Aerial View of Tom Sawyer Island and Rivers of America Ahead of Cars Retheme

new cars land replacing rivers of america concept art

Disney announced during the recent D:23 event that Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island in Magic Kingdom will soon make way for a new cars-themed expansion. Reaction to the news has been mixed, with many Disney fans welcoming the upgrade and addition to Magic Kingdom, while others wishing the planned expansion was planned in a way that did not sacrifice two classic attractions.

updated cars land concept map with landmarks

Since construction permits have been recently filed, we can expect work in this area to begin in the coming weeks. X User bioreconstruct shared some arial photos of the area ahead of the beginning of the demo work, affording us perhaps our last glimpse of the land as it currently stands.

Aerial photo of Frontierland.
Disney recently announced that Tom Sawyer Island and Rivers of America will be replaced by a Cars attraction. Concept art shows a guest walkway connecting the Big Thunder area and the Haunted Mansion area. pic.twitter.com/Dfkp15FODb
— bioreconstruct (@bioreconstruct) August 18, 2024

The arial photos show the Liberty Square Riverboat making a voyage around Rivers of America, with Tom Sawyer Island in the center. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is present in the top of the photo, with Big Thunder Mountain Railrod visible to the right side. Along the left side of the photo you can see the show building for Country Bear Jamboree as well as the Frontier Trading Post. The bottom right section of the photo shows the covered outdoor queue for Haunted Mansion, with the Mansion itself not readily apparent behind the trees.

bioreconstruct rivers of america tom sawyer island — photo credit: bioreconstruct on X

What are your thoughts on the Cars expansion coming at the expense of Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island? Is this a welcomed change, or are you sad to see more classic Disney attractions being sacrificed to make way for new lands? Leave us a comment to let us know!

Please note: some posts may contain affiliate links which means our team could earn money if you purchase products from our site

Let our friends at Destinations to Travel help you book your next Disney Vacation. They are the preferred Travel Agency of Chip and Company and Disney Addicts, and who we use ourselves.

Get started below for your FREE No Obligation Quote.

Book With our friends at Destinations to Travel

Who is your Travel Agent?(Required)

Name(Required)

First Last

Email(Required)

Phone(Required)

Destination(Required)

# of Adults(Required)

# of Children(Required)

Check-in-Date(Required)

Check-out-Date(Required)

Comments, Questions or Special Requests

Comments

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

For the BEST in Disney, Universal, Dollywood, and SeaWorld Theme Park News, Entertainment, Merchandise & More follow us on, Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube. Don't forget to check out the Chip and Company Radio Network too!

Written by:

Chris B 1,809 Posts

Chris is a Pennsylvania native who escaped the cold and relocated to the Orlando area. Our resident Universal expert, Chris has been visiting the Universal Orlando Resort since the 1990s. Chris is a Universal and Walt Disney World Passholder, and can often be found exploring the parks taking in the sites (and finding new things to write about!).

View All Posts

Follow Me :