Magic Kingdom Update – March 2019
Magic Kingdom next up for our March 2019 Walt Disney World construction updates & photo reports. In this post, we’ll look at the drained moat around Cinderella Castle, Tomorrowland Speedway, Tron Lightcycle Power Run, new merchandise, and more.
It’s been a busy couple of weeks at Magic Kingdom, with spring break bringing a massive influx of crowds. We should start to see a temporary reprieve from the worst of that in the next few weeks, but Easter will once again bring a surge. Of course, that’s all relative, as the “feels like” conditions of Magic Kingdom even on a less-crowded 2019 day are significantly worse than a few years ago.
In case you missed it, our recent 2019 Walt Disney World Crowd Predictions: When to Go & When to Avoid offers monthly rankings and three ‘best weeks’ to visit in light of the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge grand opening. Early April and pretty much the entirety of May should look pretty good…
For this update, we did something we haven’t done in a while: morning Extra Magic Hours at Magic Kingdom. Not just regular morning EMH, but one starting at 7 a.m., which is currently before sunrise. This happens a few times a year, primarily around Christmas, New Year’s Eve, Easter, and spring break.
It’s one of my absolute favorite times in Magic Kingdom, an experience I fell in love with several years ago while staying at Bay Lake Tower for New Year’s and basically just walking over to the park every morning for the early morning and late night hours, and sleeping in between.
During this early morning edition of Extra Magic Hours, I spent two full hours doing nothing but taking photos…almost none of which are presented here. Look for them later this week or early next.
(C’mon, I got up at the crack of dawn, can you really blame me for separating the “photos taken with effort” from a bunch of construction pics?!)
Fast-forwarding a couple hours, here’s a look at the drained moat around Cinderella Castle.
This is being down to widen the pathway between Sleepy Hollow and Fantasyland, which is often a chokepoint for crowds.
The cynic in me wonders if it will yield any positive results. There’s only so wide this can get without looking out of place.
If there’s one thing Walt Disney World guests have a knack for, it’s taking up as much space as physically possible in walkways. Give people a narrow path and they generally walk single-file or two-wide. Given them a large path and suddenly groups are twenty-seven wide with interlocking hands while moving at a glacial pace, oblivious to the possibility that not everyone is a snail and might want to pass them. (Sorry, some pent-up aggression in that one.)
Casey Jr. Splash ‘N’ Soak Station has reopened following its refurbishment, and is looking fresh and nice. This had gotten pretty bad, and it’s good to see it restored to a like-new condition.
Next up, some photos of the work going on in Tomorrowland for the Tron coaster:
It’s difficult to tell when you’re viewing static photos of the Tron Lightcycle Power Run construction, but work is really moving quickly on this project. Each time I ride the PeopleMover, I’m surprised by the visible progress.
We commented last month that it sure seems possible this attraction could be ready ahead of its target opening of “in time for Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary,” which is October 2021. Obviously, a lot could change between now and then.
Outside the park, work continues on whatever is going on here.
In our “WDW News & Rumors: FastPass+ Loophole, $12,000 VIP Tour, and Dinosaurs?!” post, we speculated that Walt Disney World might be taking advantage of the extended railroad closure and its new surplus of dinosaurs to install Primeval World here. Permits seem to contradict that, but I’m still holding out a sliver of hope.
Back inside Magic Kingdom, work is moving rapidly on Tomorrowland Speedway. No reason to believe this won’t reopen by Summer 2019. Just a question of whether it’s early summer or not.
Finally, some merchandise photos:
All of these items are available in…Tomorrowland.
You might notice the Orange Bird shirt on the lower right from our Disney’s Character Warehouse March 2019 Update. It’s not uncommon for items still available in the parks to also make their way to the outlets and be sold for a deep discount.
Sarah debating getting the Aristocats fanny pack (until looking at the price).
I gave her some guff about this, as she was very critical of my idea to get a fanny pack for my mirrorless camera. Granted, the one I wanted to buy was actually a small fly fishing bag, and it certainly didn’t look “cool” but you never know when something hideous might become the hip new style.
I think Disney’s lines of food merchandise have been a bit of a mixed bag.
The text on a lot of them is obnoxious, but it’s cool to see Disney venture away from generic shirts into niche topics. I’d probably never purchase a food shirt myself, but like that the merchandise team is trying new things.
Points for the clever packaging on this pizza shirt.
