Land Changelog // updated 2026.05.11
Magic Kingdom · Walt Disney World
Permanently closed for the Piston Peak expansion; did not reopen with the rest of Frontierland.
Vertical construction on Piston Peak became visible from the reopened Big Thunder Mountain Railroad queue as the Cars land rose behind the former Rivers of America.
Confirmed for closure and removed from the digital park map ahead of the Piston Peak (Cars) expansion.
Buildings demolished as Tom Sawyer Island was cleared for Piston Peak construction.
Demolition of the island's structures - Fort Langhorn, Aunt Polly's, the windmill, Potter's/Harper's Mill and the caverns - as Piston Peak construction advanced; effectively complete by November 2025.
Permanently closed along with all of Tom Sawyer Island and the Rivers of America to make way for the Piston Peak (Cars) expansion of Frontierland.
Permanently closed after 52 years (final operating day Sunday, July 6, 2025), along with the Rivers of America and Liberty Square Riverboat, to be replaced by the Piston Peak National Park Cars-themed land.
Rivers of America permanently closed after nearly 54 years, along with Tom Sawyer Island and the Liberty Square Riverboat; the Liberty Belle's final voyage departed around 8:42 p.m. on July 6, 2025 (Disney listed the official closing date as July 7).
Disney announced the permanent closing date for Tom Sawyer Island, the Rivers of America and the Liberty Square Riverboat ahead of the Piston Peak (Cars) expansion.
Announced at D23 (Aug 10, 2024) as the headline attraction of Piston Peak National Park — a Cars-themed land coming to Magic Kingdom as Phase One of the 'Beyond Big Thunder' expansion, replacing the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island. Themed to the national park from 'Planes: Fire & Rescue', guests race off-road vehicles in a mountain-climbing, geyser-jumping rally. No opening date has been announced.
Disney announced the Rivers of America, Tom Sawyer Island, and Liberty Square Riverboat would be removed to make way for a Frontierland expansion themed to Pixar's Cars (later named Piston Peak).
Served its final day of operation on March 15, 2020 (the COVID-19 park shutdown) and never operated again; later removed from Disney's website and app.
Regular snack service ended in 2007; the venue thereafter sat largely dormant, opening only seasonally on the busiest days.
The Mike Fink Keel Boats permanently closed, leaving the Liberty Belle Riverboat and Tom Sawyer Island rafts as the river's only remaining vessels.
Closed as a full restaurant; afterward the venue offered only snacks and beverages.
The Richard F. Irvine Riverboat was rebuilt with an all-new aluminum-and-vinyl superstructure and renamed the Liberty Belle.
Renamed the island's fort from Fort Sam Clemens to Fort Langhorn, tying in with the Tom and Huck film; both names honor Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens).
Renamed from Aunt Polly's Landing to Aunt Polly's Dockside Inn.
Davy Crockett's Explorer Canoes, one of the river's opening-day attractions, permanently closed.
Rethemed into the Big Al's merchandise kiosk during the Country Bear Vacation Hoedown era, themed as Big Al's cabin turned gift shop.
The Admiral Joe Fowler Riverboat was retired after its hull was destroyed when dropped from a crane during a dry-dock overhaul, leaving one riverboat on the river.
Tom Sawyer Island opened in the center of the Rivers of America, an explorable island reachable only by raft.
A second sternwheeler, the Richard F. Irvine Riverboat, entered service on the river.
Opened at Magic Kingdom as a Frontierland raft-access exploration island in the Rivers of America, with caves, bridges, a windmill and Fort Sam Clemens.
Opened as Aunt Polly's Landing, a counter-service restaurant on Tom Sawyer Island, when the island debuted May 20, 1973.
The Admiral Joe Fowler Riverboat, a paddle-wheel sternwheeler, entered service on the river one day after the park opened.
Rivers of America opened with Magic Kingdom on the park's first day, a man-made river encircling the island along Frontierland and Liberty Square; Mike Fink Keel Boats and Davy Crockett's Explorer Canoes launched on it as opening-day attractions.
Opened with Magic Kingdom as a Frontierland attraction ticket booth (the structure that would later become Big Al's).
That's every change on the record in Piston Peak since 1971.
The spotters in our Discord catch the next one first — and the record only grows when someone notices.