News 'Beyond Big Thunder Mountain' Blue Sky concept revealed for Magic Kingdom

[ToTBellHop]

Any major expansion to the Magic Kingdom would almost require some new firework viewing location with a place for projections.

There's already not enough room for fireworks viewing, and anything that substantially increased attendance would be a disaster. People would still want to see fireworks from in front of the castle (as they always have) but having a secondary location would be incredibly helpful (they basically eliminated the previously existing secondary locations when they made projections a major part of the show).

That shouldn’t be too hard to do and I agree they should. Maybe they can build a hotel back there and we can watch fireworks over it. Good enough for Universal.

 

[Skibum1970]

It gets its water from a canal that feeds into SSL. The Electrical Water Pageant barges are stored there. There would have to be a bridge that goes over or around it.

View attachment 766296

My understanding is that the new expansion would connect on either sides of the existing River, with a path near Big Thunder and another by The Haunted Mansion.

Not to suggest that the River would remain intact.

My thanks to both of you for explaining this. I still shudder to think about how crowded the park will become if they carry through with this but no use worrying about it today.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

My thanks to both of you for explaining this. I still shudder to think about how crowded the park will become if they carry through with this but no use worrying about it today.

Personally, I also think that's a valid concern.

It seems to me like this might be a calculated move to double down on their heaviest hitter in the face of Epic Universe. New things at MK are probably more likely to incite WDW vacations than new things at any of the other parks. Despite the fact that the other parks are absolutely much more in need of expansion and new attractions than MK is.

Not to mention the collateral damage that might be done to MK to enable the expansion.

 

[doctornick]

Any major expansion to the Magic Kingdom would almost require some new firework viewing location with a place for projections.

There's already not enough room for fireworks viewing, and anything that substantially increased attendance would be a disaster. People would still want to see fireworks from in front of the castle (as they always have) but having a secondary location would be incredibly helpful (they basically eliminated the previously existing secondary locations when they made projections a major part of the show).

I totally agree. Another option but less optimal would be doing two fireworks shows a night consistently (but the earlier one would likely still have crowding issues)

 

[doctornick]

It gets its water from a canal that feeds into SSL. The Electrical Water Pageant barges are stored there. There would have to be a bridge that goes over or around it.

View attachment 766296

Naturally. The only option to avoiding at least one bridge would be to fill in all or part of the RoA and personally I hate that idea.

I am hoping they continue the path from the far side of the Frontierland RR station (near the Splash exit) going north and build the guest bridge over the canal to the SSL. That could enable the RoA to mostly be intact, they the might need some infill near HM to make a guest path along that going north.

A bridge over that canal would obviously need to be able to be raised but almost never during park hours. The bridge in Epcot WS functions fine and most guests probably don’t realize it’s there until it gets raised for the fireworks barges.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Any major expansion to the Magic Kingdom would almost require some new firework viewing location with a place for projections.

There's already not enough room for fireworks viewing, and anything that substantially increased attendance would be a disaster. People would still want to see fireworks from in front of the castle (as they always have) but having a secondary location would be incredibly helpful (they basically eliminated the previously existing secondary locations when they made projections a major part of the show).

See my sig.

 

[Purduevian]

Any major expansion to the Magic Kingdom would almost require some new firework viewing location with a place for projections.

There's already not enough room for fireworks viewing, and anything that substantially increased attendance would be a disaster. People would still want to see fireworks from in front of the castle (as they always have) but having a secondary location would be incredibly helpful (they basically eliminated the previously existing secondary locations when they made projections a major part of the show).

While not nearly as popular as main street/castle. At Disneyland they have water projections on the ROA and on it's a small world. MK's ROA water front is quite a bit more crowded than DL, however adding a water projector in front of Liberty Tree tavern and another one outside of Big Thunder, would be a good first (and pretty cheap) step.

 

[aladdin2007]

Personally, I also think that's a valid concern.

It seems to me like this might be a calculated move to double down on their heaviest hitter in the face of Epic Universe. New things at MK are probably more likely to incite WDW vacations than new things at any of the other parks. Despite the fact that the other parks are absolutely much more in need of expansion and new attractions than MK is.

Not to mention the collateral damage that might be done to MK to enable the expansion.

Im sure TDO can't wait to anchor the riverboat, they have wanted to for years. Another piece of charm to remove, and an operating expense they would love to slash....I just wish they would utilize all the empty spaces first before reworking or expanding the park.

 

[EricsBiscuit]

While not nearly as popular as main street/castle. At Disneyland they have water projections on the ROA and on it's a small world. MK's ROA water front is quite a bit more crowded than DL, however adding a water projector in front of Liberty Tree tavern and another one outside of Big Thunder, would be a good first (and pretty cheap) step.

Sorry but MK’s RoA is nowhere near as crowded as DL’s.

Im sure TDO can't wait to anchor the riverboat, they have wanted to for years. Another piece of charm to remove, and an operating expense they would love to slash....I just wish they would utilize all the empty spaces first before reworking or expanding the park.

They just spent millions of dollars refurbishing it only a year or two ago.

 

[_caleb]

Sorry but MK’s RoA is nowhere near as crowded as DL’s.View attachment 766338

They just spent millions of dollars refurbishing it only a year or two ago.

