme of Frontierland. The land will be based partially on a location that appeared in the Cars spinoff, Planes. The new setting will be “an awe-inspiring wilderness filled with towering trees, snowcapped mountains, breathtaking waterfalls, roaring rivers and impressive geysers,” according to Disney.

©Disney

The land’s design will be inspired by the Rocky Mountain region of the United States, as well as the country’s national parks. In fact, the buildings in the area will be based on the National Park Service’s “Parkitecture” concept. This architectural style was developed by the service as a way to create structures that “harmonize with the natural environment.” Of course, Disney Imagineering’s versions will be scaled to Cars as opposed to humans.

This includes the massive Visitor’s Lodge, an A-Frame building in the tradition of classic National Park lodges from the early-to-mid 20th Century, which will serve as the primary loading area for the land’s main attraction, an “off-road rally race” ride, complete with custom vehicles.

Coming Coming to Frontierland at Magic Kingdom, a new area themed to Pixar Animation Studios’ “Cars” will leave Radiator Springs and head to the wilderness with two new attractions including an off-road race.

Disney also stressed that Piston Peak will blend seamlessly into the Frontierland landscape thanks to trees that “will provide a natural barrier between the off-road rally and other parts of Frontierland and Liberty Square” while “rugged mountains with dramatic peaks will be nestled along a calming waterway across from Grizzly Hall and soaring geysers from the famed Big Thunder Mountain Railroad will stretch into the trails of our off-road rally. “

©Disney

The question of whether Piston Peak will blend in well enough with the land to alleviate the feelings of fans who’ll miss the Rivers of America won’t be answered until the land opens.

While Villains Land isn’t facing the same fan anger issues as Piston Peak, given the fact that it’s replacing nothing, the land is facing its own challenges. When the land was confirmed, concept art seemed to show a dark and twisted coaster as one of its centerpieces.

Over the last year, land has been cleared in the area, and it seemed like Villains Land was on track to open in the next several years… until rumors emerged in early 2026 that incoming CEO D’Amaro had instructed Imagineers to throw away their plans, including the coaster, and start anew.

According to a February article in TheWrap, “The coaster was planned to be the big draw. As the concept art suggested, it was going to be themed to Maleficent, the big bad from Sleeping Beauty, who was later brought to life in the live-action Maleficent films by Angelina Jolie. This was going to be a really-for-real thrill ride…” However, the article goes on to say that the coaster concept is “being converted to a more family-friendly coaster, along the lines of Slinky Dog Dash at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, this time themed to The Emperor’s New Groove. This makes sense, considering that antagonists Yzma and Kronk actually ride a rollercoaster in that 2000 comedy, and how many more guests you can get on the ride with a lower height requirement. (Before you ask, yes, there is a “pull the lever” moment in the ride currently.)” The outlet goes on to say that clarification on the plans is likely to be released at the D23 event in August.

©Disney

Major changes are coming to the Magic Kingdom in the coming years, though they may never be enough to satiate the anger of fans who aren’t over what was closed to make way for them. Stay tuned to DFB for more on Disney World’s evolution.

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