Life is a highway — and this time, we’re taking it off-road.
For nearly two decades, Disney and Pixar’s Cars has continued to race forward as one of the studio’s most enduring franchises. What began with Lightning McQueen finding himself stranded in the forgotten town of Radiator Springs has grown through sequels, shorts, series, merchandise and some rather impressive theme park experiences.
Now, another road is opening.
And this one is going straight through the wilderness.
As Magic Kingdom undergoes the largest expansion in the park’s history, Disney has revealed even more about Piston Peak National Park, the massive new Cars-inspired area being created as an extension of Frontierland.
But we’re not simply getting another chance to cruise alongside Lightning McQueen and Mater.
We’re racing.
Disney has now revealed that Piston Peak will feature two attractions, including the previously teased off-road racing experience and a newly announced demolition derby adventure featuring one very familiar face from Cars 3.
So buckle up.
The Race Is On at Piston Peak
At the center of this new expansion will be Cars Ridge Run Rally, an ambitious racing attraction sending guests into the wilderness to determine who really is the “wildest racer in the wheelderness.”
Yes, Disney went there.
And so will we.
Guests will compete for the “fastest lap in the west” as their vehicles race through an environment inspired by America’s national parks.
But this isn’t going to be a smooth Sunday drive.
The course will send racers across ridges, rivers, muddy flats and tree-covered trails before beginning the climb up Piston Peak itself.
At the top?
Snow.
Racers will reach an icy mountaintop before plunging down a camelback descent and eventually racing into a massive geyser field. After circling Old Tankfull geyser, it’s one final sprint toward the finish line as Lightning McQueen and Mater cover the competition live for Racing Sports Network.
And Disney isn’t simply making the scenery look like we’re going off-road.
These Cars Are Actually Going Off-Road
This might be one of the more interesting pieces of technology Disney has revealed for the attraction.
Imagineers are developing an entirely new ride vehicle for Cars Ridge Run Rally designed not to simulate an off-road vehicle.
It’s actually going to behave like one.
The tires and suspension will physically respond to the terrain beneath the vehicle, meaning riders will feel the bumps, rocks, drops and other changes as their car moves across the course.
Considering how naturally Cars lends itself to theme park racing experiences, pushing the technology beyond a traditional track could give Piston Peak an identity very different from what fans have already experienced with the franchise.
Radiator Springs let us race.
Piston Peak is taking us into the wild.
Miss Fritter Is Ready to Cause Some Chaos
But not every car visiting Piston Peak is interested in a scenic drive.
Remember Miss Fritter?
The demolition-loving school bus from Cars 3 is getting an attraction of her own with Miss Fritter’s Daredevil Spin-Along.
And naturally, she’s hosting a demolition derby.
The attraction will center around a massive school-bus-sized Miss Fritter Audio-Animatronic, with the “Diva of Demolition” presiding over what Disney describes as her wildest demolition derby yet.
For younger Cars fans who might not be ready for the larger Ridge Run Rally, it also gives Piston Peak another experience built around the franchise’s colorful cast and wonderfully ridiculous automotive world.
Because apparently even national parks need demolition derbies.
Cars Is Expanding the American Frontier
Perhaps the biggest question surrounding Piston Peak has been how a Pixar franchise about talking automobiles fits into Frontierland.
Disney’s answer is to make the land feel less like another recreation of Radiator Springs and more like a national park that happens to exist inside the Cars universe.
Piston Peak will draw inspiration from the Rocky Mountains and America’s national parks, complete with towering forests, waterfalls, rivers, geysers and snowcapped peaks.
Guests will find Ranger HQ, trails, a visitor lodge and other pieces of national park life throughout the area.
Imagineers are even using “Parkitecture,” the architectural philosophy developed by the National Park Service to create buildings that blend naturally into their surrounding environments.
And geographically, Disney is using Piston Peak to continue the westward journey already built into this side of Magic Kingdom.
Guests move from the colonial influences of Liberty Square through Frontierland, past the North Woods, New Orleans-inspired environments surrounding Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and the Arizona landscapes of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.
Now we’re heading even farther into the wilderness.
Another Road Opens for Cars
There is something rather fitting about Cars continuing to find new roads almost 20 years after Lightning McQueen first raced onto our screens.
The franchise has always been built around movement.
Different places. Different racers. Different adventures.
Piston Peak gives Disney an opportunity to take those characters away from the familiar streets and racetracks and drop them into an entirely different environment.
And the scale of Magic Kingdom’s transformation makes this even more interesting.
Beyond the mountains and forests of Piston Peak, Disney is already building the massive Villains Land — meaning this entire corner of Magic Kingdom is preparing to look dramatically different in the years ahead.
But before we venture into the darkness, there’s a race to finish.
So start your engines, buckle those seatbelts and get ready to find the wildest racer in the wilderness — because life is a highway, and Piston Peak is taking us somewhere completely new.