News Tron coaster coming to the Magic Kingdom

[tparris]

Not the best quality photo but I noticed from the peoplemover today that they’ve started pouring a new pathway beyond the railroad tunnel. I’ll go around again in a bit to get a couple more photos.

 

[tparris]

Not the best quality photo but I noticed from the peoplemover today that they’ve started pouring a new pathway beyond the railroad tunnel. I’ll go around again in a bit to get a couple more photos.View attachment 658990

Also, the canopy is starting to look a bit grimy in some spots.

 

[esskay]

Also, the canopy is starting to look a bit grimy in some spots.

Was about to say it looks a bit dirty. Hope they'll be cleaning that construction dust off before they're done. Doesn't bode well. It'll end up with the green slime the WoL pavilion was plastered with.

 

[tparris]

Was about to say it looks a bit dirty. Hope they'll be cleaning that construction dust off before they're done. Doesn't bode well. It'll end up with the green slime the WoL pavilion was plastered with.

I would assume so. The guardians building seems to be cleaned fairly regularly as the last time I saw noticeable grime on it was during construction. Although on the other hand, SM doesn’t get cleaned as often as it should so we’ll just have to see. I do hope they power wash Space at least before Tron opens though.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Was about to say it looks a bit dirty. Hope they'll be cleaning that construction dust off before they're done. Doesn't bode well. It'll end up with the green slime the WoL pavilion was plastered with.

Cleaning is a pretty standard feature of construction contracts.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Am I a bad person if I only enjoy Epcot during Festival of the Holidays?

 

[tparris]

From today. I caught a glimpse of testing as well, you can see it in the last photo.

 

[J4546]

Not the best quality photo but I noticed from the peoplemover today that they’ve started pouring a new pathway beyond the railroad tunnel. I’ll go around again in a bit to get a couple more photos.View attachment 658990

man wouldnt it be cool if that smaller building off the pathway that is probably bathrooms or lockers, had an elevator taking you down, onto that path under the elevated walkway and onto the massive courtyard area beyond the train tracks and n front of the canopy. I am still kinda wondering what that area will look like because you will clearly be seeing it from the elevated walkway.

 

[James Alucobond]

man wouldnt it be cool if that smaller building off the pathway that is probably bathrooms or lockers, had an elevator taking you down, onto that path under the elevated walkway and onto the massive courtyard area beyond the train tracks and n front of the canopy. I am still kinda wondering what that area will look like because you will clearly be seeing it from the elevated walkway.

I can’t imagine that path isn’t backstage. It probably leads to the nearby electrical substation or something.

 

[fgmnt]

While guests may not know the hows and whys, these sort of issues absolutely have consequences for them. The high cost of attractions is part of why capacity has been squeezed and not adequate.

You're absolutely correct, but still, Burbank is counting on a majority of their guests not connecting these dots, and I think they are correct.

EPCOT Center was successful. Attendance was far more on par with Magic Kingdom and the parks business so successful that it made up for the losses at the studio and kept Walt Disney Productions profitable. There’s a reason Disney is wrapping Epcot in EPCOT Center imagery, because EPCOT Center still carries cultural meaning.

There is a lot of pain on the balance sheet of a company like Disney when investing the necessary capital in the division to keep it relevant. However, it has before and can again carry the company through times of crisis in the other divisions.

Studios actually has the least to do IMO -- it's easier for me to spend additional time at EPCOT or AK than DHS.

One time when I think guests can become acutely aware of the capacity crisis TDO has on its hands, is when one attraction at AK or DHS goes down through the ever growing peak seasons of the resort. 3 major attractions opened in the last 5 years still have some lingering uptime issues, Tower has been under the knife for a year, RnRC has had bouts of 101itis throughout its history... it can get bad there quickly. At DAK, 1 attraction down nukes the park for the day. It's bad, and it's noticeable.

Build a park the size of two parks like EPCOT and it's hard to feel a capacity crunch. Build a park of considerable attraction density like MK and it can be resilient to scheduled maintenance of major attractions.

 

[nickys]

That would be an operational issue. They'd have to have ticket gates between the World Showcase and former Future World, and scan everybody going between the two.

And the IG doesn’t have the facility for mass transport links. Plus all resorts would need transport to the second entrance.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

Maybe GoTG, Poppins, Spaceship Earth, Play! pavilion, Rat, and a popular new nighttime show all opening within a year would have done the job. But somewhat like the DHS relaunch, it fizzled out.

