WDW to Build New North Entrance to Property

[ILOVEDISNEY]

Having been on Center Drive hundreds of times now it's just an industrial area to me now and like most things 45 years old it's showing its age. There is a big drainage/water project going on by Westclock. From what I know about construction looks like they are adding capacity for a large building project, or simply updating the service. Time will tell, of course.

 

[Figment2005]

Really? So in heavy traffic on World, it doesn't save time to run 545 up and over to Reams? I guess I've always heard horror stories of World Drive, but I've never actually driven it. I've always used the buses. For what it's worth, I'll be living off 192 just southwest of AK.

It really depends on the time of day. Getting behind the Magic Kingdom is not as straight forward as it might seem. During peak times on normal days you might break even or be slightly ahead by taking teams road, but on normal occasion is just faster to take World Drive.

 

[COProgressFan]

I really dislike this. The road behind the MK should be cast only and enforced. Everything back there is supposed to be not visible to guests as if it didn't even exist. Sending people right next to it is a big mistake. It doesn't matter if housing has developed back there or not. Hop on the Western Beltway and get off at Western Way. Done.

They can use RFID to manage guests (well, they kind of can), so it's not a huge stretch to say they should be able to use RFID to provide access to cast member's cars as well. If third party contractor vehicles need access back there as well, provide them with an RFID tag.

I just think it's really not feasible. There are simply too many people who have legitimate reasons to be backstage that wouldn't have RFID tags or badges to allow access. On any given day there are countless people at D.U., for example, who would have to be credentialed, let alone vendors, subcontractors, and other service people who again, have legimate reasons to be there. I think it would be quite a task to credential them all in advance. I suppose its possible, but the time and effort required to do so just doesn't seem worth it.

And suggesting that folks drive 15+ minutes out of their way down to Western Way, or go the other way down 535 is just unreasonable. The folks coming in this north entrance are not tourists who got lost, and for whom the "magic" is now ruined. It's primarily locals, or perhaps visitors to family in the area, etc. No one is starting their first magical visit to WDW by going in this way. They're just looking for the quickest way on property. And by adding the second entrance just west of Center Dr., it will alleviate the congestion, and give a bit of a nicer ride as they won't be seeing the majority of the backstage infrastructure.

 

[COProgressFan]

Yea, I don't like it either. I guess there's no preserving this as an exclusive cast entrance now.

Again, I'm not sure it really ever was. Maybe on paper, and maybe in the early years there was someone at a guard shack (who knows?), but certainly not in all practicality in the last few decades.

 

[Communicore]

Again, I'm not sure it really ever was. Maybe on paper, and maybe in the early years there was someone at a guard shack (who knows?), but certainly not in all practicality in the last few decades.

There was definitely a guard when I was a CM (94-97). No sticker, no entry.

 

[ILOVEDISNEY]

I live in Windermere (34786). The area has seen explosive growth in recent years. In 2010 there were 28,000 residents and now 40,000. A new north entrance avoiding Center Drive would be most welcome. Currently, it's about 2.5 miles to reach backstage on my way to the parks. Taking Vista Blvd is a 7 mile trip. A waste of time and gas.

 

[peter11435]

I really dislike this. The road behind the MK should be cast only and enforced. Everything back there is supposed to be not visible to guests as if it didn't even exist. Sending people right next to it is a big mistake. It doesn't matter if housing has developed back there or not. Hop on the Western Beltway and get off at Western Way. Done.

They can use RFID to manage guests (well, they kind of can), so it's not a huge stretch to say they should be able to use RFID to provide access to cast member's cars as well. If third party contractor vehicles need access back there as well, provide them with an RFID tag.

If done correctly you wouldn't be able to see anything they don't want you to. A row of trees separating the new entrance from the parking lot and the problem is solved.

If a large number of guests are coming in that entrance (which they are due to the huge housing developments north of the property) then it needs to be addressed. Forcing your guests to travel a long distance out of their way and pay a toll is not the best solution.

 

[mikeh]

I am hoping some of the locals we have on the board can keep an eye on this area and let us know if there is any evidence of the buildings being removed.

There were a bunch of semi-trailers that are now gone. In addition, there is a ton of traffic surveying going on on Center Dr now that has popped up in the past week. Also, the trailers in question now have OSHA railings on the roof.

In addition to all of that, there is land clearing going on near the MK parking lot where the road would be.

Long story short (and based off of observations), a new road, in some capacity, is happening

 

[Communicore]

Don't waste your time. You will add at least 15 minutes to your trip.

Talking about waste of time, the fastest way from where I live is to take 429. But no, I do not, since the Western Way does not exist to me. I take the old school way, the one and only real way, and that is through Turnpike and then I-4.

 

[halltd]

Again, I'm not sure it really ever was. Maybe on paper, and maybe in the early years there was someone at a guard shack (who knows?), but certainly not in all practicality in the last few decades.

It was. There was a guard shack...or several. You couldn't drive back there unless you had the CM sticker on your car. There was a shack over by Fort Wilderness, too. The road still widens where the shack used to be.

