Walt Disney World has shared a new video about the all-new Cars E-Ticket attraction coming to Magic Kingdom that fuels rumors about the ride system it’ll likely use, which would make it Imagineering’s first trackless thrill ride. This post shares testing videos (plural) and dissects that, and offers semi-informed speculation about the headliner attraction racing into Frontierland.
Let’s start with what we already know for sure. During the Parks Panel at the 2024 D23 Expo, Walt Disney World announced two all-new Cars attractions in a reimagined area of Frontierland at Magic Kingdom. During that, Disney indicated that this would be an original concept–not a clone of Cars Land from Disney California Adventure.
Subsequent to D23, Walt Disney World revealed that the Cars area will actually replace the Rivers of America, meaning that Tom Sawyer Island and the Liberty Square Riverboat will permanently close. This is not really germane to the topic at hand, but is relevant background because there’s a lot of understandable frustration about this, along with wishful thinking that the project will stall as a result of fan feedback and complaints.
This wishful thinking has been fueled by a couple of things. First, insiders have reported that Walt Disney World underestimated the backlash of razing and replacing the Rivers of America. We likened Disney’s decision to paving paradise and putting up a parking lot, if you want to know (in a nutshell) how we feel about it. If you’d like more than the nutshell version, read this. I’m not rehashing it all here.
For whatever it’s worth, it is my understanding that Walt Disney World did not anticipate the volume of complaints. Some backlash was expected–that’s why the “little detail” of where Cars land would go came after D23 and not during–but not nearly to the degree that has occurred.
However, it is not my understanding that Disney plans on switching gears and doing anything differently. It’s entirely possible the insiders are correct and I just haven’t heard the latest developments. But from what I’ve heard, there are numerous moving parts at play that culminated in this being the final project package. Suffice to say, there’s no changing course. It’s this or nothing…and it’s not going to be nothing unless externalities interfere.
Speaking of interfering externalities, the second reason fans are hopeful that Disney will pump the brakes on this plan is the idea that Florida forces their hand. This was initially premised in the previous standoff with the state, but that has been resolved amicably.
More recently, a speed bump with the water permitting process has renewed these hopes. But “speed bump” is very much the correct term there. That’s not going to be what causes this project to pop a flat, to continue the over-torqued automotive puns.
This winding road drives us to the present. Roughly 3 months after the blockbuster D23 Expo and all of these subsequent developments, Disney held the first-ever D23 Brazil event, during which Parks Chairman Josh D’Amaro shared updates on Walt Disney World projects as part of the Disney Experiences presentation.
This included the latest on Cars land at Magic Kingdom, which D’Amaro reiterated would be breaking ground in 2025. Now, Walt Disney World announcements are always subject to change and it’s always the case that news is accurate “at this time” but could change the following day. But D’Amaro didn’t share updates on all news from D23 Expo, and if Cars land were on the precipice of driving right off the cancellation cliff, he probably wouldn’t have mentioned it at all.
That’s also Disney’s MO. If a project is on thin ice, you can often tell just by whether or not it gets mentioned in roundups and recaps. Because Disney doesn’t likely to make splashy cancellation announcements–they like to let projects quietly die. And a project cannot quietly die if it’s being brought up. Accordingly, I’ll reiterate once again that I have no reason to believe this project is in danger of cancellation. About the only thing that could change that is a recession or sudden financial woes for Disney, and neither of those things seem likely in the next 6-8 months.
Turning to the substantive news, Disney also shared video of ride system testing. Here’s that courtesy of our friends over at LaughingPlace:
Footage of a text experience for one of the new Cars experiences coming to Magic Kingdom #D23Brasil pic.twitter.com/Z7Zo0Gb8Pi
— LaughingPlace.com (@laughing_place) November 9, 2024
The video features Imagineers riding in all-terrain-style vehicles on a full-scale dirt course–a real life ‘test track’ if you will. Those of you from Indiana or Michigan, like us, will probably find this fairly unremarkable. You can see this in your own backyard, perhaps literally!
The key difference is that you probably cannot see driver-less ATVs unless something goes terribly wrong. (There is someone sitting in the driver’s seat, but if you look at the ride system video below, there’s also someone “steering” that. There’s a steering wheel on the Indiana Jones Adventure ride vehicles, and I quite enjoy “driving” those, too.)
