Walt Disney World New & Notes



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March 27, 2012 Magic Kingdom Notes
     
The Easter Bunny (and Mrs. Easter Bunny) are available for pictures
in the courtyard next to Town Hall		 The Sunshine Tree Terrace is FINALLY out of rehab though there's still work to be completed
The torches are missing from the figures along the roof It looks like the gas fixtures are going away permanently and they're being electrified (BOO!) The sign is still down
The Trading Post sign is finally complete after rehab We saw the infamous three-
legged alligator that lives in
the Rivers of America		 There's steel going up on the
Big Thunder station
The new shingles are up on the roof They're now hard at work on
the buildings of Tumbleweed		 Still working on the lift hill
Look like they're testing the
finishes on the red tent		 Strange that there are mismatched bulbs on the Dumbo queue building The Storybook Circus
is coming along nicely
   
March 21 & 22, 2012 Magic Kingdom Notes
     
The rehab of the Bakery and Ice Cream Parlor seems to be dragging on and on and on... Still closed (since Christmas) Looks like another Sorcerers window coming soon...REALLY bad location if that is the case since traffic is always so bunched up here
With the Spring Break crowds the seasonal restaurants were open They're making a lot of progress on this section of rockwork on the end of the Mermaid building Storybook Circus didn't open until noon on the 21st
This tower along the new wall is finally getting some work again The giant crane was moving port-a-potties around the site
(or maybe this is some new thrill ride testing?)
Surveyors were at work in Storybook Circus while it was closed on the morning of the 21st The water tower got some new pieces welded to it on the 21st... ...and on the 22nd it had been painted brown (no more blue and yellow!)
I'm sure the brown is just the first layer of color going up on the water tower, but it looks better already Some of the new light fixtures
Lots and lots and lots of construction walls lining the Storybook Circus pathway
The posters are a nice way to decorate the construction walls
This could be the worst effort at a themed trash can Disney has ever produced While there are many nice parts of the new Storybook Circus area, the idea of theming with telephone poles and transformers seems really cheap and crappy...kind of like the way Dinorama is themed to be a carnival in a parking lot.  Not exactly the peak of Imagineering efforts...
While it's great to have the pathway open between Fantasyland Station and Tomorrowland, you'd think that the landscape crews would have put some effort into sprucing up the plantings. It's not like the staff didn't know the pathway was re-opening if I as a guest knew it was. You'd think when they painted the light fixtures on the pathway they would have CLEANED them!
It is nice to have the pathway open even with the lack of "show" standards being upheld The cans inside the Storybook Circus area are a lot nicer than the woodgrain ones near the station It's just odd to me that with all the time they had to work on this the queue wasn't ready to open, let alone the second Dumbo spinner
The Frontierland bridge railings have been replaced Lots of new wood along the railings in Frontierland
Certainly there has to be a way to hide or change these so extension cords aren't hanging out of the light fixtures... Apparently there isn't enough land...ask Mr. Toad (and Snow White)
Standards just keep slipping all around the park. Certainly there has to
be SOME way to wire these lamps so there isn't plastic conduit visible 		The Sunshine Tree Terrace rehab seems to be dragging on
Looks like the crews are making good progress on the station building at Big Thunder
Lots of work still to be done New lumber around the footings in the water area Let's see if they make the June deadline for re-opening
On the 21st the green monorail broke down in the middle of the morning bringing things to a standstill on the monorail lines With the monorails down, resort guests had to rely on buses and boats to get around leading to long lines for the launches even with extra boats on duty The DVC site at the Grand Floridian looks like it's been raised with fill dirt
   
