I understand it is not just getting rid of Tom Sawyer Island, but also the River’s of America and the steam boat. One of two things that will happen if Cars Land was to replace both of those, is that Cars Land will not be that popular and not attract that many more quests, then why cause a major disruption to Frontierland. On the other hand Cars Land may be very popular then why put it in the most crowded of all Disney’s parks. In either case It would make more sense to put it in a less crowded park, one with not as many rides. They would be copying a ride from California Adventure, a park that has not been doing very well and put it in the best performing park. Now, getting rid of Tom Sawyer Island is not the worst part of this, but getting rid of the Rivers of America and the Riverboat is. What they would be doing is trading a long ride, 20 minutes for the boat, replacing it with a short, less than 5 minute car ride. Plus the Riverboat as well as the river is a beautiful part of Frontierland, so it benefits guests who have never rode it. Watching the boat go by gives a great feeling of the 19th century Frontier, while Cars Land does not fit very well with the frontier. Further, it just seems like it is going to be a mess replacing it and will just reduce the aesthetic quality of the land. Now, replacing Tom Sawyer Island would not be that bad, but it would be better to replace it with something from a more successful park than California Adventure. I would suggest New Orleans Square from the original Disneyland. This is a beautifully done area that would fit with the frontier and with the riverboat. Travel to the island could be improved while still allowing the riverboat to pass by putting in a movable bridge, maybe a drawbridge. The riverboat passes every half hour so guests could cross the bridge most of the time. There could even be two bridges, one by Thundermountain and another by the Haunted Mansion. This means quests could leave the island at any time. Disney should learn from their lack of success in building parks not patterned after the original Disneyland. Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom, California Adventure and Paris Disney Studios have all not lived up to expectations. The only exception was Tokyo Disneysea, which is not owned by Disney. Disney should learn not to mess with something that works by replacing it with something that doesn’t work.
Tom,
Tom,