With all the kerfuffle over the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island being replaced with a Cars area, some claiming it violates the “frontier” theming of Frontierland, I heard an interesting theory from the Disney History Institute podcast. The host, Todd Pierce, theorized that Disney may actually be planning a “reboot” of Frontierland, one not themed around American civilization of the past (cowboys and pioneers having a more complicated reputation nowadays), but instead the American wilderness as it exists now. From my point of view, it makes sense; the Cars and Country Bear attractions could suggest Yellowstone-type forests, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad brings to mind the buttes and mesas of the western U.S., and Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is designed to be like swamplands found in the southeast.
Pierce even said that Liberty Square could end up the chopping block as well, with the Haunted Mansion being annexed into the new “Villains Land” and the Hall of Presidents (which has seen low attendance and polarized discourse in recent years) going away.
What are your opinions on this theory?