March 7, 2012 Magic Kingdom, EPCOT,
Disney Hollywood Studios and Resorts Notes
     
The mid-day monorail closures are making getting around
a little more challenging.		 Rehab work just started in Morocco
The Odyssey is changing from the original brown to blue Lots of work going on to create the new Fast Pass queue over at the Living Seas This scrim went up in just the last three days
Mission Space really needs some rehab...the planets are losing their colors on top Tower of Terror's queue is also getting re-worked for the X-Pass Backlot Tour is closed after a fire did in the Catastrophe Canyon area of the attraction a couple of weeks ago
Crews seem to be sprucing up the Yacht Club Resort
Fantasyland Station is looking really good as opening day draws near. The old Mickey's Toon Town Fair signs are finally down!
I hear that Dumbo, Barnstormer and the station may be
soft opening within the next week.
It looks like this was a last minute design change happening The red tent had its canvas in place, then it was removed and now it's (mostly) back in place More trees in place
In case there weren't enough construction walls up in Fantasyland, the Tigger Bouncy Place area of the Pooh queue is now walled off and the poorly designed play area is being replaced with a character meet and greet
The old roof meets the new roof at the Pinocchio Village Haus restrooms More work going on at the old Skyway Station site
with some kind of auger truck clearly visible from Fantasyland
That's a big crane on site next to the Mansion show building. That pile of rubble used to be the tower
Workers are still all over Big Thunder The new sheathing is up on the station and is getting wrapped
The new columns are in place Lots of new wood columns up on the trestle section
More of the wooden ties are now in place so this section must be done Painters at work inside the tunnel The rocks are very different looking after pressure washing
The water area is getting some attention now the track is done The workers always wave to the boats and trains passing Splash Mountain's queue is getting modifications for the addition
of X-Pass
St. Patrick's Day mouse ears are available all over the parks Easter cookies and cookies in spring colors are available
in many of the park's bakeries.
   
February 29, 2012 Magic Kingdom Notes
     
The morning started off very foggy at 5:00 AM for "One More Disney Day" at the Magic Kingdom.
The special banner for the event Lights were setup for the news media doing live shots early in the morning The lights help cut the fog
The fog was really thick at 6:00AM when the park opened for the next 24 hours
The pre-dawn fog made the castle look really cool. It was a unique experience to be in the Magic Kingdom before the sun came up.
     
     
Once the sun came up we could get a couple of pictures of the local media setup outside the Train Station There were several radio shows broadcasting from the event as well We noticed they seem to be testing LEDs on the Carousel with one panel of the center in LEDs while the rest are still incandescent bulbs.
The Splash Mountain bridge is getting aged with some dark stain The welding crews were hard at work all over Big Thunder Mountain early in the morning This section must be done since the wooden ties are back in place
They were hard at work on the station as well, and it looks like the station expansion is well underway They seem to be replacing most of the wood in the station building A cool sign is now in place for the Barnstormer over in the Storybook Circus area
     
Prince Eric's got another piece of roof placed The red fences are inside the Storybook Circus area as they prepare to open things up to the public in March It looks like they made some last minute changes and are just starting construction on this area
The new roof in place looks good, but the scale of the roof tiles seems off. The whole transportation system hours thing was more than a little confusing with things opening and closing throughout the twenty four hour long day. One more picture from the foggy morning
From open until we left in the evening Sorcerers had long lines at each portal and at the recruiting stations To all the Disney fans on these lines simply collecting cards let me just say this game is meant for CHILDREN not 40 year olds who need to collect everything Disney they can glom onto! GROW UP With the huge crowds in the evening, they opened the back area behind Main Street and we noticed this banner hanging in the back area.
Site prep is still going on over at the Grand Floridian's Vacation Club expansion area They were ready for big crowds
early in the day but people didn't really come out until evening		 Someone is a big Disney (or maybe just Herbie) fan!
   
February 25, 2012 Magic Kingdom Notes
     
The station platform ironwork is really looking good Nice to see that one of the tents is finally making progress
It looks like the new most of the new streetlights are in the Storybook Circus area The new canvas should be in place on the other tent any day now
Lights in place around Dumbo Lots of big new trees being planted all around the Storybook Circus area
It was interesting to note that only one of the Dumbos is opening at the end of March The castle walls are looking good
Over at the old Skyway station the tower has now been wrapped up for construction
Looks so strange seeing all the show buildings where trees used to be With the big crowds this weekend the Diamond Horseshoe was open and serving lunch. I still don't get why Snow White is closing just to create another princess meet & greet area. It's stupid to lose an attraction when there are so many other places a Princess photo-op could be setup
Could someone explain how a DJ playing YMCA is appropriate for Tomorrowland? Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom seems to be popular, but the lines of people using it keep blocking pathways.
There's so much work going on all over Big Thunder.
Lots of the wood around the station is being replaced
The welders seem to be making good progress on the track work.
It looks like two or three welding crews working simultaneously around the mountain.
Still more site prep happening over at the Grand Floridian DVC wing construction site.
   
