Piston Peak model at D23 reveals a Miss Fritter attraction
An original character Ranger J. Autobahn Woodlore was also revealed
Walt Disney Imagineering put a 19-by-19-foot model of the Cars land on the D23 show floor Thursday night. The second ride, a mystery for two years, is themed to the demolition derby school bus from Cars 3.
Disney has been sitting on what the second Piston Peak ride would be since 2024. A model answered it Thursday night before anybody took a stage.
Walt Disney Imagineering unveiled the scale model of Piston Peak National Park at the Imagineering: Horizons pavilion, ahead of the show floor opening Friday. It runs roughly 19 feet by 19 feet.
The land replaces the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island in Frontierland at Magic Kingdom.
What the Piston Peak model shows
Two rides sit in the model, side by side.
The bigger one is the off-road rally race, which WDW News Today reports will run mostly around the perimeter of the mountain with ride vehicles that have their own personalities. In the queue, a new original character named Ranger J. Autobahn Woodlore, a car built as a nod to Ranger J. Audubon Woodlore from Disney’s 1950s cartoons.
An orange rally car is visible on the model coming down the front of the mountain, in the sightline from Liberty Square.
That sightline has been the whole design problem. Imagineers said last year they were building so guests wouldn’t see piston-shaped peaks or hear engines from the rest of the park, and the model is the first chance anyone outside Disney has had to check the math.
A river still winds through it, smaller than the one it replaces. Waterfalls and geysers are in the plan, along with a barrel bridge that tips its hat to Tom Sawyer Island.
Piston Peak’s second attraction is a Miss Fritter ride
Until Thursday, all Disney had said was that ride number two would suit younger kids.
It’s Miss Fritter. The undefeated demolition derby queen from Cars 3, a school bus caked in mud with a spinning saw blade on one side and a stop sign sharpened into a weapon on the other, who hunts down opponents at the Thunder Hollow Speedway.
It seems to be similar to Luigi's Rollickin' Roadsters in Disneyland.
The mystery space behind Haunted Mansion is a restroom
Here’s the detail the model settled that nobody expected it to.
Parks watchers have spent months guessing what Disney was tucking into the pocket of land behind the Haunted Mansion queue. Popular theories ran to a lounge like the ones on Disney Cruise Line ships, or an extended queue to stop the overflow that spills into Liberty Square on busy days.
WDWNT looked at the model and found a few buildings with no theming at all. One of them is plainly a restroom.
Not a bar. Not a queue. Toilets.
When does Piston Peak National Park open
Disney has not announced an opening date yet.
Some outlets are saying 2029, but that is only a rumor at this time, but land prep is well under way.
Guests can also pose with a Piston Peak land marquee at the pavilion, complete with a Goat Cart.
The Saturday parks panel could still add an opening window, a name for the rally ride, or nothing at all. Two years of waiting produced a bus with a saw blade and a bathroom, which is either an anticlimax or exactly the kind of thing that makes a land feel like a place.
Article compiled with the help of the Pirates & Princesses newsroom.
Pirates and Princesses is your destination for Disney news, theme park updates, and the pop culture you love. From Disney cruises and travel tips to Disney fashion, food, collectibles, and movie news, PNP covers it all. Visit us at piratesandprincesses.net for daily coverage. Follow PNP on Facebook and Instagram, and listen to the Pirates & Princesses podcast on Apple Podcasts and YouTube.
Hat Tips:
Disney Parks Blog (August 13, 2026), the official pavilion breakdown including the 19-by-19-foot model and the Goat Cart marquee display
WDW News Today (August 13, 2026), Shannen Ace’s on-floor reporting including the Miss Fritter reveal, the Ranger J. Autobahn Woodlore queue character, the rally ride layout, and the unthemed buildings behind Haunted Mansion
WDW News Today (June 2025), Imagineering’s earlier comments on Frontierland sightlines and the land’s water features
Laughing Place (August 13, 2026), additional model photography and pavilion context