What this video shows, in all likelihood is the first trackless all-terrain thrill ride in Disney history. Although trackless dark rides have become increasingly common–and flat out exploded at Walt Disney World in the last 5 years–none of the parks, domestic or international, currently have trackless outdoor thrill rides like this.
It’s worth noting that the ATVs in the video are not finished ride vehicles. Nor is the full-scale dirt course necessarily what’s going into Magic Kingdom. My dumb joke about it being a ‘test track’ actually isn’t far off. This is best viewed as a video of Imagineers trying to get a feel for the ride system and the types of terrain it’s capable of tackling.
Imagineers probably want to get a feel for the course, trying to determine just how thrilling they’re comfortable making a Magic Kingdom attraction of this nature. “Thrill ride” and “trackless” are generally not two terms that go together, so I’d expect this to be fairly tame. Not to mention the kid-centric Cars IP. Given the totality of the circumstances, I’d expect thrills more like Indiana Jones Adventure rather than anything high-speed.
This kind of closed course testing is pretty common practice. What’s less common is Disney releasing the footage. The last time I can recall a video like this, it was for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind on an outdoor track in Germany. Prior to that, there was one for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. Imagineering has also released videos of ‘makeshift’ trackless testing that they’ve done in Glendale in their parking lots and warehouses.
Point being, this is not exactly what you should expect of the final Cars E-Ticket thrill ride. It’s more than proof of concept (given the stage of the project), but less than final form. The ride vehicles will obviously look different and be more “Imagineered,” the course will differ dramatically, and so too will little details.
One thing that’s notable is that both the concept art (see below) and this new video shows the vehicles kicking up dirt. When I saw this in the concept art, it was an immediate ‘red flag’ for me, indicative of it being an off-road, off-track attraction. What I’m (still) skeptical of is whether the vehicles will actually kick up dirt. There are a number of reasons for that to be artistic license, or at least toned down in the final attraction.
My expectation is that it’ll be more like Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, which implies that you’re on a runaway mine train in the desert in every way practical for a theme park, but stopping short of actual tumbleweeds and dust storms. As always, Imagineering is great at simulating the senses and suspending disbelief, so I’d expect the desert (and other environments–since the track in the concept art looks varied) to be artificial.
Speaking of artistic license, fan speculation about the Cars E-Ticket being trackless has been rampant since the initial pieces of concept art were released. That has consistently shown the vehicles jumping hills, going through rough and rugged terrain, turning sharply, kicking up dirt, and so forth. This alone suggested that Magic Kingdom wasn’t getting yet another generation of the Test Track ride system.
The various concept art also show cars racing on outdoor terrain with no tracks or guide-line, so unless tremendous artistic liberty were taken (always a possibility), the ride system almost necessarily had to be trackless. Disney even indicated in the original announcement that the experience will allow guests to “take on wild terrain as you race across the landscape, climbing mountain trails, dodging geysers, and—Mater’s favorite—splashing through mudholes.”
Disney stating that this wouldn’t be like Radiator Springs Racers (which uses the Test Track ride system) further reinforced the notion that the ride would be trackless. Both of those attractions utilize a slot-car ride system running on a traditional track. In my view, this is good news. As much as I love Radiator Springs Racers, I also love variety. Not only that, but the Test Track ride system is notoriously unreliable–and has been since the attraction debuted (years behind schedule!). It works better in California, but that’s a different climate.
Further piecing the puzzle together, everything we’ve seen thus far aligns with a ride system developed by Dynamic Attractions called the Automatic Guided All-Terrain Vehicle or Dynamic All-Terrain Dark Ride. This innovative trackless ATV ride system incorporates a trio of systems to deliver new ways to create and experience rides.
The Dynamic All-Terrain Dark Ride is a vehicle-based, attraction ride system having neither tracks nor rails, available with four or six seats per vehicle. Riders will be in free-roaming, ATV-like vehicles that can climb up and down steep barriers, traverse wet or dry ground indoors or out; they can revel (safely) in a variety of hair-raising experiences and thrills – such as simulated collisions and near-misses with other objects that can include Audio Animatronics, obstacles, or even other Cars (capital “c”).