February 20, 2012 Magic Kingdom Notes
     
The second archway at the Pinocchio Village Haus restrooms has re-opened One of the snazzy new light fixtures on the new castle wall More of the railing is in place
There's more detail in place on Prince Eric's Castle The Beast's Castle looks good
The village is coming along nicely below the castle
Another look at Prince Eric's The skin should be going up on the tent very soon Dumbo's tent looks good
It's starting to look finished The ring that the new canvas will be attached to is now in place The flags aren't floating anymore
The Dumbo spinner is testing again This blue roof looks like it could be the sign for the Dumbo entrance More painting to finish up the tent
Not sure what this new red
frame on top of the roof is for		 They're still hard at work on the station I'm guessing these are speakers
Better shot of the Great Goofini sign With the trees gone from the old Skyway station area, the show buildings for Small World and Haunted Mansion are now clearly visible
A look at the construction area at the old Skyway station
The Haunted Mansion show building The pilings in Frontierland are finally getting some work
With the turbine for the generator broken on the Liberty Belle, a portable generator is providing power and a fan helps blow the fumes away Big Thunder's rehab continues Reconfiguring the station is a huge project and is in full swing
The queue is being expanded as well as reconfigured The roof looks really good This section of the track is covered with the spacers for welding the rails to the correct width.
   
February 17, 2012 Magic Kingdom
and Downtown Disney Notes
     
With the official start of Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom in the next few days, new signage is in place at the Fire Station. Kids seem excited by the game, but I keep seeing them getting pushed out of the way by supposedly grown adult Disney "fans" who are desperate to collect the cards and see al the scenarios.
There's now signage for the Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom booth in Liberty Square.
Here's the portal in the Main Street Train Station. The new railings on the bridge near Splash Mountain look more like a weekend Home Depot DIY project than the caliber of project that used to be done by Disney's Imagineering department.
After weeks of work on this building, the rehab walls are down but you'd think they would have waited to take the walls down until the project was completely finished. Instead, the aging of the finishes is only partially completed (see the two colors on the green part of the facade), and the sign on the Trading Post is obviously missing something. I don't quite understand why they go to all the trouble of putting up the elaborate scrims around a building if they take it down before things are completed.
The hill behind Yankee Traders is slowly coming down
The construction walls are down on Peter Pan's ramp The track work looks like it's done here and the track has been painted grey (maybe a primer?). The cross ties are all angled now instead of being straight across. 
The crews are everywhere working on the mountain. This area was looking kind of dug out like they're fixing drainage or something.
The balcony of Pinocchio Village Haus is closed off again, this time with the windows papered over as well. The scaffolding is finally of the main part of the Dumbo tent
The flag poles are floating above the tent for some reason Looks like they're finishing the roof
The second Dumbo hasn't made any progress yet They've installed the copper gutters and drain pipes on the station platform
More of the arches are in place between the columns Looks like the sign for the Barnstormer is now in place
Site prep continues on the new DVC wing coming to the Grand Floridian
The new shoreline is taking shape The brush clearing on the island is looking good
Rainforest Cafe's transformation of the mountain into a volcano is making some progress The spiting Stitch figure is gone from World of Disney...I wish it was for good, but probably just for a rehab
   
