Disney World Reveals New Magic Kingdom Lands: What to Expect

Disney has filed permits for where the new Cars Land and Villains Land will be located at Magic Kingdom park in Walt Disney World.

Disney has filed the first permits related to the Frontierland expansion that will bring two Cars-themed attractions to Magic Kingdom, and Villains Land, which will be located behind Big Thunder Mountain. The Cars-themed space will replace Tom Sawyer Island and the Rivers of America located between Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder Mountain, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and the current Frontierland.

The permits filed on Monday, August 12 are in relation to water management and construction laydown yards.

The permits show three laydown yards, two will be located west of Magic Kingdom guest areas, and one along the northwestern banks of the Rivers of America.

Work is expected to begin on both areas in early 2025.

From the official renderings released by Disney Villains Land looks dark and gloomy with a high castle off in the distance. Forward of that castle appears to be the dragon from Sleeping Beauty. To the right is what looks to be a village or another castle. In the foreground we see a water feature and what strongly resembles Pride Rock from The Lion King.

A closer look at the rendering show sgraggly trees, a waterfall coming down from the castle which sits atop a twisty rock formation and also appears to have a bridge to the adjacent formation. We get a closer look at the town and you can see pride rock in the foreground. We love the craggy rocks shown here and that it really seems to meld a variety of classic films in a great way and we hope this translates to the reality of the land.

As we can see when we zoom into the back left that looks like a roller coaster to me behind the dragon. If that dragon comes to life, it will be absolutely epic.

The Cars Land rendering shows Big Thunder Mountain in the back right, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure in the back center and current Frontierland Facades on the right.

When we zoom in, we can see the center, front of the rendering here and it shoes a bridge and two cars which leads us to believe this is where the Radiator Springs type attraction will go. It looks like snowy mountains or perhaps a large water feature to the left, and more of the Radiator Springs style attraction weaving it’s way around to the right of the bridge.

In the large rendering you see a triangle building that we have zoomed in on below. We think this could lend itself to a dining experience or perhaps shopping. It could also be the queue of the Radiator Springs style attraction but we are hoping for a cool, interactive dining experience like Woody’s Rodeo BBQ in Toy Story Land in Hollywood Studios. This also gives us a closer look at the mountains and they look snowy to us.

The bottom photo shows the center and left of the large rendering zoomed in. We see geysers, which is awesome, more of the walkway and more buildings. This could definitely be where the majority of the dining and shopping goes. Several buildings lends itself to a dining and shopping area OR it could also be where the attraction for small children would go. But to the left in the very corner you can see a covered building with cars and that could also be ideal for the second attraction.

We are absolutely thrilled with the announcements from D23. Two new lands coming to Magic Kingdom and taking over a very underutilized space. Although we know many Disney fans are up in arms about losing the boat, water and Tom Sawyer Island that was always empty, we say bring it on!