Frontierland Shootin' Arcade at Magic Kingdom rumored to close, new DVC Lounge to take its place

Apr 02, 2024 in "Frontierland Shootin' Arcade"

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Frontierland Shootin' Arcade overview

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Posted: Tuesday April 2, 2024 9:00am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

The Frontierland Shootin' Arcade at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom is expected to permanently close this summer to make way for a new Disney Vacation Club Member Lounge.

Frontierland Shootin' Arcade

Disney announced in early January that construction on a brand-new Disney Vacation Club Member Lounge in an unspecified location will begin in 2024 at Walt Disney World. Disney said the new lounge "will be a great place for members to relax and recharge during their day of fun!"

Disney has yet to publicly announce the closure of the Frontierland Shootin' Arcade or provide details of its replacement.

Frontierland Shootin' Arcade free play

The Frontierland Shootin' Arcade was previously expected to close in 2021 when its operating hours were dropped from the calendar and a switch of the arcade into a free play mode. That turned out to be a false alarm, and the arcade continued to operate as normal.

It seems this time however, plans are set, and the Frontierland Shootin' Arcade's time at Magic Kingdom will come to an end pending Disney's announcement.

In addition to the possibility of a new DVC lounge, a number of changes are in store for Frontierland, including the new Country Bears Musical Jamboree opening this summer, and a likely retheme of Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe into a Princess and the Frog tie-in with the nearby Tiana's Bayou Adventure.

Disney recently said in a post on its official blog, "Hold your horses, we're not done yet. We have a lot of growth and investment planned for our theme parks in the coming years and look forward to sharing more announcements about Frontierland … so y'all come back now, ya hear?"

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DisneyFanatic1217 days ago

Agreed, we should get a special colored light on the end for being DVC members!

Disney Dead Head17 days ago

only problem is I would shoot back and not with a red light

Brian17 days ago

https://blogmickey.com/2024/07/demolition-underway-at-frontierland-shootin-arcade-in-magic-kingdom/

larryz19 days ago

B&W? Pah! Nothing but the best for our DVC victims... er, members!!!

disney_NYC19 days ago

Who remembers the smaller version of the shootin’ arcade that was in the Contemporary Resort game arcade room in the early 80s? We stayed at the Polynesian in December 1981 but hit that arcade, and there it was in the back corner of the room. Only other thing I specifically remember about that arcade was that it had a fire truck driving game for two people, with one driving the back of the ladder truck. My performance was similar to Kramer’s on Seinfeld.

DCBaker20 days ago

The attraction sign has been recently removed - photo from today: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53839768625_0ecf30f89f_o.jpg

pdude8131 days ago

Sure there are other places this could have gone. But this was basically unused when you had to pay for it, and sparingly used when free. And I hope that the other unused spaces prior posters were talking about get better attractions than Freestyle machines and an XBox or two.

DisneyFanatic1231 days ago

Would it have been better if it went in an unused space? Yes. Have I seen the Shooting Arcade empty almost very singly time I walked past? Also yes.

aladdin200731 days ago

:) probably ... but I guess I meant the exterior.

TrainsOfDisney31 days ago

How dare you! They will hang up a black and white photo of Walt in a cowboy hat! Theming at its best!!!

aladdin200731 days ago

I bet they don't even make this look like it belongs in Frontierland, that's going to be the biggest problem, will see.

Beacon Joe31 days ago

I have many fond memories of the shooting gallery as a child in Disneyland, and then later at Disney World. Shooting with my parents, having competitions with my brothers. We still talk about it if we go out shooting silhouettes at the range. This removal and replacement is so flipping lame and lazy, it's mind-boggling. But it's also so downright lazy and uninspired it's to be expected. ETA: While I know my brothers and I will still occassionally reminisce until our deaths about making the ghost riders appear or making the tombstones creak or shooting the buzzards... I am perfectly certain that my own kids will never once reminisce about that halcyon day they they sat in a DVC lounge and got one "free" pack of gummy bears per hour or when they used a Coke Freestyle.

Bocabear31 days ago

Aren't there other spaces that are currently vacant that could have hosted the lounge? Wasn't there a sponsor lounge in Space Mountain, Enchanted Tiki Room, If You Had Wings? I don't know if these spaces have been converted to other things during the last 50 years, but they were there at one point...If the Pirates Bar is moving to Tortuga, why not in the old Pirate's League? While I hate to lose the shooting gallery, a DVC lounge would be much more appreciated by me and countless others. Yes! we need attractions, but the lounge would be a great perk... Hopefully we will get some new and better attractions...

disneyC9731 days ago

We typically go in summers these days (2019, 2021, 2023) Will we stop in if there isn't a long wait? Sure. Was it necessary to take out an attraction for this? No. IMO of course. Others can certainly feel differently and that's fine.