MK Piston Peak and Villains Land Construction Thread

[mattpeto]

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.


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

"To make way for the largest expansion in history at Magic Kingdom, the Walt Disney World Railroad will be operating under a modified route that excludes Frontierland station beginning July 7. The attraction will operate as a shuttle between Main Street station and Fantasyland station only."

This is a temporary move and any other speculation is just fear mongering.

Better chance they add a station at VL, then remove the train completely.

 

[UNCgolf]

Really wish they were using this land for a better idea than Villains.

 

[Disstevefan1]

Stop haha. Weren't you one of those that predicted that parades and fireworks weren't going to return after Covid due to expense cuts?

If I did, I don't remember, but I do think WDW will RESUME (google it) charging for all transportation including the boats, buses, Skyliner, train and monorail.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

This is a temporary move and any other speculation is just fear mongering.

You honestly don’t think it’s been brought up and discussed? I’m not saying a decision has been made or hasn’t been made, but there’s no way it’s not being considered.

 

[KDM31091]

I don’t see them charging for transportation. It would just logistically be so difficult, and cause chaos and huge lines. I don’t it would be worth the headache and massive amount of guest complaints.

 

[James Alucobond]

Really wish they were using this land for a better idea than Villains.

I still think it's probably the most coherent and appropriate option that was ever on the table. I also don't think it's perfect, but when I consider the ways the other castle parks are expanding globally, this feels preferable.

 

[MisterPenguin]

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?

When you open a new park like Epic Universe or a new hotel, you get zero income until it opens. That provides the incentive to build as fast as possible.

When you're updating or adding to a park that already is getting daily profitable income... what's the rush? Sure, the LLs from the new rides will be a nice uptick in profit, but compared to the entirety of the park's profitability, it's a drop in the bucket.

Anyhoo, the project deadlines given at last year's D23 was five years. We're still in the first. All of Pandora was built in 3 1/2 years.

 

[MisterPenguin]

BlogMickey assumptions are... assumptions.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Let's have a thread where we share and discuss construction of the Piston Peak and Villains Land replacements coming to Magic Kingdom. Please keep commentary on the projects to the original thread: https://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/cars-themed-attractions-at-magic-kingdom.984443.

 

[truecoat]

 

[mattpeto]

BlogMickey assumptions are... assumptions.

They are but he does use some good context clues IMO.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

View attachment 887801

This resembles the rivers of America does it not?

It does, but that is still an attraction on a track, etc, telling corny jokes

 

[Incomudro]

View attachment 887846

This image is dreadful. I haven't seen it in a while - but sheesh - no wonder it bothered me!

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I’m not sure why I never noticed this - that’s a decent size building. Is that all for Q and load or is there space for a dark ride scene?

It almost looks like that building COULD be connected to the mountain structure.

 

[James Alucobond]

This image is dreadful. I haven't seen it in a while - but sheesh - no wonder it bothered me!

Aside from having more modern race decor around the track and clearly showing the location of the show building, it’s not terribly distinct from what the later art suggests.

I’m not sure why I never noticed this - that’s a decent size building. Is that all for Q and load or is there space for a dark ride scene?

It almost looks like that building COULD be connected to the mountain structure.

View attachment 887862

It looks like load, unload, and queue, though with the caveat that this art may not be final. Note that both the race starting line and finish line sit outside of it, starting on the left and ending at the grandstand on the right. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a small scene before taking off toward the starting line, but not much more than that. It’s also possible that you pass back through it when going from the Piston Peak area to the geyser canyon, but it’s equally likely you just circle behind the show building.

 

[MisterPenguin]

 

[JD80]

They are but he does use some good context clues IMO.

I think the Blog Mickey article is a stretch. Interesting to read but I'm not convinced it's anything but normal drainage infrastructure.

 

[networkpro]

I think the Blog Mickey article is a stretch. Interesting to read but I'm not convinced it's anything but normal drainage infrastructure.

Agreed its conjecture of possibilities .

 

[mattpeto]

I think the Blog Mickey article is a stretch. Interesting to read but I'm not convinced it's anything but normal drainage infrastructure.

The drainage infrastructure at Piston Peak lines up perfectly with the artwork walking paths, but we'll see what it means.

Unfortunately, I don't know if we're going to learn how to accurate until Expo or beyond.

 

[ArchiDanDisney]

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?

"There are decades where nothing happens; and there are days where decades happen"