Disney World is a park that will always be changing. There is always something new at Walt Disney World, but there are certain things people still expect will never change. If Cinderella Castle or the Haunted Mansion were scheduled for replacement, people would be shocked. Such was the case when we learned this week that the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island, places many probably thought could not be replaced, were set to be removed to make way for a pair of new attractions based on Pixar’s Cars.
I will be as sad to see to see the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island go away as anybody. They have been iconic parts of the park for over 50 years, but my issue with what’s being taken away and what is replacing it has less to do with age and nostalgia than it does with the changing function of the space.
Disneyland And Disney World Are Losing Places For Their Youngest Guests
I’ll be the first to admit that I haven’t been over to Tom Sawyer Island at Magic Kingdom in years. Part of that is because Tom Sawyer Island is basically a big playground. It's an open area where kids can run around climb on rocks, walk through caves and otherwise expend energy, something they can’t do standing in line or even on many attractions.
Alongside the reveal of the new Cars attractions at Magic Kingdom came the news of multiple new attractions coming to Disney California Adventure in Anaheim. This has led to speculation that either Hollywood Land, home to a Monsters Inc. dark ride, or the Grizzly Peak area of the park may be ripe for redevelopment. The latter could mean the end of the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail, a similar play area full of rope bridges, slides and other places where kids can play.
This would be tragic considering the last major redevelopment at DCA replaced A Bug Land with Avengers Campus. Four attractions designed specifically for little kids were replaced with a single attraction that a kid under five can sit on, but likely not participate in. If this keeps up, there will be few places where kids can just play in the parks.
Yes, I have children who are of the age where these thoughts are at the front of my mind. A decade ago, when I was one of those childless Disney Adults that everybody hates, I probably wouldn’t have cared as much, but it wouldn’t change the fact that this is potentially short-term thinking with potentially long-term consequences.
Kids Who Love Disney Parks Become Disney Adults Who Spend Money
Many people see theme parks as entertainment specifically for kids, and this is wrong. Theme parks are designed to be family activities. They are supposed to have something for everybody. This includes activities that everybody can do together, like a dark ride that’s fun for all. It also includes activities that are specifically geared toward different audiences. This could be a thrill ride for a teen or young adult. It might be a fine dining experience for a couple.
Disney Parks aren't for kids, but there need to be things to do that belong to the kids. For younger kids especially, rides that require standing in line for half an hour or more won’t always cut it. Some kids simply aren’t going to be able to handle that. There are many different types of kids with different personalities that need different things, and all should be taken into account. Your average playground is designed with multiple types of experiences in mind, and theme parks need to be as well.
If doing this for the good of the guest isn’t good enough, then let's focus on the money, shall we? As mentioned, I’m a Disney Adult, and a big part of the reason for that was that when I was nine years old, I went to Disneyland and I fell in love with the place. It was the most incredible thing I’d ever seen, and you bet your ass I ran around Tom Sawyer Island back then.
Today, I’m a grown-up (allegedly), and I spend a not-inconsiderate amount of my disposable income inside Disney Parks. Part of the reason that Disney has made a concerted effort to appeal to adults over the last few decades is the simple reason that that’s where the money is. Even Walt knew that.
But to become a Disney Adult, you have to be a kid first. If your memories of Disney Parks as a child are of standing in lines, being too short to go on the rides everybody else is going on, or simply being forced to be still all day, you’re not going to leave the park with the best memories. Decades later, are you going to be excited to bring your own kids if your own memories aren’t that much fun?
While Disney Seems To Be Focusing On Older Guests, Universal Is Moving In To Capture Them
While major attractions are what gets the headlines when theme parks announce what’s new, not every theme park company feels like it's forgetting the youngest guests. Universal Orlando Resort recently redeveloped its land that’s focused on its young visitors, with DreamWorks Land at Universal Studios Florida. It could have put some sort of thrill ride there following the success of Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure and the Jurassic World Velocicoaster, but it didn’t. After building two successful thrill rides, its next project was for the people who wouldn't be able to ride those roller coasters for years. It’s an entire land full of fun for kids, with only one attraction that requires standing in any sort of line. The rest is just open to run around.
Universal is taking things a step further with Universal Kids Resort, an entirely new park currently under construction in Frisco, Texas. It's focused on younger guests, and clearly Universal thinks that’s an investment worth making. I expect it will come back to them in the long term.
If Disney isn't careful, a lot of young kids are going to have much fonder memories of Universal Parks than Disney Parks growing up. In 20 years, we could be making jokes on social media about "Universal Adults."
To be sure, there’s still a lot we don’t know about the future of these new additions to Disney Parks. Perhaps the new Cars area of Frontierland will have some sort of play area in addition to the two announced attractions. Hopefully anything we lose at Disneyland Resort gets replaced with something new as part of the DisneylandForward expansion. I hope Disney doesn't focus on the guests who have the money to the point where they forget that one day, the guests being overlooked will be the ones spending it.
