Grand Floridian walkway to MK - could this be happening!

[Rob562]

Ah. More lack of personnel reasons. Oh well. They seem to be deciding against maintaining the parades (or MSEP at least looks/sounds like it is not being maintained), so EWP's time may be limited. Is this what they meant by limited time magic?

How does the maintenance people for the parades and the EWP being the same people translate to "lack of personnel reasons"?

The EWP has been parked immediately next to the MK parade buildings since it premiered. The barges are relatively low-maintenance and thus don't require a full-time cast of their own. Combining their maintenance with the parades is just good business practice.

-Rob

 

[Gabe1]

They are so close to having a walkway there. It sure would be nice, too! But I haven't heard about any plans to finish it. There is always hope, though.

Our family brick is half way out on that walkway toward the Grand Floridian. It really isn't that wide. Our thoughts through the years was it was a roost, that Disney implied without ever really saying they were going to put in a walkway. Made it easier to justify the brick walk to nowhere.

But as a brick owner I never really expected my sidewalk to go anywhere. We actually had no idea where the brick would go when we purchased it. And when we found the path to locate it we were all in agreement of Seriously???

 

[MaryJaneP]

Interesting to hear that the workers, if there are any, at the Maintenance facility on Bay Lake apparently aren't "a good business practice" to maintain a low maintenance barge parade as the maintenance must be kept at the MK parade facility. Still doesn't address the walkway issue as movable bridges, even daily, could work. Seems like a photopass opportunity and brick-sales opportunity that may never come to pass.

 

[ABQ]

Our family brick is half way out on that walkway toward the Grand Floridian. It really isn't that wide. Our thoughts through the years was it was a roost, that Disney implied without ever really saying they were going to put in a walkway. Made it easier to justify the brick walk to nowhere.

But as a brick owner I never really expected my sidewalk to go anywhere. We actually had no idea where the brick would go when we purchased it. And when we found the path to locate it we were all in agreement of Seriously???

Wonder what would happen if people started taking their bricks. Would Disney pitch a fit as you were destroying their walkway to nowhere? Really, how could they word the vandalism documentation in such a way that you as the buyer of said brick were doing a disservice to them?

 

[bgraham34]

If they were to ever open up the path it probably would be the most popular spot for people to run. Heck that is something I would even do and I don't like to run.

 

[Gabe1]

Wonder what would happen if people started taking their bricks. Would Disney pitch a fit as you were destroying their walkway to nowhere? Really, how could they word the vandalism documentation in such a way that you as the buyer of said brick were doing a disservice to them?

I don't believe they even have to replace them if they are damaged at this point, thinking it was 10 years. At some point they said if needed to be removed we'd be contacted and we could have brick shipped to us at our expense. Bet that be expensive. I think I paid like $100-$125. I thought my DH who is conservative was nuts when he said he WANTED one. Me, I was like really? But in the paperwork, yes lots of paperwork, only they could remove path.

I was out there in 2012, my DS got delayed arriving to swiping me into the MK so I took a stroll. It really isn't that wide for guests walking in both directions, scooters and strollers. See how it narrows away from the boat dock?

I'm not sure if I am Disney if I want to put guests this close to the lake as a Main Path to and from parks without putting up railings. It really comes pretty close to deep water.

This is form Walk Around the World. It really thins out by the time you hit the hub.

 

[ABQ]

It doesn't appear to be all that much narrower than the walkway from Boardwalk to the Studios

 

[Gabe1]

Dang, that puppy is close to the water too. I've only been on that one a few times, only spotted guests here and there, does it get crowded at park closing like potentially a GF path could. I know the Contemporary path is not adequate at height times.

 

[ABQ]

Dang, that puppy is close to the water too. I've only been on that one a few times, only spotted guests here and there, does it get crowded at park closing like potentially a GF path could. I know the Contemporary path is not adequate at height times.

Can be a little congested just post Fantasmic, but that's not nearly the volume you get after a parade or fireworks at the MK. It is wider than the walkway to the Contemporary and doesn't cross any streets though.

 

[Gabe1]

Can be a little congested just post Fantasmic, but that's not nearly the volume you get after a parade or fireworks at the MK. It is wider than the walkway to the Contemporary and doesn't cross any streets though.

Thanks. I've walked it however it has been many years. I learned either the boat or a taxi back to Boardwalk resorts at closing time.

Funny how we crave a way to walk after a long day in the parks just to avoid Disney Transportation.

 

[kap91]

I hate to burst everyone's bubble (as much as I'd like to see the path completed) but considering the "bridges' being worked on look identical to the docks currently in use for the ferryboats - I would think them being replacements is much more likely. Here's hoping I'm wrong though.

 

[PeterMarcus]

So maybe what it finally took to put a bridge there was a completed DVC on both sides of MK?

