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

[ChristianG]

At the end of the day though the majority of guests want to see fireworks above the castle. Like they've seen on TV and in magazines.

But what's been done now should go some way to removing sights like this:

View attachment 114522

Albeit the FP+ areas should be open to first come first served if they're serious about tackling capacity issues. Having a few dozen people total in the controlled area defeats the object somewhat.

That photo scares me. Glad to hear the outer ring has been serving its purpose.

 

[Jon81uk]

At the end of the day though the majority of guests want to see fireworks above the castle. Like they've seen on TV and in magazines.

And I gues that isn't so much of a big issue at DisneyLand as there are more locals and repeat visitors who have seen the fireworks above the castle and might be okay with trying a different view.

 

[Sped2424]

the way they used it the other night was the inner ring including the streets were all open to stand in. While the outer ring was for leaving and let me tell you it was a breeze to leave wishes.

 

[jrhwdw]

At the end of the day though the majority of guests want to see fireworks above the castle. Like they've seen on TV and in magazines.

But what's been done now should go some way to removing sights like this:

View attachment 114522

Albeit the FP+ areas should be open to first come first served if they're serious about tackling capacity issues. Having a few dozen people total in the controlled area defeats the object somewhat.

Golly!!!! Did you take this??? what year was this????

the way they used it the other night was the inner ring including the streets were all open to stand in. While the outer ring was for leaving and let me tell you it was a breeze to leave wishes.

Did you use the Bypass or Main Street? No matter how good the outer ring is, there's still Main Street, Bypass or the Emporium if you feel like zigzagging through the aisles.

 

[Sped2424]

Golly!!!! Did you take this??? what year was this????


Did you use the Bypass or Main Street? No matter how good the outer ring is, there's still Main Street, Bypass or the Emporium if you feel like zigzagging through the aisles.

No bypass I mean leaving the viewing ring for wishes. I literally walked out and made my way to fantasyland no problem. That was not the way it used to be lol

 

[meyeet]

There is still a dangerous bottleneck when entering the hub across the Liberty square bridge. We got caught there last week when everyone stopped walking to watch the castle show.

 

[gmajew]

At the end of the day though the majority of guests want to see fireworks above the castle. Like they've seen on TV and in magazines.

But what's been done now should go some way to removing sights like this:

View attachment 114522

Albeit the FP+ areas should be open to first come first served if they're serious about tackling capacity issues. Having a few dozen people total in the controlled area defeats the object somewhat.

That picture is why I never ever stay for the fireworks... Nothing worse then being a sardine...

 

[TomHendricks]

That picture is why I never ever stay for the fireworks... Nothing worse then being a sardine...

Thats why I prefer to watch the fireworks from the top of Bay Lake Tower. Wonderful view of the castle and fireworks, piped in music, only a handful of people, drink in my hand and the kids in their pajamas. When over, take elevator to our floor, back to the room and kids to bed. Now my kids are 6, 5 and 3 and this will probably change at some point but for now, this is peace.

 

[Cesar R M]

Thats why I prefer to watch the fireworks from the top of Bay Lake Tower. Wonderful view of the castle and fireworks, piped in music, only a handful of people, drink in my hand and the kids in their pajamas. When over, take elevator to our floor, back to the room and kids to bed. Now my kids are 6, 5 and 3 and this will probably change at some point but for now, this is peace.

not everyone has that privilege?
Question.. do the California Grill restaurant also have the sound piped in?

 

[halltd]

not everyone has that privilege?
Question.. do the California Grill restaurant also have the sound piped in?

It does, yes. Ohana does as well. I'm not sure of the others, but I've been in both CG and Ohana during fireworks shows and they both had music.

 

[dizneycrazy09]

not everyone has that privilege?
Question.. do the California Grill restaurant also have the sound piped in?

The fireworks from CG are truly amazing. One of my favorite spots to watch. (Yes, the music is piped in.)

