Magic Kingdom Update: Halloween is Here!
Magic Kingdom is next up for our August 2019 Walt Disney World photo reports. In this update, we’ll look at the Halloween decorations around the park, Cinderella Castle walkway expansion, TRON Lightcycle Power Run construction, and more.
My goal for this photo report was to rope drop Magic Kingdom on a lovely autumn day, race around Magic Kingdom getting empty park photos of the Halloween decorations, and get myself really hyped up for the holiday ahead of Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party.
That was the dream. The reality was it taking longer than expected to get to Magic Kingdom, arriving 15 minutes after rope drop on a really hot and humid day, and already having heavy crowds. After this, I felt a bit like Garfield–wake me when it’s October…
Kidding, of course, but I was anticipating lower crowds this week than what we’ve seen. Area schools are back in session, and usually mid to late August is when we really start to see a lull in crowds. Perhaps next week will be better.
On the plus side, the weather is starting to improve a little (no days above 90 degrees in the 10-day forecast!) and we’ve been to the parks on a couple of recent nights that were downright pleasant!
In terms of the Halloween decorations, aside from a few pumpkins above shops on Main Street that may or may not have changed, these decorations are the same every year. I’ll let the photos speak for themselves:
I think it’d be pretty funny (or at least mildly amusing for me personally) if Magic Kingdom did a “countdown calendar” to Halloween in this location like they do for Christmas.
Halloween is right around the corner–we’re *almost* to the 75 day mark!
There’s a lot happening around Magic Kingdom, but we’ve already touched upon most of this in previous updates, so we’ll make a quick lap of the park to show where progress stands on all of these projects.
Nothing new as of yet where there will, presumably, be a new Tomorrowland marquee. We could see plans for the aesthetic refresh, and design of this, being unveiled at the D23 Expo in a couple of weeks.
Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe has received a new lighter coat of paint.
It would seem that the new color scheme for Tomorrowland is going to be light colors punctuated with bright colors in geometric shapes. Has sort of a retro future fantasy vibe.
Astro Orbiter’s refurbishment has been extended through September. There are clearly some underlying issues that Disney hasn’t been able to resolve with the attraction, and it wouldn’t surprise us to see this extended again. Unlike Primeval Whirl, we think this is highly unlikely to be an indefinite closure.
In addition to Astro Orbiter and Primeval Whirl, we cover the last-minute additions, extensions, and other changes to the 2019-2020 Refurbishment Calendar for Walt Disney World. As we discuss in that post, there probably will be even more closures added come August 25, 2019.
TRON Lightcycle Power Run continues to be built at a fast pace.
We’re now seeing more support structures go up and foundations are being poured for the exterior canopy-covered section of the roller coaster. This section may not go up as quickly, because there’s more to the canopy-covered area and pathway than the regular sections of coaster that will be inside the gravity building.
Here’s a view from the monorail to give you an idea of how this will look from outside the park.
We’d expect this side to be painted blend-in blue. From within the park, the canopy should conceal the showbuilding from most angles, save for a few spots on the TTA PeopleMover and Storybook Circus.
Over at Memento Mori, there’s a bunch of Disneyland Haunted Mansion 50th Anniversary items that were sold at an exclusive, hard-ticket event.
I guess the rationale for moving them to Walt Disney World is to avoid having Disneyland guests who paid the several hundred dollar ticket fee not see them on the shelves for everyone? Better than sending these items to the outlets for the eBayers to scoop up, I suppose.
Speaking of Haunted Mansion, work is done on the awning replacement in the queue.
As you can see, it’s now two shades of green that vaguely resemble the Cast Member costume for Haunted Mansion. Still not sure why this had to be done in the height of the hot summer months.
Whatever is happening here remains a mystery, but the scope of the work at the Liberty Square Market is pretty extensive. From the aerial views of Columbia Harbour House, you can see that this seating area has been totally demolished.
Don’t expect anything exciting–this is probably just a more condensed seating and stroller area to ease crowd-flow.
Here’s a look at progress on the walkway widening between Fantasyland and Liberty Square.
Considerable progress has been made since the last time we checked in on this, with brickwork and other finishing details already finished on the section closest to the Liberty Square Bridge.
Farther down, it’s not quite as far along, but most of the handrail is now up, and brickwork should begin there very soon.
As we said last month, we think this finishing at the end of August is within the realm of possibilities. (We have zero insight into when the actual target date for completion is, but based upon the pace of work we’ve observed, that seems about right.)
Finishing that at the end of August or beginning of September would be “perfect” timing for work to move to the other side of the castle for the installation of the Cinderella Castle Dream Lights.
Now that I’ve “seen Halloween” (and more importantly, felt its weather), I’m already eyeing the holiday season.
From the monorail, we can see the ground torn up outside the park entrance where the controversial removal of the Walk Around the World bricks has begun. Additionally, the old permanent bag screening area has been removed. Let’s hope this moves quickly, as this could become congested later this year during peak seasons.
On a related note, work is moving quickly on the walkway between Magic Kingdom and Grand Floridian. Like a dolt, I had my camera put away as we went above this, but bridge sections are in place for a swinging bridge–I’m really hopeful this is done before the holidays!
Alright, that’s a wrap for this update. As the pumpkins above say, see ya real soon.
(Literally. We’ll have another update from Magic Kingdom when we report on Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party next week!)
