Walt Disney World is gearing as much as start development on the Piston Peak ‘Vehicles’ space this month, with backstage land clearing already underway. The most recent aerial photographs reveal an enormous expanse that’ll be used for web site prep, discipline workplaces, and, ultimately, future growth that’s actually ‘Past Massive Thunder.’
This comes in opposition to the backdrop of the in-park areas that Piston Peak Nationwide Park will substitute completely closing in lower than per week. Walt Disney World introduced that the Rivers of America, Tom Sawyer Island, and Liberty Sq. Riverboat will all shut on July 7, 2025. The final day to expertise any of those points of interest and places at Magic Kingdom will likely be July 6, 2025.
Together with that, “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 for Vehicles and Villains Land development. There’s been some confusion about why Frontierland Station wants to shut throughout this venture, however the aerial pictures ought to make that clear.
Whereas we’ve seen work over the past couple of months already beginning backstage, that’s solely what’s publicly seen from Floridian Method, the part of street to the northwest of Magic Kingdom. It’s been troublesome to discern simply how far alongside progress is on this space nearer to on-stage areas and the guest-facing facet of the Rivers of America.
All of this web site prep work is a needed prerequisite to demolishing and filling within the Rivers of America, so we’ve been curious to know simply how a lot progress has been made. Frankly, we’ve questioned whether or not the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island wanted to shut this quickly–because it appeared just like the backstage work would take so much longer and will probably enable the guest-facing areas to stay open longer. Effectively, now now we have some solutions.
These come courtesy of eye within the sky photographs from friend-of-the-site bioreconstruct, the go-to supply for aerial theme park images (a extremely really useful comply with who graciously offered the helicopter photographs right here)…
Let’s begin with a high-level establishing shot.
Should you’re questioning what you’re taking a look at, it’s Magic Kingdom (far proper) and the realm to the northwest of the park. The Magic Kingdom facet of the picture reveals Frontierland and the Rivers of America, making the remainder of the photograph the realm that’s (actually!) ‘Past Massive Thunder.’
There’s plenty of land cleared within the photographs. The areas nearer the parks will likely be laydown yards supporting the development of Vehicles and Villains Lands (extra on these in a bit). The far left is a brand new retention pond that’s being created for displaced stormwater capability misplaced as a result of infill of the Rivers of America. As a bonus, the center reveals the brand new routing of Floridian Method–that’s a serious multi-year venture we haven’t actually coated as a result of roads don’t appear to get the individuals going (in a puffed up sense–they do get individuals getting in a literal sense).
If a few of this sounds acquainted, it’s as a result of we’ve coated it extensively as a part of the allowing course of for this venture over the course of the final ~11 months. All of that is exactly what the State of Florida was involved with as they made Imagineering file, make clear, modify, and so on. the venture plans. It wasn’t over the substance of the additions–they weren’t scorching and bothered by eye automobiles in Frontierland, it was all about water administration.
As a refresher, the allow for all of this was issued by the South Florida Water Administration District (SFWMD) in Winter 2025, giving Imagineering till February 17, 2030 to redevelop the realm. The underlying SFWMD allow is huge in scale and scope, encompassing over 300 acres round Magic Kingdom and past.
That’s regardless of the precise venture web site solely being about 14 acres. What we see in these aerial photographs is the affect to the opposite ~286 different acres that won’t be residence to Lightning McQueen, Mater and their buddies.
Taking a better and extra overhead aerial view, we will see one full gravel laydown yard and a portion of one other that will likely be adjoining to the venture web site. These are in low-lying areas to the northwest of the Rivers of America, necessitating further work to ascertain usable gravel laydown yards within the first place.
There will likely be three gravel laydown yards in whole across the northwestern perimeter of Magic Kingdom. Two will likely be situated past the berm, that means exterior of Magic Kingdom visitor areas, with the third laydown yard inside Magic Kingdom alongside the northwestern banks of what’s presently the Rivers of America. These gravel laydown yards will likely be used for development tools, heavy equipment, supplies staging, earth-moving, and so on.
Right here’s one other take a look at the laydown yards from the SFWMD allowing for the sake of comparability:
These kinds of staging areas are frequent for large-scale development tasks at Walt Disney World. It is likely to be shocking that the gravel laydown yards are like triple the scale of the particular growth space, however that’s not unusual–particularly since this isn’t a single uninterrupted staging location.
There have been related laydown yards for all types of main growth tasks, 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 huge, dwarfing the scale of the growth itself.
What’s actually attention-grabbing about these staging areas is that they’ll lead to land that was beforehand “marginally appropriate” for development to develop into “appropriate” for constructing. That means that the staging areas themselves may very well be development websites sooner or later. That is truly one thing touched upon by the 2045 Complete Plan that was simply accredited by the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District. Whereas the headline is the attention-grabbing Approval of a Fifth Gate at Walt Disney World, the true story is extra prone to be lodge growth–however extra on this in a bit.
