UPDATED September 24, 2025

START YOUR ENGINES… A new area inspired by the Pixar Animation Studios movie Cars is coming to Frontierland in Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. Get ready to visit Piston Peak!

The cars are leaving Radiator Springs to explore the West and head into new frontiers. Piston Peak will invite you to enter the world of Cars with a National Park twist.

When making the announcement about this new Magic Kingdom area, Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro shared that “The American West has always been about keeping your eyes on the horizon … believing in yourself, carving your own path, and striving toward success. That goes for miners in the mountains, bears from the country, a princess from the bayou … or a racecar from the big city.”

Piston Peak Inspiration

The upcoming area is inspired by National Parks, and specifically Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. The name of Piston Peak stems from the fictional land, Piston Peak National Park, from the 2014 Disney film Planes: Fire & Rescue (which is part of the Cars universe).

Piston Peak will even feature a geyser inspired by Old Faithful called Old Tankful.

Inspiration is also drawn from Disney parks (including areas like Grizzly Peak in Disney California Adventure), and even existing Resort buildings like Disney World’s Wilderness Lodge.

In fact, Big Thunder Mountain — a classic Frontierland attraction which we’ll be able to see next door in Piston Peak — was inspired by Bryce Canyon National Park, so this is in keeping with current theming in Frontierland.

Here are 8 CLUES Hiding in the map of Piston Peak!

Piston Peak Cars Attractions

So, what’s coming to this Cars-themed area? Guests can look forward to two NEW Cars attractions!

Rally Race-themed Attraction

Get ready to race through the mountains on wild terrain along mountain trails as you dodge geysers and splash through mud holes on an exciting and thrilling rally race ride.

Disney Imagineers have revealed that the queue for this ride will be housed in the visitor lodge area of Piston Peak National Park, which will be constructed to look like an A-frame mountain lodge.

In March 2025, Disney shared a bit about what’s going on behind the scenes when it comes to creating the new Cars attractions. Specifically, the Disney Imagineering team traveled to Arizona to take a ride in some real off-road vehicles to gain inspiration. Afterwards, the team worked with a motocross company to build a dirt track and work on creating the new ride vehicles. 

To ensure the attraction feels as realistic as possible, the team is using a customized production vehicle with sensors all over to gather data on how it feels to drive on varying terrain. Disney also revealed pieces of concept art for the ride vehicles, as you can see above and below!

Each vehicle (a car, of course!) will have its own personality along with its own name and number.

Imagineer Michael Hundgen explained, “Our primary goal is creating an emotional experience for our guests. For this Cars attraction, we need to invent a new type of ride vehicle. No one builds these in a factory because it has to do so much more than just carrying you from one place to another. We have to create a car that conveys a feeling when you ride in it.”

Additionally, Disney created their own outdoor track to better understand off-roading, and you can take a peek here. 

In fact, as you move through the queue for the attraction, you’ll be introduced to a new character: Ranger J. Autobahn Woodlore. (This is a nod to Ranger J. Audubon Woodlore, the park ranger from Disney’s Humphrey the Bear and Donald Duck cartoons.)

An animatronic of Ranger J. Autobahn Woodlore will be featured in a pre-show, where he’ll tell you about the history of Piston Peak and its folklore (which Disney has promised we’ll learn more about at a later date).

Take  DEEP DIVE into the concept art for BOTH Cars attractions HERE!

A Family-Friendly Attraction for “Smaller Racers”

Disney shared that the second ride will be geared toward “smaller racers” and will be fun for the whole family! The queue for this ride will be housed in the park ranger lodge.

Piston Peak Design Elements

The buildings in Piston Peak will have “car-ified” elements like lower windows so that cars can see out of them, entrances and building additions that are big enough for cars, and architecture that shows the cars are using found materials — such as old wagon wheels — in their buildings.

Disney Parks Blog shared that “To make sure these buildings fit naturally within the surrounding majestic landscapes, Imagineers are using a style of architecture called ‘Parkitecture,’ which was developed by the National Park Service to create structures that harmonize with the natural environment.”

Oh, and did we mention that this area will have a LOT of water elements and shade?! Imagineers said they lost count of the number of waterfalls being added to this new area!

Disney further stated that “From the outside, trees will provide a natural barrier between the off-road rally and other parts of Frontierland and Liberty Square.”

“Rugged mountains with dramatic peaks will be nestled along a calming waterway across from Grizzly Hall and soaring geysers from the famed Big Thunder Mountain Railroad will stretch into the trails of our off-road rally. ”

Piston Peak Location

The areas that were previously the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island are being transformed into this brand-new land coming to the park. That means that Cars land will be located in Frontierland and as Disney wrote will, “put our guests in the driver’s seat as we—quite literally—explore a new frontier in Frontierland.”

To that end, the Rivers of America, Tom Sawyer Island (and the accompanying raft ride to the Island), and the Liberty Square Riverboat closed permanently on July 7th, 2025. You can see our coverage of the final day with these beloved classic attractions here.

Piston Peak Cars Area Timeline

Construction on Piston Peak is underway as of July 7th, 2025. That is when the Liberty Square Riverboat (which sailed down the Rivers of America) and Tom Sawyer Island closed to accommodate construction. Below is an image that  @bioreconstruct on X posted in September 2025 to show some of the progress in the area:

Additionally, the Walt Disney World Railroad needs to undergo some changes. As part of these changes, the Frontierland Walt Disney World Railroad station closed on July 7th, but the train is still available to take guests between the Main Street, U.S.A. and Fantasyland stations in “shuttle mode.”

Please also be aware that Frontierland’s Big Thunder Mountain closed on January 6th, 2025, and won’t reopen until 2026. The ride will return, however, and will even do so with “with a little bit of new magic,” accordingly to Disney.  Big Thunder Mountain Railroad will be subtly updated to fit into the Piston Peak area — you’ll see rainbow geyser pools scattered around the base of the mountain, and possibly even some tire tread tracks in the dirt! (This closure may also be intended to accommodate construction on Villains Land, another major expansion that is in the works for Magic Kingdom.)

We CAN’T WAIT to share EVERYTHING about this new area as it is revealed. In the meantime, find a COMPLETE GUIDE to Disney World’s Magic Kingdom HERE!

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