Skyway Station Area Redesign

[PeterPanFan5]

One other thought: I hope the change in the PP queue reduces the congestion and noise level. It's so loud these days we can hardly hear the music playing -- that song is one of the many wonderful little moments that make up a great day at the MK.
Any word anyone's seen on how this change will affect FP at the atttraction. Or how long it will take for the work to be done?

 

[Mickey_777]

I had some fun with your overlays in photoshop and made this.

Really cool. But won't it get crowded over there near the HM queue now that a new river of people are going to walk right into that area? Maybe it'll work with the new HM queue so who knows.

I don't get why people would be upset about this. The old skyways station is an abandoned building basically. I'm confident the new bathrooms will be themed nicely and fit in well. If the Pan queue gets "plused" than the ride should too no? Overall this is good news to me...

 

[Scuttle]

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.

I agree the skyway building just gets me mad when I look at it not operating and abandoned. Tear it down now!

 

[Brian_WDW74]

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.

Columbia Harbor House has restrooms both on the first floor (to the left of the service counters) and on the second floor (at the top of the stairs, in the back near the CM entrance/exit doors).

 

[sshindel]

Add this to the list of things I thought I'd never be excited to read about. New bathrooms.

I just think that the idea of improved traffic flow in this area alone makes this expansion worth it. Add to that the ability to contain some more of the PPF queue, using up an old building that while beautiful, kind of always made me sad wishing I could ride the Skyway again. Add to it what looks like will be a nice landscaping job and it's a very big improvement.

So, will they be releasing "Concept Art" for the new bathrooms? :lol:

 

[DisneyMusician2]

Add this to the list of things I thought I'd never be excited to read about. New bathrooms.

I just think that the idea of improved traffic flow in this area alone makes this expansion worth it. Add to that the ability to contain some more of the PPF queue, using up an old building that while beautiful, kind of always made me sad wishing I could ride the Skyway again. Add to it what looks like will be a nice landscaping job and it's a very big improvement.

So, will they be releasing "Concept Art" for the new bathrooms? :lol:

I think it involves interactive characters from Finding Nemo that talk to you while you're on the pot. Then they sceam as you flush the toilet and send them back to their Big Blue World.

Just something a bus driver told me.

 

[Phonedave]

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

Way back in the day, circa 1997, I was the earthworks engineer on a job for a new elementary school in the City of Newark NJ. It being in a city, it was all impermiable - the school and an adjoining parking lot / playground. We put in a storm water detention system under the paved playground area. It was 4 courragated metal pipes, about 5' in diamater (I could walk in them hunched over) about 40' long each, arranged in paralell. Each end had a manifold connecting them all together on it made out of the same pipe. All the storm drains on property fed into this thing, and then it metered out into the city sewers through a small pipe.

The only problems were it had to be carefully bedded in sand so it did not collapse when buried (that's why I was there ) and it was amazing how fast rats moved into it and made it home .


-dave

 

[sshindel]

I think it involves interactive characters from Finding Nemo that talk to you while you're on the pot. Then they sceam as you flush the toilet and send them back to their Big Blue World.

Just something a bus driver told me.

Maybe they can project them into the water just like in Epcot to add to the realism.

 

[VillanovaBlue]

One other thought: I hope the change in the PP queue reduces the congestion and noise level. It's so loud these days we can hardly hear the music playing -- that song is one of the many wonderful little moments that make up a great day at the MK.
Any word anyone's seen on how this change will affect FP at the atttraction. Or how long it will take for the work to be done?

What, no comments? Come on people, you're slacking!

The PP queue...which is of all things a former restroom!!

LMAO!:lol:

 

[Master Yoda]

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

Any idea on how the cost of them compares to retention ponds? If the long term costs of the two were close I could see them as replacement for retention ponds. However, if the cost is considerably higher then they would be more like a parking garage option in that you only use them because you have no other choice.

 

[jmuboy]

Why are there 2 buildings? I'm a little confused by that?

As long as the pretty Swiss theme is continued with the new facilities I will be happy. This is certainly a very very pretty area of the park. I also hope as may of those big trees around the Yankee Trader/Skyway/HM show building remain as possible. That steep hill the Skyway Station is on needs to be preserved (and well landscaped) in order to keep the HM and IASW show buildings hidden.


http://orlandoparksnews.blogspot.co...andoThemeParksNews+(Orlando+Theme+Parks+News)

 

[RunnerEd]

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.

