Magic Kingdom Update: September 2018
We’ve already covered Halloween at Magic Kingdom via our 2018 Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party Photo Report and Fall Snack Guide to Walt Disney World. Aside from the seasonal festivities, quite a bit is going on around the park, so let’s take a grand circle tour of the various construction projects and changes.
We actually start before even entering Magic Kingdom, where construction on the TRON coaster attraction slated to be added to Tomorrowland is partially visible from the monorail. Aside from glimpses of dirt mounds while exiting Space Mountain, there aren’t good views of the TRON work within Magic Kingdom.
This paltry view is about as good as it gets unless you head to upper levels of the Contemporary. Once work on the TRON showbuilding starts going vertical, we’d expect this to be more clearly visible. Anyway, with that said, let’s head inside Magic Kingdom for the rest of the update…
Continuing in Tomorrowland, removal of the SpeedRamp continues with the exit rerouted behind the attraction. We shared some photos of the temporary exit in our Tomorrowland Summer 2018 Update, and it still looks exactly the same so I won’t rehash those here.
Speaking of Space Mountain, here’s what a 15 minute posted wait time looks like during the middle of the day:
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen the attraction–or Magic Kingdom in general–as dead as it has been the last couple of weeks. It would seem that the start of Food & Wine at Epcot has also siphoned away some crowds, leaving Magic Kingdom even less crowded of late.
This time of year used to be our go-to for visiting Walt Disney World, as the last couple weeks of August still had summer operating hours while seeing reduced crowds as schools returned to session. I remember trips back around 2008-2011 during the ‘glory days’ of Extra Magic Hours, which were 3 hours in the evening at the time, when we’d stay in Magic Kingdom until after 3 a.m.
While those days are lone gone–both for Magic Kingdom operating hours and our stamina in staying up that late–we did enjoy several nights closing down Magic Kingdom this trip after midnight. It was really quite fun, and the time between when the sun goes down and the parks close–and the heat becomes bearable–during these low crowd times of year is awesome.
Also in Tomorrowland, there are also some walls up near the entrance to Monsters Laugh Floor; from the TTA PeopleMover, it appears some concrete work is occurring, but we only got a brief glimpse over them.
Continuing on around towards Fantasyland, we have the ongoing Prince Charming Regal Carrousel work. The attraction is once again in operation, but it seems kinda pointless without the views of Fantasyland to us.
It’s become a dumb running joke between Sarah and me that the purpose of this refurbishment is to turn the carousel into a double-decker.
That’s obviously not true (or is it?!), but every time we pass the carousel, we joke to one another about this. So, if you’ve overheard two idiots talking about this in Magic Kingdom, you might’ve passed us!
We tried the Mermaid Donut for an upcoming post about the best snacks in Magic Kingdom and, suffice to say, it will not be making the list.
Hype on this particular snack is either coming from Instagrammers who don’t eat the cute snacks with which they pose, or people who have never consumed a donut prior to this, and are simply impressed by the concept. At a time when gourmet donuts are a really trendy thing (that shops are doing incredibly well), it’s disappointing to see Disney phone it in with donuts that are “cute” and nothing else.
Over in Liberty Square, a pair of cofferdams have been installed on the Rivers of America for the extended Liberty Square Riverboat refurbishment, which will include track work.
The cofferdams are essentially on either side of Haunted Mansion, and offer a rare look at the guidance track for the Liberty Square Riverboat and supports fo Tom Sawyer Island docks.
As you can see from the photos, there have already been a number of construction workers in the drained riverbed. Early reports indicate they’ve already found 3,392 pairs of Mickey ears, 47 Stitch fidget spinners, and 6 great white sharks.
Here are some more photos of the work in the Rivers of America around the Riverboat dock:
In addition to the workers, there have also been a number of egrets chilling down there, presumably cleaning out the partially-eaten turkey legs guests have tossed into there over the last decade.
Rounding out our tour of Magic Kingdom, we come to Adventureland.
