Walt Disney World is gearing as much as start building on the Piston Peak ‘Vehicles’ space this month, with backstage land clearing already underway. The newest aerial pictures reveal a large expanse that’ll be used for website prep, discipline places of work, and, ultimately, future enlargement that’s really ‘Past Massive Thunder.’
This comes towards the backdrop of the in-park areas that Piston Peak Nationwide Park will substitute completely closing in lower than every 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 sights and places at Magic Kingdom might 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 building. There’s been some confusion about why Frontierland Station wants to shut throughout this venture, however the aerial photographs 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 Means, the part of highway to the northwest of Magic Kingdom. It’s been tough 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 website prep work is a crucial 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 quite a bit longer and will probably enable the guest-facing areas to stay open longer. Nicely, now now we have some solutions.
These come courtesy of eye within the sky pictures from friend-of-the-site bioreconstruct, the go-to supply for aerial theme park images (a extremely really useful comply with who graciously supplied the helicopter photographs right here)…
Let’s begin with a high-level establishing shot.
When you’re questioning what you’re , it’s Magic Kingdom (far proper) and the realm to the northwest of the park. The Magic Kingdom facet of the picture exhibits Frontierland and the Rivers of America, making the remainder of the photograph the realm that’s (really!) ‘Past Massive Thunder.’
There’s a variety of land cleared within the pictures. The areas nearer the parks might 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 exhibits the brand new routing of Floridian Means–that’s a significant multi-year venture we haven’t actually lined as a result of roads don’t appear to get the individuals going (in a puffed up sense–they do get individuals stepping into a literal sense).
If a few of this sounds acquainted, it’s as a result of we’ve lined 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 many others. the venture plans. It wasn’t over the substance of the additions–they weren’t sizzling and bothered by eye vehicles 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 large in scale and scope, encompassing over 300 acres round Magic Kingdom and past.
That’s regardless of the precise venture website solely being about 14 acres. What we see in these aerial pictures is the affect to the opposite ~286 different acres that won’t be dwelling to Lightning McQueen, Mater and their buddies.
Taking a more in-depth and extra overhead aerial view, we are able to see one full gravel laydown yard and a portion of one other that might be adjoining to the venture website. 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 might be three gravel laydown yards in complete across the northwestern perimeter of Magic Kingdom. Two might be positioned past the berm, that means outdoors 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 might be used for building tools, heavy equipment, supplies staging, earth-moving, and many others.
Right here’s one other take a look at the laydown yards from the SFWMD allowing for the sake of comparability:
These kind of staging areas are widespread for large-scale building tasks at Walt Disney World. It could be shocking that the gravel laydown yards are like triple the dimensions of the particular enlargement 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 enlargement 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 large, dwarfing the dimensions of the enlargement itself.
What’s actually fascinating about these staging areas is that they’ll end in land that was beforehand “marginally appropriate” for building to grow to be “appropriate” for constructing. That means that the staging areas themselves could possibly be building websites sooner or later. That is really 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 resort growth–however extra on this in a bit.
Again to the aerial pictures, now we have a view that’s basically behind Tiana’s Bayou Journey.
As you may recall, Walt Disney Imagineering filed building permits to put in trailers with an deal with similar to a backstage space behind Massive Thunder Mountain Railroad and Tiana’s Bayou Journey in Magic Kingdom. Imagineering discipline places of work and parking will eat an enormous portion of this specific laydown yard.
That is very related permits for a trailer park and staging space behind Kali River Rapids in help of the Tropical Americas venture final spring. Additionally they repurposed the previous Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser behind Disney’s Hollywood Studios into discipline places of work for the Monstropolis enlargement there.
Past the laydown yards that’ll help precise building, there’s the water administration factor. As we’ve mentioned beforehand, this can be a crucial prerequisite for starting substantive building–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 may see this within the above photograph–or if you stroll from Magic Kingdom to the Grand Floridian (it’s the bridge resulting in backstage storage of the Electrical Water Pageant). Runoff would movement 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 includes 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 doubtless that the bottom eliminated when digging the brand new pond might be used for filling the Rivers of America. Circle of life and all that.
We’ve really seen one thing related with the TTC through the years. When 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 Means tasks. I don’t know why it’s in the course of TTC, however they’ve decided that’s a very good staging website for no matter motive.
One factor these aerial pictures actually underscore is the blessing of dimension at Walt Disney World. As somebody as soon as mentioned, the Florida Challenge comprises “sufficient land right here to carry all of the concepts and plans we are able to probably think about.” Smart phrases.
You may take a look at these photographs and shake your head that Disney is opting to exchange the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island once they may as an alternative merely construct past the berm–making the land really ‘Past Massive Thunder’ as initially promised, as an alternative of the laydown yards in that house. You may marvel why Walt Disney World opted for this method. All truthful questions and considerations.