(Ignore the fact that this unnecessary packaging is brought to you by the same company with green initiatives to eliminate straws and whatnot.)
I should probably bite my tongue on this one, as whenever I see ‘memes’ like this posted on social media, they get a ton of likes.
I’ll simply say, “I’m not a fan” and move on…
These designs remind me of the 90s, which is probably the point.
Character stuff isn’t really my jam, but there are neat, I suppose.
In general, I probably need to come to terms with styles from the 1990s being hip again.
When I look back at photos of myself as a kid wearing a Starter pullover or oversized Champion sweatshirt, “stylish” is not the first word that comes to mind. And yet, here we are.
All things considered, it was a great morning in Magic Kingdom. We had low crowds and cool weather to start the day, before a huge influx of crowds–at which time we headed over to Aunt Polly’s for a delicious and serene meal. We’ll have more on the ‘leisurely’ side of the visit soon…
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think about springtime in Magic Kingdom? Like the flowers and ‘classic formula’ of the park, sans seasonal decor? Thoughts or insights about current construction projects in Magic Kingdom? 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!
I didn’t see any comments about spring. We are planning a trip for 2/25 – 3/4/20. I have never been at that time of the year and would really like to know if it’s a good choice.
Hey Tom,
Your comment, “When I look back at photos of myself as a kid wearing a Starter pullover or oversized Champion sweatshirt, “stylish” is not the first word that comes to mind. And yet, here we are,” had me in stitches! I too, must come to grips that the 90s fashions are a thing again, even if I don’t like it!!!
Haha, Tom – I totally agree! “Given them a large path and suddenly groups are twenty-seven wide with interlocking hands while moving at a glacial pace, oblivious to the possibility that not everyone is a snail and might want to pass them.”
As far as Tomorrowland Speedway, I picked up a fastpass+ for it for our May trip. I’m assuming that means it will definitely be open by then?
What are the best days to go to the parks with the least amount of crowds? We will be there the first week of June. First time we are staying off property and only going two or three days.
Check the touringplans.com crowd calendar. They’re the best I’ve found for figuring out good days to go to which park, etc.
I wish the painters tape people would make lanes for strollers and electric buggies.
I think the expansion of the use of those slows down movement.
Amen, Zach!! I’m with you on this one.
I’m not sure that it would help but it is a nice thought.
I’m upset about the rise in ticket price and the overwhelming crowds that seem worse than ever . We travel about 1000 mikes to det there and have come the last 3 spring breaks with our Grandchildren . I’m disappointed in the fastpass selection s and the crowds . We spent over 5000$ each time and I feel like I didn’t begin to get my money’s worth. . I’ve been going since the firrst year it opened and i lenjoy the experience but now I am somewhat Disappointed .
As much as I love the PeopleMover, I think there are serious safety issues with the boarding process.
As you know, the up-ramp funnels guests directly into an enclosed area. There are three emergency stop switches for this up ramp: one for the ride loading CM, one on the console (always unattended), and one for the ride unload CM (who doesn’t have a great view).
The up-ramp is emergency stopped on an almost routine basis, such is the misjudgment of the CM in loading guests at the bottom. Today, this happened again, except the ride load operator was too distracted by a problem guest to emergency stop the up ramp in a timely manner, causing a minor crush. Luckily she realised within about 20 seconds.
I personally think it is unforgivable that there is not an emergency stop button accessible to guests at the top of the up-ramp, like most every other moving walkway or escalator in the world. Disney clearly knows there is a serious safety issue, based on the fact there are three emergency stop switches – but none of them are within reach of the guests who are in the immediate danger.
As a former cast member (though not of any Tomorrowland attraction), giving guests an emergency e-stop button would be a terrible decision. Guests would press it unnecessarily all of the time; and it would cause a greater safety concern. I do understand where you are coming from, but as a cast member who has experienced the things guests sometimes do, I have to say it would not be a good plan.
There have been multiple accidents on this ride. Even at a very slow speed, being in a collision hit from behind, can damage a person’s spine. They should put sensors on the vehicles that work with sensors along the track so that emergency stops are made when lines are too close together. Whiplash is real people and so are herniated discs – I don’t care how many shows have the “crooked lawyer and neck brace scenario” – until you’ve experienced a sore neck, headaches for 6 months+, brain imaging and spine surgery – then you just don’t have that “first person concern” for possible spinal injuries. Anyway, I totally agree something needs to be done about this what looks to be harmless ride. WDW has had multiple lawsuits from real injury, yet seems not to fix the issues. Maybe just slap a huge rubber bumper, high back seats and 5-point harness and call it ” People Mover bumper cars”. *mic drop.