Not much new to see here until we get to the land’s entrance, where a temporary bridge is over the permanent bridge, which is undergoing a significant refurbishment project.
Outside the entrance to Adventureland, we look back and can see Magic Kingdom’s Club 33 location. When we took this photo, the upper scrims had just been removed to reveal part of the finished exterior.
Yesterday or the day before, the lower scrim also came down. This location will reportedly open this fall, but we don’t have any specifics beyond that.
Finishing out our grand circle tour and returning to the Central Plaza, we find low crowds in the Hub.
On Main Street, there’s a scrim up for a facade refurbishment, as has become normal this time of year.
While these scrims are annoying if you want that perfect shot down Main Street, they are important “unheralded” work that it’s good to see happening.
This maintenance prevents/repairs wood rot, and just finally started occurring within the last ~5, after years of neglect.
Even if the results aren’t noticeable to most guests, people would notice if this work never occurred and visible decay started.
Finally, we head up to the Train Station for a look down Main Street. The flag is at half-staff to mourn the passing of U.S. Senator John McCain.
Overall, a relatively low-key update from Magic Kingdom, particularly as the major construction projects that are occurring are not yet visible from guest-accessible areas. We’ll probably have another update on Magic Kingdom in the next month or two, but things should start to get really interesting in early 2019, when work really picks up steam in Tomorrowland and elsewhere around the park.
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Your Thoughts
Thoughts or insights about current construction projects in Magic Kingdom? Excited to see the TRON attraction start going vertical from within the park? 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 love the egrets!
You mentioned that the maintenance in MK will ramp up in early 2019. We’re going the 2nd week of March. Do you think the maintenance be done by then or will it be “scrim city”?
Hi Tom,
Do you have any word on when the river will be restored?
How is mid Dec looking this year? We usually go in the Fall and for a long trip, but missing our usual this year and considering a short trip mid Dec.
We went last year from December 10th – 17th and it was a nightmare. It was freezing and the crowds were unbelievable. We usually go in September as well so we weren’t prepared for the wait times and frustration trying to move around.
Wooo strange that we were there at the same time as R2D2SUZQ and had such different experiences. I guess we picked the right parks on the right days. We never stood in a line more than 10 minutes and the weather was perfect! Never even wore a jacket.
We were there from Dec. 16th-22nd. The 16th was cold at night and we even bought jackets at Disney Springs. The rest of the time it was hot and we were in shorts! We had crowds but nothing comparable to the 4th of July:) Love Disney during Christmas.
Same … I was there from the 12th thru 19th, and while there was a cool day – high in the 60s on the 12th – otherwise the weather was fantastic. A light jacket in the evening was all that was needed. Crowd-wise it was awesome. Fast Passes were almost unnecessary. Although the big crowds started on the 18th at Magic Kingdom. I walked in that day, saw the crowds, turned around and went to Epcot where I felt like I had the place to myself. This year we’re going a bit earlier, from the 8th – 15th. Also going for Food and Wine the first week of October, since we couldn’t decide between that and the Holidays, so we’re doing both!
We go every year in early/mid December. Last year we were there December 9-14 and it was amazing. The weather was perfect and the crowds were great. This year we will be there December 11-16. This is our favorite time to go.
Do they never offer the 3 extra magic hours anymore? I’m like you, our best times have been at 2:00 in the morning riding everything as much as we wanted.
Seems like they might still offer that during spring break time of year. I hope it’s not gone forever.
Hi Tom
I really enjoy your articles
I from Canada and I am planning to take my 6 yr old son next year beginning of May.
Hoping it’s light crowds. With your updates in MK what closures should I expect in tomorrowland as you mention work in early 2019?
As well what other parks do you recommend for my sons age?
I am also debating between the Caribbean and New Orleans resorts however which NO
Would you say has a better pool for my son
With kids splash pad / slides
Thanks
All of the Disney parks hold fun and wonder for every age, particularly children under the age of 10… but of course Magic Kingdom does hold the most! My son at the age of 9 particularly loved Animal Kingdom and declared it his favorite after our trip…. but he adored animals of all kinds as a child and still does at the age of 18. We just went in June and he said it is still his favorite pf all the parks. We spent far more time watching and talking about and filming the animals than we did riding rides. So I guess it will depend on the child as to which parks will suit yours best.