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think of the progress on TRON Lightcycle Power Run? Excited to see it this far along? Thoughts or insights about any other current construction projects in Magic Kingdom? Do you agree or disagree with our thoughts here? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
It’s my goal in Disney life to stay at the Grand for the 50th anniversary, so I am super pleased to hear the work on the footpath is moving along.
Would be such a relief to be able to walk over early on October 1st 2021. (by early I mean, I will leave my room on Sept 30th to line up) 🙂 🙂
RE: Haunted Mansion 50th Merchandise – They were also selling it at Port Royal in New Orleans Square at Disneyland the day after the event, and some of the higher-end specialty stuff in The Disney Gallery on Main Street. There was a long line just to get into Port Royal for 4 days . . . as someone who attended the event, I didn’t mind because they were only selling merch that didn’t move at the special event, and there were pieces that sold out in advance and never made it to the parks.
I also know that the main reason I bought a ticket for the event was to ATTEND the event, not to buy the chance to buy merch, though I recognize that not everyone would necessarily feel that way. Having it sold in the parks afterward gave me the chance to pick up something I’d passed on at the event when I decided a few days later that I really did want it.
It’s way too early for Halloween in the Disney Parks. Halloween is supposed to be a one night celebration on October 31st…its not a SEASON. Pretty autumnal decor on display is fine but I’d prefer it mid-late September when seasonally appropriate.
” Halloween is supposed to be a one night celebration on October 31st…its not a SEASON.”
Tell that to Disney, Universal, Costco, Target, candy makers, my local farmers’ market, and everyone else who profits from Halloween :-).
If there were only a couple of weeks of MNSSHP, a lot of people would miss out. I’m happy that it started in August, so people who have trips scheduled in August, September, and October will all get a chance to enjoy Halloween at Disney.
Halloween in August? I’m still on my summer holiday in Europe!
I know you don’t tend to discuss your personal lives, but in light of your “Moving to the magic” posts re: California, I’d be very interested in what the impetus was for you to move to Florida. (I don’t think this is something you’ve announced, but the frequency of WDW posts makes it quite apparent!).
Does Disney do anything on Halloween night aside from the party? We’re going 10/30-11/04, staying at Poly. Was thinking of getting tickets to MNSSHP for 11/01 for less crowds. My kids are 6&8 so if we did 11/01 I’m trying to figure out what else to do on 10/31!
We did that a couple of years ago. We went to the 11/1 party and on 10/31 we had reservations at Sanaa, and were pleasantly surprised. The AKL had Halloween decor and had several candy stations. My kids loved it. It was very festive and people had costumes on. I don’t know if all the resorts do that but we enjoyed it. And the party didn’t feel nearly as crowded.
Sickening that upcharge Halloween Parties now happen in summer. And that every blogger gets freebies to the first one to shill the event to their flocks. August is summer. Period. Plenty of people, from areas like New England, are still on SUMMER vacation. Having the MK close at 7 p.m. on Friday night in August for a Halloween party is simply abject greed.
Agree, Tom?
If the eight month FL summer bothers the bloggers and they are bored with EPCOT Lite and the like, they could always do something other than live in theme parks, right?
Seeing all the walkway construction may make some feel progress is being made to ease congestion (because eliminating double wide strollers and the abuse of ECVs wouldn’t solve that), all I see is a place that once had a park-like setting becoming more of a concrete wasteland. I put up with that look in Tokyo because it was built that way and the quality of everything else makes you forget it … here, not so much.
Halloween is everywhere now, and not just in Disney World. Yes, it’s still summer, but holiday prep is always sooner and sooner every year. Disney World isn’t in New England, so to them, summer is officially over. =oP
Bull. The fact your Walmart or CVS or Home Depot has rolled out merchandise is in no way the same as WDW holding Halloween Parties during summer vacation. What’s next? Starting them July 6th next year? Having the Christmas Parties start before Halloween?
Laughable. And they are the only Disney resort in the world that does this. Abject greed.
And yet the parties sell out because lots of people WANT them. Just because Disney offers an event that you’re not interested in doesn’t make them greedy for doing it. The problem is the events would sell out instantly, making it very hard to experience the parties, so Disney extended the Halloween season due to demand.
And they’re the only resort doing it because every other resort is a more local resort. Most people visiting WDW only get one shot, so missing a party is a much bigger deal for them.
And there’s nothing on-theme or quaint or charming about not being able to move through the park, and you can’t expect families not to bring strollers. Regulating ECVs is illegal. You’re just looking for something to complain about.
Yes, but what about those of us that paid for dining and park tickets. Why should we have to also take into consideration an outrageously priced event when making our dining reservations? There is already too much to have to take into consideration when making dining reservations let alone the park you want to eat in is closed to you (regardless that you paid park entrance)? In my opinion, if they are going to do this for these events they should make select days for the Food and Wine Festival. Why should parents have to subject their children to those who want to over drink, smoke and be inconsiderate in the bathrooms (although this has been slightly better the last year or two) when what they wanted to do is provide an educational experience while on vacation (not a this is what you should not do experience).
“Over at Memento Mori, there’s a bunch of Disneyland Haunted Mansion 50th Anniversary items that were sold at an exclusive, hard-ticket event.”
It’s probably not possible to get hard numbers on this, but I wonder how often that happens (that = leftover inventory of ‘exclusive’ march going to another location)?
My brother worked at corporate for a high end clothing brand, and they hated doing it but they destroyed excess inventory vs. letting it go for a discount to not dilute the brand (it’s my understanding that’s a standard practice for many high end brands). With information so readily available will consumers wise up that the ‘exclusive’ stuff isn’t so exclusive…