Photo Update: Construction projects at Epcot, Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom
Walt Disney World has been in a flurry of construction for years as it prepares for the 50th anniversary of the Magic Kingdom and the entire resort as a whole. Thank to Bioreconstruct on Twitter, we can take a peek from above at these exciting new projects.
Our first stop takes us to an exhilarating new attraction coming to Magic Kingdom. Once open, Tron Lightcycle / Run will be the fastest roller coaster at the park. It will take guests on a rapid launch from the bottom floor of the building out on the sweeping turn over Tomorrowland seen near the center. It is easy to see the massive size of this structure compared to Space Mountain nearby.
This coaster is a copy of the current Tron Lightcycle Power Run coaster at Shanghai Disneyland. Eventually the Walt Disney World Railroad will go under the large sweeping turn. Once this coaster opens, it will be the fifth roller coaster in the park. Magic Kingdom will offer a coaster for every rider, from the more mild Seven Dwarves Mine Train, up to the more intense speeds and turns of Space Mountain and Tron Lightcycle / Run.
SeaWorld will open their fifth roller coaster this year, called Ice Breaker. If SeaWorld holds at those five, then Magic Kingdom will tie SeaWorld in 2021 for the most roller coasters in Orlando.
At Magic Kingdom’s parking area, the Transportation and Ticket Center, an expansion of parking is underway. The large dirt area in the center will soon be turned into more parking lot sections for guests. This was previously a large wooded area. The numerous white lines at the bottom of the photo are the rooftops of much of Disney’s bus fleet. More buses can be seen in the bottom right of the photo.
When we go to Epcot, we have a bit of a sad view. These arrows are all pointing to areas where Disney is deconstructing parts of the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival. The large floral mural has been replaced with grass. The green arrow points to the spot where the butterfly tent used to be. Yellow arrows point to food kiosks that haven’t yet been moved backstage. Pink arrows point to empty flower beds. The orange arrow points to a drained pond and an empty flower bed.
This area of Future World, behind MouseGear and near Test Track, we can see another area of missing flowers. The left arrow points to where the Toy Story topiaries used to reside. The right arrow points to a food kiosk that is currently under renovation. In the center, the main Future World East restrooms are being renovated
This photo was taken yesterday, May 21. Work on the new Epcot Center vision was stopped when the parks closed. Some rumors, which Disney has not confirmed, suggested that Disney could open Epcot last of the four Florida theme parks. This would allow Imagineers and construction teams to focus full efforts around-the-clock on this park to let it reopen with new areas.
This photo was taken on May 4, and showcases how nothing has changed in this area during the month of May. This shot also shows how some of the orange flowers from the International Flower and Garden Festival have remained intact.
Here we have a close-up of the construction going on behind Spaceship Earth. The Fountain of Nations is gone, and if things continue as Disney originally planned, the Electric Umbrella on the right will have a major change as well.
In the back of World Showcase we can see the expansion to the France pavilion. This new area will feature a crêperie. The crêperie will offer cuisine of celebrity chef Jérôme Bocuse, the man behind the France pavilion’s Chefs de France brasserie and Monsieur Paul. It will also be the entrance to Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, a new trackless ride! This shot showcases bright new facades and a welcoming street-way.
This final view of Epcot gives us a sneak peek on the state of the Harmonious nighttime spectacular coming to Epcot. @bioreconstruct noted that each of the large barges in the water are being built assembly-line style. You can look at each barge and see that it is in a different state of completion, then work backward to see building efforts.
Over at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, we have the current state of the new security checkpoint. Over the past few years all of the parks have begun to update their security areas to accommodate more guests. Animal Kingdom’s construction is going along well and could be complete before the parks reopen. This will add plenty of bag-checking tables and offer a new tram loop drop-off area.
Here we have a close-up view of the same area. This view showcases areas where Disney will add trees and planters. It also shows how this is setup much like the new security checkpoint at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Both checkpoints have excessive room for large crowds on busy days at the parks.
For a comparative example, here is a look at the completed security checkpoint at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. At the time of writing, Disney has not announced an opening date for its Florida-based theme parks. It is also currently unknown if any of these discussed projects will have major delays or cancellations.
Over in California, Disneyland is currently working on the new Avengers Campus expansion at Disney California Adventure. You can learn more about that in the article linked below.
