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

[kgaf99]

 

[Horizons1]

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.

I was being sarcastic in an attempt to fish out the people that really do find that hub ugly. I did, and now they are marked. But regardless of their poor taste, that hub was awesome because of the trees and no ugly stage, and no Facebook or selfies (yay, narcissism!).

 

[Goofnut1980]

I will be going to all 4 parks this Friday/Saturday, any requests on photos? What do you guys want to see?

Any chance to get one in the afternoon when you can get up on by the stage and take a pic looking toward main street from the Cindy's house (on the stage)?

 

[DVCOwner]

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.

I am an engineer that specializes in maintenance and repair of facilities. Doing what is call preventive maintenance will reduce downtime, but not completely eliminate it. Also, as any attraction gets older, the more downtime is needed to keep it running. Now I agree with you the Disney has not put the love and care into Walt Disney World in the last few years, but I think that this is turning around and things are getting done. Every attraction that is more then a few years will require downtime almost every year.

 

[halltd]

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Thank you SO much for those close-up shots of the grass. I've been dying to see the texture and how it relates to the concrete. It's hard to tell from the usual pictures taken so far away!!

 

[DVCOwner]

View attachment 86238

Man, this was ugly.

I do not think anyone thinks that the old Hub is ugly, just like many people like old county roads. Still, just as county roads gave way to interstate highways, the level of crowds at the Magic Kingdom is forcing construction of the new hub. What I want to see as a fan of the Disney Parks is that the new hub completed as nicely as possible. I have seen ugly interstate highways and I have seen ones that are very pleasant to look at.

 

[Cesar R M]

I am an engineer that specializes in maintenance and repair of facilities. Doing what is call preventive maintenance will reduce downtime, but not completely eliminate it. Also, as any attraction gets older, the more downtime is needed to keep it running. Now I agree with you the Disney has not put the love and care into Walt Disney World in the last few years, but I think that this is turning around and things are getting done. Every attraction that is more then a few years will require downtime almost every year.

Oh I understand it and agree with you.
but... just take into note the current state of POTC (and how bad it used to be for splash mountain).
There is a huge difference in 2-3 weeks of downtime vs 4-6 months (due of neglecting an attraction for years).

 

[Brian]

I was being sarcastic in an attempt to fish out the people that really do find that hub ugly. I did, and now they are marked. But regardless of their poor taste, that hub was awesome because of the trees and no ugly stage, and no Facebook or selfies (yay, narcissism!).

Everyone is entitled to their opinion.

Just as many of you think that the old hub, despite it's in-wall benches, planters blocking the castle placed in the forecourt, and lack of the Partners statue, is better, I think that it looks better now after the redevelopments, and especially after the new castle paint scheme.

 

[wdizneew]

I do not think anyone thinks that the old Hub is ugly, just like many people like old county roads. Still, just as county roads gave way to interstate highways, the level of crowds at the Magic Kingdom is forcing construction of the new hub. What I want to see as a fan of the Disney Parks is that the new hub completed as nicely as possible. I have seen ugly interstate highways and I have seen ones that are very pleasant to look at.

Good analogy with the country roads to interstate highways. Seems like Disney literally went for the interstate highway aspect with all the signs/lamp posts they put up They might as well start putting up green signs pointing to where each land is and a sign pointing to the park exit, just like at AK lol

Kidding aside, I have been asked many times where the park exit is....and these people were standing in the hub

 

[note2001]

View attachment 86308

Very nice pics. Love the angles you got.

Is this last picture of your group, the start of "the end" of the rose garden path? Looking at the overhead shots of the area and plan, I don't think these and the other side will take very long to pull together. Having these paths done by the end of June seems very reasonable.

 

[Monorail_Red_77]

Very nice pics. Love the angles you got.

Is this last picture of your group, the start of the end of the rose garden path? Looking at the overhead shots of the area and plan, I don't' think these and the other side will take very long to pull together. Having these paths done by the end of June seems very reasonable.

