EPCOTCenterLover
Well-Known Member
One and only one trip to WDW that I did not go to the Magic Kingdom. I did Epcot and Animal Kingdom, and I must admit, it felt different.
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MK Piston Peak and Villains Land Construction Thread
- Thread starter Disgruntled Walt
- Start date
danlb_2000
Premium Member
If it's off topic, just report it. Eventually that admins will get sick of cleaning up the thread and it will get merged back into the original as it should be.
BrianLo
Well-Known Member
That would be a change. We’ve had separate announcement (grievance) and construction threads since at least Pandora.
ToTBellHop
Well-Known Member
Mom just needs to come in and tell select users that they will have no more screen time today.
danlb_2000
Premium Member
I have never been a fan of them since they don't stay on topic and if you are interested in the land you have to read both threads.
SplashJacket
Well-Known Member
From 1/31
FigmentFan82
Well-Known Member
I am very curious about that cleared plot of land behind haunted mansion. Do we think this will be a surprise and something they haven’t previously announced yet?
lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
You kind of hit the nail on the head. They’re not really threads tightly focused on construction. They’re safe spaces away from criticism.
danlb_2000
Premium Member
May just be for backstage facilities and maybe parking.
mlayton144
Well-Known Member
When it’s the same 10 people barraging the thread with their grievances daily and sometime multiple times per day, let that echo chamber be separate
BrianLo
Well-Known Member
True, but also safe spaces for sanity. I stop reading the original eventually. It did remove about 60% of the theoretical ways one could die on a Skyliner, for that I am grateful.
Vegas Disney Fan
Well-Known Member
My guess is the new queue area, purely a guess though. Once that area becomes a path towards Villains the queue can’t stay where it is.
TrainsOfDisney
Well-Known Member
It also spills out significantly on busy days - so yes, this is my guess too.
Vegas Disney Fan
Well-Known Member
I’ve heard speculation of a Haunted Mansion bar also, similar to what DCL has, but I think that’s wishful thinking. A new queue seems far more practical.
ToTBellHop
Well-Known Member
Queue or otherwise, I imagine it is meant to prevent unintended views from the HM queue.
ChewbaccaYourMum
Well-Known Member
IMO-- Because it already has every other type of coaster in the park from kiddie to intense. Only thing it's missing is the really intense ride that you have to grow in to and kids will be excited to go every visit till they're big enough or "brave" enough to go on.
ChewbaccaYourMum
Well-Known Member
Or another way you can look at it, is they are construction threads with constructive conversations on the projects they're about, without the constant, opinionated, criticisms!
DrStarlander
Well-Known Member
Most people seem to agree that Villains Land will not be a dead-end with a single entry/exit bottle neck. The question is whether the two access points will both be between Haunted Mansion and Big Thunder Mountain, and is that enough distance apart to alleviate congestion?
In that gap there seems to be four ways a path could go to Villains Land given the structures we've learned about. Going from west to east, with arguments for and against:
Big Thunder Trail
This is a known scenic format, seen at Disneyland (and similar to the walkway along Grizzly River Run and along Radiator Springs Racers at DCA), affords extended aesthetic appreciation of the kinetic BTM. The strongest argument for this possibility is that the drain lines are shown here and those often are under walkways. A second argument is that if one or more other paths are used, why the dead space left here? I guess there could be a backstage access road here if visibility was blocked while riding BTM.
Long Tunnel
The argument for this is that in recent immersive projects Disney has used tunnels to create transition separation, and that a narrow building like this within the park area would have few other uses (beyond wet or dry parade float storage). The argument against is that it's very long and straight rather than doglegged.
Open Path
An open -- non tunnel -- path is good to preserve parade access, and could be plenty atmospheric. It's also possible a tunnel could be located here but perhaps that type of structure doesn't need to be included on the drain plan.
Short Tunnel
This is what is typical with Disney's land-transition tunnels, as seen at DLP and DHS with SWGE. The argument against this structure being a short tunnel is that most people think an extended queue for Haunted Mansion is necessary to remove blockage to the HM-to-BTM path. This seems like the most likely spot for that queue.
Pick 2?
If there will be two ways in and out of Villains Land, what combos of these approaches could work? I don't think any two adjacent approaches would make sense (e.g., Big Thunder Trail and Long Tunnel, or Open Path and Short Tunnel) as they would be too close to each other to avoid congestion.