Re Sarah giving you guff about the fanny pack: My wife and I have been of the general consensus that, at least from the photos you’ve historically put on the site, Sarah is more of our go to one for both fashion and buying “cool” things. Sorry Tom (but we still love you dearly )…
Rory
Ok, I give up. What does “Fastpass to Friday please” mean? Perhaps it’s because I am a crotchety old man, but this baffles me.
Make the weekend get here faster.
You should wear your bafflement here as a badge of honor.
Lol, I didn’t get it either, the planner in me thought it was referring to a person scoring a fast pass for the upcoming Friday, and I was like ‘you should have done that 60 days out…’
Tom i have read on a few other blogs that the work going on outside the park is a retention basin for water (not exactly sure for what).
Yeah, that seems to be the conventional wisdom.
I’m holding out a glimmer of hope that it’s a basin for retaining dinosaurs. 😉
If there is one thing the history of evolution has taught us, it’s that life will not be retained.
Hey Tom–either caption above or below photos but be consistent. Actually it’s always better to caption and then show the photo so folks know what they are looking at. The way you did this post was too confusing. Thanks
Hi Tom
Any idea how long the moat is going to be drained for/how long this pathway will take?? I’m coming for my first trip at the very end of Oct and I was really looking forward to getting a castle reflected in the water picture.
Tom,
I totally agree with you about people expanding to fill the available space. My normal walking pace is about 4 mi/hr, so it is really hard to slow down while in the parks. Along with that, one thing that bugs me is people changing directions without checking (maybe they drive that way too?). Not much worse that to be moving at a good clip only to have someone with a stroller suddenly turn into you.
I also walk at a very brisk pace, and have gotten pretty good at surveying the crowd several feet in front of me, and anticipating when people will aimlessly meander in a different direction. Stopping randomly in the middle of a walkway is more difficult to ‘predict.’ I know it shouldn’t, but it drives me insane.
I think the root cause is that most Americans are not used to walking in public. That might sound funny, but we are a car-centric nation, and most people don’t have a ton of experience walking in congested urban spaces.
What is the rush? Slow down and enjoy the view? Are you running to bath room or get on ride? People are looking and enjoying there vacation.
While no one says people can’t move slow, Kirk, it would be helpful to people who are rushing to a fastpass or dinner reservation if slow movers kept to the far right and allowed the fast paced individuals room to pass on the left. It’ll never happen, but at least we can try!
That is such a good point, and explains why this problem is much less dramatic in any of the non-US parks.
Tom, you nailed it. I live in a large and very walkable big city. People walk briskly and follow the “rules of the sidewalk” generally. But right now, during Spring Break season, the sidewalks are full of folks from suburban/rural areas who have no awareness of anything going on around them, especially the fact that stopping or suddenly changing directions often causes people to trip or run into one another (which I see regularly).
That said, while my kids are “urban kids” they still haven’t learned to be conscious of the other pedestrians around them, despite me constantly telling them “move over!” or “watch out” or “say excuse me!” when we’re walking as a family.
So given the fact that most WDW visitors are either A) Not from cities, and/or B) Kids, it’s no surprise that they are generally ignorant of sidewalk etiquette or oblivious to those walking around them.
As a brisk walker myself, I don’t begrudge any of this, I just stay light on my toes, assume anyone will move anywhere at any moment, and try to slip past groups nimbly whenever I can.
“As a brisk walker myself, I don’t begrudge any of this, I just stay light on my toes, assume anyone will move anywhere at any moment, and try to slip past groups nimbly whenever I can.”
Same here. I’m not out there shaking my fist at slow walkers or yelling at groups that stop in the middle of the sidewalk to gawk at a map. I simply step aside, knowing that it is what it is.
I try to be very cautious when changing direction and pushing a stroller, however, when you’re at a new place with all kinds of things to look at, it’s easy to get distracted and forget there are a million people around you 🙂 That being said, some people fail to recognize their fault by saying excuse me or sorry when making their quick directional change.
I agree with every word of this. I walk with purpose and cannot figure out how people just aimlessly walk and cut in front of you all the time!