February 10, 2012 Magic Kingdom Notes
     
The roofs are going up on the turrets of Prince Eric's castle, and there's some weird differences in scale between the elements. Assuming the railing on the walkway is supposed to be about 3' tall, that also makes the roof tiles about 3' feet long. They're event bigger than standard (human scale) roof tiles. Maybe they'll look OK in the end, but right now they just look inordinately large.
The small turret looks a little more in scale, but still weird proportions The artwork on the construction wall...interesting to compare to the real thing Concrete pumper truck working on the Mine Train area
The village is coming along nicely The overall castle view Belle's cottage
They're working hard on the Dumbo roof panels The blue looks like the final color All around the Storybook Circus trees and landscaping are being added
Work seems to have come to a halt on the old tents, but you can see stacks of some kind of panels sitting inside They're finally working on the walls which have been at a standstill for the past few weeks
While concrete was being poured in one section, the concrete forms were being pulled and reset in another
They're breaking up the concrete over at the old Dumbo pad and hauling it away in dumpsters
More trees are getting delivered to the site Overview with the big crane
The lights and ceiling fans are being installed on the station platform
Some of the new ironwork is going up on the station platform,
making it look more traditional and more like the Main Street Station		 Along the tracks there's some drainage work going on
The welding is done in this section (you can see the chunkier track ties), and the paint crew is painting and the rocks are getting power washed Work is happening all around the mountain with scaffolding around all the river side track
More track welding on the mountain They had clip boards and looked like they were checking up on progress
There were just workers everywhere on the mountain today
The station is getting attention now as well
I've heard from cast members the entire queue has been gutted as it is getting enhancements and a new layout. No word of what the enhancements are yet, but it's a big project!
  Clearing trees and brush on the penninsula
No word on what's going on here, whether they're building something new or just cleaning up the overgrown areas around the lagoon Grand Floridian site prep continues
It looks like a lot of soil remediation and pushing the shoreline out to make more space
   
February 2, 2012 Magic Kingdom,
Grand Floridian Construction & Downtown Disney Notes
 
     
The crane is the tallest thing in the Magic Kingdom by a long shot. The Pinocchio Village Haus balcony was re-opened so we could really see into the construction area again. The trees and walls are looking good in front of Belle's cottage.
They finally cleared out the Dumbo pad completely. I guess that's the center of the ride still sitting there waiting to move over to the new location. The operator booth is now gone leaving just this foundation.
The tower on the Barnstormer's lift looks like it's finished. A parasailer on Bay Lake was visible over the Dumbo tents construction area. Not much has changed on the outside of the tents in weeks. Looks like fences and some other final details are taking shape around the new ride areas.
The extension of the roof at the Pinocchio Village Haus restrooms is taking shape, with the red shingles going up now. They keep fine tuning the colors and the weathering of the walls and turrets on the castle.
They're hard at work on the details of Prince Eric's Castle. The Fantasyland Station looks like it's making progress.
New concrete going in around the columns on the station platform. The underside of the station platform roof is getting a multi-step paint treatment to bring out the wood grain The bricks on the station are being painted in varying shades of brown.
That crane is really enormous! The once plain construction wall finally has some concept art back up on it. Gee...I hope guests aren't expecting Prince Eric's Castle to have all that water in front of it! They may be very disappointed when it opens.
The crane looks like it can reach anything on the site. People seem excited about the Seven Dwarfs' Mine Ride... I hope they aren't expecting a BIG coaster or they are in for a BIG letdown. I don't know if this ladder on the show building is new, but it really needs to either go away or get painted a dark color since it's visible over the Mansion facade.
The Liberty Belle is still closed for rehab, and the construction crews are working on both decks making repairs and performing maintenance. There's been some confusion about how long the rehab will be and how thorough, but it's good to see the riverboat getting the love it needs.
There has been talk of the riverboat retiring from service permanently, and that would be a HUGE loss for the park. Nice gentle rides like the riverboat are a dying breed, and having a riverboat was something Walt Disney felt was so important he mortgaged his house to build the Mark Twain at Disneyland. There's always the question "what would Walt think?" about things going on in the parks today, and in this case we KNOW Walt would say the riverboat needs to stay!
They were power washing the rocks at Big Thunder. Workers are all over the mountain. Here's a good shot of the track gauges in place as they
weld the rails.
So, it's February 2, and the poinsettias on the Plaza Restaurant are STILL up from Christmas! The same hanging baskets were on the Ice Cream Parlor a few days ago, and they got changed out, but not the building right next door. What is wrong with the park's holiday decorating department that they can't get decorations down within a month?
   
