Disney Files Permits for Project Offices Near Future Cars-Themed Land at Magic Kingdom

5 days ago in "Cars Land Magic Kingdom"

Gallery / 3 Photos
Frontierland Concept Art Aerial View

Posted: Tuesday April 15, 2025 10:10am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

New permit filings today from Walt Disney Imagineering reveal preparations are underway for the next phase of Magic Kingdom’s Cars-themed project. The permits focus on setting up a temporary trailer compound, likely to serve as project offices for the major redevelopment of Frontierland.

Closer view of the new Cars-themed attractions at Magic Kingdom

One of the permits is assigned to McGrath RentCorp, a company known for supplying relocatable modular buildings commonly used for temporary office space on large construction sites. Additional permits were filed for plumbing, HVAC, and electrical infrastructure to support the new compound.

The trailer complex will be located off Floridian Way, in a backstage area behind Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. The location is ideal — positioned just behind Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island, the area set to be transformed into a new Cars-themed land beginning in 2025.

With early site work already underway, including stormwater management planning, these new permits mark a significant logistical step forward as Disney gears up for the largest expansion in Magic Kingdom's history. The compound will likely house the teams responsible for day-to-day oversight of the project, including Walt Disney Imagineering, contractors, and project managers.

Overhead map showing how the new-look Frontierland concept art relates to the current Frontierland. @Coaster Lover

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SamusAranX8 hours ago

Agreed on the playground but the theater is a particularly egregious example of Disney’s bait and switch. Close or leave an attraction to languish and by the time is replaced it seems like it’s an expansion not a replacement (see primeval whirl for example)

James Alucobond20 hours ago

The problem has been the balance, not that replacement and/or slight net gains are necessarily wrong in every instance. Tomorrowland is an example where there are definitely enough attractions (aside from shuttered Stitch), but significant refreshing or replacement is needed for at least two-thirds of the attractions.

easyrowrdw20 hours ago

Net gains, schmet gains. Ya don’t have to destroy something in order to get something new. Tron, Rat…great! But MMRR, Frozen, Tiana, Monsters, Indiana Jones… It’s ridiculous.

EricsBiscuit1 day ago

One thing that would have made the removal of the Liberty Belle less egregious is if they still had real steamboats on the Seven Seas Lagoon. That would lessen the sting a bit.

solidyne1 day ago

Music to my ears! Oh.

ᗩLᘿᑕ ֊ᗩζᗩᗰ1 day ago

All the more reason why I'd wish they'd build a Gravity Falls themed walk-through Mystery Shack attraction and play area in Frontierland to make up for the loss of Splash Mountain's play structure and the greater loss of TSI. Would be a good IP to bridge Old West with Cars' Pacific Northwest. But...

nickys1 day ago

SoA used to be used. It’s fine to not count it as an attraction, but it was a reminder of the Studio part of the park’s name. The giant Coke “fountains n” was another fun thing that got removed. Something that little kids loved, that didn’t require waiting in a queue to ride. And we also lost Jedi Training and March of the First Order when GE opened. Not because the space was needed but because they “didn’t fit” the story. IMO for no good reason. Kids loved Jedi Training, it was a rite of passage for some (youngest had to wait until his 2nd trip to be able to do it). So they basically got rid of a bunch of stuff primarily aimed at young kids. TSL is but all it has are 2 rides. No playground , no little diversions for them. Disney parks used to be about more than just rides but not so much anymore. DHS has nowhere for kids to play. MK is following suit, although there’s still the Dumbo play area and up by FL station. AK has lost the boneyard. How long before the trains and jumping fountains at Epcot get removed?

TrainsOfDisney1 day ago

I think a good play area is the equivalent of a spinner. But ideally we would have gotten both - that’s kind of the argument here haha.

Centauri Space Station1 day ago

A playground wasn’t a ride and the theatre closed years earlier

MisterPenguin1 day ago

The two lands still expanded the parks' footprint. And added four food serves, and a bar. And hand-held interactive games. And shops. And a lot more character interaction. And *rides* over attractions. I was being generous when using "attraction" for the comparison since what was there before weren't rides. Unless you're OK with flex theaters, faux scenery, and a play area someday replacing some rides since you regard them as equivalent?

TrainsOfDisney1 day ago

Backlot tour Honey I shrunk Theatre Stunt Show That’s 4 attractions and of course Osbourne lights was also an attraction for a portion of each year. nothing needed to be destroyed for Toy Story land. So galaxies edge was a trade for all 4. Rise next to star tours and keep Jedi training would have been a win win for the park

MisterPenguin1 day ago

Streets of America was just... scenery. You got three times as much between SWL and GE. You mention the two attractions that got replaced. You failed to mention they were replaced by *four* attractions. TSL and GE also took over BoH area. The footprint for guests *expanded* and the number of attractions *expanded*.

lentesta2 days ago

Everest is up there along with FOTLK. So's TSM in DHS and Runaway Railway. Remy's up there. Below those it seems like it's a tradeoff in ratings between one group and another. For example, suppose every group but pre-schoolers and seniors give Ride A and Ride B an average of 4.5 stars. And then for rides A and B, the pre-school and senior ratings are the same, but switched. Which one is rated higher? We could just use the absolute number of surveys to figure out the numbers. Or we could say that the opinion of seniors, as adults with experience and taste, are more reliable than for pre-schoolers.