Don't all CMs have stickers on their cars still to show that they are cast? That's all I'm suggesting. Embed that sticker with RFID (like a SunPass) and cast/vendors can come and go as they please through automated gates.

I put into Google Maps that I wanted to go to the Contemporary Resort from Gainesville. Where did it route me? Western Way, through a brand new subdivision with barely any houses, Reams Road, Backstage, right next to Space Mountain and into the Contemporary. Granted, I knew this way already since I used to be a Cast Member a while back, but if I was just a normal guest (could even be first time), that's where I'd be going thanks to my GPS. This is why I think this entrance should be restricted.

 

[The Visionary Soul]

This will be a new Major Entrance Road to WDW. Those "buildings" are being removed... since they are both modular they may not require a proper demolition permit to remove them... or perhaps this is just prep work that has to be done first. (I'm not an expert at the permits)

As for the area being "ugly"... it's not an ugly area where the new road will go. Sure, there's a parking lot there, but it will be altered and there is a fence and landscaped wall going up to separate them. The current entrance to Center Drive will become an exit only entrance on to Reams Road East. Center Drive itself will be removed between the two parking lots, and then the Disney University and West Clock parking lots will be merged together into one large lot. It's a huge project, and it will be completed fairly slowly if I understand correctly. It has to be done in multiple phases.

 

[maxairmike]

Don't all CMs have stickers on their cars still to show that they are cast? That's all I'm suggesting. Embed that sticker with RFID (like a SunPass) and cast/vendors can come and go as they please through automated gates.

Nope, you only get a sticker if you regularly park backstage at the parks. All other CMs just show their ID at toll plazas if they have to go through them, or present their ID to get into the cast areas of parks (the buses to MK, for example), otherwise there's no way to tell a CM from a guest vehicle unless the CM is on the college program and has the CP housing parking sticker.

This north entrance is definitely needed with the explosion of growth up there. The reaction at being told they can continue wasting about 15 or more minutes continuing down Reams to 535 to go in the back way by the distribution warehouses, or even farther to the DTD entrance, or pay tolls to use 429 would not go over well. Better to just adequately address the need for a larger north entrance convenient for both guests and casts than frustrate possible guests by forcing them to needlessly drive farther or pay tolls.

 

[peter11435]

I put into Google Maps that I wanted to go to the Contemporary Resort from Gainesville. Where did it route me? Western Way, through a brand new subdivision with barely any houses, Reams Road, Backstage, right next to Space Mountain and into the Contemporary. Granted, I knew this way already since I used to be a Cast Member a while back, but if I was just a normal guest (could even be first time), that's where I'd be going thanks to my GPS. This is why I think this entrance should be restricted.

This is why it needs to be improved both cosmetically and functionally so that it adequately meets the need.

 

[mm121]

This is why it needs to be improved both cosmetically and functionally so that it adequately meets the need.

I can't believe people are actually trying to argue that they shouldn't do this.

or when people say things like western way doesn't exist to them.

normally i want the quickest least traffic way to get from point a to point b, it makes no sense to purposely drive 20 minutes out of the way simply to drive under the arches.

Id guess they will build signs like they have at hotel plaza blvd, while its not the big huge arch, it clearly marks that your entering the Disney area.

its crazy how people get so mad at disney when they do something, just as much as when they dont do something.

 

[peter11435]

I can't believe people are actually trying to argue that they shouldn't do this.

or when people say things like western way doesn't exist to them.

normally i want the quickest least traffic way to get from point a to point b, it makes no sense to purposely drive 20 minutes out of the way simply to drive under the arches.

Id guess they will build signs like they have at hotel plaza blvd, while its not the big huge arch, it clearly marks that your entering the Disney area.

its crazy how people get so mad at disney when they do something, just as much as when they dont do something.

And western way even as an entrance arch

 

[Grumpy1973]

There was definately a guard there in the late 80s when I was a teenager trying to sneak dates in back there to "see the fireworks", this entrance is needed I think to actually KEEP the "Magic" for folks traveling this way. I would guess it will be dressed up with arches to look similar to the Western Way entrance. There are a number of guests who go this back way anyway to shop and/or dine (Winter Garden Village restaurants are a lot closer for CR/Poly/GF guests than 192 area). I have heard that Cast Connection (the modular buildings spoke of earlier) is moving to the AK area.

 

[plutoismyhero]

Here is a rough idea of where the new road will be going based on what is in the current permit.

View attachment 41296

That is all cast parking so I wonder if the road is there to add MORE cast parking.

 

[Space Mountain]

That is all cast parking so I wonder if the road is there to add MORE cast parking.

They already added a new parking lot. This is to alleviate the issue with the blind curve on reams and to allow CMs to travel more safely between the Costuming and DU lots. There may be plans to expand the parking lots to be one large lot after this section of road closes.

 

[plutoismyhero]

They already added a new parking lot. This is to alleviate the issue with the blind curve on reams and to allow CMs to travel more safely between the Costuming and DU lots. There may be plans to expand the parking lots to be one large lot after this section of road closes.

Where did they add the new parking lot at? To the left of where it is in that picture?

 

[danlb_2000]

Where did they add the new parking lot at? To the left of where it is in that picture?

January 2013...

January 2014