Magic Kingdom Attraction’s Future in Doubt as Fans Bet on Economic Downturn

The United States economy is in a strange place. Donald Trump’s tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico, China, and the European Union have forced the economy into unknown territory.

Consumers can expect goods from all those countries to rise exponentially higher over the next few weeks as the tariffs kick in. This instability has rattled the stock market, as the indexes substantially dropped last week.

This prompted an economist from J.P. Morgan Chase to predict a 40 percent chance that the U.S. economy will see a recession this year, something that was virtually impossible a few weeks ago.

Now, a recession would be disastrous for families in America, as millions would lose their jobs, and savings/home values would decline. It would also have a devasting effect on Disney’s domestic parks, which rely on families having discretionary funds to spend at the parks.

However, for some reason, a segment of Disney fandom is rooting for the U.S. economy to head into a recession in hopes of stopping one of Disney World’s most contentious projects.

Disney fans have been on edge since it was announced that Magic Kingdom would close Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island and replace them with a new Cars Land. Few Disney decisions, short of closing Splash Mountain, have been more controversial in the Disney online community.

Fans have been petitioning Disney and CEO Bob Iger to reconsider their decision, but Disney appears poised to go through with the transition, especially after showing off its new ride concept at last week’s SXSW Festival. Disney fans have even petitioned Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to declare Rivers of America a state landmark, to no avail.

So now, Disney fans have a different plan to stop the Rivers of America change-over: hope for a recession. The thought process is that fewer people will go to Disney World if there is a recession, which means Disney would presumably have to cancel some of its announced projects.

It has happened in the past. Disney announced a new Mary Poppins attraction at the United Kingdom Pavilion and a refurbishment of Spaceship Earth at EPCOT. Both projects were shelved during the pandemic and have not been brought back to life.

It’s unlikely that Disney would pause a major construction project due to fan outrage, but a recession?

A recession would certainly make you reforecast your future cash flows and as a result, your capex – in any business.

— Belle (@FiBelleFi) March 11, 2025

There are a number of moving parts to this plan that require a larger global economic disaster. There is also the pure cynicism of wishing a recession on millions of people who have no interest in Disney World simply to save a ride.

But with few options available to them, some Disney fans have resorted to this, hoping to save a theme park attraction.

What do you think of Disney fans hoping for a recession to save Rivers of America?