Construction walls are up in Cosmic Ray's. Looks like monorail orange broke down and was being pushed back to the shop by the tug.
Site preparation is well underway at the Grand Floridian for the new wing.
It appears that they are re-profiling the beach and the edge of the Lagoon as part of the construction of the new Disney Vacation Club expansion.
You can tell it's the "off-season", there is working happening all around Downtown Disney Marketplace
Rainforest Cafe is getting some major work with the mountain being turned into an erupting volcano
   
January 29, 2012 Magic Kingdom Notes
     
The crane crew is still working all around the castle.  Christmas lights seem to all be down.
Hopefully the crane is almost done One of the new Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom windows. This really looks bad and doesn't belong in Liberty Square. The station seems to be coming along nicely
The BIG new crane on site for the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Working on the station Finishing the ceiling boards
You'd think that one of the first things they took down would have been the sign, but its still there even though almost everything else from Dumbo is now gone. It looks like they're working on the back side of the Dumbo tents now Construction walls up at Peter Pan
Lots of work happening over at the old Skyride station
Work continues on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
The paving project in Frontierland is still going on.
The bridge over by Splash Mountain looks like it needs a LOT of work. The new railing looks really cheap, like a Home Depot deck project. Frontierland flashmob was ridiculous.  Big Al shouldn't be shaking his booty...he moves
s-l-o-w-l-y. Just a pointless "show" and an example of money that could be better spent on real entertainment. 		I don't know what's worse at Frontierland Station, the apparent fix with electrical tape or the graffiti.  Either way, it's shameful and really shows how the Disney brand is slipping into mediocrity.
The Liberty Belle is down for rehab...supposedly for a week but I'm hearing it may be down until May. It would be nice if they turned the water/water wheel on at Harper's Mill
So sad to see the riverboat closed Christmas was now more than one month ago...it's really time to take down the poinsettias!  Disney has turned into the neighbor who keeps the decoration up WAY too long.
   
January 23, 2012 Magic Kingdom Notes
     
A crane is in place and workers are removing the Christmas lights from the spires of the castle 
It looks like about half the lights are now down so only a little longed until they're all gone 
     
     
  Lots of work going on at Fantasyland Station, though the water tower seems to have remained untouched so far. 
     
Pathway closed for the crane  New finish going up on the station platform  Working on the Storybook Circus tents 
 
Another giant attack on the Beast's castle  The Dumbo tents are coming along  Fiberglass skin is now on this turret in Belle's village 
   
Crane on site to remove the central hub of Dumbo  Working on the spires 
The crane at Dumbo  In an attempt to block the view into the construction area, the balcony at Pinocchio Village Haus has been closed off 
 
The queue is gone but the operator booth is still in place  Workers are preparing for the move  Still working on the roof 
 
With the trees removed for the new restrooms, the Haunted Mansion is now visible in Fantasyland  Construction wall near the Haunted Mansion exit  The pet cemetery seems to have shrunk and there's a construction scrim behind it 
   
Some new pavement in Frontierland.  All of the walkways are marked up and have saw marks for some kind of construction work  Construction equipment on the old Skyride hill covered during the day  
     
Cut concrete awaiting removal and replacement  Splash Mountain was closed and drained.  No word on why or whether it was an all day event, but viewed from the train the animatronics on the riverboat are still broken.  Big Thunder is crawling with workers for the rehab 
     
Scaffolding is all over the ride for the workers to access the tracks 
     
  Lots of new roofs going up including new corrugated steel on the entrance 
     
  Rocks are being built and removed all over the mesa   
     
Lots of welding taking place on the tracks. You can see the track gauges in place. 
     
     
     
January 19, 2012 Magic Kingdom Notes
     
With President Obama in the park, Main Street was closed all morning so traffic was being routed backstage through the parking lot which was decked out to make it look more presentable.
All of the Main Street vehicles were on display along the sides of the path
     

Parade floats also lined the pathway including Christmas floats and Electric Parade floats.
   
     
So odd to see the floats in broad daylight and such a weird collection of parades they were from.
     
The coach was a popular photo opportunity, but it was just weird walking behind Main Street U.S.A.
Emerging in Tomorrowland between Buzz Lightyear and the Carousel of Progress All of the Castle/Hub/Main Street area was closed for the President's speech.


The Diamond Horseshoe was open (I assume to try and make it up to guests for not having castle shows and parades). Walking past and hearing "Who Let The Dogs Out" blasting out through the doors was a bit of a shock in Liberty Square/Frontierland.
   
