Magic Kingdom - What a Mess!

[justakrazymom]

I'm confused as to what people expected in Fantasyland at least with the expansion going on... walls will be up. And it's going on for so long they can't just not do anything else in the park.

If people are that upset by it, reschedule your trips. Not sure what else you expect Disney to do... especially since when repair work ISN'T done people are on here complaining about how bad everything looks!

It's like they can't win.

THIS! Well people want it done just not when THEY are there..it's ok when the rest of the world is there..but not when THEY are..

 

[Cafeen]

RE: Construction
For me, this is how the magic of WDW beings. It's part of it. It certainly doesn't take it away one bit. Even stuff like resort expansions are all part of it and I'd love to be able to watch it be done! I'm also a bit of a "How things work" type of nerd, but it is what it is. Especially for repeat visitors, seeing something grow from nothing and how Disney finalizes it is pure wonder (at the engineering, design, construction, and art skills of the people who make it).

RE: Refurbs
From a "Once in a lifetime" perspective, I can certainly see the disappointment and believe that Disney could do better communicating headliner and popular ride closures with their guests. Finding them on their site is often tricky and usually fairly inaccurate. Improving communication before and after a trip is booked, may go a long way to improving relations with guests affected by these closures.

RE: Scrims on Main St.
You mean, there are buildings behind those curtains? They've been up for as long as the "Temporary" Mickey's Birthdayland was! All joking aside, this is one place that I whole-heartedly agree with others. It really makes me wonder what is going on behind them, when they've been up (and several in the same place) over the past 3 trips (Sept 2009, Sept 2010, Sept 2011) that I've taken. Of course, it could be pure coincidence. /shrug.

 

[TLSnell1981]

I could NEVER have imagined, MK being so disrupted because of FL expansion. Well, it IS more than, " the price of progress". Disney has expanded in the past and NEVER had this mess. (and, it's not just MK).

I would have cancelled, if not for a non refundable cruise deposit and the cost of airfare. I'm spending thousands of $$$$ and expect better.

 

[Colleen27]

I could NEVER have imagined, MK being so disrupted because of FL expansion. Well, it IS more than, " the price of progress". Disney has expanded in the past and NEVER had this mess. (and, it's not just MK).

I can understand Fantasyland being a mess, but to me that's all the more reason NOT to start tearing up the rest of the park. In January, there were tarps and walls in every single land. It appears that is still the case, and some of them are the very same tarps (Main Street Bakery has been behind that scrim for 5 full months!)

Can anyone who has been there recently put those wall pics in context (location, importance to traffic flow)? I'm nervous enough about our first semi-peak season trip and now I'm imagining huge bottlenecks on the narrow walkways that are left between construction sites!

 

[Raenstoirm]

RE: Scrims on Main St.
You mean, there are buildings behind those curtains?

I have absolutely no clue, but they are actively working back there. You can hear the power tools and smell the sawdust.

AS for traffic flow on main st. To be honest, it is not great. Do not go through the bakery area. The walkway they built is really tight if strollers and wheelchairs are going through. Stick to the other side of the street and you should be fine though.

 

[maxiesmom]

I could NEVER have imagined, MK being so disrupted because of FL expansion. Well, it IS more than, " the price of progress". Disney has expanded in the past and NEVER had this mess. (and, it's not just MK).

I would have cancelled, if not for a non refundable cruise deposit and the cost of airfare. I'm spending thousands of $$$$ and expect better.

How would you expect them to totally redo a whole section of a park, and move existing rides into that section, without having to put up walls? Disney has never totally re-done a section of the park on this large of a scale.

I know it is not ideal, but honestly, how else would they do what they are doing?

 

[YankeePrincess]

So would everyone complaining rather they keep the park as it has been for the past 40 years or do you want some fun, new attractions?

If you look at it in a negative light, of course it will ruin your time. I will be there in 3 weeks and I don't care if there is a ton of construction going on, knowing what is to come makes me happy. Would people be complaining this much if it was some other theme park? I think people really hold Disney to some kind of high standard that it has to look perfect at all times.

If Disney didn't change and refurbish, people would complain.

If Disney does change and add new attractions and a cool expansion, people complain. It isn't like this was some surprise. Why book your vacation during this time? Come back in 2014.

 

[Figment43]

Maybe a wee bit off topic, but has anyone watched the video? we got halfway through it, and "topiary" had me and DH almost in tears. "topiary!....... topiary...... topiary!"

I watched it, too. That part was so hilarious! Especially the end with the dragon topiary. "Topiary....braaaah."

