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

[rudyjr13]

Because as humans we don't like change. Especially with WDW. And from comments made with changes made anywhere, there is a definite split in opinion. Remember that book something like Who Moved My Cheese? Always hated that book.

Interesting if that's all it is. I like positive change. PUSH contract ending = negative change therefore I express my disappointment. This project? positive change if it means I can get to point A to point B without feeling like my children are in danger...

 

[rnese]

OK...I have had the privilege of speaking at length with a couple of bus drivers. Here are the possibilities:
1. The castle is being replaced with the HAT from DHS.
2. The castle is being replaced with Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. The moat will become a chocolate flow complete with boat ride ("Come with me, and you'll be, in a world of Pure Imagination")
3. The castle is being replaced with a replica of an abandoned factory. The moat's will be used for skate boarders who can feel free to decorate with graffiti. There will be a Tony Hawk M&G.
Now, this is what the bus drivers told me.

 

[FerretAfros]

Im very interested in this expansion to the trolleys ability. Could we possibly get a trolley that goes up and down main street regularly, throughout the day? And of course the added bypass will be a blessing as well during key times. It looks like if the trolley goes through that area either, the bypass would be used more often then not, or they are putting a barn on that side of main street.

Looks to me like those aren't trolley tracks, but rather turning radii for service vehicles (and possibly emergency crews) to access the area. This type of plan is fairly standard for any project that impacts a roadway or parking lot.

Plus I'm not sure why they'd want a trolley in Liberty Square anyway...

 

[rudyjr13]

OK...I have had the privilege of speaking at length with a couple of bus drivers. Here are the possibilities:
1. The castle is being replaced with the HAT from DHS.
2. The castle is being replaced with Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. The moat will become a chocolate flow complete with boat ride ("Come with me, and you'll be, in a world of Pure Imagination")
3. The castle is being replaced with a replica of an abandoned factory. The moat's will be used for skate boarders who can feel free to decorate with graffiti. There will be a Tony Hawk M&G.
Now, this is what the bus drivers told me.

Do you have anything of substance to add to the conversation? Thoughts on the overlay image of the plans?

 

[JungleTrekFan]

Looks to me like those aren't trolley tracks, but rather turning radii for service vehicles (and possibly emergency crews) to access the area. This type of plan is fairly standard for any project that impacts a roadway or parking lot.

Plus I'm not sure why they'd want a trolley in Liberty Square anyway...

Ahh okay, that would make more sense. I was wondering how they could put trolley tracks on that wooden bridge. Thank You for clearing that up.

 

[xdan0920]

Thanks. I'm also not quite sure why utilizing wasted space is a bad thing with the caveat that they do it well and integrate theming. I hear you that say you don't want everything to be paved over. Something tells me they will handle this right because of where it is.

Green space does not equal wasted space. I haven't made my mind up on how I feel about the whole project yet. But I just wanted to make that point.

 

[rudyjr13]

It looks like the majority of the moat is untouched then after looking at these plans. Does anyone know though about the bottom of the picture closest to Casey's and the ice cream parlor if the moat will be stopped there? It is hard to tell if what looks to be extended areas to sit or stand are over water or in place of water.

 

[rudyjr13]

Green space does not equal wasted space. I haven't made my mind up on how I feel about the whole project yet. But I just wanted to make that point.

Look at the left hand side though between the Adventureland bridge and the Liberty Square bridge. That is a lot of under utilized space. What I would like to see is a very nice natural pathway and maybe some places to sit in the shade. I just want to make the point that I agree with what you are saying, it shouldn't just be paved over...it has to be done the right way.

 

[Atomicmickey]

Breathing a little easier, thanks for those plans and overlays. I can see where this could work, and I like the bridge/detour thing to the backside of Main Street. It means that addition--though it is just crowd control, essentially--is being given a lot of attention and won't be an afterthought. At least, that's what I choose to think it means today.

 

[Gabe1]

No, the castle is being moved to the other end of Main Street:

View attachment 46806

Those little things that I shouldn't let get under my skin....every time I see that commercial I feel my muscles tense up.

Blessed the commercial doesn't have Casey's in the commercial. I'd tense up a second time give the choice to dump Ice Cream parlor chairs inside of Casey's. How difficult would it have been to remove the bleachers but put baseball stadium seating in Casey's. Just theme them like stadium seating and you'd have more seating and a baseball theme.

