As Walt Disney World races to begin construction on Cars and Villains Lands in Magic Kingdom, the project has hit its first speed bump that could delay the expansion and closure of Tom Sawyer Island and the Rivers of America. This post discusses the obstacle, along with what this could mean for construction, closing dates, and opening timelines. (Updated November 4, 2024.)
In case you’re unfamiliar with these plans, Walt Disney World announced two all-new Cars attractions in a reimagined area of Frontierland at Magic Kingdom during D23. This is not Radiator Springs or a clone of Cars Land from Disney California Adventure, but it’s sizable enough for us to consider it Cars miniland at minimum. Along with this, they officially announced Villains Land expansion at Magic Kingdom.
Subsequent to D23, Walt Disney World revealed that the Cars area will actually replace the Rivers of America, meaning that Tom Sawyer Island and the Liberty Square Riverboat will permanently close. This news let a lot of the air out of the tires from Walt Disney World’s otherwise blockbuster night. (Okay, enough with car-related puns. Sorry, I’ll stop.)
More recently, Walt Disney World has announced that Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is Closing for Refurbishment at Magic Kingdom until 2026! This closure has been rumored for the last 6 months, and became an open secret once the first construction permit was filed in June. At that time, work was expected to begin in August or September.
This BTMRR multi-year closure is notable because there almost certainly will be overlap, at least in part, with this project and work to fill in the Rivers of America and begin Cars construction. Among other things, this will include connecting BTMRR and Villains Land with Liberty Square and Fantasyland.
Just look at the concept art above–the main thoroughfare on the far right runs between Big Thunder and Haunted Mansion, and there’s a smaller pathway veering off the art that leads into what will become Villains Land.
Honestly, though, this development doesn’t really change anything with the anticipated closure of Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad’s closure was inevitable and already (more or less) a known quantity. All this really does is reaffirm our commentary below, and further reinforces the notion that closures are likely to begin before the second half of 2025.
Our expectation is that the Rivers of America, Tom Sawyer Island, and Liberty Square Riverboat won’t all close simultaneously. There’s the possibility–if not probability–that Imagineering and construction crews will use coffer dams to preserve the aesthetics of the guest-facing side of the Rivers of America for as long as possible.
This could last into 2026. That would allow work to start backstage and on the back half of the island, which would include this pathway connecting Big Thunder to Liberty Square. At the very least, I’d expect work on that pathway to begin before the BTMRR refurbishment project ends. That means some portion of the Rivers of America closing by the end of 2025, at the absolute latest.
As for the Beyond Big Thunder projects (a misnomer now), Imagineering filed permits with the South Florida Water Management District that relate to stormwater displacement modifications and construction laydown yards a couple of months ago. There are low-lying areas to the northwest of the Rivers of America, necessitating additional work to establish usable gravel laydown yards in the first place.
There will be three in gravel laydown yards around the northwestern perimeter of Magic Kingdom. Two will be located beyond the berm, meaning outside of Magic Kingdom guest areas, with the third laydown yard that should be visible from within Magic Kingdom along the northwestern banks of the Rivers of America. These gravel laydown yards will be used for construction equipment, heavy machinery, materials staging, earth-moving, etc.
These approvals are a necessary prerequisite for beginning substantive construction–this type of permit is required is when waterways are going to be rerouted or water is displaced. Basically, before the Rivers of America can be drained, Disney needs to explain how they are going to replace the lost stormwater runoff capacity–they need to offset what’s being lost by the Rivers of America. Such is the nature of construction in the swamps.
About one month after the permits were filed, the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) responded to Imagineering with a 6-page ‘Request for Additional Information’ letter regarding the 407 Basin Stormwater Modifications project. As the name suggests, this is a request for additional information, clarifications, and corrections as well as changes or revisions to parts of the plan. Since it’s only 6 pages (unlike the ~1,000 page initial application), you might as well read the whole thing for yourself here.
We’re going to address common misconceptions about this deeper in the post. The bottom line for now is that this type of request is common in a project of this nature–we’ve just never seen anything of this degree since Walt Disney World hasn’t undertaken a project that would displace so much stormwater capacity (at least to our recollection) since we’ve been covering construction. If I recall correctly, one or more of the DVC projects situated on Bay Lake and/or Seven Seas Lagoon have received similar requests, but I don’t recall which offhand (not the new Island Tower).
