Skyway Station Area Redesign

[xdan0920]

This thread would make an excellent brochure to show why WDWMagic is the best disney fan site there is.

Excellent work on the plans, and the overlays. Thanks to all.

As far as my opinion on the changes. They are needed and welcome. Hoping for a very pretty building to house what I am sure will be very pretty toilets.

 

[jt04]

Ha, we had the same idea!

Anyways, here's my overlays, with the original aerial and different opacities for the overlaid plans:

As promised, here is a rendered plan of the proposed Skyway changes - one with labels, one without:

Many thanks to SeaCastle for the original plan (and all the hard work on the permit thread)!

This drawing is just my best interpretation of the grading plan. Those green areas may or may not all be vegetated, but they are landscaped areas separate from the new paths (shown here in white). As for those light green areas (immediately adjacent to the new restroom buildings) - your guess is as good as mine.

Excellent job! I was really having trouble picturing this but the drawings solved that. And a few points...

This was probably inevitable as the new FLE would have made this bottleneck downright dangerous.

I understand some people lamenting the loss of the beautiful skyway building but others are just trolls here who lie dormant and pop up to dismiss these type changes. I don't think Disney has a choice though but to widen the path(s).

My biggest concern is the HM show building. I am thinking the elevations of these new buildings are going to have to be quite high to hide the building. More interesting though is perhaps the HM building facade on the FL side will receive some sort of theming to blend it into the area. Hmmm


And finally, that is quite a plot of land remaining between the HM exit and this new area that could be utilized. Hmmmm again :lookaroun M&G?

 

[djkidkaz]

I hope the bathrooms are next-gen interactive. :drevil:

 

[Master Yoda]

Well said Tom. I agree that Disney disregards it's most loyal fans because of knee-jerk reactions such as these.

More on topic, I would speculate that Peter Pan would be slotted at some point to get Next-Gen features added to its queue. Perhaps this is the first step towards that?

It is. One of the big problems with the Pan queue is lack of space. In its current configuration the only thing that works it a tightly packed feeder line. Once the reconfiguration is complete they will be able to remove and expand into the adjoining bathrooms. I am not exactly sure how much space they will have but, a nearly fully enclosed queue just might be possible.

 

[jt04]

I hope the bathrooms are next-gen interactive. :drevil:

I'm sure that suprises nobody.


This is a chance to add an idea someone added to my "Less is More" thread in Imagineering. Specifically, waterless urinals.

Algore, Bill Nye and the green police would be so giddy. :lol:

 

[Ignohippo]

Thanks guys for the awesome detective and Illustrator work!

This is a very, very welcome change and it's going to be great to no longer have that nasty bottleneck in Fantasyland.

The only negative I can see is that I was really hoping this area would end up becoming Pixie Hollow. The natural setting, along with the proximity to Pan, would've made this location ideal for it. The biggest shame is that I would think they could've added the bathrooms into the plans of PH by utilizing the green space by HM (just put the bathrooms there and use the old skyway land for PH).

 

[GrumpyFan]

Reading the sentiment expressed in this thread makes me understand why Disney largely disregards the desires of fervent fans.

Reading the sentiment and criticism here, sometimes makes me ill. I understand the desire to add one's own comments and opinions, but sometimes they are quite vitriolic and don't give Disney any kind of credit whatsoever. That's not to say that I don't speak my own dis-like sometimes for their projects, but I usually try and withhold judgment until they have actually finished building.

You guys seriously want old, vacant buildings that clearly are remnants of former attractions just sticking around indefinitely? That seems more than a little ridiculous to me. Did you honestly expect the Skyway to come back or something? Likewise, a Skyway building with a large opening in it, while pretty, no doubt, doesn't fit.

