Walt Disney World New & Notes



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August 20, 2012 Magic Kingdom Notes
     
It looks like each of the bridges is getting work, and now it's time for the Tomorrowland bridge to go into rehab. The Swan Boat landing is also getting some work done.
I can' figure out what is being done, but just the back side is wrapped.
The Seven Dwarves Mine Ride lift is being closed up quickly.
The fake grass is being added to the Little Mermaid facade.
The new walls are finally starting to make progress, adding a lot of spires to the skyline.
They're a good match for Cinderella Castle. The remodel of Snow White is in full swing.
The new restroom facilities are taking shape, with a big dome going into the center of the building.
It would be nice to see a
rendering and see what this will
look like in the end.		 The Yankee Trader is now being rehabbed as the pathway behind the building goes in and it becomes a freestanding store.
It appears new rockwork is going to cover this section of the
retaining wall holding the berm at the Mansion in place.		 A preview of the "new" facade.
This will look very different
in the coming months.		 There's some kind of work taking place on the roof of the Haunted Mansion Over on the Lagoon, the expansion of the Grand Floridian is rising fast!
   
July 10, 2012 Magic Kingdom Notes
     
The Wedding Pavilion driveway is getting some work done The new wing of the Grand Floridian is already up to the second floor.
Amazing how fast this is being built. The new retaining wall is huge.
It will be interesting to see how this new pathway looks when it is done. So sad to see Snow White gone.
The new gateway will frame the "mountain" for the Seven Dwarves Mine ride. Framework for the building around the coaster is going up fast!
   
May 15, 2012 Magic Kingdom Notes
     
Some rehab work going on over here at the entrance gates Almost five months of rehab and these scrims are still up...
...since just after Christmas. Lots of Brave stuff outside the new meet & greet area
HUGE line to meet a character whose movie hasn't even been released yet.
Hopefully the movie isn't a disappointment.
Big Thunder has been testing every day since May 1st now.
Apparently the water dummies have no caps because the water sloshes out over the hills. Also strange to see the dummies are riding with the lapbars up...only dummies ignore the rules! Another couple of weeks to the ride reopening.
With the locks of the dry-dock closed for work on the riverboat, the water level has dropped significantly The rafts are starting to drag on
the bottom of the river, and if
water levels keep dropping
they may be forced to close. 		Between the lowered water level and the water not being stirred up, the steamboat's guide rail is visible
Over on the island the barrel bridge is closed for rehab
Still working on the berm between the Haunted Mansion and Fantasyland Looks like the new retaining
wall has been completed
Small World's facade is now getting some work done The wall is getting sheathed Arches in the wall are starting
to get framed out
The trees are really filling
in behind the wall now		 It's going to look very different
when all this work is done		 This was a strange looking addition
to the construction walls
The framework of the mountain is really starting to take shape now
Interesting to see the supports in place for the lift
but the track must be coming later.		 The rockwork between the
Little Mermaid and tents looks like
it will be a gate into the park.
The tent has made a little more progress this week. The second (original) Dumbo is finally coming together so the
first (second) can close and be "fixed" after the mix-ups in construction
There's been a little more progress on the Casey Jr. area Out in front of the Contemporary there's
some kind of construction happening.
More progress happening over at the new DVC wing of the Grand Floridian
   
May 2, 2012 Magic Kingdom Notes
     
Lots of work still happening around the station as
the queue is being modified.		 New rocks being added on the
back side of the station
Yesterday they started testing the trains with water dummies.
The track is completely updated and the trains have been
rehabbed but not replaced like they originally planned.		 More new rockwork going in
Over in Storybook Circus figures are now visible in the Casey Junior area
Yay <sarcasm> more spitting animals in the park...
Looking over the wall the Casey Junior figure is now installed in
the center of the turntable, with two wagons full of
additional animals on each side.		 Progress on the second (well really first) spinner is finally happening with the centerpiece in place.
Just a little more work has
gone on with the tents		 The construction wall has moved back to the top of the rock
wall over at the Pooh queue		 More steel is up for the Seven Dwarves Mine coaster
Interesting to see the grey steel I-beam structure for the mountain now in place around the
brown tubular steel supports for the coaster.
They're making a LOT of progress on the walls
This set of towers is the gateway shown here The path is really narrow right now
It feels like there are construction walls everywhere right now
Even Columbia Harbour House has a construction wall right now It looks like the retaining wall is in place now and
the rest of the construction should be moving along
With the riverboat down for rehab, the river is clear enough to see
the guide rail when the sun is
at the right angle		 This building just got done with a long rehab and suddenly the columns are getting repaired again Strange little rehab box in
the middle of the pathway
Orange Bird is everywhere!
One of the new FastPass+
machines setup over at
Jungle Cruise as they test
the new system this week		 Part of the new FastPass+ test has cast members using iPads. To help the cast members with the rollout this week Guest Relations staff is assisting at each location It's odd seeing a FastPass entrance setup on the Haunted Mansion
As part of the remodel of the pool area and the construction of the new DVC wing,
it looks like they are demolition one of the little buildings at the Grand Floridian
The construction has gone vertical at the DVC wing of the Grand Floridian
   
April 19, 2012 Magic Kingdom
and Downtown Disney Notes
     
These three buildings have been in rehab for more than 3 months now...how long does it take?
Holy long line for the Rapunzel photo-op! Tangled was a good movie and Rapunzel seems to be remaining popular. We'll have to see if Brave does as well when it takes over Rapunzel's old area. Hopefully Brave does better than John Carter did...
They've added more lights to the Casey Jr. area The bigger tent now has a roof on it as well. The colors are interesting. I don't think I would have chosen them
The red tent is coming along Interesting to see the air space between the layers. That should help with air conditioning in the Florida summers The Seven Dwarves Mine coaster supports are taking shape
That appears to be the lift hill going up, and it looks like it's going to be shorter than its neighbor Goofini. Good to see the walls going up!
With the old Dumbo site cleared the wall is finally being extended
Over at the old Sky Ride station site the concrete retaining wall is going up
Part of the wall is finished Looks like they're installing the utilities and drainage Around the back of the park they've cut down a couple of the bigger trees along the railroad
The riverboat is down for rehab and from what I've heard is in the dry-dock right now behind Splash Mountain They were pumping water into
the river behind Big Thunder
for some reason
Big Thunder is looking nearly complete now. From what I heard from cast members the new trains are on the track and testing should be starting in the next couple of weeks.
It is so good to see the Sunshine Tree Terrace back to what it should be!
It is so great to see Disney bring the Orange Bird back where he belongs. It finally a unique part of the Magic Kingdom's history has not only been preserved but is being celebrated. Bringing him back to the Sunshine Tree Terrace is smart and is bound to sell merchandise. I saw many guests with Orange Bird shirts and pins. It was really a treat to see the attraction poster for the Sunshine Tree Terrace as well!

Good Job Disney!
     
Over at Downtown Disney the framework for the new volcano at Rainforest Cafe is taking shape. I find it odd they had to take down all of the original mountain and seem to be starting from scratch building another
Over at the Characters in Flight balloon, it's really starting to show its age. The balloon is dirty and (alarmingly) looks like it has been patched several times. From a distance it looks like it is developing a bulge where all the patches are as well. I have to wonder at what point they'll get a replacement.
It has been four years since it opened.
   
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