Big picture, the SFWMD really wants to know more about the potential wetland and surface water impacts, including the following: type of wetland or other surface water to be impacted, seasonal high water and wetland normal pool elevations, total area/acreage of disturbed and undisturbed wetlands, as well as better labeling of wetland boundaries and upland buffers. The SFWMD is a water management district (it’s right in the name), so it’s unsurprising that these are the nature of their concerns. They want to make sure the construction won’t result in flooding inside or outside the construction area due to lost stormwater runoff capacity.
They also request reasonable assurances that the proposed project will not adversely impact the abundance and diversity of fish, wildlife, protected species, bald eagle, etc. That Disney isn’t doing anything to jeopardize the habitats of protected species. Basically, the SFWMD wants to make sure that Blinky the Three-Eyed Fish hasn’t chosen the cement canal as its new native habitat, that Disney isn’t disturbing bald eagles, etc. (Remember that bear that broke into Magic Kingdom? SFWMD wants to ensure Disney isn’t pulling a “Bambi” and killing his buddies in the name of Cars.)
Perhaps most interestingly, the SFWMD wants Imagineering to “explore practical design modifications to reduce or eliminate adverse impacts to wetland functions,” because the application doesn’t sufficiently demonstrate that Disney has adequately pursued site plan alternatives that eliminate or reduce the impacts to wetlands. SFWMD wants supporting documents that basically show Disney has done its due diligence to figure out the best way to mitigate the impact on water management–including alternative plans.
There’s a lot more to the letter than that–the SFWMD has outlined 20 problem points (over two-dozen if you count subparts) that need clarification or supplemental information. But this is the general gist of it and, again, you can read the entire letter if you’re concerned with knowing the nitty-gritty of the issues.
The South Florida Water Management District is requesting a “complete response” that addresses all of the problem points. If one is not received within 90 days of the letter, Disney’s application will be processed for denial. Imagineering may also submit a written request for an extension via the ePermitting website.
Turning to commentary, I actually have some tangentially-related experience with this type of permitting in a past life. And by that, I mean I dealt with government permitting in Indiana, which obviously does not have swamps. It’s mostly cows, corn, and brownfields (very different locations, thankfully). The animating idea nevertheless seems similar.
My experience was that the government receives requests, analyzes them and offers a bit of pushback to justify their own existence, the applicant clarifies (often after the automatic granting of a 90-day extension so they can collaborate with counsel about how little information can be shared to satisfy the request), and whatever is submitted is eventually rubber-stamped. Everyone gets what they want in the end, albeit with extra expense and wasted time. (Sadly, Ron Swanson is actually a mythical figure in Indiana government.)
Florida actually seems serious about stormwater management and wetlands, which makes sense because the entire state is basically one giant swamp–or is swamp adjacent. My impression (both firsthand and indirect) is that the state is fairly light on government bureaucracy and needless red tape, but water management is one thing that’s more scrutinized. And for good reason.
That’s basically what this is. Imagineering needs to do more work to explain how water management will not be adversely impacted, demonstrate that they’ve done their due diligence in analyzing alternatives, and explain that they aren’t killing any adorable animals that people love (three-eyed fish are probably fine–minimal cuteness factor).
Now for what this isn’t. We’ve already heard a lot of speculation and wishful thinking from fans about how the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District or the State of Florida could basically present insurmountable barriers that kill the project. Even prior to this, I saw suggestions that rather than a letter writing campaign to Disney, fans engage in one to CFTOD or the governor.
Basically, this isn’t any of that. South Florida Water Management District is not the same as the CFTOD. Its purview isn’t just over Walt Disney World. The SFWMD’s responsibility is to safeguard and restore South Florida’s water resources and ecosystems, protect communities from flooding, and meet the region’s water needs.
It’s a regional governmental agency that manages the water resources in the southern half of the state, covering 16 counties from Orlando to the Florida Keys and serving a population of 9 million residents. Its big initiative is restoring the Everglades.
Moreover, the CFTOD of late 2024 also isn’t the same CFTOD of this same time last year. A lot has changed there, and the leadership is no longer adversarial to Walt Disney World. Ditto DeSantis. It’s still certainly a far cry from how things were under the Reedy Creek Improvement District, but it’s gotten a lot better than last year when there were threats of a prison, toll roads, etc., on-site.
Personally, I’d be absolutely shocked if the state “took a stand” on this and prevented it from happening. Perhaps during the height of DeSantis vs. Disney, but not now. I don’t think the optics among the general public would be the same as they are among some Disney fans.
