For anyone visiting Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in the past few months, it’s been hard not to notice the huge construction site in the middle of Frontierland that was once the home of the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island. It doesn’t seem like much today, but Disney just revealed what this construction site will look like when the transformation is complete, featuring a massive new land with two rides inspired by a favorite franchise.
Disney revealed the visual design for a project that will occupy a huge plot of Magic Kingdom land. We have details and firsthand reporting from when Disney unveiled the sneak peek at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event. Mickey Visit brings you the latest Disney news and planning resources, including an expansion of Magic Kingdom’s transportation options and the best way to meet Mickey Mouse that only happens during a specific time.
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It’s almost time for a huge weekend of Disney theme park news at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event 2026 in Anaheim, California. During a press preview of the Imagineering: Horizons pavilion on the D23 Show Floor, our Mickey Visit team saw a sneak peek of several in-progress theme park attractions coming to Disney destinations across the globe.
One of the projects Disney spotlighted was Piston Peak National Park, a new Cars-themed area coming to Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Florida.
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As Disney previously shared, this area’s main attraction will be a thrill ride emulating the feeling of off-roading. Guests will ride in four-person, open-air vehicles that will traverse mountain structures and forested terrain.
During our D23 press preview, Disney revealed the massive scale model for Piston Peak National Park and the new thrill ride!
Looking at the scale model, it’s clear how detailed Piston Peak National Park will be. The project aims to pay tribute to the natural beauty of U.S. national parks, and it can’t do that without lots and lots of trees and rockwork.
We previously saw the working model of the land during a small group media visit to a Walt Disney Imagineering facility. The model captures the care that the Imagineers are taking to blend the new addition into existing theme park landmarks.
Notice that on the side of Piston Peak closest to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, the landscaping pulls some of the red mesa-style rock work from Big Thunder.
Similarly, the other side of Piston Peak will be mindful of its neighboring attractions. Disney is purposefully building Piston Peak with lots of trees so that the view from Liberty Square will not be interrupted by cars whizzing by. To get your bearings in the photo above, the building in the foreground is the former riverboat dock.
Piston Peak won’t just be all dry land, either. A river will wind its way between the huge new mountain and the existing Frontierland thoroughfare. Though it will be much smaller than the former Rivers of America, we love seeing that a body of water will continue to be part of this section of Magic Kingdom.
From the above angle, you can see how Piston Peak will be situated in relation to the rest of Frontierland. On the left are existing buildings such as the Diamond Horseshoe and Country Bear Musical Jamboree.
Disney also revealed a look at the ride vehicles. Each vehicle will seat four guests.
D23 attendees will get to see this model for themselves on display inside the Imagineering: Horizons pavilion on the D23 Show Floor at the Anaheim Convention Center on all three days of the convention, August 14 to 16.
As part of the big event, Lightning McQueen and Mater are the on-air hosts for Racing Sports Network. Riders will see them at the end of the attraction.
Another attraction in Piston Peak will be more family-friendly compared to the thrilling off-road race. The family ride will feature spinning cars. Miss Fritter, the school bus from Cars 3, will be featured as the centerpiece character of the ride.
This will all take time. Disney hasn’t shared an opening timeline for Piston Peak National Park, but we estimate it will open no earlier than 2029.
Pictured above is a recent look at construction progress. There’s a long way to go, but it’s happening!
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Disney may share even more new information about Piston Peak National Park during D23’s Horizons: A Carousel of Progress – Disney Experiences Showcase, aka the “parks panel,” the big arena presentation at the Honda Center this Saturday, August 15, that will detail the future of Disney theme parks.
Click here to see all the news revealed at D23 with our ongoing coverage!
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