Enjoy these Disney classics one last time before they go away forever!
Change is an integral part of the Disney experience. It is the natural order of things for both the world and theme parks.
Bigger. Better. Faster. Different.
These are the watchwords of a successful stewardship of the parks, helping to preserve them and make them indispensable for upcoming generations.
But change, as inevitable as it might be, can be painful, especially if the best-intentioned changes can be ultimately unsuccessful (looking at you, Tiki Room: Under New Management).
My favorite attraction as a kid was Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride; I enjoyed the chaos of it. My brother’s favorite was 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
Both are long gone – though Mr. Toad still lives in California.
Why are they gone? The science of theme parks has changed. The technology is new.
Mr. Toad gave way to Winnie the Pooh, and even I can admit it was an upgrade. The slow-moving, slow-loading 20,000 Leagues? That’s basically where Seven Dwarfs Mine Train sits today – another successful upgrade.
Now, Disney has announced the largest changes in the more than 50-year history of Magic Kingdom. Ultimately, the park will gain far more than it will lose, but one classic attraction – one that dates back to the second day of the park’s existence – will soon be gone forever.
IN THIS ARTICLE
Goodbye to the Rivers of America
Bordering Liberty Square and Frontierland, the Liberty Belle Riverboat follows an underwater track around Tom Sawyer Island. The steam-powered riverboat ride cruises past various vignettes featuring slices of bygone eras of America’s past with mildly active animatronics. The ride is a slow, relaxing, and brief tour. If there is a breeze, it can be quite refreshing. If the sun is high in the summer and the air isn’t moving? There isn’t enough shade or seats in the shade to keep at least some of the passengers from frying in the Florida sun. On our trip last summer, I stood steadfastly on the upper deck bow while my family wilted in the shade. Afterward, I believe the word they used to describe the experience was tortuous.
Tom Sawyer Island is only accessible via small boats that dock across from Tiana’s Bayou Adventure in Frontierland. The quick ride to the island via a cast member-piloted log raft allows kids to explore the island, its playgrounds, and buildings that are taken from the pages of the classic Mark Twain book.
The riverboat, the river, and the island make for a picturesque tableau. They provide an ambiance to that portion of the park and contribute something of a direct connection to the founding of the park and Walt Disney himself.
But they are going away; Disney announced in 2024 plans to permanently close, demolish, and replace the river and the island. The boat will be gone, too, but we’ll see if they actually demolish it.
What is replacing Rivers of America?
The answer is two-pronged. First, Rivers of America will be directly replaced by a Frontierland expansion and rides based on Pixar’s Cars Universe. The ride will be a trackless, all-terrain ride system carrying riders through a western-themed course. Disney recently shared that imagineers went to the wilds of Arizona to go on an off-roading expedition to gain ideas for the planned Magic Kingdom attraction. Setting aside complaints about losing the aesthetic beauty of the ROA and the steamboat, as well as concerns about cohesive theming in Frontierland with a Cars ride, what Disney has released so far looks amazing. There will also be a Cars-themed attraction for smaller racers.
But that’s not even half of what’s coming. In addition, Disney has announced a whole new land for the park: Villains Land.
Villains Land will be back behind Big Thunder Mountain and will back up to part of Fantasyland. It will feature new shows and experiences, two major attractions, dining, and shopping. It will be the park’s biggest expansion ever – bigger than Storybook Circus or the New Fantasyland expansion – and it will be the first new themed land in the park since Magic Kingdom opened in 1971 – 53 years ago.
Why did they choose to close Rivers of America instead of building the Cars expansion behind Big Thunder as well?
Now we move into the area of conjecture. While Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island are a beautiful part of the park, they have not been overly popular. You can access them whenever you want without waiting. Though that is likely to change once the closing date is announced and visitors flock for one last ride. Also, like 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, the current attractions take up a lot of real estate.
Disney needs the park to be balanced, with each area entertaining a specific number of guests in order to keep the overall park wait times and crowds reasonable. I would be hard-pressed to say that ROA occupies enough guests to justify the percentage of park acreage it takes up. There are many who are outraged about the change, but it makes logistical – if not aesthetic – sense.
Also, I suspect – and this is 100% a guess on my part – it has to do with the utilidors – the underground, first floor upon which Magic Kingdom was built. This underground system of hallways, breakrooms, supply, and storage rooms allows Disney to move cast members and more around the park out of the sight of guests. I assume the best way to connect the utilidors to the Villains Land expansion is using part of the area where ROA currently sits.
How will the Magic Kingdom overhaul affect my next vacation?
That depends on your timing. The park experience has already been impacted. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad closed earlier this year for a massive refurbishment that was needed for the ride experience – including a full track replacement – and to connect it to the new additions. The ride will not reopen until 2026.
As far as Rivers of America goes, the timeline is unclear. However, in February of 2025, Disney got the official go-ahead from the South Florida Water Management District for the demolition of ROA and necessary upgrades to areas outside the park. The expectation is that Disney will want to move quickly and avoid a Tron-like multi-year construction for the Cars addition.
Construction of Villains Land is imminent. Cranes and other work equipment have been visible behind Big Thunder Mountain for weeks. No opening date has been announced, but based on other land expansions, expect two to three years from the time work begins to the land opening to the public. On the long end, we could be waiting upwards of five years for this overhaul to be complete. So, optimistically, we’d say the Cars addition could be a 2027/2028 opening, and Villains Land, which is expected to be larger and require more of an investment, will be sometime after that.
In the meantime, it’s unclear how much the construction will affect normal park operations. One concern is the Walt Disney World Railroad, which was closed for four years while Tron was being constructed in Tomorrowland. It would be nice if park officials could find a better solution this time around. However, as the track runs right along the current boundary of Frontierland – between Frontierland and where Villains Land will be – construction could cause another extended closure of the railroad.
Since the plan is for Villains Land to wrap from behind Tiana’s over to the Haunted Mansion and Small World, I suppose that it’s possible for those rides to be affected at some point as well. I would expect any of those closures, if they become necessary, to be short-term.
