How about some pleasantly stunning Magic Kingdom information? The Walt Disney World Railroad will NOT shut throughout building of Piston Peak Nationwide Park, the Vehicles miniland! This shares dates & particulars of the modified route, plus fast commentary about why that is so stunning within the first place.
When it comes to fundamental background, the entire purpose why that is information within the first place is as a result of Walt Disney World introduced two all-new Vehicles points of interest in a reimagined space of Frontierland at Magic Kingdom. This isn’t Radiator Springs or a clone of Vehicles Land from Disney California Journey, however it’s sizable sufficient to be thought of Piston Peak Nationwide Park (nonetheless barely smaller than Gateway Arch Nationwide Park). Together with this, they formally introduced Villains Land enlargement at Magic Kingdom.
Subsequent to that announcement, Walt Disney World revealed that the Vehicles space will really exchange the Rivers of America, which means that Tom Sawyer Island and the Liberty Sq. Riverboat will completely shut in July 2025. Development partitions will go up within the weeks that observe, and it’s anticipated that the Rivers of America can be drained and demolition will start someday this 12 months. Beforehand, we anticipated that the Walt Disney World Railroad would shut round this identical time. Fortunately, it won’t.
We’ve gotta be trustworthy–it is a large and sudden shock that the Walt Disney World Railroad will stay operational through the Rivers of America alternative venture.
This was removed from a certain factor provided that Walt Disney World Railroad closed for the development of TRON Lightcycle Run in Tomorrowland at Magic Kingdom. It went down on December 3, 2018 and didn’t reopen till December 22, 2022 after being closed for 1,481 days (however who was counting?!).
Primarily based on that, it was our expectation that the Walt Disney World Railroad would shut for even longer this go-round. TRON Lightcycle Run was only one cloned curler coaster inside a field. That is two new lands and important website prep. Even with the pandemic faraway from the equation, Piston Peak Nationwide Park and Villains Land will nonetheless take longer than TRON.
Again with the final closure, we heard so many followers complain that it was poor planning by Disney to take the trains offline so lengthy. That’s incorrect. It was fully by design–a function, not a bug. Taking the Walt Disney World Railroad down below the pretext of building supplied the corporate appreciable operational cost-savings.
It additionally resulted in minimal pushback from company and followers because it was visibly apparent that constructing the brand new curler coaster interferes with the railroad. What’s much less apparent is that it didn’t must intervene for therefore lengthy. That’s, except you watched building progress and noticed that work didn’t start on the park-side of the tracks instantly, and will’ve been deliberate across the WDW Railroad operations.
Accordingly, we anticipated extra of the identical shenanigans with the Vehicles and Villains land initiatives. There are few issues Walt Disney World loves greater than operational cost-savings, so we anticipated administration to virtually salivate on the prospect of getting an excuse to take the railroad offline for ~5 years.
Actually, I’m stunned it didn’t occur as early as late April when backstage land clearing and website prep began. And it’s not like Walt Disney World has modified its penny-pinching methods. Look no additional than MuppetVision 3D, which is closing quickly not as a result of it’s crucial for Monstropolis–the gravity constructing hasn’t even damaged floor but–however as a result of Disney’s Hollywood Studios simply opened two new stage reveals, so that they don’t “want” MuppetVision. (Ignore the truth that all three venues operated till mid-March 2020.)
On this case, the excuse would really be extra of a sound one, because the Walt Disney World Railroad really does intervene with the venture website. If it closed early on, you’d get no shade commentary from me about this being yet one more instance of Walt Disney World cheaping out. That’s why it’s such a shock they’re holding it open!
As for find out how to reconcile the Walt Disney World Railroad staying open though it interferes with the venture website, it’s as a result of solely Frontierland Station will (briefly) shut throughout building. The practice will function in a modified ‘shuttle’ mode to bypass this station.
Shuttle mode for the Walt Disney World Railroad is strictly what it seems like. As an alternative of creating the Grand Circle Tour in a steady loop, the practice will go ahead from the Fundamental Avenue USA Prepare Station to the Fantasyland Prepare Station, after which reverse course alongside the identical route.
This implies it’ll nonetheless be an possibility for transportation from Storybook Circus to the entrance of the park and vice-versa, albeit a much less environment friendly possibility. Greater than something, the Walt Disney World Railroad will proceed to be an awesome possibility for a leisurely attraction, and the sort that can be much more useful with Tom Sawyer Island and the Liberty Sq. Riverboat closing, as these fill comparable roles.
Shuttle mode operations of the Walt Disney World Railroad will start on July 7, 2025. That’s additionally when the Frontierland Station will shut on a short lived foundation. Because of this the final date to expertise the Grand Circle Tour of the WDW Railroad (or cease at Frontierland Station) is July 6, 2025.
This is similar date that the Rivers of America, Tom Sawyer Island, and the Liberty Sq. Riverboat all shut. Besides these are all everlasting closures, and it is a non permanent modification to facilitate demolition and building.