The upside in undertaking this battle from a culture war perspective has been exhausted, and reigniting that over this would be more damaging from an anti-business perspective than it’d be fruitful. I just don’t see the average person caring about saving Tom Sawyer Island and the Rivers of America from a historical or ‘Americana’ perspective. Of course, I’ve been wrong about this type of thing before.
What’s much more likely is that South Florida Water Management District is not satisfied with Walt Disney World’s proposals, and there’s more back-and-forth than anticipated. That could result in delays and costs spiraling beyond what was originally budgeted.
If anything, that’s the only thing that could realistically let the air out of the tires of the Cars land project: time and money.
I’m not suggesting that will cause Imagineering to go back to the drawing board or even that it’s more likely than not. To the contrary, I’d put the chances of this project getting the green light from the state more or less as conceived at over 90%. I’m just saying that if there is some basis for this not happening, it’s probably the SFWMD having legitimate basis for slow-rolling the project, and Disney shifting into a different direction as a result.
As for the titular question, Tom Sawyer Island and Rivers of America have no closing date at present. Walt Disney World has only indicated that work will kick “into high gear” in 2025, but before then, that “guests will have plenty of time to experience the charm and nostalgia of Frontierland as it is today.”
Previously, our guess is that this means those closures would not occur until after Easter 2025. We further speculated that Magic Kingdom might try to get through Summer 2025 before closing Tom Sawyer Island and the Rivers of America. Disney Starlight Parade is going to be hugely popular upon debut and will need ample viewing space during its opening summer along the promenade in Frontierland. Construction walls up on one side of the walkway would reduce viewing capacity. (See Construction & Openings Timelines for New Lands, Rides & Additions at Disney World.)
At this point, there’s no reason to believe a 90-day delay or even a 180-day delay with an extension materially alters the outer range of that prediction. My guess is that this was actually built into the original timeline of the project, since this is a fairly routine request. If Imagineering doesn’t promptly file a response and if the SFWMD doesn’t quickly approve, I do think we can rule out a closure of the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island around Easter 2025. But that might’ve never been the goal in the first place.
Starting shortly after Labor Day 2025 is certainly still possible–as are the few months before then if Walt Disney World isn’t concerned with starting construction right around the debut of Disney Starlight Night Parade. (Total aside, but the spot above was a personal favorite for ‘atmospheric’ viewings of SpectroMagic or MSEP. Note that the photo is actually a long exposure of the streaming lights of the parade. I look forward to watching Starlight from the same location.)
Also keep in mind that it’s not like this project gets approved, and walls go up around Rivers of America the very next day. There’s presumably a decent amount of backstage prep and site work that could be undertaken even before the waterway is drained.
I don’t purport to be an expert on any of this stuff, but it seems possible that Disney could install a coffer dam to preserve access to Tom Sawyer Island and the view of the Rivers of America for the entirety of 2025. They’ve done this type of thing before–and it could prolong the amount of time fans have to say goodbye to these areas while also reducing visual blight until it’s absolutely necessary. In such a scenario, the Liberty Square Riverboat would be first to close, and that would probably happen before the second half of 2025.
Ultimately, the back-and-forth on the SFWMD permitting process doesn’t really change a whole lot in the grand scheme of things. It does significantly increases the likelihood that the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island will be safe through at least Easter 2025, but that was probably always the case.
I’d take that a step further and predict that, regardless of this request, you probably have until at least August 2025 to say goodbye to the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island. Even beyond that, there seems like a pretty good possibility that Disney does backstage work first, and this serene scenery and access are preserved until early 2026.
Of course, my real hope is that Imagineering goes back to the drawing board entirely and finds a way to preserve the promenade and waterfront. I can accept losing Tom Sawyer Island and the riverboat, I guess, but paving over that beautiful vista is a bridge too far for me. Hopefully fan feedback or a last-minute miracle can save it, but I’m not holding my breath.
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Your Thoughts
Thoughts on the SFWMD’s request for additional information? Do you expect that Imagineering will make major revisions and changes to the project, or simply offer further clarification and reassurances? Hoping that there’s still time for a change of plans if Florida doesn’t approve? Excited or underwhelmed by the plan to replace Rivers of America with Cars land? Or, are you in wait and see mode with this? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback—even when you disagree with us—is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!