There are ways to embrace the past without having relics of it around that obstruct future progress. The Skyway buildings (are and) will be missed, no doubt, but does anyone honestly think that the best use of the limited Fantasyland real estate in this area is for an old attraction building that serves no purpose beyond that of an aesthetic reminder of days past? These changes will open up this area, allow for much needed expansion of the PPF queue, and allow for a better use of the space. Saying that the Skyway is being replaced with a bathroom, and that's disgusting, is reducing this to overly simple and misleading terms. The Skyway is being removed to allow for important infrastructure changes to Fantasyland that will allow for PPF to have a better queue, will facilitate traffic flow in this area, and will also bring newer restrooms to the area.

Plus, who knows, the new building design might actually be quite gorgeous.

Bravo! Well said and thank you.

 

[jt04]

Thanks guys for the awesome detective and Illustrator work!

This is a very, very welcome change and it's going to be great to no longer have that nasty bottleneck in Fantasyland.

The only negative I can see is that I was really hoping this area would end up becoming Pixie Hollow. The natural setting, along with the proximity to Pan, would've made this location ideal for it. The biggest shame is that I would think they could've added the bathrooms into the plans of PH by utilizing the green space by HM (just put the bathrooms there and use the old skyway land for PH).

I am certain it will receive theming but I am not sure what it will be. My guess is PH from Epcot without the live characters. Or potentially Rapunzel or even the London skyline from PPF. The latter would transition well from FL to LS in a way.

 

[Tom]

Notes on site work plans boring!? This is what I do for a living! Ah, well. I love this kind of stuff.

For those of you having trouble interpreting the plans, I'm working on a simple Illustrator overlay which will at least clarify what's going on at the basic level. Without being able to read the notes, I can't really interpret it from a detailed drainage perspective (though the grading is fairly straightforward).

For what it's worth, I'm not really seeing any of those water features/creeks (maybe because I can't read the notes?). I do see a drainage swale that runs under a small bridge just south of the men's restrooms, but this will likely be dry most of the time. Rather, it looks like many of the landscaped areas are slightly higher than the surrounding pathways, if I'm reading the (extraordinarily fuzzy) topo elevations correctly.

Deleted.

 

[FigmentPrincess]

I can't believe that building is still there, to be honest. I'm surprised it wasn't demo-ed years ago in place of a meet and greet.

 

[Tom]

So one thing I've noticed on these plans that no one has commented on are the trio of tank-like objects under the pathway in front of the new bathrooms.

To me, they look like large air tanks. Does the AVAC or other air-pressure systems in the park use local tanks? Perhaps they're air tanks for some kind of effects or special air-powered water features?

I'd also say that there will be a pond or stream under the bridge south of the men's room, running down under the bridge to the low point behind the Yankee Trader store.

-Rob

Those are underground storm water detention tanks. I was in a discussion in another thread with someone about retention ponds. Well, they don't have room to build any in this neighborhood, so they bury giant tanks that collect rain water as it collects in storm drains and roof drains. The water sits in the tanks, and it gradually trickles out the other end into the nearest waterway.

We've put in a number of these on small pieces of property that ended up having a building or paving over much of the original ground, but with no land left to put in a pond. They work well. There are actually 5 for this project alone.

I hope they retain the trees that hide the mansion showbuilding and such, from that plan overlay though its looking like they are but not sure.

They will maintain the sight lines, so you won't see the HM show building once everything is complete.

 

[bork]

My main concern is how they will handle the transition between Liberty Square and Fantasyland with the new pathway. Before, you had the bridge as the dividing point. Now, there will have to be some kind of transition along the new path.

 

[devoy1701]

My main concern is how they will handle the transition between Liberty Square and Fantasyland with the new pathway. Before, you had the bridge as the dividing point. Now, there will have to be some kind of transition along the new path.

a well landscapped walkway with mature trees on one side will still work fine. The bridge will still be prominent, and the towns from the colonial period were all boardered by dense forests anyway.

 

[Master Yoda]

Those are underground storm water detention tanks. I was in a discussion in another thread with someone about retention ponds. Well, they don't have room to build any in this neighborhood, so they bury giant tanks that collect rain water as it collects in storm drains and roof drains. The water sits in the tanks, and it gradually trickles out the other end into the nearest waterway.

