MK Piston Peak and Villains Land Construction Thread

[TheMaxRebo]

Yes - they have rafts to the island. And the River / boats / island are all a central part of the design. It’s definitely a mash up of designs - which I find fascinating.

Ok, wasn't sure what was needed to be considered "navigable" and if theirs counted for their Jungle Cruise would the JC in MK count as well

 

[Stupido]

I think we're starting to retread conversation better suited for Cars-Themed Attractions at Magic Kingdom

 

[Disney Analyst]

 

[veritas55]

Long-term lurker here. I know this has been touched upon, but I remain perplexed at the (apparently) leisurely paced construction schedule here. For instance, I see very little construction equipment present for many of these bioreconstruct aerials, especially given the scope of the work and does anyone think this is decent progress more than a year post-announcement?

I get this has been Disney's standard modus operandi on construction forever, but, for some reason, I thought I detected some sense of urgency in these announcements. The contrast with Universal cannot be avoided: the INSTANT rip rockit rollercoaster closed, there was non-stop demolition activity and they are even laying footers for the new ride as they continue to clear land and do demolition. Within 3 months they will have conducted a complicated demolition of a ride in the middle of the park, during park hours, cleared the entire plot of land and placed many foundations for the new ride.

I'm not seeking to diminish the work involved in draining the river, grading the site and beginning some demolition, but ....

It's confusing (to me, at least) because I would think Disney has a vested economic interest in proceeding in a expedited fashion because the sooner Cars stuff opens, the more revenue should flow in? I'm not saying round the clock, overtime insanity, but sheesh -- does this look like an all-hands-on-deck construction project?

 

[AlexMBush]

Villains is kind of a special and important project for WDI, that people shouldn't be surprised to know that Disney's investing more into Villains than anyone could expect.

Genuinely can't wait to see what people see of the final product when it opens in a few years.

 

[Disstevefan1]

Long-term lurker here. I know this has been touched upon, but I remain perplexed at the (apparently) leisurely paced construction schedule here.

I think Disney has business reasons to stretch work over as many quarters as they can.

 

[veritas55]

I've been secretly praying they will make Villains Land substantially larger than "just" the remaining footprint of the river and the section north of the haunted mansion. Even though the permit is for drainage, it suggests "maybe" they might use areas outside of the railroad track/ berm for something like the rollercoaster or dark ride show buildings.

It would be great to have a truly large and immersive land, where the former river footprint is the walkable land itself and the areas previously undeveloped contain show buildings to not encroach on the "space" of the land. Something near the size of Galaxy's Edge -- but with actual compelling atmosphere.

 

[veritas55]

I think Disney has business reasons to stretch work over as many quarters as they can.

I understand extending Cap Ex over periods of time, but I'm not sure it makes sense here given the record revenues and the concept is this investment pays itself all the better if you complete it sooner (assuming you can do so roughly at the same cost) -- just because of the time value of money and all that.

I wonder if it's more they simply don't have the design, materials, fabrication on the back end sufficiently done, so there is no urgency in doing the prep work frantically if the show building and ride materials are still 12 months away from being completed?

 

[Disney Analyst]

I've been secretly praying they will make Villains Land substantially larger than "just" the remaining footprint of the river and the section north of the haunted mansion. Even though the permit is for drainage, it suggests "maybe" they might use areas outside of the railroad track/ berm for something like the rollercoaster or dark road show buildings. It would be great to have a truly large and immersive land, where the former river footprint is the walkable land itself and the areas previously undeveloped contain show buildings to not encroach on the "space" of the land

Would love them to take a page out of Disneyland’s book and use the space behind the tracks for show buildings and such. Allows better use of the land for guests.

 

[Disstevefan1]

I understand extending Cap Ex over periods of time, but I'm not sure it makes sense here given the record revenues and the concept is this investment pays itself all the better if you complete it sooner (assuming you can do so roughly at the same cost) -- just because of the time value of money and all that.

I wonder if it's more they simply don't have the design, materials, fabrication on the back end sufficiently done, so there is no urgency in doing the prep work frantically if the show building and ride materials are still 12 months away from being completed?

You are probably right. When they showed the blurry concepts at D23, they possibly hadn’t stared anything yet. It really feels like when D23 was coming up, they were saying to themselves, “We got nothin’. What do we show our most loyal fans?”

Even now, they are just planning as they go it feels like to me.

But that’s just my opinion.

 

[mattpeto]

This is tremendous detective work from BlogMickey.com. I'd love to hear some others weigh in about it.

If he's accurate (and he admit he's taking educated guesses), you can make out the paths and potential buildings. The hope for an alternative viewing spot for fireworks is still supported in the diagram.



I am only seeing one main path to VL, but maybe there will be one near Haunted Mansion as well?

ETA:

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

It looks like the railroad right of way May change a little bit - possibly a left hand turn after big thunder towards the new retention pond and then continue along the canal as normal.

Or am I reading to much into this?

 

[mattpeto]

It looks like the railroad right of way May change a little bit - possibly a left hand turn after big thunder towards the new retention pond and then continue along the canal as normal.

Or am I reading to much into this?

Looks like the path does support a VL station.

 

[lazyboy97o]

This is tremendous detective work from BlogMickey.com. I'd love to hear some others weigh in about it.

If he's accurate (and he admit he's taking educated guesses), you can make out the paths and potential buildings. The hope for an alternative viewing spot for fireworks is still supported in the diagram.



I am only seeing one main path to VL, but maybe there will be one near Haunted Mansion as well?

ETA:

It looks like the railroad right of way May change a little bit - possibly a left hand turn after big thunder towards the new retention pond and then continue along the canal as normal.

Or am I reading to much into this?

No modifications to the railway are shown. That little nudge west is already existing and outside of the area of work. It’s very easy to see, along with Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, on sheet EC-124. No grading changes within the current park area are shown, and the EC drawings show existing conditions, including Tom Sawyer Island.

The drawings do show the laydown yard grading and is consistent with the previous permit application. Both applications show a small ditch running along the north side of the railroad berm. As of right now, the grading in the drawings does not align with Blog Mickey’s speculation.

 

[EricsBiscuit]

At this point all I care about is if the WDWRR survives this project.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

As of right now, the grading in the drawings does not align with Blog Mickey’s speculation.

Ah - thanks. I was reading too much into it then! Haha.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Not really. In fact, many in this topic have explained why they feel truncating the Rivers in such a way would not have made them happy.

What’s your opinion on it though?

 

[mattpeto]

At this point all I care about is if the WDWRR survives this project.

Why would they just do the shuttle mode if they were killing it?

 

[James Alucobond]

What’s your opinion on it though?

I also tend to think that simply having a crescent of water would have been insufficient. Rivers of America isn't just about the sightlines. It's about the kinetics of the associated watercraft and the illusion that it's a genuine river, which is only achievable on a grand (for a theme park) scale that approximates the appearance and behavior of the real thing. It also absolutely would not fix some of the things the post I quoted purports it would fix, like the awkwardness of the Haunted Mansion's siting. It would just put it nonsensically adjacent to an abrupt waterway terminus.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Why would they just do the shuttle mode if they were killing it?

Shuttle mode may be a test to see if it’s still worth it to run grand circle. 1 train, 1 crew, 2 stations. Less track to maintain. Someone has to have mentioned it in a meeting. I’m sure they are watching the numbers.

It's about the kinetics of the associated watercraft

Agreed. The traffic on the river - making it an actual navigable river - is a huge part of the story telling.