It seems that any two that are separated could work, but some combos seem unlikely to me. For example, Long Tunnel and Short Tunnel would make sense in terms of both being tunnels, if they felt that was necessary, but the differences in lengths is huge and could be odd. And why are they not the same widths (minor point)?
I also think the most interesting thing about the drain plan is the open area with no structures or drainage. I know some have suggested there could be additional buildings coming that don't require drainage but I have a hard time understanding how any significant buildings in a space that big could not require drainage. Wouldn't a drinking fountain, water-bottle filling station, one-stall employee bathroom or break room require drainage connection? And even if the area is pegged for retail or meet and greet only, without F&B, given the remodel and building-function-changing history of Disney Parks, wouldn't they run a drain line to this areas now anyway to be safe? To me it's a signal this area will have an outdoor ride or a lagoon. We'll see.
But as far as pathways into and out of Villains Land, the other possibility is that only one of these options happens between HM-BTM and that a second path comes from Fantasyland, such as a covered bridge walkway here. Seeing that they are clearing the area behind iasw makes me wonder if a relocation of backstage functions is coming to make room. While this would be a significant -- and therefore -- unlikely project, it seems this is the way to truly alleviate congestion around accessing Villians Land.
In that gap there seems to be four ways a path could go to Villains Land given the structures we've learned about. Going from west to east, with arguments for and against:
Big Thunder Trail
This is a known scenic format, seen at Disneyland (and similar to the walkway along Grizzly River Run and along Radiator Springs Racers at DCA), affords extended aesthetic appreciation of the kinetic BTM. The strongest argument for this possibility is that the drain lines are shown here and those often are under walkways. A second argument is that if one or more other paths are used, why the dead space left here? I guess there could be a backstage access road here if visibility was blocked while riding BTM.
Long Tunnel
The argument for this is that in recent immersive projects Disney has used tunnels to create transition separation, and that a narrow building like this within the park area would have few other uses (beyond wet or dry parade float storage). The argument against is that it's very long and straight rather than doglegged.
Open Path
An open -- non tunnel -- path is good to preserve parade access, and could be plenty atmospheric. It's also possible a tunnel could be located here but perhaps that type of structure doesn't need to be included on the drain plan.
Short Tunnel
This is what is typical with Disney's land-transition tunnels, as seen at DLP and DHS with SWGE. The argument against this structure being a short tunnel is that most people think an extended queue for Haunted Mansion is necessary to remove blockage to the HM-to-BTM path. This seems like the most likely spot for that queue.
Pick 2?
If there will be two ways in and out of Villains Land, what combos of these approaches could work? I don't think any two adjacent approaches would make sense (e.g., Big Thunder Trail and Long Tunnel, or Open Path and Short Tunnel) as they would be too close to each other to avoid congestion.
It seems that any two that are separated could work, but some combos seem unlikely to me. For example, Long Tunnel and Short Tunnel would make sense in terms of both being tunnels, if they felt that was necessary, but the differences in lengths is huge and could be odd. And why are they not the same widths (minor point)?
I also think the most interesting thing about the drain plan is the open area with no structures or drainage. I know some have suggested there could be additional buildings coming that don't require drainage but I have a hard time understanding how any significant buildings in a space that big could not require drainage. Wouldn't a drinking fountain, water-bottle filling station, one-stall employee bathroom or break room require drainage connection? And even if the area is pegged for retail or meet and greet only, without F&B, given the remodel and building-function-changing history of Disney Parks, wouldn't they run a drain line to this areas now anyway to be safe? To me it's a signal this area will have an outdoor ride or a lagoon. We'll see.
But as far as pathways into and out of Villains Land, the other possibility is that only one of these options happens between HM-BTM and that a second path comes from Fantasyland, such as a covered bridge walkway here. Seeing that they are clearing the area behind iasw makes me wonder if a relocation of backstage functions is coming to make room. While this would be a significant -- and therefore -- unlikely project, it seems this is the way to truly alleviate congestion around accessing Villians Land.
James Alucobond
Well-Known Member
The Fantasyland entrances just aren’t practical. They’re either long and featureless (west of Small World) or interfere with major backstage elements like the main utilidor entrance (east of Small World, shown in the second-to-last shot above).
deWild
Well-Known Member
Agreed, but without a second loop this expansion is going to be an absolute cluster. What about the bourgeois-looking restrooms themed to Tangled?