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

[The Empress Lilly]

Oh my God seriously I am so tired of this tree argument / complain fest. The hub is still under construction. Please hold your child like fits and complaints until after the construction is done at least. As it is Disney has done a lot to put in large trees replacing trees that were previously there and unfortunately ripped out during the construction. Please just give it a break and get back to the rest of the construction in the hub which is a huge project.

Please hold your child like fit until after our tree argument is done at least.

 

[wogwog]

Found the ladder...

What a relief. Now Disney can "get er done".

 

[wogwog]

I thought the ladder was red.

I heard Red was terminated with the IT blood letting a few weeks ago.

 

[Brad Bishop]

I'll be there from 5th-19th May and I can't say I'm looking forward to seeing the state MK will be in My first visit was last May and the walls towards Main Street didn't bother me so much but it's looking like such a mess at the moment. I know they're trying to improve things but I'd be rather annoyed if I was there for my "once in a lifetime" visit right now.

I had an annual pass and have been there plenty of times. I was put off by all of the walls in Animal Kingdom, which I think is the worst right now, and the Magic Kingdom coming up as a close second.

The end result will be good for both but the current state of things isn't so good.

 

[Brad Bishop]

^ The trees were beautiful in themselves, but also served the important "visual curtain" purpose discussed earlier. Without them, the Castle confusingly looks like it's part of Main St., sitting right at its end. With them, the castle becomes the distant, semi-obscured portal to a new land (Fantasyland), beckoning the visitor to come deeper into the park to explore.

I never thought of that but that's a really good point.

I really liked the trees that were originally there and kind of consider the firework-viewing for the hub area as the reason for clearing them out and figured that was a good reason. You're making me re-think that with the statement above, though.

 

[xdan0920]

Please hold your child like fit until after our tree argument is done at least.

Some people...

 

[Brad Bishop]

I much prefer the older colour scheme, although I do like the Herb Ryman inspired elements.

I just feel the castle nowadays looks too much like a toy, whereas before it was more akin to a "real" castle.

If it were up to me I'd have a variation of the added details from the Tokyo castle and the older colour scheme. I'd also bring back the trees, or at least frame the castle much like the one in Tokyo.

The chances of any of that happening are incredibly slim however.

It's a nostalgia thing but I liked the older coloring with trees, too.

I miss the bright white lights on both the castle (not a fan of multicolor demo mode) and Space Mountain which really used to be lit up at night. Now you don't notice Space Mountain.

 

[marni1971]

They even have "sitting" sections on the concrete in the front of all the shows and everyone stays completely seated during fireworks, etc...

That alone says a LOT about the culture in the US.

I've a fond memory from 1993, watching Sorcery in the Sky at Disney MGM. The whole crowd in the entire hub stayed sat for the whole show.

How things have sadly changed. Now we get this

 

[Rose&Crowner]

They're planting mid sized trees in the planters too. The sign says if I remember correctly from the other day is "Disneys fireworks viewing West". I was put off by how odd it looked.

 

[Brad Bishop]

I've a fond memory from 1993, watching Sorcery in the Sky at Disney MGM. The whole crowd in the entire hub stayed sat for the whole show.

How things have sadly changed. Now we get this

View attachment 83387

Is that guests walking on the flowers?

I've had a few shows in recent years where guests all remained seated on the concrete. It works SO well. little kids can see. Adults can see and take a load off.

The problem: It only takes ONE person to screw it up. They stand up and then the person behind them stands up and it is like a wave all the way back. Also perplexing is the folks that are already sitting down and the the show begins and they stand up when everyone else is remaining seated. It doesn't click to them to sit back down and everyone can enjoy it and, eventually, the wave happens.

Trying to get people to sit back down can be a bit of a challenge and is often met as some kind of personal affront to them instead of them saying, "oh, I get it. Sorry.." and then sitting back down.

 

[Jose]

Are they still going to build the castle turrets?

THIS

 

[RSoxNo1]

It's been reimagineered: there'll be limited edition red ladder pins available at D23, though

Will there be shirts as well?

 

[note2001]

I heard Red was terminated with the IT blood letting a few weeks ago.

Are you suggesting the ladder was off-shored? I feel for the new one, that's going to be a tough position to fill.

 

[Crazydisneyfanluke]

Are you suggesting the ladder was off-shored? I feel for the new one, that's going to be a tough position to fill.

I think thats a step in the right direction.

 

[JediMasterMatt]

It's a little known fact that the elusive creature, commonly known as FastPass+ cattle (disneycanusvaccauslegoium) prefers a steady diet of field turf when they are set loose to graze before watching fireworks or parades. Those Imagineers think of everything.

 

[ABQ]

I wonder what their process will be to keep the field turf "clean". I know WDW doesn't sell things like chewing gum on property, but plenty finds its way into the parks. And though they do a good job of either scraping or power washing it off the cement, I wonder how they'll keep it out of the faux grass.

 

[ford91exploder]

Need more pics to make a decision If I like it here... maybe 20 more.
My first reaction is: needs more.. something.

More FP+ viewing areas, concrete or asphalt perhaps...

 

[SnarkyMonkey]

ehh...a big chain link fence would be ugly as hell. This is a small fence, purposely designed to "disappear" into the grass and vegetation. It looks just fine, and if it hadn't been called out to most people, most people wouldn't notice that it had been recently installed.

I would not have noticed had I not looked at the photo, and I have been to MK lots.

Just a general cultural societal problem. My kids are enjoying destroying the flowers, and I either don't care enough to stop them, or I think it's their right.

Land of the free and all that. Welcome to 'Murica!

Is that guests walking on the flowers?

I've had a few shows in recent years where guests all remained seated on the concrete. It works SO well. little kids can see. Adults can see and take a load off.

The problem: It only takes ONE person to screw it up. They stand up and then the person behind them stands up and it is like a wave all the way back. Also perplexing is the folks that are already sitting down and the the show begins and they stand up when everyone else is remaining seated. It doesn't click to them to sit back down and everyone can enjoy it and, eventually, the wave happens.

Trying to get people to sit back down can be a bit of a challenge and is often met as some kind of personal affront to them instead of them saying, "oh, I get it. Sorry.." and then sitting back down.

I see what you are saying but a lot of people simply cannot sit on the ground for various reasons...or can only do so for a short period of time.

Are you suggesting the ladder was off-shored? I feel for the new one, that's going to be a tough position to fill.

God help it if it ends up being purple!

 

[Rasvar]

My biggest problem with Fieldturf is the fact that it gets hotter than regular grass. It doesn't really dissipate heat as quickly. I wouldn't be surprised if the overall effect increases temperatures a couple of degrees in the hub during the dog days. That might be conservative based on this paper: http://turf.uark.edu/turfhelp/archives/021109.html

 

[note2001]

More FP+ viewing areas, concrete or asphalt perhaps...

More... flowers?
I don't know. From the distance shot the color grass doesn't match the natural grass, so needs something to pull it together and help us to buy into it being real.
Either that, or a few kids carrying put put golf clubs and a score sheet.