They could so easily alter these to a baseball theme.

 

[JungleTrekFan]

It looks like the majority of the moat is untouched then after looking at these plans. Does anyone know though about the bottom of the picture closest to Casey's and the ice cream parlor if the moat will be stopped there? It is hard to tell if what looks to be extended areas to sit or stand are over water or in place of water.

It looks like there are little gates, so then a fence would be around, probably a small 2 ft fence similar to what is already in the hub. Im guessing this area would be a garden with little paths going through it (I’m guessing the scan didn’t catch all the lines in that area). Then the moat would just go through a tunnel, underneath this new built up area, to the other side.

Edit: also looks like the opposite sides of that area is open (again some lines could be missing) so we could see a nice little garden area kept, to walk around in. Though i doubt they would keep it open during fireworks with the paths being so small.

 

[SpectroMan93]

Are these plans that are being proposed or have they been greenlit? Overall, it looks like it tries to maintain the floral beauty of the hub while expanding it to match the crowd levels of recent history. Though I feel they would have to close off massive amount of the hub for this project, which could prove a nightmare for crowd control.

 

[JungleTrekFan]

Are these plans that are being proposed or have they been greenlit? Overall, it looks like it tries to maintain the floral beauty of the hub while expanding it to match the crowd levels of recent history. Though I feel they would have to close off massive amount of the hub for this project, which could prove a nightmare for crowd control.

I believe it is already underway. With Casey’s outside eating area and the pathways by first aid just receiving their renovation to match the plans and now the hub waterway being drained to start the more extensive parts of the renovation. The renovation is more of an expansion of pathways and doesn’t effect to much of the current infrastructure. They will definitely make sure it will have as little guest impact as possible, and by doing it one section at a time then it will definitely not create a huge disturbance to the flow of pedestrian traffic.

 

[Texas84]

I'm on board. That looks amazing, especially after the overlays. Hope the Main Street bypass is more than a tunnel.

 

[Tim Lohr]

here's an overlay of the drawing over google maps:

I think this is a little more than a minor project.

This seems like something they could do fairly quickly, it's mostly just concrete pathways and they've been doing a lot of that lately

 

[Cesar R M]

here's an overlay of the drawing over google maps:

I think this is a little more than a minor project.

the front detail is what is intriguing me. (lower zone of the map)
are those mini islands? or changing the water zone to more space for the restaurants?

I'm sorry but I love this. Traffic is a nightmare and was built for 1972 crowds. This will help us with kids tremendously during parades and fireworks. It is downright scary with kids when the hub and mainstreet is full.

Let's see if they incorporate some nice natural elements to the new paths before jumping off the new bridge.

agree, I still hope they do not put pure concrete walkways there..

OK...I have had the privilege of speaking at length with a couple of bus drivers. Here are the possibilities:
1. The castle is being replaced with the HAT from DHS.
2. The castle is being replaced with Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. The moat will become a chocolate flow complete with boat ride ("Come with me, and you'll be, in a world of Pure Imagination")
3. The castle is being replaced with a replica of an abandoned factory. The moat's will be used for skate boarders who can feel free to decorate with graffiti. There will be a Tony Hawk M&G.
Now, this is what the bus drivers told me.

And where did you find this driver?
It was a disney driver or a cargo truck driver that works 20/7 (20 hours a day, 7 days a week)

 

[mikeymouse]

Who knows what will be found in there!

For one, my nephews shoe.

 

[rudyjr13]

It looks like there are little gates, so then a fence would be around, probably a small 2 ft fence similar to what is already in the hub. Im guessing this area would be a garden with little paths going through it (I’m guessing the scan didn’t catch all the lines in that area). Then the moat would just go through a tunnel, underneath this new built up area, to the other side.

Edit: also looks like the opposite sides of that area is open (again some lines could be missing) so we could see a nice little garden area kept, to walk around in. Though i doubt they would keep it open during fireworks with the paths being so small.

Thanks. This is what I'm hoping for, better flow with nice natural elements.

 

[PhilharMagician]

Wow, some drastic changes happening in the hub. What is up with the Gate 3?

 

[Father Robinson]

Sorry if I seem a little ignorant, but is the moat in fact being drained because of the new traffic pattern plans? It seems to me, the last time the moat was drained in 2010 was due to the castle being refurbished under the waterline. So is the new walkway/traffic flow plan directly related to the moat drainage?