Last summer, Disney shocked and delighted fans when it announced that, after years of begging, a villain-themed land was finally coming to the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort. However, in the same breath, it also disappointed many when it was revealed that new attractions themed after the 2006 Pixar film Cars were also coming.
Choosing to incorporate cars into Frontierland was an interesting choice that immediately stirred up debate among fans. But that wasn’t the biggest issue there was. Disney said that in order to fit the Cars attractions into the area, they would have to fill in the Rivers of America and close down Tom Sawyer Island.
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Disney did not say when it would officially close Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island, but they did indicate that it would be sometime in early 2025. Well, early 2025 is here, and it looks like, while the areas are still open, Disney has abandoned them and has allowed them to fall into disrepair.
Reddit user The_Inflicted recently visited Tom Sawyer Island and noticed that some of the wooden beams on the building by the Little Crooked Bridge were completely falling apart, with a large hole in one beam.
I realize that Tom Sawyer Island is going away soon, but man, they are just letting this place fall apart.
byu/The_Inflicted inWaltDisneyWorld
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Commenters were disappointed to see that Disney had let the area fall into such disrepair. Even though the area is scheduled for closure and demolition, it is still open for guests and should be treated as though it still matters.
U/whitepikmin11 wondered if the area was falling apart on its own because it wasn’t being fixed up, or because guests were picking at it and damaging it even more.
Based on the damage of some of the queues (especially Toy Story Mania), I have to wonder how much of this is natural and how much of this is guests picking at something that had only broken a little bit.
Many commenters agreed with whitepikmin11 and pointed to other theme parks where guests had ruined something that creatives had worked very hard to bring to life.
Different park, but this makes me think of the new Yoshi ride at EPIC. Guests have already started breaking off leaves and berries from the bushel of apples in the queue. Some people are the absolute worst and couldn’t care less. I’m not going to blame what’s happening at TSI only on those types of people, but they don’t help. They absolutely suck.
Related: Classic Magic Kingdom Attraction Suffers Damage From Guest Behavior
Others noted that this was not the first time that Disney had let an attraction fall into disrepair before it underwent a major transformation.
In 2020, Disney announced that Splash Mountain in both Disney World and Disneyland would be closing and getting a Princess and the Frog (2009) retheme. The decision was even more controversial than the decision to modernize the Magic Kingdom’s Frontierland and fill in the visually stunning and relaxing Rivers of America.
Commenters noted that in the months leading up to Splash Mountain’s closure, Disney didn’t bother to fix anything that broke on the attraction.
Folks that rode Splash Mountain in its final months can recall Disney all but abandoned maintenance. So many broken animatronics, lights put out to hide broken scenes, etc.
We do not know when construction will begin on the new Cars-themed attractions, but work has already begun on the highly anticipated Villains Land. Disney is also currently working on a complete overhaul and refurbishment of Big Thunder Mountain. The iconic attraction closed in early January and is not scheduled to reopen until early 2026.
It is possible that Disney will decide to wait until Big Thunder reopens before going full throttle on the attractions, but there is speculation that early construction could begin sometime this year.
Do you think Disney should bother to fix attractions when they are going to be torn down anyway? Or should they always put in the effort for as long as the attraction is open? How do you feel about the changes coming to Frontierland? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!
The post Disney Abandons Maintenance on Magic Kingdom Spot, Area Now Falling Apart appeared first on Inside the Magic.