Around 2:00 PM, the barricades came down and Main Street was ready to re-open.
More work on the rocks of Little Mermaid's facade The old Dumbo is disappearing fast Queue canopy is starting to come down, but the sign is still up for some odd reason
The queue is about half gone The ride's central hub has been stripped down to nothing In the distance the new Dumbo is looking ready to go
The arms from the ride are stacked and ready to move to the new site. The new Dumbo looks good There's some rot happening inside the Liberty Belle...
Lots of work happening on the Big Thunder refurb I guess the bucket is from the Frontierland Home Depot ...in a couple of places.
There's scaffolding all around the mountain for easier access to the tracks
The rock itself is getting work done as well as the buildings and track
The track is getting welding work done all around as part of the "re-gauging"
Work is happening all over the mountain
     
January 12, 2012 Magic Kingdom Notes
     
  Work was going full tilt all around the Magic Kingdom today with rehabs happening as well as new construction. It was funny to see the Beast's Castle being attacked by a giant!  Looks like they had to do some patching to a turret.   
     
  We went out and tried the new "Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom" game today since it was testing again and it was interesting. We picked up our cards at the Firehouse and were sent to Fantasyland as our first stop, following a trail through all the spots in Fantasyland, then going on a second mission through Adventureland and Frontierland.


The "game" was simple enough and it was interesting to see how it was different for players before us and after us with the same windows playing different versions of the game.


While it was entertaining, with just the limited number of people playing it felt like there was a line for each portal, so I can only imagine what it will be like once it's really open and running.


The animation seemed shockingly poor quality for Disney, a company that built itself on animation. The jerkiness of the images and crude drawings reminded me of the Don Bluth animated "Dragon's Lair" video game which was done in 1983.


While playing several logistical questions came to mind that make me think this could be a BIG headache for guests (especially parents):

--There seems to be no set pattern to which window players are sent to next. What happens for families with multiple kids who want to play? Will they all have to share one game or does the family have to split up as one window says to go one way and then tells the next kid to go to a different window?

-- The windows are on both sides of the parade route in Liberty Square/Frontierland. I can foresee a lot of antsy kids who could care less about the parade going by as they want to get to the next window.


Overall it was a fun diversion, but it felt very unnecessary in the Magic Kingdom which is already a fully developed and crowded park. Perhaps they should have put it into Studios or Animal Kingdom where there are huge gaps in the attraction offerings. Today was not a huge crowd, but it felt like it was tight quarters around the portals in many places, I can't imagine what a really busy day would be like for trying to play and I have to wonder if it something that would get deactivated on those really busy days when the park is near or at capacity.


Many of the portals are well done blending into the normal theme elements when they're not activated, but there's still a lot of tweaking to be done with ugly lights glaring and not-so-hidden cameras.  The only real head scratcher was trying to figure out why there were glowing green eyes in the skull above the wanted poster portal in Frontierland.

  		  
   
   
   
   
   
   
     
     
     
January 11, 2012 Magic Kingdom Notes
 
Finally the Christmas tree and other decorations have been removed and the Main Street background music has switched back to normal! The decorations are down, but in places there's still evidence of them like extension cords hanging in the bakery. 
     
The construction walls for the "new" Fantasyland have been moved to enclose Dumbo.


The lamp posts have been stripped in preparation for removal, and some of the decorative pieces on the Dumbo Ride have been removed as well in preparation for its move down the street.


Strangely, the Dumbo sign was left in place (it would have been the first thing I'd have removed) taunting over the top of the fence.
 
   
   
     
Work is happening all over the Fantasyland expansion area. Lots of new walls going up and getting stone facing. 
     
The construction wall around the old Skyway station has been extended to the whole queue area in preparation for the construction.  
     
Big Thunder is walled off and the construction team appears to be working day and night to get things done. The big light balls were lit during the day and workers were all over the track.  The extent of the rehab appears to be pretty extensive, with the track getting welded and "re-gauged". 
   
     
January 10, 2012 Magic Kingdom Notes
     
January 10th was the last night for Dumbo in the location behind the Carousel as well as the last night for Big Thunder before closing for an extended rehab.

Both will be closed for extended periods while Dumbo is moved to its new location (the clockwise spinning twin is already there and looks nearly ready to open) and Big Thunder gets some much needed work as well as some "next gen" updates. 
   
     



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