 

[popsynic]

I have absolutely no clue, but they are actively working back there. You can hear the power tools and smell the sawdust.

sounds 'magical' - can't wait

 

[maxiesmom]

sounds 'magical' - can't wait

I mean this in the nicest way possible--you either need to let it go, or you should reschedule your trip. If you go expecting it to be awful, then it will be. I can't see spending a lot of money on a trip, and going expecting everything to be doom and gloom. For your own sake try to find the positive about your trip.

The vast majority of the work in MK is in the back section of the park. Fantasyland it a bit crazed, but Tomorrowland, Frontierland, Adventureland are not. We are talking about one section of one of the parks. There is still more to see and do than you will able to take in in one trip. Try to enjoy it!

Honestly, most of the "magic" we all feel on our trips comes from ourselves, not from Disney. You have to bring most of it with you in order to feel it.

 

[danceintherain]

I feel bad more for the people who are taking their kids for their "once in a lifetime" trip.

I have a friend who is taking her family at the end of this month, and they can only afford to go to two parks in the Orlando area. They picked Magic Kingdom, and she's asking for suggestions for the other - SeaWorld, Universal etc.

I flat out told her she should go to Disneyland instead, but it's already to far into the planning for that. I started talking to her about this trip a few months ago, but I thought they were at least going to be able to fit in a few more days at the parks. I think the airfare is what screwed them over. I had a whole on property trip planned out that would have fit nicely into their budget including food and tickets, but she didn't book it fast enough, and it may have been too much with airfare anyways.

She won't postpone, because she wants to have another baby soon and of course isn't as crazy as I am and would not take a 3 month old to Disney.
She can't go when there are really good deals offered, because her stepdaughter's mom won't let them take her out of school for even a few days.

Anyways, I can't imagine her trip is going to be magical at all, which sucks because she really needs it to be. I told her she'll have to go back with me some time. If I could, I would go on this trip with her (the military tickets alone would help out) but I'm too far away to make that at all practical.

 

[heyitsmejosh]

I feel bad more for the people who are taking their kids for their "once in a lifetime" trip.

I have a friend who is taking her family at the end of this month, and they can only afford to go to two parks in the Orlando area. They picked Magic Kingdom, and she's asking for suggestions for the other - SeaWorld, Universal etc.

I flat out told her she should go to Disneyland instead, but it's already to far into the planning for that. I started talking to her about this trip a few months ago, but I thought they were at least going to be able to fit in a few more days at the parks. I think the airfare is what screwed them over. I had a whole on property trip planned out that would have fit nicely into their budget including food and tickets, but she didn't book it fast enough, and it may have been too much with airfare anyways.

She won't postpone, because she wants to have another baby soon and of course isn't as crazy as I am and would not take a 3 month old to Disney.
She can't go when there are really good deals offered, because her stepdaughter's mom won't let them take her out of school for even a few days.

Anyways, I can't imagine her trip is going to be magical at all, which sucks because she really needs it to be. I told her she'll have to go back with me some time. If I could, I would go on this trip with her (the military tickets alone would help out) but I'm too far away to make that at all practical.

wait what?? you were going to tell someone they shouldnt go to disneyworld because of construction on one small section in one park?? that makes no sense. its not like its that big of a deal.

 

[goofyernmost]

I could NEVER have imagined, MK being so disrupted because of FL expansion. Well, it IS more than, " the price of progress". Disney has expanded in the past and NEVER had this mess. (and, it's not just MK).

I would have cancelled, if not for a non refundable cruise deposit and the cost of airfare. I'm spending thousands of $$$$ and expect better.

My goodness...if it weren't for overreaction there would be no reaction at all. Just exactly what is disrupted, really. There is a wall around an area that for the past 12 or so years was nothing at all. First an abandoned pond and then a meet and greet. Now you cannot see the nothing because there's a wall up. The only other thing that was visible was the bakery and that took up probably 5 minutes tops of my time in MK. Going in and come out. It blocked nothing...it did stand out a little, I don't deny that, but it was not really anything that anyone should be upset about. Everything was visible by just sidestepping a few steps and everything was right there.

I can truthfully say that nothing about the construction site in any way interfered with my travels through the park. It was quite unnoticeable, especially when you knew that there was nothing behind it to begin with. That entire area of MK has always been a bottleneck and this construction will eventually open a lot of that up, but it is no worse now then it was in the past. Right now the only thing that is missing is Toontown, and that was not really a big deal anyhow. In all my years of going there I have never been in it. No loss to me! The positives of the construction are huge. A new place to see that we have never seen before, a new dark ride, a new mine ride, a new dining place and a lot of new scenery. It's a necessary evil and in my observation, nothing about it is disruptive or unsightly. When walking by it...just don't try and look over the fence. You will see no mess at all. The walls aren't a bunch of beat up wooden fences, they are neat and clean and blend in well.