Very well said!!!! Harumph!

 

[jmuboy]

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.

A huge bonus from this may be a HUGE indoor NextGen queue for Pan and maybe even some facade work to dress up the tents -even if just a little. And if the effects inside PPF get some love during all this then EVEN BETTER!

 

[Magenta Panther]

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.

Awesome! Now everything is clearer, especially to a non-park-expert like myself. Thanks!

Wow, it looks like PPF might just get a new area right in front of the ride. Cool!!! Oh, I hope a new queue IS happening. I wonder what kind of theme it would get? Pooh got an English-country-garden look...what would Pan get? The mind reels with possibilities...

 

[marni1971]

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

The CHH restrooms are on the upper level, almost but not quite above the PP restrooms in Fanland.

 

[MIDisneyFamily]

I like the changes, The old SkyWay station was one of the best themed stroller parking areas in the parks though. The old restrooms were in desperate need of renovation / replacement, they were cramped, under sized, and not sure if they were exactly handicapped and elderly friendly as they should be. There are alot of older restroom areas in the MK that are / were very outdated, and in desperate need of replacement.

 

[Tom]

Way back in the day, circa 1997, I was the earthworks engineer on a job for a new elementary school in the City of Newark NJ. It being in a city, it was all impermiable - the school and an adjoining parking lot / playground. We put in a storm water detention system under the paved playground area. It was 4 courragated metal pipes, about 5' in diamater (I could walk in them hunched over) about 40' long each, arranged in paralell. Each end had a manifold connecting them all together on it made out of the same pipe. All the storm drains on property fed into this thing, and then it metered out into the city sewers through a small pipe.

The only problems were it had to be carefully bedded in sand so it did not collapse when buried (that's why I was there ) and it was amazing how fast rats moved into it and made it home .

-dave

That's pretty much exactly what we've installed when we do them here. The other problem we run into is preventing them from popping out of the ground during a hard freeze when they're empty - just like any underground tank will do. So, often times, they're anchored to footings below the front line - which adds cost.

Any idea on how the cost of them compares to retention ponds? If the long term costs of the two were close I could see them as replacement for retention ponds. However, if the cost is considerably higher then they would be more like a parking garage option in that you only use them because you have no other choice.

They cost more than digging a hole, that's for sure. Especially when we have to add footings like I mentioned above. In FL, they'd likely have water in them when there's a freeze, and even then I don't imagine your frost line goes down very far, so they could probably just be buried deep enough to avoid being pushed out of the ground.

But like you say, people only use them when they have to, like when they need all the land they purchased for buildings and parking lots.

Why are there 2 buildings? I'm a little confused by that? As long as the pretty Swiss theme is continued with the new facilities I will be happy. This is certainly a very very pretty area of the park. I also hope as may of those big trees around the Yankee Trader/Skyway/HM show building remain as possible. That steep hill the Skyway Station is on needs to be preserved (and well landscaped) in order to keep the HM and IASW show buildings hidden.

One women's restroom, one men's. I'm guessing they have a very specific theme that makes the separate buildings make more sense. Also, putting them in one big building would make it harder to fit. This gives them space to have service roads between and around them.

I'm predicting two buildings with male and female themes. Maybe a little princess cottage looking building for the womens restroom (hence the possible turret at the entrance), and maybe a tavern or something for the mens. These are technically inside the new castle grounds, right?

 

[DocMcHulk]

I had some fun with your overlays in photoshop and made this.

Oh I really really like that!

 

[TheBeatles]

will this new path make a transition like the current one between FL and LS or will it just be an open path?

 

[Rob562]

The CHH restrooms are on the upper level, almost but not quite above the PP restrooms in Fanland.

Isn't there an alleyway physically separating CHH from the building the Pan restrooms are in?

As for the comments on the hill, if you look at the elevation lines, you can see that the hill itself will still be there. The new building will back up against it (much the same way the Skyway station does) and in one section close to the new restrooms there appears to be some kind of retaining wall. (And looking at how the depression where a pond may go, perhaps the wall will be taller with a waterfall coming off of it into the pond on the south side of the restrooms)

-Rob