It allows for multiple vehicles to operate simultaneously, with the ability to cross paths with each other. Additionally, the system can function both indoors and outdoors, has a 6-person capacity (just like Test Track or Radiator Springs Racers), and is designed for easy thematic overlays.
Typically, rain, fog and other water features in dark ride environments can interfere with trackless technology. But not this. The system is ‘smart’ enough to determine what belongs in the attraction, and what does not. The vehicles also have suspension systems and tire treads that allow them to drive over boulders and other obstacles such as water, debris and sticks.
Dynamic Attractions has a long history of working with Walt Disney Imagineering, collaborating on major attractions such as Journey to the Center of the Earth, Test Track and Radiator Springs Racers (surely not coincidental!), Soarin’ and Soaring (as the case may be), and the redone Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Disneyland. Over at Universal, they’re behind Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge as well as Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey.
Here’s a look at the Dynamic Attractions Automatic Guided All-Terrain Vehicle in action:
I’m calling it. Either the E-Ticket Cars off-road attraction in Magic Kingdom is this exact Dynamic Attractions ride system, or Imagineering has created something strikingly similar without running afoul of the patents that Dynamic Attractions almost certainly holds.
The latter is certainly a possibility, but Imagineering outsources a lot of its ride systems, so the former strikes me as more likely. Another possibility is that this is a true collaboration, with both Dynamic Attractions and Imagineering contributing to a new and novel ride system distinct from what’s in that video.
It’s rare for Imagineering to order ‘off-the-shelf’ ride systems, especially when the money spigot is open in Burbank, as is the case right now. Regardless of what’s actually happening here, what’s likely is that the final ride will closely resemble this while also offering more than just a fresh coat of paint.
Ignoring the bigger picture and looking at this E-Ticket attraction in a vacuum, I’m cautiously optimistic. This ride could be a ton of fun, immersive and enjoyable if done correctly. Like a new twist on Radiator Springs Racers, which is one of my favorite attractions in the world. (Photos and video above and below are copyright Dynamic Attractions.)
Ultimately, this development about the ride system kind of dovetails with my thoughts about Cars’ capacity to fit in Frontierland. As I’ve said before, I can come to (begrudgingly) accept this land replacing Rivers of America so long as it melds with the surroundings and maintains the serenity and spirit of what came before.
Loud ATVs kicking up dirt and zooming through the land, like Tomorrowland Speedway on steroids, will not fit the bill. There are multiple ways to do an off-road rally, and my sincere hope is that Imagineering recognizes that the obnoxious X-games style is not the way to go.
Again, just because an all-terrain vehicle like you’d drive around fields in the Midwest is what’s hinted at in the test videos doesn’t mean that’s what the final ride will resemble. Disney has a large degree of control as to how the actual ride vehicles look. Ditto sounds and other visuals. It doesn’t need to be vroom-vroom-vroom loud. In fact, it would probably behoove Disney to distinguish this attraction from an experience a high percentage of guests can have at home.
My hope is that the environments are clearly inspired by the National Parks of the American West, the layer of Cars themed design on top of that marries Parkitecture with classic 1950s vehicles, there’s kinetic energy via water and other placemaking, and the sightlines work. If this is going to happen (and it almost assuredly is), let’s make lemonade out of lemons.
An area and attractions themed to Piston Peak National Park evoking the era and atmosphere you’d expect to see in a rustic land themed to the American frontier, even if it’s no longer set in the precise era as it was in 1955 or 1971, is the best case scenario at this point. For me, quintessential Americana is the kind that belongs in a Disney theme park, and the U.S. National Parks are America’s Best Idea. They deserve to be celebrated, even if in fantasy-form, at Walt Disney World. Loud and dirty ATVs, not so much.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Do you think the Cars E-Ticket will be a trackless off-road thrill ride, or use a different ride system? What’s your reaction to the ride testing videos? Hopeful that Imagineering collaborates with Dynamic Attractions Automatic, or uses a variation of their Guided All-Terrain Vehicle? What’s your reaction to Cars rides coming to Magic Kingdom? Do you agree or disagree with our assessments? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!