Disney Unveils Every Detail of Thrilling Rides Coming to New “Cars” Land at Disney World

The Magic Kingdom expansion caused controversy when it was first announced, as it required filling in the classic Rivers of America attraction

NEED TO KNOW

• Details about the new Cars-themed land coming to Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom Park in Orlando, Fla., were revealed at the D23 conference
• Disney Imagineers revealed the names and more details about both rides coming to the land during the event in Anaheim on Aug. 15
• The expansion caused controversy when it was first announced, as it required filling in the classic Rivers of America attraction

Walt Disney World’s new Cars-themed land is getting race ready!

At the D23 conference in Anaheim on Saturday, Aug. 15, the company announced a slew of new details about the highly anticipated Magic Kingdom expansion — the largest in the Orlando, Fla., theme park’s history — known officially as Piston Peak National Park.

Imagineers revealed the names of both rides in the land. The first, Ridge Run Rally, will be its centerpiece. Rather than the head-to-head race to the finish found on Disney California Adventure’s Radiator Springs Racers, on this ride, “each car is competing for the fastest lap in the wilderness,” the Imagineers behind the ride explained to the evening’s host, Neil Patrick Harris.

First, racers will face a thrilling climb up a mountain. “Once you reach the peak, it’s gonna be completely covered in snow,” creating a magical scene, they said. On the way down, there’s “a series of camelback hu,mps” and the road will get very bouncy.

Lastly, riders will swerve through a geyser field, including past the punnily named Old Tankful, before making for the finish line.

“All these natural wonders will come alive with the adventurous spirit, humor and heart of Lightning, Mater and all their friends,” the Imagineers promised. “When we’re finished, this will be a new type of racing experience unlike anything we’ve done anywhere else in the world.”

The second ride, which had been a mystery until now, also got a major reveal. It will be called Miss Fritter’s Daredevil Spinoff, and it will star a massive school bus animatronic of the spunky, demoliderby-lovingoving character from Cars 3.

As park watchers predicted, this one will be more for the little kids and will be a flat ride not dissimilar to those already found in the Cars-centric area at Disney’s California Adventure in California.

Piston Peak National Park was first announced at 2024’s D23 convention.

The Walt Disney Company revealed an update in a June 2025 post on the official Disney Parks blog, sharing that Piston Peak “will continue the sweeping storytelling tradition that has crossed Liberty Square and Frontierland” since it opened in the 1970s.

Unlike the Cars-themed land already open at Disney’s California Adventure, which is set in the iconic desert landscape of the American Southwest, Piston Peak is inspired by the Rocky Mountains and the American frontier.

The blog post encouraged fans to “Imagine an awe-inspiring wilderness filled with towering trees, snowcapped mountains, breathtaking waterfalls, roaring rivers and impressive geysers.”

The park also revealed that Piston Peak visitors would “be able to see and explore the visitor lodge, Ranger HQ, trails and more all set within the Disney and Pixar Cars universe.” 

The centerpiece of the land will be a racing ride featuring a new off-road vehicle, according to Pixar Chief Creative Officer Pete Docter and Imagineer Michael Hundgen, who shared details of the innovation at the Future of World-Building at Disney panel at SXSW in March 2025.

The Imagineers worked with a motocross company after taking a trip to Arizona to experience driving in a real off-road vehicle on rocky terrain, according to a Disney blog post.

A model of the entire land, unveiled at D23 2026, showed that the second ride appears to be similar to the little-kid-friendly Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree or Luigi’s Rollickin’ Roadsters at California Adventure.

The creation of Piston Peak is not without controversy, however, as Disney decided to close the classic attractions Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island in order to make way for it.

Rivers of America has been a part of Frontierland and Liberty Square in Magic Kingdom since Disney World opened in 1971.

The Liberty Belle steamboat and Tom Sawyer Island were later added in 1973. (The boat took guests along a narrated tour of scenes from America’s early frontier, and guests could also take a raft over to Tom Sawyer Island, which drew inspiration from Mark Twain’s famous novel.)

The attractions closed permanently in July 2025.

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