The Pool at Port Orleans French Quarter is terrific for young kids… it has a huge sea monster slide and a kiddie pool play area that even the pre-teens (10-12) love. Caribbean Beach, I have not been to yet, but from Tom’s pictures and review of that resort, it looks fabulous. You can Google some reviews on youtube that show live action, but here’s a link to Tom’s review: https://www.disneytouristblog.com/disneys-caribbean-beach-resort-review/
Early May is a great time – miss the school break craziness of April, no humidity yet, and mid level crowds. For both splash pad and a pool slide – French Quarter side will be your best option of the two. You can also use both Riverside and French Quarter pools when you stay there as well.
Love your articles and always read them but the one thing I really wish you would do is DATE your articles. I’ve never understand why you don’t do that. As a reader, many times I’ve seen your blogs and articles pop up only to realize later, it’s not the most recent update, etc. It would be so helpful as a reader and I hope you consider it in the future.
It literally says “September 2018” in the title…
The crowds have been fantastic this first week of September! This is my favorite week to go. My daughter usually misses the first few days of school, but not fighting the crowds are totally worth it. We have been coming this first week of September for several years now. Yesterday we did not have to wait in line for any of the food and wine booths. The day before there was only a 20 minute wait for Toy Story! The weather is hot, but bearable if you get inside here and there. Sorry we missed you, Tom!
Any word on when Rivers of America will be finished?
Wow! Can’t help but feel you pulled back the curtain on the wizard of Oz!! Pay no attention to those workers!!! A rare opportunity to see the track guiding the Liberty Square Riverboat! Never have more mundane photos of concrete, water, mud and steel been more interesting!
Haha, we thought it was pretty cool to see, too. If it weren’t so hot, we would’ve stood there watching them (and the birds) for a while!
The drained river may be the most interesting construction photos I’ve seen on this blog! Not so much for the look at the “behind the (water) curtain” guide rail for the riverboat, though that’s interesting, but because it just looks so surreal with those dams.
I’m very interested in the ongoing crowd reports. I was there in January with some friends on their first visit, and I was dismayed by the crowd spike then. I’ve been paying attention since to find out if there’s going to be a new pattern, or just a new age of random spikes and dips. I always seek low crowds– because I just like it when WDW feels more roomy, not so much because of wait times– and I’m hoping to see a pattern emerge that I can plan on.
“I’ve been paying attention since to find out if there’s going to be a new pattern, or just a new age of random spikes and dips.”
Excluding January and February, this year has tracked pretty closely with last year (and the year before) in terms of overall trends. I suspect January and February were an anomaly resulting from understaffing and running at reduced capacity, but I suppose time will tell on that.
I know it is just mud, but those photos of the Rivers of America were fascinating to me! So weird!
I mean, seeing it was pretty interesting to us, so I don’t think it’s weird at all. That’s why I included several photos without much commentary. It’s cool and different!
Tom you’ve mentioned in a lot of posts recently about the low crowds in late August. Would you say that late August has surpassed September as the time with the lowest crowds? Or are they just low crowds in comparison to the rest of the summer?
I think crowds bottom out at the end of August/beginning of September, and gradually increase from mid-September until they peak in October. (Literally–October has been peak season the last few years.)
I wouldn’t say August is necessarily less crowded than September, it depends upon the week. For example, early August is definitely busier than early September.
We are fortunate enough to live near WDW and the best times to visit crowd wise are when school is in session. Based on experience, September, October, first two weeks of November, first two weeks of December, January, February, March and April (avoiding the two weeks around Easter), and first three weeks of May are good. Weekends and holidays are always busier. Summer is busy and hot. If I were to choose, I would say last two weeks of January and first two weeks of February are the best bet. You can always put on a sweatshirt but there is only so much you can take off at the parks!