So those that are a once in a lifetime visitor...well, we all were once weren't we? On our first visit not a soul on this board didn't at least think..."this is probably the only trip we can ever make here so lets make the most of it." The only thing really closed right now in MK is BTMR and that is scheduled maintenance and even though a bummer if it coincides with ones trip, it still beats having a ride vehicle go flying off the track due to lack of care and repair.

There is something down in just about every park, some for long time changeovers and some for short term repairs and some because the guests have done some egghead thing and caused a problem. Soarin closed for one day because someone was stupid, ITTBAB closed for a couple of days because a small part of the extensive tree branch system fell...it's now open again. Right now I don't know of anything in DHS that is closed that hasn't been for a long time anyway. Test Track is closed to build a new experience. How evil can Disney get anyway. Just think, those greedy corporations spending billions of dollars for new Fantasyland attractions had the nerve to do it when people might be visiting. How thoughtless can they get.

 

[luvthemouse71]

I mean this in the nicest way possible--you either need to let it go, or you should reschedule your trip. If you go expecting it to be awful, then it will be. I can't see spending a lot of money on a trip, and going expecting everything to be doom and gloom. For your own sake try to find the positive about your trip.

The vast majority of the work in MK is in the back section of the park. Fantasyland it a bit crazed, but Tomorrowland, Frontierland, Adventureland are not. We are talking about one section of one of the parks. There is still more to see and do than you will able to take in in one trip. Try to enjoy it!

Honestly, most of the "magic" we all feel on our trips comes from ourselves, not from Disney. You have to bring most of it with you in order to feel it.

You're 100% right. I'm here now and it's just as magical as its ever been. So, anyone that's afraid that the construction will "ruin" your trip, don't be. Still plenty to see and do.

 

[Queenofspoons]

I've been to WDW during two different years of construction, on my first trip in 2007 the Haunted Mansion was closed for referb and at DHS Toy Story Mania and Pixar Place was still being built. On my second trip in 2009 they were working on various buildings (including the back of the Castle) and they were covered with printed tarps so they would look normal. On my last trip last year, they were working on the FantasyLand expansion, I did enjoy the construction walls, plenty of good photo opps.

Despite these construction/referbishment projects, we still had fun on all those trips and never worried about how it looks.

 

[prexplore]

I think it's all part of Disney's growing pains. I think they do an excellent job though at hiding much of the construction. Cool signs, dream builders, tarps with graphics on entire buildings, etc. really help keep the place seem neater than it would be.

 

[reginaastralis]

I'm lucky because I've been a season ticket holder to Disney for most of my life, but the last four years life has happened, and I hadn't been "home" in nearly two and a half years (and the two trips that we'd made had just been for MNSSHP). My birthday this year was our first day back, in March, and it was magical.

We got to ride the new Dumbo during the soft opening, with no wait. I actually witnessed two 30 year old men in my party run for it.

I squealed when I saw how much of the new Little Mermaid was done, and when I saw Rapunzel's lanterns hanging from the trees. And I cried when I watched the new castle show at night (my brain has gone to bed for the evening, and I can't remember what it's called)

The only time I even, honestly, noticed that construction was when I was in fantasy land, and I noticed just how close the wall was. But it wasn't life threatening, and it didn't ruin my day. In fact, if the construction wasn't going on, two of my favorite memories from the park wouldn't have happened. I still miss Triton's statue in the middle of the lagoon ... each person's experience is different, and that's what makes it Disney.

 

[Bob NC]

My goodness...if it weren't for overreaction there would be no reaction at all. Just exactly what is disrupted, really. There is a wall around an area that for the past 12 or so years was nothing at all.

Just thought this needed repeating.

 

[North of Mouse]

Sometimes I think Disney can not win. People will be upset no matter what the do (or don't do). I would MUCH rather have construction going on and things being updates, expanded, and fixed then deal with messes, breakdowns, and no new things.

I agree. What's the big deal anyway? We just got back from a wonderful 10 day stay and barely noticed any of the things the OP mentioned because they were only obvious if you were looking for them. Sure the wall and crane are there, but we had our minds so much on enjoying and seeing everything that it was no interruption at all. My DH & I even commented to each other on the monorail as we were passing the GF that it was a lot less of an "eye sore" than we were led to believe by some posters. Face it folks, all progress has to cause a certain amount of these things and I think Disney handles it excellently. We were not bothered one bit. I sometimes wonder how people handle the everyday unpredictable world we live in if something this insignificant upsets them so much Don't worry - be happy

 

[North of Mouse]

Don't worry about that - I will - who'd want to go right now and be faced with this.....

That's a wise choice - this could not be seen last week, and especially from ground level - didn't bother us in the least - we're happy they're adding new things, and do it so inconspicuously So yes, we'd want to go there like this - in fact, just got back from 10 days Complainers never win, and winners never complain (wise words from my mom to us children).