Magic Kingdom Hub Update: New Lights (PART 2)


Welcome to PART 2 of our newest Magic Kingdom hub construction update. Make sure to check out PART 1 before going any further.
In the previous part of this photo-update, we focused on the west side of the central hub. Now we will focus on the east side, where work seems to be proceeding at a slower pace. In addition to that, we will also take a very quick look at the new Main Street U.S.A. bypass. Enjoy the rest of the photos:




The borer of the moat has been partially restored:







The bridge looks mostly the same as last week:







The rest of the area:















Let's conclude with a glimpse of the new Main Street U.S.A. bypass. Not much can be seen:


And that is all for now. Before concluding, remember to like us on our official Facebook page and follow us on Twitter for live updates from the parks. If you would like to make a donation to OTPN, feel free to use the big "DONATE" button on the sidebar. Thank you for your support, and see you again real soon.

PHOTOS BY: Alex, Official Orlando Theme Park News Team Member and Photographer.

CLICK HERE TO GO BACK TO PART 1 OF THIS MAGIC KINGDOM PHOTO-UPDATE >

14 comments:

  1. the bypass behind the wall consists of a pathway deviled by another construction like wall with in ground planters similar to that in front of the crystal palace.

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  2. Did you guys happen to check out the new Peter Pan's Flight queue?

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  3. Fantastic. Pay lots of money to visit a building site. Disney really need to pull their finger out on this and get the work completed as quickly as possible, it seems to have been going on ages

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  4. @1st Anonymous: Not yet, unfortunately. The park has been packed in the past week, so we were not able to wait in line for the attraction (more than 90+ minutes to wait). We will try to visit it in the next few days, though.

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  5. To second Anonymous:

    Then don't visit right now??

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  6. Hi,
    Does anyone know why they are changing this?
    I still dont get why they are doing this?
    Greetz from Belgium

    G.

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  7. @Anonymous from Belgium.
    This part is always congested. Sure it had nice rose gardens in there but that cost money to maintain, concrete is cheaper and they'll get guests quicker out of the park.

    Regarding de lamps with the speakers, they are atrocious. I never ever seen such ugliness in a fantasy environment. I have a hard time the original 9 old men would have drawn up a design like this.

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  8. Great report OPN crew! Quick question, the planned finish date for this project is 2015, but does that also include the new castle turrets being installed further into the hub? Thanks!

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  9. Why they are doing this:

    Primarily to provide more space for guests to gather and watch the nightly fireworks, also will provide more viewing room to watch the parades from that area. (many guests feel they have to be along Main Street to 'properly' view the parades, but there are better places elsewhere along the route)

    The bypass is being constructed for the highest crowd level days, usually national holidays: Memorial Day, Labor Day, 4th of July, Christmas, New Years, etc. This will allow people to exit faster after the fireworks, and as the park begins to close. (these two events not always go together)

    A bypass has been in existence for many years: it started at a gate in Tomorrowland, around the CoP. The gate opened into the backlot area. Was a great walk through the parking, backstage areas behind Tomorroland/Main Street. They usually have a little bit of entertainment - music, maybe some cold treat carts set up along the way. This route exits mid-way along Main Street.

    The new bypass will open closer to Main Street, and exit further down by Tony's.

    There is a group that sees any change as motivated by cost cutting, anything new is always "cheaper" and for them cheaper=worse.

    WDW has changed many things over the years, some of them we have not liked, most of them I don't even think about mainly because I do not visit the place throughout the year, or even yearly, as so many of the WDW detractors do.

    There are obviously different opinions about the design of the place, the aesthetics.

    In the end Disney is for-profit company accountable to its investors, and with almost 17 million visitors to its parks last year, Disney is doing a whole lot right.

    No one is forced to go to WDW, but by golly a whole lot of them sure feel entitled about the whole place and will not hesitate to slam Disney for the tiniest of perceived offenses.

    Our next visit probably won't be for a couple of years, simply because the value for us is not there right now, and there are many other places on the planet to visit. But that's our decision, and lol, I don't think Disney is going to miss us!

    Don, as for the speakers: Let it go! Let it go!

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  10. @Parker: That is correct. The new towers should also be built before the end of 2015. Work on that is expected to start later next year.

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  11. OTPN what do you mean by towers? im sure you dont mean an actual tower lol

    with that said i have two questions.

    to all:
    1-would you have done the updates all the once as is now or little by little as needed? i honestly never really paid attention to this area so dont remember much about it but i would think little by little would probably my way to go just to keep the magical feeling.

    2-has anyone used the bypass before?if yes where does it lead you? does it take you to the same exit or more towards the buses/boat?

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  12. @Miguel: Thanks for your comment!

    By towers, we mean the replacement of the current booths located on either side of the Castle stage (used by WDW techs during shows) and the light towers. Neither of those are actual towers, of course, but they will be themed to resemble castle towers.

    Personal thoughts about your questions:

    1 - I too would have done all at once at this point. That said, I do agree on the fact that it would have been better if it was done in phases in the past, though. Now it's too late. The park is too busy.

    2 - We have used the bypass. It connects Town Square (between Tony's and Le Chapeau) to the entrance of the Tomorrowland Terrace (between the Plaza restaurant and the Tomorrowland restrooms).

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  13. Otpn so the bypass is not an exit? Its more like a shortcut to tomorrowland (to help with people management of course)

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  14. Ooooo, great pictures!

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