Again to the aerial photographs, now we have a view that’s primarily behind Tiana’s Bayou Journey.
As you would possibly recall, Walt Disney Imagineering filed development permits to put in trailers with an handle similar to a backstage space behind Massive Thunder Mountain Railroad and Tiana’s Bayou Journey in Magic Kingdom. Imagineering discipline workplaces and parking will devour a giant portion of this explicit laydown yard.
That is very related permits for a trailer park and staging space behind Kali River Rapids in assist of the Tropical Americas venture final spring. In addition they repurposed the previous Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser behind Disney’s Hollywood Studios into discipline workplaces for the Monstropolis growth there.
Past the laydown yards that’ll assist precise development, there’s the water administration component. As we’ve mentioned beforehand, it is a needed prerequisite for starting substantive development–when waterways are going to be rerouted or water is displaced in Florida, the primary part of a venture is addressing that misplaced stormwater capability.
Rivers of America connects to a canal that runs out to Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake. You possibly can see this within the above photograph–or once you stroll from Magic Kingdom to the Grand Floridian (it’s the bridge resulting in backstage storage of the Electrical Water Pageant). Runoff would circulate into the Rivers of America, then these lakes.
Principally, Disney wants someplace for the displaced stormwater capability misplaced from infilling the Rivers of America. This entails creating a brand new retention pond for water administration that’s roughly three-quarters of a mile to the northwest of Magic Kingdom. It’s probably that the bottom eliminated when digging the brand new pond will likely be used for filling the Rivers of America. Circle of life and all that.
We’ve truly seen one thing related with the TTC over time. Should you’ve ever questioned why there’s a perpetual pile of dust there, it’s as a result of that’s been moved there after digging retention ponds–it’s then used for the Floridian Method tasks. I don’t know why it’s in the midst of TTC, however they’ve decided that’s an excellent staging web site for no matter purpose.
One factor these aerial photographs actually underscore is the blessing of dimension at Walt Disney World. As somebody as soon as stated, the Florida Mission incorporates “sufficient land right here to carry all of the concepts and plans we will probably think about.” Clever phrases.
You would possibly take a look at these pictures and shake your head that Disney is opting to interchange the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island after they may as a substitute merely construct past the berm–making the land actually ‘Past Massive Thunder’ as initially promised, as a substitute of the laydown yards in that house. You would possibly surprise why Walt Disney World opted for this method. All truthful questions and considerations.
One of the best rationalization is effectivity. One factor Imagineering has harassed when explaining its upcoming slate of tasks is that they wished to stretch budgets so far as attainable. (Typically talking, it is a good factor; Imagineering has a deserved repute for spending like a drunken sailor.)
Given land suitability (or lack thereof), it’s probably that prices would’ve exploded in the event that they construct the brand new lands within the present laydown yards and the laydown yards past these. It’s additionally solely believable that they did additional surveying and realized that wasn’t even an possibility.
One other risk is that Walt Disney World didn’t wish to make Magic Kingdom too giant. I haven’t heard this talked about by anybody, however I view this as an under-discussed risk. One factor we talked about repeatedly with the previous technology of lodge tasks is how company don’t like sprawling resorts.
“An excessive amount of strolling” is the single-biggest grievance about many motels, and it wouldn’t shock me within the least if this additionally extends to the parks. I don’t doubt for a second that Imagineering pitched a model of those plans that retained the Rivers of America and considerably expanded Magic Kingdom into territory ‘Past Massive Thunder,’ however administration pushed for a extra consolidated footprint “attributable to visitor suggestions” about foot ache or no matter.
To be abundantly clear, this isn’t to excuse or clarify away the ultimate plans. From the outset, we absolutely anticipated Tom Sawyer Island to develop into Tom Sawyer Peninsula–that’s one compromise resolution. One other can be constructing Vehicles Land at Disney’s Hollywood Studios within the car parking zone, adjoining to Monstropolis–that’s one other different.
Whereas I admire effectivity and Imagineering being extra cost-conscious for as soon as, I can’t assist however shake the thought that it looks like Walt Disney World is designing its “growth” plans as in the event that they’re in space-constrained Anaheim. In the meantime, the tasks for Disneyland are precise expansions. It’s just like the Freaky Friday reboot no one requested for.
(Sorry, however I hate the fan suggestion of Vehicles changing Tomorrowland Speedway; I might actually quite have this than that. Tomorrowland Speedway ought to kind the eventual basis of a hybrid Fantasyland/Tomorrowland growth a la the Magnificence and the Beast and Baymax space at Tokyo Disneyland.)
The above aerial photograph reveals each of the present clearings for future laydown yards, together with what is going to develop into the third laydown yard as soon as that land is cleared. The ultimate laydown yard will likely be nestled between the backstage roads, canal, and railroad tracks. It’s the one that might be seen from the Rivers of America, if the realm had been staying open past July 7.
