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

[Gabe1]

I actually like it better with smaller vegetation. The new plants will grow. I hope they keep them well pruned, shorter than the previous ones.

I do think the building has lost much of its architectural saying power with the terrace being glassed in. And visual unity with the neighbouring TL Terrace. Surely there was enough indoor seating to leave those balconies open for guests who prefer to sit outside in the shade?
(Or re-open the many closed restaurants, so all seating issues are solved at once. Ops may prefer every table occupied for maximum efficiency, rather one table opening up at the exact instance a guest shows up, but the guest experience is better served by a surplus of tables and seating options, so the guest can decide at his leisure where and when to sit)

I agree. The framing around the windows looks cheasy too. They could have done an all glass solution which could have preserved the aesthetic of the original building.

And it isn't outside, it is inside too. It did add some seating but it is now awkward small smooshed in tables slammed into odd shaped walls. My DD and I ate there this month in the new indoor seating portion. It was nice to look at the one worker and the one worker watching him work in the empty hub beneath us but it was a very narrow table and little room to move out chairs. The room design did not lend itself for us to get back to the little nook with our trays and we both kept hitting our elbow against the wall. They needed to reset all the tables so there was better access to the new seating.

 

[Ariel1986]

View attachment 52064

The ponds had water in them the first two weeks of April while I was there. They still are the same, very lack luster.
Disney had a ramp up in one to the the surrounding grass area for the baby ducks to get out of the water.



And the moats are not all refilled there are dams. Here is todays version. Pur-ty huh?

photo easy wdw[/QUOTE

Are there not fences all around this though so guests can't see it to an extent? I can see them on the other sides of the photo all the way around the area- has this photo been taken by holding a camera above the fences? At least they're making an effort to conceal the mess, right?

 

[Rob562]

Are there not fences all around this though so guests can't see it to an extent? I can see them on the other sides of the photo all the way around the area- has this photo been taken by holding a camera above the fences? At least they're making an effort to conceal the mess, right?

As seen in a pic in the "Fire in the Hub" thread, there aren't walls around the Tomorrowland Terrace and possibly the Tomorrowland bridge. But yes, there are walls hiding this from view from most places on Main Street.

-Rob

 

[KingdomofDreams]

Are they making any progress on this project? I've seen several people mention seeing only 1-2 workers onsite and have yet to see what I'd term a work crew in any photos. Maybe Disney needs to get one of the HGTV teams who can get jobs done in weeks rather than months and years. I'm all for progress and improvement, and heaven knows WDW has needed so much work for such a long time now it had practically fallen into ruin, but this type of project really should be a "get in and get it done fast" deal considering that it's in the heart of the Magic Kingdom between Main St USA and the castle and encompasses such a large area. Seriously... only Disney could make some landscaping/hardscaping take a year to complete.

 

[Gabe1]

Are there not fences all around this though so guests can't see it to an extent? I can see them on the other sides of the photo all the way around the area- has this photo been taken by holding a camera above the fences? At least they're making an effort to conceal the mess, right?

That picture you have quoted is Epcot, ponds refilled with water that another member questioned. Yes there are walls up in many areas but none of my photo's were taken over the fence, I am vertically challenged that could never happen. lol. Many of the photo's I posted were from Cosmic Rays while my DD and I were having lunch, good vantage point. I also took many of the photo's from the bridges from Tomorrowland, the bridge from both Adventureland and the bridge near the Presidents. I took some great ones to the the right of Castle. None of these areas had walls, not to say that the areas around the hub were not littered with big green walls and also the icky road construction fabric walls stuck in with cheap lumber into the grassed areas behind the wrought iron decorative fences of the hub area.

It was a disgusting horrible eyesore while I was down there much like the Springs project. Disney did a much better job containing the mess for the Tangled Potties for almost 2 years. I took many photos of that project from the upper level of Columbia House. Most of these photo's you couldn't take over the walls, they are very very big and only the very tallest humans could possibly pull that off in most areas.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Are they making any progress on this project? I've seen several people mention seeing only 1-2 workers onsite and have yet to see what I'd term a work crew in any photos. Maybe Disney needs to get one of the HGTV teams who can get jobs done in weeks rather than months and years. I'm all for progress and improvement, and heaven knows WDW has needed so much work for such a long time now it had practically fallen into ruin, but this type of project really should be a "get in and get it done fast" deal considering that it's in the heart of the Magic Kingdom between Main St USA and the castle and encompasses such a large area. Seriously... only Disney could make some landscaping/hardscaping take a year to complete.

Getting it done quickly does not spread the cost out over multiple quarters and fiscal years…

 

[Ariel1986]

That picture you have quoted is Epcot, ponds refilled with water that another member questioned. Yes there are walls up in many areas but none of my photo's were taken over the fence, I am vertically challenged that could never happen. lol. Many of the photo's I posted were from Cosmic Rays while my DD and I were having lunch, good vantage point. I also took many of the photo's from the bridges from Tomorrowland, the bridge from both Adventureland and the bridge near the Presidents. I took some great ones to the the right of Castle. None of these areas had walls, not to say that the areas around the hub were not littered with big green walls and also the icky road construction fabric walls stuck in with cheap lumber into the grassed areas behind the wrought iron decorative fences of the hub area.

