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

Cesar R M

Cesar R M

Well-Known Member
midwest_mice said:
Maybe I'm late in the conversation, but with the artificial grass, I can see a few problems: even though gum isn't sold at Disney, it's still brought in, once the summer months come, i can see some sticky messes getting ground into the turf. When summer hits, that turf is more than likely going to be scorching hot, that during the day, people won't sit on it much, at least not in the shaded area.
Hope i'm wrong on both of these perspectives.
Click to expand...
I honestly can see getting sticky but from icecream and soda getting dry by the sun.
 
Monorail_Red_77

Monorail_Red_77

Well-Known Member
MK HUB NO STAGE 1975.jpg


Here's a nice pic of the hub castle forecourt area. Notice no forecourt stage yet. Year is 1975.
 
halltd

halltd

Well-Known Member
Yeah I'd love to see a lot of detailed pictures around the center of the hub (curbs, rails, pavement, etc...), the new turret locations, and whatever else is going on in the North section now that work has shifted up that way.
 
Brian

Brian

Well-Known Member
Horizons1 said:
View attachment 86238

Man, this was ugly.
Click to expand...

I can't tell if you're being sarcastic, but yes it is quite ugly. The pale blue turrets of the castle are very unappealing, and you can barely see the hub. Also, whose idea was it to put planters in the castle forecourt?

As a side note, this picture, despite it's age, really shows how little space there was prior to this redevelopment.
 
M

Martiyoman

Active Member
Brian said:
I can't tell if you're being sarcastic, but yes it is quite ugly. The pale blue turrets of the castle are very unappealing, and you can barely see the hub. Also, whose idea was it to put planters in the castle forecourt?

As a side note, this picture, despite it's age, really shows how little space there was prior to this redevelopment.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I'm in the minority, and maybe I need a pic of the new hub from this angle to really be sure, but I think I prefer the new hub...
 
jdmdisney99

jdmdisney99

Well-Known Member
Horizons1 said:
View attachment 86238

Man, this was ugly.
Click to expand...
Brian said:
I can't tell if you're being sarcastic, but yes it is quite ugly. The pale blue turrets of the castle are very unappealing, and you can barely see the hub. Also, whose idea was it to put planters in the castle forecourt?

As a side note, this picture, despite it's age, really shows how little space there was prior to this redevelopment.
Click to expand...
image.jpg
 
JenniferS

JenniferS

When you're the leader, you don't have to follow.
Brian said:
I can't tell if you're being sarcastic, but yes it is quite ugly. The pale blue turrets of the castle are very unappealing, and you can barely see the hub. Also, whose idea was it to put planters in the castle forecourt?

As a side note, this picture, despite it's age, really shows how little space there was prior to this redevelopment.
Click to expand...
I think the picture is lovely, but given today's crowd levels and how castle-centric the evening's shows have become, it just screams IMPRACTICAL.

I've said all along that I like what I'm seeing in the new hub, and can't wait to see it finished. I suspect it will look even better in a year or two, once everything has had a year to mellow and mature.

And as someone who has zero interest in any of the character shows in front of the castle, there is nothing that would thrill me more than to have all those court stages removed, and to be able to walk through the castle all day; not just in between shows.
And yes, I know that is never going to happen. Nor should it, just because I want it.
 
Rob562

Rob562

Well-Known Member
Rose&Crowner said:
Good guess but nope, there were exising sidewalks there where they were able to put the walls as they tore down/reconstructed and still allowed people to walk by.. Here they'll have to wall off the "road" far enough into the existing portion to make the new outer circle paths. When parade time hits, there will be no stopping there I'm sure.
Click to expand...

There is no pedestrian access at all between the Hub and Liberty Square during parade times. They put up ropes to divert Guests at least 15 minutes before the night parade comes through (not sure about the day parade but I presume it's the same procedure). That stretch just before the Liberty Square bridge operates as a VIP viewing area for celebrities, etc, as well as a mid-route "problem fixing" spot where techs and managers can stop a float and deal with any issues that may have cropped up along the way. (I remember standing just over the bridge in Liberty Square and seeing them have to open up the side of the Spectromagic metronome float to deal with an issue)

When the Hub is done they'll also have to add an additional CM PAC position and rope along the new northwest path to keep people from getting to the Liberty Square bridge (though presumably retaining access to the snack stand going in along there).

-Rob
 
Jon81uk

Jon81uk

Well-Known Member
Cesar R M said:
If they were doing the maintenance like they did years ago (aka working at night to prevent the stuff from falling apart) they wouldn't need to make these very long refurbishments.

Take an example of Splash Mountain or the current state of Pirates, both were falling apart.
They needed very lengthy renovations to take them up to what they were.
Which would have been preventable if they had constant proper maintenance than the "meh, its good enough".

there is one thing that Im glad now.

That they are FINALLY PUTTING EFFORT into fixing a lot of broken things from the parks. they really deserved the maintenance and repairs of now.

Me for example, I was very happy to see the new Harambe theatre in person. Looks amazing and very well themed.

(edit)
also forgot the removal of the hat at DHS.
Click to expand...

Of course the MK is open much longer hours than it ever used to with summer extra magic hours pushing to 3am. They don't seem to have thought the effect of longer hours through in terms of maintenance. Running rides for longer with less downtime to fix things will make them wear out quicker. A simple fix could be to run certain attractions on limited hours (eg not open after midnight) when night crews need the extra time.
 
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wdizneew

wdizneew

Well-Known Member
Horizons1 said:
View attachment 86238

Man, this was ugly.
Click to expand...

I actually liked it. Maybe because I grew up seeing the hub like that. It made the park seem cozier, in a good way, and not the coziness of being crammed like sardines that it is today....oh those were the days...

Plus, everyone needs to realize that WDW is in Florida. The summers are brutally hot and humid. I think when the park was built, they realized that there would need to be a lot of shade. I can feel my skin burn thinking about all those guests waiting on the sidewalk for the 3:00pm parade in the middle of July.

Also, back then, most people weren't huge on selfies or bothered with instagram and facebook. Today, everyone wants that perfect view of the castle so they can share it with the internet. The only way to make everyone happy was to remove the trees.
 

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