As ought to be clear from the aerial photographs and web site plans, the railroad tracks will likely be between the gravel laydown yards and the development web site on Tom Sawyer Island and the Rivers of America. For this reason we anticipated that the Walt Disney World Railroad would should be taken out of service to facilitate work and vehicular visitors backwards and forwards throughout the tracks from the staging space to the location.
As a substitute, we’re getting shuttle mode. There have been some skepticism and complaints about this from Walt Disney World followers, however it’s completely the best-case state of affairs. Allow us to not neglect that the 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.
At the very least initially, that venture was much less impactful to the WDW Railroad than this one–there was plenty of work that might’ve seemingly been achieved whereas the trains continued to run. Taking the Walt Disney World Railroad down beneath the pretext of development supplied the corporate operational cost-savings. It additionally resulted in minimal pushback from followers because it was visibly apparent that constructing the curler coaster interfered with the railroad. At minimal, they may’ve carried out shuttle mode then. Let’s take the win that they selected to take action this time, as a substitute of closing the WDW Railroad utterly for one more 5 years.
It’s in all probability price declaring that we’re not out of the woods but with an entire Walt Disney World Railroad closure. Simply throughout part one of many venture whereas the Rivers of America is stuffed in, Tom Sawyer Island is demolished, and Piston Peak Vehicles land is constructed.
Long run, the development of Villains Land will nearly definitely necessitate a closure. Not solely is there the identical concern with staging to web site entry, however the Villains Land will truly be constructed immediately alongside the Walt Disney World Railroad. Whereas it’s attainable this new land manages to remain contained in the berm, we wouldn’t financial institution on it.
That would additionally imply {that a} observe re-routing is critical to accommodate Villains Land. Extra optimistically, there may very well be one other station added on the far again of Magic Kingdom, about midway between the present Frontierland and Storybook Circus stations. Getting tremendous speculative, having an in-park lodge with a railroad station can be savvy.
This might merely imply this space is an growth pad for the Villains Land. Ought to or not it’s nicely acquired, Walt Disney World would possibly greenlight one other attraction to be constructed on this house. That will surely make sense, particularly with Villains Land being extra of an open idea land as a substitute of one other single mental property growth.
From my perspective, the in-park lodge overlooking the Villains Land might be extra probably. To be clear, that is purely speculative–I’ve heard zero credible rumors a few lodge being a part of the ‘Past Massive Thunder’ venture. I simply know the way Walt Disney World administration salivates on the prospect of extra high-dollar lodge stock, and this will surely examine that field–and in a extremely fascinating location that comports with the newly-released CFTOD plan.
An in-park lodge strikes me as a solution to ‘promote’ the venture internally, because the room capability can be extremely beneficial and assist recoup the prices of the growth. Actually, there’s already just about a blueprint for this: Fantasy Springs at Tokyo DisneySea, which can be in the back of that park and has a lodge overlooking the brand new land. Regardless that such a Magic Kingdom lodge wouldn’t be on the monorail line, it may in all probability dethrone Grand Floridian because the flagship Walt Disney World resort. On the upside, if there’s a lodge venture hooked up to Villains Land, it gained’t develop into one of many notorious part 2 tasks that’s confined solely to espresso desk books.
Finally, it’s good to see these ‘Past Massive Thunder’ tasks kicking into excessive gear–and to know that Walt Disney World didn’t simply choose to shut the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island this summer time to avoid wasting on working bills. From the above aerial photographs, it’s very clear that severe work has already occurred, and the following step is beginning on-stage demolition and infill.
Whereas we will definitely 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 I’ve talked about elsewhere, it will be worse to begin all of this just for delays and price range cuts to show this into the Magic Kingdom Dust Pit for the following 5 years. We already endured that at EPCOT for one aggressively mediocre (to place it charitably) final result; we can not have the identical at Magic Kingdom.
These Vehicles and Villains land tasks want to be residence runs. They can’t be something lower than unimaginable. It will be tragic for Disney to take a seat on its palms for a number of years, solely to have the most effective a part of the venture–Villains Land–fall by as a result of delays. The second part of Disney tasks is notorious for by no means taking place, and that’s normally as a result of work doesn’t begin till the primary part is open. I’m glad that isn’t taking place right here.
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Your Ideas
Ideas on Disney already beginning land clearing for the huge laydown yards behind Magic Kingdom? Excited or disillusioned that the Piston Peak Nationwide Park is changing Rivers of America? Want Walt Disney World remembered its ‘blessing of dimension’ when greenlighting these tasks? On condition that that is going to occur regardless at this level, do you hope it’s full steam forward so we don’t should endure a repeat of the Large EPCOT Dust Pit fiasco? Do you agree or disagree with our evaluation? Any questions we may help you reply? Listening to your suggestions—even once you disagree with us—is each attention-grabbing to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas under within the feedback!