Off topic but how well do those tanks work and what pros and cons compared to retention ponds? There has been somewhat of a push to get rid of the retention ponds here in Florida and I was wondering how viable of an option these are.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Does Columbia Harbor House have its own restrooms? I am having trouble remembering and a part of me thinks that they just point you to the ones being replaced in this project.

 

[Master Yoda]

Does Columbia Harbor House have its own restrooms? I am having trouble remembering and a part of me thinks that they just point you to the ones being replaced in this project.

Yes. If I am not mistaken they are over the ones in FL.

 

[BoardwalkGlenn]

Does Columbia Harbor House have its own restrooms? I am having trouble remembering and a part of me thinks that they just point you to the ones being replaced in this project.

Isn't that a trivia question somewhere? The only land in MK without restrooms...

Something like the Columbia Harbor House restrooms are actually in FL.

I hope the bathrooms are next-gen interactive. :drevil:

Maybe some Moaning Myrtle action like Potterville.

Reading the sentiment expressed in this thread makes me understand why Disney largely disregards the desires of fervent fans.

You guys seriously want old, vacant buildings that clearly are remnants of former attractions just sticking around indefinitely? That seems more than a little ridiculous to me. Did you honestly expect the Skyway to come back or something? I know the building is far from the eyesore that River Country is, but people seem to be clamoring for RC's removal because it no longer has a purpose and doesn't fit the area. Likewise, a Skyway building with a large opening in it, while pretty, no doubt, doesn't fit.

There are ways to embrace the past without having relics of it around that obstruct future progress. The Skyway buildings (are and) will be missed, no doubt, but does anyone honestly think that the best use of the limited Fantasyland real estate in this area is for an old attraction building that serves no purpose beyond that of an aesthetic reminder of days past? These changes will open up this area, allow for much needed expansion of the PPF queue, and allow for a better use of the space. Saying that the Skyway is being replaced with a bathroom, and that's disgusting, is reducing this to overly simple and misleading terms. The Skyway is being removed to allow for important infrastructure changes to Fantasyland that will allow for PPF to have a better queue, will facilitate traffic flow in this area, and will also bring newer restrooms to the area.

Plus, who knows, the new building design might actually be quite gorgeous.

Nicely said!! :sohappy:

 

[Tom]

Off topic but how well do those tanks work and what pros and cons compared to retention ponds? There has been somewhat of a push to get rid of the retention ponds here in Florida and I was wondering how viable of an option these are.

They're proving to be extremely successful here in Indiana. Central Indiana is a wet area - especially my county (the only Hendricks County in the entire country). Ground water table is extremely high.

We put a set of these in at an Oral Surgeon's office a few years ago because they sit on a postage stamp lot right on the state highway. Their storm runoff goes into the tanks, and then they dispense the water into the highway swale gradually - much like a spetic tank.

The city of Indianapolis is doing a similar thing for sewage. All our old treatment plants were grandfathered and were dumping raw sewage into the river when it rained and flooded their tanks. So, they've been putting in MASSIVE underground containment units. They store the overflow until the plant's water levels go down, then they reverse the flow and put it back into the treatment plants as they can handle it.

And if Disney/Reedy Creek is using the tanks, that would be proof enough for me that they work well in swampland

 

[PeterPanFan5]

Great job here

Thanks to eilie for the hard work here. I comprehend much better what's happening, thanks to the overlays (the color really helps...). I also understand the beautiful path from the top of the hill at PP and IASW down to the overpass entrance to LS is not going away -- I'm glad because that's my favorite little spot in the MK.
Anyway, this is one of the most informative comment threads we've had here; great job to all who took part and added to the discussion. ...

 

[lazyboy97o]

Yes. If I am not mistaken they are over the ones in FL.

Any chance then of the existing restrooms being reconfigured to be smaller but still accessible to the restaurant?