Yeah, but that photo was obviously taken the week of Lughnasadh, sometime between Garland Sunday and Bilberry Thursday, which has always been a notoriously crowded time at Disneyland.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

Sorry but MK’s RoA is nowhere near as crowded as DL’s.View attachment 766338

They just spent millions of dollars refurbishing it only a year or two ago.

I'm not sure that's the kind of crowded they were talking about - the Riverfront at Disneyland keeps its vista pretty wide open for the sake of Fantasmic viewing, but the Riverfront at Walt Disney World has no equivalent show and has a bunch of "stuff" right on the edge of the water that would block the guest's view from the pathways. Compare:

Disneyland:

Magic Kingdom:

(These 2 images are not scaled to each other, BTW)

 

[EricsBiscuit]

I'm not sure that's the kind of crowded they were talking about - the Riverfront at Disneyland keeps its vista pretty wide open for the sake of Fantasmic viewing, but the Riverfront at Walt Disney World has no equivalent show and has a bunch of "stuff" right on the edge of the water that would block the guest's view from the pathways. Compare:

Disneyland:

View attachment 766430



Magic Kingdom:

View attachment 766431

(These 2 images are not scaled to each other, BTW)

There’s definitely more obscuring the view but the boardwalk has lots of space for viewing if they added Fantasmic style projections. They should do. Both that and add projections to the back of the castle to relieve congestion on Main Street.

 

[Purduevian]

Sorry but MK’s RoA is nowhere near as crowded as DL’s.

They just spent millions of dollars refurbishing it only a year or two ago.

I'm not sure that's the kind of crowded they were talking about - the Riverfront at Disneyland keeps its vista pretty wide open for the sake of Fantasmic viewing, but the Riverfront at Walt Disney World has no equivalent show and has a bunch of "stuff" right on the edge of the water that would block the guest's view from the pathways. Compare:

Yeah sorry I wasn't more clear, DLR has very few obstructions between the main pathway and the river. Here is a street view of what I was talking about:

Magic Kingdom does have a few openings as mentioned before: Outside of liberty tree tavern:

Outside Big Thunder:

I would love a good alternative fireworks location, but I also don't want to loose all the shade from all those trees.

 

[Bocabear]

The pathways around the ROA were more like ours before they added Fantasmic, then it was expanded for viewing... I think the Disneyland waterway is wider...

 

[ToTBellHop]

I’d rather keep the few trees MK still has…

 

[_caleb]

The pathways around the ROA were more like ours before they added Fantasmic, then it was expanded for viewing... I think the Disneyland waterway is wider...

And us Disneylanders were not happy about it even back then. Turning the entire area into an unshaded, unthemed amphitheater is one of those ideas that looks great on a whiteboard, but in reality, it created HUGE traffic issues (especially in the second half of each day).

 

[Bocabear]

And us Disneylanders were not happy about it even back then. Turning the entire area into an unshaded, unthemed amphitheater is one of those ideas that looks great on a whiteboard, but in reality, it created HUGE traffic issues (especially in the second half of each day).

I would agree...But many feel like the show was worth it... It certainly was amazing for it's day, and is still a draw...

 

[Animaniac93-98]

In hindsight, had they not shoehorned Frozen into EPCOT they way they did, a bigger version of World of Frozen would have been an ideal candidate for this proposed expansion.

Have the castle be big enough for a restaurant and meet and greet, build the flat ride that HKDL scrapped in favor off the coaster, but build that and make it longer too, along with a better boat ride.

Then Maelstrom could have been kept and upgraded, and the plot between Norway and Mexico could have been used for something else like Coco.

What could have been...

 

[DisneyDean97]

In hindsight, had they not shoehorned Frozen into EPCOT they way they did, a bigger version of World of Frozen would have been an ideal candidate for this proposed expansion.

Have the castle be big enough for a restaurant and meet and greet, build the flat ride that HKDL scrapped in favor off the coaster, but build that and make it longer too, along with a better boat ride.

Then Maelstrom could have been kept and upgraded, and the plot between Norway and Mexico could have been used for something else like Coco.

What could have been...

They wanted to get Frozen into the parks ASAP after realizing how popular the film became, re-theming a ride is much faster... especially when we're talking about the speed (or lack there of) that Disney builds at.
And while the idea works for a park like HKDL, I don't believe the Magic Kingdom needs any single IP lands, a Frozen ride sure, but not an entire land, taking up valuable space in the busiest theme park in the world for a singular IP land just doesn't feel right

 

[MagicHappens1971]

They wanted to get Frozen into the parks ASAP after realizing how popular the film became, re-theming a ride is much faster... especially when we're talking about the speed (or lack there of) that Disney builds at.
And while the idea works for a park like HKDL, I don't believe the Magic Kingdom needs any single IP lands, a Frozen ride sure, but not an entire land, taking up valuable space in the busiest theme park in the world for a singular IP land just doesn't feel right

I think had they sat back and looked at the big picture, also had they known that Frozen was gonna be such a big hit, it probably would’ve been where Storybook Circus is now. Just a hunch.

I don’t think Disney will build a “single-IP” land in MK anytime soon, but I think Beyond Big Thunder (or whatever becomes of that) will be pretty darn close.