 

[Kevin_W]

I can tell you from first hand experience that the outer ring is very effective. We were at the Halloween Party on Friday night and there were a ton of people in the hub for the Hocus Pocus show, castle projection and fireworks (which were excellent!). We navigated from Tomorrowland into the Hub for the shows, and the outer ring was not crowded, whereas the hub was packed. Once all of the new plantings have time to really germinate for a few years, this hub will be beautiful. It is tough for me to really capture it in pictures, but when you are there, taking it all in, you really see how they did a great job. When I first went in 2009, the hub really did feel like a hot concrete box. It just doesn't feel that way anymore. The gardens with the fountains help with that, and there are definitely trees there now. Especially since they removed the temporary green towers that were used for the castle show and replaced them with more trees it is really nice. The center is still open, but I see why they have it designed that way. When you traverse the outer ring areas, it is beautiful.

I agree - we had the same experience for the party on Monday. The center was really crowded, but you could easily navigate around. In June, we tried to get from Main Street to Adventureland/Frontierland around Wishes and it was a nightmare - I really like what the hub expansion has done.

 

[Coaster Lover]

Question.. do the California Grill restaurant also have the sound piped in?

Both inside the restaurant and on the outside observation deck. Really good sound quality too. Would love to watch one of the holiday firework shows from there that has the perimeter fireworks. Also, doesn't matter when you dine at CG... you can still go there for the fireworks. If you dined the same day before the fireworks, you can just bring your receipt to the check-in desk and they'll let you back up or if you have a reservation after the fireworks they'll let you go up early.

Back on topic, the hub has come a LONG way since I was there back in March! Will be nice for this project to finally be done!

 

[boufa]

not everyone has that privilege?
Question.. do the California Grill restaurant also have the sound piped in?

See wishes once in your life from the hub.. its a must do... but only once. The rest of the times head to other areas of the park. We really enjoy watching from Gastone's Tavern and from the area right near the entrance to Dumbo.

 

[Grumpy1973]

See wishes once in your life from the hub.. its a must do... but only once. The rest of the times head to other areas of the park. We really enjoy watching from Gastone's Tavern and from the area right near the entrance to Dumbo.

We watched from this exact spot one day a few weeks ago and couldn't believe we had never thought to watch them from here before, we were practically the only ones there, and it's a great spot if u don't care about watching them go off directly behind the castle.

 

[Cesar R M]

See wishes once in your life from the hub.. its a must do... but only once. The rest of the times head to other areas of the park. We really enjoy watching from Gastone's Tavern and from the area right near the entrance to Dumbo.

Thats not what I asked.

And I've been a few times to WDW. I do not agree with your " only see once".
Unless you mean see once as in "infront of the castle".

 

[Tobe]

See wishes once in your life from the hub.. its a must do... but only once. The rest of the times head to other areas of the park. We really enjoy watching from Gastone's Tavern and from the area right near the entrance to Dumbo.

I understand the advantages of less crowds in alternate locations and respect your choice for watching it from the hub to be a one time must do for you. But for us it is pretty much a must always do when we are in the MK. We have done other locations but for us personally, nothing else compares to the view from about 3/4 of the way back in the hub with the music, story, and fireworks of the Wishes show happening with the castle as the backdrop. We're pretty particular about our spot. Too close to the castle and it blocks some of the wonderful fireworks, too far away (back in Mainstreet itself) and you lose a bit of the wide angle view of everything and its harder to see Tinkerbell fly which is one of my favorite things. So we have figured out our perfect spot and always encourage those behind us to go in front of us when the CMs start their everybody move forward chant.

That being said I wish more people shared your enthusiasm for alternate viewing locations because I certainly wouldn't mind a less crowed hub for Wishes!

Kudos on the photo by the way. That is spectacular!

 

[brb1006]

Any new photos of the hub yet?

 

[French Quarter]

The fireworks from CG are truly amazing. One of my favorite spots to watch. (Yes, the music is piped in.)

And you can go outside on the balcony. It is truly awesome!

 

[French Quarter]

Both inside the restaurant and on the outside observation deck. Really good sound quality too. Would love to watch one of the holiday firework shows from there that has the perimeter fireworks. Also, doesn't matter when you dine at CG... you can still go there for the fireworks. If you dined the same day before the fireworks, you can just bring your receipt to the check-in desk and they'll let you back up or if you have a reservation after the fireworks they'll let you go up early.

Back on topic, the hub has come a LONG way since I was there back in March! Will be nice for this project to finally be done!

Can't you also go and sit at the bar and order apps or something if you don't want to get an ADR?