Yes, that is the rose garden area. Sad that it cannot be rebuilt elsewhere. Especially since it was award winning.

 

[hpyhnt 1000]

Yes, that is the rose garden area. Sad that it cannot be rebuilt elsewhere. Especially since it was award winning.

Best we could probably hope for is some new rose bushes to be planted along the new pathway, but I'm not holding my breath. I do think that, if they had wanted to, they could have found a way to integrate a shortened rose path into the new hub design, but I don't think they went that route.

At least Epcot still has its rose path.

 

[Martiyoman]

I was being sarcastic in an attempt to fish out the people that really do find that hub ugly. I did, and now they are marked. But regardless of their poor taste, that hub was awesome because of the trees and no ugly stage, and no Facebook or selfies (yay, narcissism!).

Marked? Speaking of narcissism...

 

[jlthomas81]

Okay, that grass looks pretty amazing. I haven't ever been so close to astro-turf of this quality before. But the question is, how does it feel? We have a fake Christmas tree that looks just like a real fir, but when you touch the actual needles, they feel very rubbery....

 

[WDWLover#1]

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.

Unless I'm mistaken I think there was a test last year or before, about them leaving the pedestrian access through the castle open during DAWM. I don know if this went anywhere though.

 

[Sage of Time]

I found the grass to be VERY lifelike in person: in both touch and sight. In person, it doesn't look as plastic and the light doesn't shine off of it as evidently as it does in these pics. And touching it? It feels like grass.

Thank you SO much for those close-up shots of the grass. I've been dying to see the texture and how it relates to the concrete. It's hard to tell from the usual pictures taken so far away!!

Okay, that grass looks pretty amazing. I haven't ever been so close to astro-turf of this quality before. But the question is, how does it feel? We have a fake Christmas tree that looks just like a real fir, but when you touch the actual needles, they feel very rubbery....

 

[DVCOwner]

Okay, that grass looks pretty amazing. I haven't ever been so close to astro-turf of this quality before. But the question is, how does it feel? We have a fake Christmas tree that looks just like a real fir, but when you touch the actual needles, they feel very rubbery....

I do not think that this is what everyone thinks of when they think of Astro-Turf. I looked at this a few weeks ago and it looks more like a product that I have used called Realgrass. I do not know if this is the band that Disney used, but it is real close to it. It looks and feels much more like grass and does not get hot when the sun shines on it. Maybe someone knows the name of the band that Disney used.

 

[WDWtraveler]

Photo update as of Tuesday, Mar 10. As reported earlier, the low construction walls were removed around the two planter areas in the center of the hub. See below two photos.

The Partners statue is in the background of this photo.

In this photo, you can see Disney wasted no time in surrounding the Rose Garden hub area with construction walls and has already begun landscape and earth removal. See photos below. Additionally, the two smaller buildings to the left and right of the castle stage (which had drinking fountains) have been completely removed.

Here is the pathway through the Rose Garden.

The "photo op" location at the entrance to the Rose Garden. The pole in the photo is part of the arch over the entrance.

The small building (drinking fountain) to the left of the castle was right behind this construction wall.

Taken from Liberty Square bridge, here is the other side of the wall in the above photo.

The newly planted large trees near the Crystal Palace are beginning to leaf out. Here is the view from the hub towards the Crystal Palace.

 

[kgaf99]

Very nice pics. Love the angles you got.

Is this last picture of your group, the start of "the end" of the rose garden path? Looking at the overhead shots of the area and plan, I don't think these and the other side will take very long to pull together. Having these paths done by the end of June seems very reasonable.

Nope. I'm solo here checking it out.

Yeah this hub thing really opens up the area. Looks great

 

[kgaf99]

Thank you SO much for those close-up shots of the grass. I've been dying to see the texture and how it relates to the concrete. It's hard to tell from the usual pictures taken so far away!!

You're welcome. It was driving me crazy too. So I wanted to really give others a real good idea of what its like. The grass is actually a little thick and full feeling.