 

[ABQ]

Well if it is a bridge being made, as is discussed on the thread in the news/rumours section, one issue that still stands is this area. Would Disney expect guests to walk out to Floridian way and then up this sandy path?

 

[flyerjab]

My family just purchased at the GFV this summer so here's hoping it is a bridge. It would be soooo nice being able to walk back from MK instead of following the herd out towards the buses, monorail, etc. Every time we leave MK at park close it reminds me of that scene in the Tom Cruise remake of War of the Worlds when the people are loading onto the ferry boat about mid way through the movie.

 

[Lord_Vader]

That's pretty much how the MK Railroad swing bridge across the canal beyond BTMRR operates so the Liberty Belle can get to the canal. (Though I presume it's electrical and not manual, but for safety the only controls to operate it are in the middle of the tracks halfway across the bridge)

-Rob

The swing bridge in MK for the railroad is manual.

 

[raymusiccity]

I don't believe they even have to replace them if they are damaged at this point, thinking it was 10 years. At some point they said if needed to be removed we'd be contacted and we could have brick shipped to us at our expense. Bet that be expensive. I think I paid like $100-$125. I thought my DH who is conservative was nuts when he said he WANTED one. Me, I was like really? But in the paperwork, yes lots of paperwork, only they could remove path.

I was out there in 2012, my DS got delayed arriving to swiping me into the MK so I took a stroll. It really isn't that wide for guests walking in both directions, scooters and strollers. See how it narrows away from the boat dock?

I'm not sure if I am Disney if I want to put guests this close to the lake as a Main Path to and from parks without putting up railings. It really comes pretty close to deep water.

This is form Walk Around the World. It really thins out by the time you hit the hub.

Whoops! You said the magic word: 'scooters' !

If personnel and the related expense of operating a moveable bridge wasn't enough, just add the liability issues of maneuvering scooters over uneven bricks, installing better lighting, adding security near a hidden portion of the property, keeping children away from the barges, cleaning up all of the added trash being discarded along the new walkway, etc., etc.

 

[Gabe1]

Whoops! You said the magic word: 'scooters' !

If personnel and the related expense of operating a moveable bridge wasn't enough, just add the liability issues of maneuvering scooters over uneven bricks, installing better lighting, adding security near a hidden portion of the property, keeping children away from the barges, cleaning up all of the added trash being discarded along the new walkway, etc., etc.

I also think of the bridge employees. Someone is going to have to raise and lower that bridge. And you are going to need several CMs on each side of the bridge to raise and lower it to keep guests away from the moving bridge. At Epcot you have CMs within the park for that. They'd have to send CMs out to the bridge anytime it needed to raised or lowered.

In my little Hamlet we need a new bridge to cross a very narrow river. It doesn't need to be raised. Leaders have put this off because of the expense and that little river is only about 2 feet deep unless it floods over the banks, then maybe 6 feet deep. This would be so expensive to sink pillars out in that water. Likely why Disney has thought boat launch and monorail, good enough. Be so much cheaper to expand the GF Docks to accommodate boats that have a higher capacity at busier times of the day.

 

[ABQ]

I also think of the bridge employees. Someone is going to have to raise and lower that bridge. And you are going to need several CMs on each side of the bridge to raise and lower it to keep guests away from the moving bridge. At Epcot you have CMs within the park for that. They'd have to send CMs out to the bridge anytime it needed to raised or lowered.

In my little Hamlet we need a new bridge to cross a very narrow river. It doesn't need to be raised. Leaders have put this off because of the expense and that little river is only about 2 feet deep unless it floods over the banks, then maybe 6 feet deep. This would be so expensive to sink pillars out in that water. Likely why Disney has thought boat launch and monorail, good enough. Be so much cheaper to expand the GF Docks to accommodate boats that have a higher capacity at busier times of the day.

When the bridge raises at Epcot, it's handled entirely by the pyrotechnics dept, not by typical Epcot CM's. If the same thing was necessary on the Seven Seas Lagoon bridge it could be handled by CM's associated with the water pageant, no need to tie up some MK cast. It takes just one or two people to handle the Epcot bridge as they swing out the gates and lock them then head to the control panel to raise it. Not a big team and not too much labor.

 

[Rob562]

The swing bridge in MK for the railroad is manual.

Ah, I stand corrected. I knew it was controlled from the middle of the bridge, I guess I just presumed it was electric.

-Rob

 

[Lord_Vader]

Ah, I stand corrected. I knew it was controlled from the middle of the bridge, I guess I just presumed it was electric.

-Rob

Took the train tour last July and was actually a topic on the tour. The bridge takes almost a full day to open then another to close as it was moved from a former water crossing that was replaced after a Florida hurricane if I remember correctly. Anyway, I would have thought it to be upgraded to electrical control/movement at some point but was incorrect.