Though no timeline has been offered, we wouldn’t be in the slightest degree stunned if Frontierland Station is closed for 4-5 years, and the WDW Railroad operates in shuttle mode for that whole time. This can be a large venture and building crews can be continually crossing the practice tracks to entry the laydown yards that provide venture help.
Walt Disney World has additionally shared that engineering groups will modify seating on the trains in order that some seats face ahead in each instructions, so that you aren’t merely going through backwards in case you board in Storybook Circus and trip to Fundamental Avenue.
In the event you’re questioning concerning the aforementioned gravel laydown yards, there can be three in whole across the northwestern perimeter of Magic Kingdom. Two can be positioned past the berm, which means exterior of Magic Kingdom visitor areas, with the third laydown yard that ought to be seen from inside Magic Kingdom alongside the northwestern banks of the Rivers of America. These gravel laydown yards can be used for building gear, heavy equipment, supplies staging, earth-moving, and so on.
As you would possibly have the ability to inform from the above visible, the railroad tracks can be between the gravel laydown yards and the development website on Tom Sawyer Island and the Rivers of America. Because of this Frontierland Station is closing so quickly–it’s essential to facilitate work and vehicular visitors backwards and forwards throughout the tracks from the staging space to the location.
These kinds of staging areas are frequent for large-scale building initiatives at Walt Disney World. It might sound surprising that the gravel laydown yards are like triple the scale of the particular enlargement space, however that’s not unusual–particularly since this isn’t a single uninterrupted staging location.
There have been comparable laydown yards for all kinds of main enlargement initiatives, from New Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom to Pandora – World of Avatar at Animal Kingdom. The one for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and Toy Story Land was equally large, dwarfing the scale of the enlargement itself.
As soon as completed, these staging areas ought to end in land that was beforehand marginally appropriate for building to turn into appropriate for constructing. That means that the staging areas themselves may very well be building websites sooner or later. Fortunately, it shouldn’t impression future operations of the Walt Disney World Railroad when the inevitable in-park Magic Kingdom lodge will get constructed on one of many future-former laydown yards. However that’s most likely one other 6+ years into the long run.
Frontierland Station additionally closing on July 7, 2025–along with the Rivers of America, Tom Sawyer Island and the Liberty Sq. Riverboat–is definitely information that has me bullish on the tempo of this venture. If it have been simply the RoA points of interest, the closures may very well be for cost-savings and never essentially as a result of they want to occur at this cut-off date. Once more, see MuppetVision.
Nonetheless, taking Frontierland Station offline on July 7 doesn’t actually do this for the reason that Walt Disney World Railroad will nonetheless function in shuttle mode. Positive, they are going to be some decreased prices by advantage of closing that station, however not almost to the identical extent as if the WDW Railroad have been closed utterly. Once more. Disney’s plan of action right here suggests the entire method is much less about saving cash and extra about what’s crucial. That’s a optimistic growth.
As for why the choice was made to run the railroad in shuttle mode versus shuttering it…your guess is nearly as good as mine. Maybe there was reticence amongst members of administration after not reopening it that way back? Possibly it’s seen as crucial to choose up the slack from shedding the Liberty Sq. Riverboat and Tom Sawyer Island? One other wildcard is visitor satisfaction or utilization, both or each of which is perhaps up for the reason that railroad reopened. (Anecdotally, it certain looks as if extra persons are using it than earlier than.) It may very well be a mixture of the above, or different variables I’m not contemplating. Whatever the purpose, I’ll take it!
In the end, it’s good to see these ‘Past(ish) Huge Thunder’ initiatives kicking into excessive gear. Whereas we will actually debate whether or not Vehicles ought to be changing the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island within the first place, it’s good to see them transferring in an expeditious method regardless. As talked about elsewhere, the very last thing we’d like is a repeat of the Large EPCOT Filth Pit fiasco.
No less than for me, it will be worse to announce all of this, then have Disney sit on their arms for just a few years, solely to have the most effective a part of the venture–Villains Land–fall via because of the delays. The second part of Disney initiatives is notorious for by no means occurring, and that’s often as a result of work doesn’t begin till the primary part is open. I’m glad that’s not occurring right here. Absolutely the worst case situation right here can be a recession leading to shedding the Rivers of America and in addition the enlargement being price range reduce into oblivion (the very first thing to go is all the time the ‘superfluous’ stuff–like water options). We don’t want World Celebration, however with Vehicles, in Magic Kingdom.
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Your Ideas
What do you consider the Walt Disney World Railroad remaining open throughout building of the Vehicles and Villains lands at Magic Kingdom? Will you utilize the practice in shuttle mode between Fundamental Avenue and Fantasyland? Does this make up for the closing of Tom Sawyer Island, Liberty Sq. Riverboat and Rivers of America? Are you optimistic that this may usher in an period of enlargement at Walt Disney World? Excited or underwhelmed by the plan? Or, are you in wait and see mode with this? Do you agree or disagree with our evaluation? Any questions we can assist you reply? Listening to your suggestions—even while you disagree with us—is each attention-grabbing to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas beneath within the feedback!