One of the best clarification is effectivity. One factor Imagineering has burdened when explaining its upcoming slate of tasks is that they wished to stretch budgets so far as attainable. (Typically talking, this can be a good factor; Imagineering has a deserved status for spending like a drunken sailor.)
Given land suitability (or lack thereof), it’s doubtless 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 fully believable that they did additional surveying and realized that wasn’t even an choice.
One other chance is that Walt Disney World didn’t need to make Magic Kingdom too massive. I haven’t heard this talked about by anybody, however I view this as an under-discussed chance. One factor we talked about repeatedly with the previous era of resort tasks is how friends don’t like sprawling resorts.
“An excessive amount of strolling” is the single-biggest criticism about many lodges, 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 “because of 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 grow to be Tom Sawyer Peninsula–that’s one compromise resolution. One other could be constructing Vehicles Land at Disney’s Hollywood Studios within the car parking zone, adjoining to Monstropolis–that’s one other various.
Whereas I respect 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 “enlargement” 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 relatively have this than that. Tomorrowland Speedway ought to type the eventual basis of a hybrid Fantasyland/Tomorrowland enlargement a la the Magnificence and the Beast and Baymax space at Tokyo Disneyland.)
The above aerial photograph exhibits each of the present clearings for future laydown yards, together with what’s going to grow to be the third laydown yard as soon as that land is cleared. The ultimate laydown yard might be nestled between the backstage roads, canal, and railroad tracks. It’s the one that may be seen from the Rivers of America, if the realm have been staying open past July 7.
As must be clear from the aerial pictures and website plans, the railroad tracks might be between the gravel laydown yards and the development website on Tom Sawyer Island and the Rivers of America. For this reason we anticipated that the Walt Disney World Railroad would must be taken out of service to facilitate work and vehicular site visitors backwards and forwards throughout the tracks from the staging space to the location.
As an alternative, we’re getting shuttle mode. There have been some skepticism and complaints about this from Walt Disney World followers, but it surely’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.
No less than firstly, that venture was much less impactful to the WDW Railroad than this one–there was a variety of work that would’ve seemingly been completed whereas the trains continued to run. Taking the Walt Disney World Railroad down below the pretext of building provided 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 might’ve carried out shuttle mode then. Let’s take the win that they selected to take action this time, as an alternative of closing the WDW Railroad utterly for an additional 5 years.
It’s most likely 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 term, the development of Villains Land will virtually actually necessitate a closure. Not solely is there the identical challenge with staging to website entry, however the Villains Land will really be constructed straight 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} monitor re-routing is important to accommodate Villains Land. Extra optimistically, there could possibly 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 resort with a railroad station could be savvy.
This might merely imply this space is an enlargement pad for the Villains Land. Ought to or not it’s effectively obtained, Walt Disney World may greenlight one other attraction to be constructed on this house. That would definitely make sense, particularly with Villains Land being extra of an open idea land as an alternative of one other single mental property enlargement.
From my perspective, the in-park resort overlooking the Villains Land might be extra doubtless. To be clear, that is purely speculative–I’ve heard zero credible rumors a couple of resort 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 resort stock, and this will surely verify that field–and in a extremely fascinating location that comports with the newly-released CFTOD plan.
An in-park resort strikes me as a solution to ‘promote’ the venture internally, because the room capability could be extremely invaluable and assist recoup the prices of the enlargement. In actual fact, there’s already just about a blueprint for this: Fantasy Springs at Tokyo DisneySea, which can also be in the back of that park and has a resort overlooking the brand new land. Although such a Magic Kingdom resort wouldn’t be on the monorail line, it may most likely dethrone Grand Floridian because the flagship Walt Disney World resort. On the upside, if there’s a resort venture connected to Villains Land, it gained’t grow to be one of many notorious part 2 tasks that’s confined solely to espresso desk books.
In the end, it’s good to see these ‘Past Massive Thunder’ tasks kicking into excessive gear–and to know that Walt Disney World didn’t simply decide to shut the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island this summer season to save lots of on working bills. From the above aerial pictures, it’s very clear that critical work has already occurred, and the subsequent step is beginning on-stage demolition and infill.
Whereas we are able to actually debate whether or not Vehicles must 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 start out all of this just for delays and price range cuts to show this into the Magic Kingdom Filth Pit for the subsequent 5 years. We already endured that at EPCOT for one aggressively mediocre (to place it charitably) consequence; we can’t have the identical at Magic Kingdom.
These Vehicles and Villains land tasks want to be dwelling runs. They can’t be something lower than unimaginable. It could be tragic for Disney to take a seat on its palms for just a few years, solely to have one of the best a part of the venture–Villains Land–fall by way of as a result of delays. The second part of Disney tasks is notorious for by no means taking place, and that’s often 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 upset 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 must endure a repeat of the Big EPCOT Filth Pit fiasco? Do you agree or disagree with our evaluation? Any questions we may help you reply? Listening to your suggestions—even if you disagree with us—is each fascinating to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas under within the feedback!
