There has been a large construction site in Magic Kingdom at Disney World that will be home to the new Cars-inspired land. When this site broke ground, there were broad mentions and minimal concept art of what the land would look like and what would be included, but now we have many more concrete details on this new land and its attractions.
One of those attractions will continue to operate in the rain, setting it apart from many other outdoor rides at Disney World. Keep reading for all the details on this new ride! Mickey Visit brings you the latest Disney news and planning resources, including a big change to the park apps that remove an offering and rare Disney props being sold for upwards of $115,900, including a trash can.
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Cars Ridge Run Rally Expected to Operate in Rainy Weather
Piston Peak National Park is one of the new lands coming to Magic Kingdom. It is inspired by the fan-favorite Cars franchise, and will be different from the Cars Land that already exists in Disneyland. Rather than having guests step into the film, Imagineers are taking inspiration from various national parks across the U.S. to create a more natural-looking land that will fit in with the established aesthetics of Frontierland, the land it will be neighboring. Piston Peak National Park will stretch across the areas where Tom Sawyer Island and the Rivers of America used to be. You can see a model of the land above.
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There are two rides planned for Piston Peak National Park. Miss Fritter’s Daredevil Spin-Along is a family-friendly ride featuring spinning cars. The second ride is the main thrill attraction of the new land. Cars Ridge Run Rally is an off-road race that will take riders through some of the landscape of Piston Peak National Park, featuring a bumpy climb up a mountain and a fast descent.
This new thrill ride will operate in the rain, which is different from many other outdoor Disney World rides. It will also be a welcome change since the Orlando area will often get pop-up showers and rainstorms, so having a ride still operate during those unexpected showers will not interrupt your park plans. Cars Ridge Run Rally will still close if there is lightning in the area for guest safety.
During D23, Imagineers revealed that geysers and water will be a main show element of the ride, so the vehicles will already be able to operate in water and will be able to regularly withstand getting wet. The cars will race through a geyser field near the end of the ride, and those geysers will be erupting and therefore getting the track wet. Other ride vehicles are often not designed with that element in mind, so they close during a rainstorm.
The ride vehicles for Cars Ridge Run Rally are actual all-terrain cars, making them more durable than some other ride vehicles. They do not simulate an off-roading experience, but rather actually give one to the riders by reacting physically to the terrain. Each car seats four riders, two in the front and two in the back.
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This announcement was far from the only one that was revealed at D23 for Disney World. At Magic Kingdom, more details were released about Villains Land, including the fact that the official name of the land will be Villains Land. There will also be two new rides in the land: a roller coaster starring Maleficent and a dark ride centered around the Evil Queen and Magic Mirror.
Carousel of Progress in Tomorrowland will be getting overhauled to update the classic ride. Every single scene in the ride will be changed, giving the attraction a brand new look and feel. The new version will include the first-ever audio animatronic of Walt Disney himself.
Spaceship Earth at EPCOT will also be revamped to bring the ride to the current day. The thematic focus of the ride will shift from innovations in communication to the human connection, and it will also update the timeline of the ride to bring it “into the Internet age and beyond.”
You can find our full coverage of the 2026 D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event here.
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