It was a disgusting horrible eyesore while I was down there much like the Springs project. Disney did a much better job containing the mess for the Tangled Potties for almost 2 years. I took many photos of that project from the upper level of Columbia House. Most of these photo's you couldn't take over the walls, they are very very big and only the very tallest humans could possibly pull that off in most areas.

Sorry for the wrong quote! Replying on a phone with a sensitive screen! Anyway thanks for the update and information on the walls/what's visible. Doesn't sound great...

 

[Gabe1]

Sorry for the wrong quote! Replying on a phone with a sensitive screen! Anyway thanks for the update and information on the walls/what's visible. Doesn't sound great...

Lol. Yeah I have issues phone posting too. No it wasn't fun but it will get better. Doesn't help while your vacationing in a mess. My bet is when Disney gets around to DHS it will be like a war zone.

 

[Kman101]

I understand it looks ugly, but I don't know what people expect when construction is going on? LOL. I totally get it's frustrating when you might only visit the one time a year. I do get it. I also think they shouldn't spread this out over fiscal quarters, they should have every man on this to get it done as fast as possible. But it won't MAKE them money so I assume that's why it's going at a snail's pace while Disney Springs rushes right along ... heh.

 

[BoarderPhreak]

I understand it looks ugly, but I don't know what people expect when construction is going on? LOL. I totally get it's frustrating when you might only visit the one time a year. I do get it. I also think they shouldn't spread this out over fiscal quarters, they should have every man on this to get it done as fast as possible. But it won't MAKE them money so I assume that's why it's going at a snail's pace while Disney Springs rushes right along ... heh.

Exactly... A matter of priorities.

But I think that this new way of doing things is... Unfortunate. You're paying (a lot of) good money for an experience. Disruptions to that experience should be minimized as much as possible. Granted, it's a Herculean task at a place that's open every day... of... the... year. It's not like Disney doesn't have the money. Ramp up up teams of construction workers and Git 'Er Done(TM).

 

[willtravel]

Getting it done quickly does not spread the cost out over multiple quarters and fiscal years…

I wonder if it is possible to know how much let's say SDMC is costing to build now vs. how much it would have cost if they really had put the time and manpower to build it quicker. How much a difference it would be?

 

[Tobe]

I am a little late to the ball on this but when we were there the second week in April, the moat was dry and they had small cranes in the dry moat near the castle that they were using to repaint the turrets. Later in our trip, they had finished with the painting and the moats had water again. I did see the water filled damn that they had put in place but when we were there, there was water on both sides of it so I am not sure what purpose it was filling at that time. Perhaps they got this corrected and got the water pumped out of the side closer to main street so they can continue work.

We are planning to go back in November or December and it will be interesting to see how the work is progressing.

 

[PhotoDave219]

I wonder if it is possible to know how much let's say SDMC is costing to build now vs. how much it would have cost if they really had put the time and manpower to build it quicker. How much a difference it would be?

Its more about the stock price, honestly. Others on these forums do a better job of explaining it than I.

 

[KingdomofDreams]

Getting it done quickly does not spread the cost out over multiple quarters and fiscal years…

True. But I'm selfish. Lol ... I (as a guest) want them to consider balancing budget considerations with lessening the impact to guest experience by getting it done as quickly as possible. But don't get me wrong... I am thrilled to see the improvements being implemented all over property. Well... except for the hideous painting being done over at Epcot. But that's another thread.

ETA: So does anyone have any photos of how it looks as you enter the park and walk down Main St?

 

[brifraz]

See http://www.wdwmagic.com/attractions/main-street-usa/news.htm

Have we heard any kind of completion timeline for the redevelopment? We are looking at possibly getting FP+ for Wishes this summer and rumor has it the FP+ location will move from the Rose Garden to just to the side of the 'hump' on the new pathways when completed - which is a far better location to view from and much more worth the FP+ for us!

 

[danlb_2000]

Have we heard any kind of completion timeline for the redevelopment? We are looking at possibly getting FP+ for Wishes this summer and rumor has it the FP+ location will move from the Rose Garden to just to the side of the 'hump' on the new pathways when completed - which is a far better location to view from and much more worth the FP+ for us!

Permits expire November 2015, so we have to expect that this project well extend well into next year.

 

[wdwmagic]

Have we heard any kind of completion timeline for the redevelopment? We are looking at possibly getting FP+ for Wishes this summer and rumor has it the FP+ location will move from the Rose Garden to just to the side of the 'hump' on the new pathways when completed - which is a far better location to view from and much more worth the FP+ for us!

Yep mid to late 2015

 

[flyerjab]

Yep mid to late 2015

Does completion of the hub project in mid-late 2015 also include completion of the MSUSA bypass? Or is that a separate project?

 

[Otamin]

Yep mid to late 2015

That's a shame (since I could potentially be there around March), but not too much of an issue.

The hub has been a mess for years anyway, so I doubt it'll feel much different with construction going on...

 

[sshindel]

I found this book from my childhood over the weekend, I think it was called "Walt Disney World: The First Decade". In it I found this section, which I thought was interesting considering the construction.