How does this keep happening?

It's shocking to me that they turned to both these parks, realized they were struggling, threw a Billion+ dollars at the problems and STILL fumbled the bag. They act as if they have these brave new visions for how the parks can be reinvented, but when the walls come down their identities are more confusing than ever.

Did the Master Planning team get lost with the Budget Cuts?

 

[mikeymouse]

EPCOT is still largely an unattractive option for many, and I think a lot of people are happy to visit for a short period to do Cosmic Rewind, Soarin', Spaceship Earth, Test Track, Rat - and leave. I think it is especially a hard sell for single day tickets. I could imagine someone buying a single day ticket for MK and DHS, but EPCOT?

I just don't get it. Why?? My family and I absolutely love Epcot, mainly the way it used to be, but I digress. It takes us usually at least 2 days to see it all. We have had the option to get 1 park in on a trip and it has always been Epcot.

 

[matt9112]

If Universal had decided Hagrid's needed to be entirely enclosed the price tag would have approached Guardians level. And maybe some of that extra money for Guardians went to ensuring reliable operations. Hagrid's still does not operate at its intended capacity and likely never will.

Hagrids was a monumental undertaking attempting to run that many trains on that many block sections. The fact it’s outside doesn’t play into it. Sure you have weather but so don’t any outdoor rides. It’s IMHO rediculous to blanket say every ride needs to be indoors because rain. It’s a balance. However are you trying to tell me the insane cost of guardians has to do with building a large generic warehouse type structure no different than the thousands of similar structures built across Florida?

 

[DCBaker]

Some photos of work happening this morning -

 

[hismattjesty]

"Disney's costs are just Disney-inflated wackynunu. "

Thank you celluloid! With the lousy day at work I'm having, I needed the Appliance Direct reference/humor!

 

[strictfoo]

Some photos of work happening this morning -

That's nice to see! Seems like they're out in full force today.

 

[celluloid]

Thank you celluloid! With the lousy day at work I'm having, I needed the Appliance Direct reference/humor!

Gosh I just figured no one caught it...or cared. You're welcome. Remember...bleach....and soap...(wipes on face) Neutralize each other.

 

[OrlandoRising]

Attendance in its early years was very high -- beyond that, what's your point? Early EPCOT was by far the greatest park ever built, but I've never seen anyone suggest that's objectively true. Nearly everything we discuss is subjective and it's a waste of time to point it out in every comment. Different people like different things -- there are plenty of people who think a park like Cedar Fair is better than any Disney park, because they are mainly interested in roller coasters. They're not objectively wrong to feel that way.

Guardians is nowhere near as impressive as World of Motion, Spaceship Earth, Journey into Imagination, Horizons, or the original Universe of Energy, not to mention the original Seabase Alpha version of the Living Seas. Therefore, it would not be a top 5 attraction at EPCOT in 1992. You're free to disagree, but you certainly can't tell me I'm wrong. It is, after all, subjective.

I don't even think it's close to being a top 10 attraction at WDW right now, but I find rides that rely mainly on thrill for entertainment value to be kind of boring.

I don't agree, and it's useless to argue those opinions (which, ironically, we do seem to agree on).

But I have to note that every attraction you mentioned there was a slow-moving dark ride, so Guardians would have absolutely stood out amid that lineup. To argue that something considered state-of-the-art in 2022 wouldn't been have a top ride 30 years earlier is....interesting. That sounds like nostalgia talking.

Regarding Epcot's early attendance, it declined in the final quarter of fiscal 1983, and Disney World's overall attendance was below that of fiscal 83 overall in 84 and 85. That weakness was one of the factors that led to the greenmail debacle and Ron Miller being ousted. "Storming the Magic Kingdom" talks about Epcot's attendance being disappointing after its first nine months.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Hagrids was a monumental undertaking attempting to run that many trains on that many block sections. The fact it’s outside doesn’t play into it. Sure you have weather but so don’t any outdoor rides. It’s IMHO rediculous to blanket say every ride needs to be indoors because rain. It’s a balance. However are you trying to tell me the insane cost of guardians has to do with building a large generic warehouse type structure no different than the thousands of similar structures built across Florida?

It’s not just the weather you have to worry about, there’s also the bees!