Main Street U.S.A. hub redevelopment at the Magic Kingdom

betty rose

betty rose

Well-Known Member
erwinalber4 said:
Well I saw it yesterday in person. Does anyone happen to know what these strange wooden structures with branches and
leaf looking things are? I've seen them elsewhere before but in the Hub? :eek: Anyways in all seriousness, it looks great so far. Not really anything that hasn't been posted but here's the Crystal Palace side as of yesterday.View attachment 83080
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Will there be an upcharge to walk across the bridge? lol
 
DisneyGentleman

DisneyGentleman

Well-Known Member
marni1971 said:
World Showcase from the start supplemented it's themed lighting with the various telescopic parcan towers hidden along the promenade.

These grew around the millenium when some of the old IllumiNations neon hydraulic frames on various rooftops were retro fitted with parcans. The one on France is a good example. I also belive that ToN is to thank for the additional tilt up towers on other rooftops in a similar style to those in the MK.

The existing Castle Forecourt Stage has 4 telescopic lighting towers. It couldn't be that hard to extend the idea around the hub.
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They also added quite a sound system, but much of that has been removed. I remember fake curtains in glassless windows in England, covering what must have been massive speakers. As I recall, that all went away when the parade departed.
 
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Expo_Seeker40

Expo_Seeker40

Well-Known Member
From 2002. Look at all those trees! #50shadesofhubtrees
image.jpg
 
SnarkyMonkey

SnarkyMonkey

Well-Known Member
Victor Kelly said:
I think Disney has been reading the defoliation complaints on a lot of Disney boards. That, and it makes sense to plant a tree there as it does not block any view of the castle, and will provide much needed shade since Noddle Station is always shut down and locked down. Pity really.
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They didn't change the plans to add more trees. The plans always included trees. The negative nellies decided to speculate with little information that the Hub would be turned into a big concrete lot. I have no idea why. From the beginning, the sketches have looked lush and beautiful.
 
flyerjab

flyerjab

Well-Known Member
SnarkyMonkey said:
They didn't change the plans to add more trees. The plans always included trees. The negative nellies decided to speculate with little information that the Hub would be turned into a big concrete lot. I have no idea why. From the beginning, the sketches have looked lush and beautiful.
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Yesterday (because I have no life at times) I watched and re-watched the Disney animation that was officially released showing what the hub will look like when completed. The new outer ring seems to have trees on both sides of the path which should provide some nice shading. The project is killing 2 birds with one stone essentially: providing a walking area with shade, while having a larger inner section for parade and fireworks viewing. The landscaping looks wonderful so far, and it will be a nice bonus to have those new, added castle towers offset from the castle itself. Someone on this thread mentioned that when completed, the WDW hub will be the best hub of all of the Disney parks worldwide (with the exception maybe of Shanghai).
 
marni1971

marni1971

Park History nut
Premium Member
SnarkyMonkey said:
They didn't change the plans to add more trees. The plans always included trees. The negative nellies decided to speculate with little information that the Hub would be turned into a big concrete lot. I have no idea why. From the beginning, the sketches have looked lush and beautiful.
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I wouldn't call it lush.

The CGI publicity video cleverly chose to be lit at sunset, offering long shadows of the trees that were blended into the actual plantings. Very subtle and very clever.
 
Horizons1

Horizons1

Well-Known Member
Victor Kelly said:
I think Disney has been reading the defoliation complaints on a lot of Disney boards. That, and it makes sense to plant a tree there as it does not block any view of the castle, and will provide much needed shade since Noddle Station is always shut down and locked down. Pity really.

I will also say that I was not for the destruction and change of the Hub. I never like changes to a place I have known practically since birth. But it will ease congestion, they are doing a very good job on the changes. The logical point is that the changes were needed due to historical congestion, and elevated crowd capacity due to FLE, the night time entertainment, daytime parades, and generally, now, out of date landscaping and crowd areas.
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Disney reads the message boards but they don't take them seriously. They monitor them to make sure there are no leaks. They aren't reading them to figure out what they can improve.
 
Victor Kelly

Victor Kelly

Well-Known Member
Horizons1 said:
Disney reads the message boards but they don't take them seriously. They monitor them to make sure there are no leaks. They aren't reading them to figure out what they can improve.
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I would disagree, to an extent. Disney uses the boards as unofficial feedback. By that I mean instead of using those people from "Research" that nab you and get your email for a survey. Think about it, feedback no matter how it is attained is useful. In a project such as this they make plans, do artist renderings, come up with site plans, etc. Now say a lot of people are up in arms about the destruction of the vegetation, they may take that into consideration and revise the plans.

Yes, they look for leaks. But even the leaks can be sanctioned by Disney, making them not really leaks but more tidbits of information they want known to generate interest and/ or feedback.

Simply saying Disney does not care about what we think or say is nonsense. This is feedback that they do not have to actively seek aside from browsing the internet. Are people such pixie dust inhalers that they think that Disney or any other corporation does not have people active on websites that discuss their product? That the company is perfect the way it is? Do you believe they invested billions in the last 7 years on a whim? No, they did research, they ghost wrote stealthy conversations online. They got feedback. Which is why they are going to spend billions more in updates and improvements. While the public may not always hold sway in the biggest decisions, they do hold sway on what they want. And if the public does not get what they want, they vote with their wallet. Examples as much as I hate to admit it.....Starbucks, people wanted it. More space for viewing of Wishes.....people wanted it. Princess meet and greets.....people wanted it. Wishes and Meet and Greets do not make direct money, but they draw in crowds which buy food, memory maker sales and merchandise.

How did Disney know? Research, at the parks, through surveys, and online discussion forums such as this.

I will give you an example, as a 30 year paintball player, I am active on many forums. Players write about their gear and the tournaments and the games they play all the time. The companies monitor these sites, they listen to their customers, they make changes, they make improvements. The result is happy customers, changes in gear, games, tournament formats, etc. Which in turn generates sales which generate profit. For me as a part time game producer, I have to listen to my customers, make changes, fix problems, show that I do care a lot about their needs and wants then adjust how I do things despite what I may think is a good idea. If I do not, people don't come, the field does not make money and I am out of business. While what I do is a lot of face to face, I have to get on Facebook and discussion forums nightly and read......a lot. And not just for my area, but across the country and even some international game producers and field sites. Keep the customer happy, get repeat customers and turn a profit, and then you will get more players, turn a higher profit.
 
flyerjab

flyerjab

Well-Known Member
Look at em line the streets in droves for the Move It! Shake It! whatever parade!

Seriously though, great photo. You can really see the outer ring taking shape now. I wonder why they are further along on the west side. It's been that way for the entire project so far.
 
Devin36

Devin36

Member
Maybe this has been mentioned somewhere, but do you guys see the "strips" of the new color concrete in the red hub area? When was this done? Did they get a head start on the inside? It looks like they did this a while ago, as it lines up with the path openings...
 
Jose

Jose

Well-Known Member
Devin36 said:
Maybe this has been mentioned somewhere, but do you guys see the "strips" of the new color concrete in the red hub area? When was this done? Did they get a head start on the inside? It looks like they did this a while ago, as it lines up with the path openings...
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It is temporal concrete, should be removed and replaced with new topiary :)
 
Devin36

Devin36

Member
No not where the hub "islands" were. I am talking about right against the construction walls on the outer edge on the guest side. there are 6 strips of the new color concrete, this had to have been done a while ago but I don't remember anyone talking about it. I am not referring to the temp red concrete in the hub center.
 
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