The Most Magical Place on Earth closed on March 15th. We’re missing it terribly. Unfortunately, Walt Disney World and all of Disney’s other parks will remain closed indefinitely. An unprecedented occurrence for the Disney Company, at a challenging time for the whole world.
On a normal day of operation, an average of 250,000 guests travel to and from WDW parks and resorts, while over 70,000 cast members work to make the magic happen. With operations and construction projects now stopped, and without all of the hustle and bustle of tourists… what does the resort look like now? Let’s take a look.
(EDITOR NOTE – This article first ran on April 4th and has been updated with additional information).
Walt Disney World Ghost Town
Unsurprisingly… Walt Disney World is empty. All roads and walkways on the property are now completely wide open.
WDW deploys 400+ buses to transport guests between the theme parks, water parks, hotels, and Disney Springs. Many of them can be seen here, parked and out of commission in the Magic Kingdom parking lot!
WDW Construction Halted
With all construction projects on hold, here’s the suspended status of Disney World’s Major projects:
Magic Kingdom
Cinderella Castle’s Royal Makeover started in early March and was supposed to be completed over the summer. These photos were taken on the day Magic Kingdom closed to the public, March 15th. There may have been a few more days of work put in before refurbishment stopped indefinitely later that same week.
Here’s the concept art for how it is supposed to look when done:
And here’s how it all looked on the final day of park operations:
Royal blues, pinks and touches of gold… what do you think of the castle makeover so far? Remember, the bright Florida sun causes paint to fade quickly, so the super vibrant areas won’t stay that way forever.
Does it remind you of Disneyland’s recent castle redo?
And just to complicate things. Here’s what Cinderella’s castle looked like in the animated film. It’s pretty safe to say that the Magic Kingdom version has never looked like this:
We last checked in on TRON Lightcycle Run construction in late February. The Magic Kingdom coaster project is still happening, but the 2021 opening date could end up being delayed.
Before we wrap up at Magic Kingdom, we’ve got some very interesting news:
Property Purchase Near the Magic Kingdom
Disney just purchased a 26.3-acre plot of land from Lake Reedy Development Group LLC, (the same company they purchased 235 acres of adjacent land from in December 2019). The 26.3 acres were purchased on March 31st for a cool $1.05 million and sits directly west of the Magic Kingdom. What could they be doing?!
This could be more land purchased for conservation so they can develop other areas of their property, maybe a new luxury resort overlooking Magic Kingdom… or (insert your wildest dream here)? No official word yet, and developments won’t continue as long as the parks are on standby anyway.
We discuss the land purchase and other news in our MiceTube Live video below:
Star Wars: Galactic Cruiser Hotel
There are rumors starting to swirl that the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser hotel project has been paused in order to fund the completion of two E-ticket attractions at the resort: TRON Lightcycle Run at Magic Kingdom, and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind at EPCOT.
Here’s what the abandoned construction site for the Galactic Cruiser looks like from last weekend:
No exact opening date was ever set for the Star Wars-themed 2-day experience. Could it be pushed off until the post-crisis economy recovers?
…Reminds me of Pop Century’s abandoned “Legendary Years” hotel buildings. Construction stopped partially due to the 9/11 economic impact. After a few years, the buildings were eventually completed and became part of the Art of Animation resort.
EPCOT – The Future of Budget Cuts
EPCOT was set to see the most changes over the next year or two, undergoing a massive overhaul. One of the biggest changes is slated for the park’s icon and main attraction, Spaceship Earth. As of today, the attraction is still on Disney’s refurbishment calendar, set to close May 26th and reopening in 2021.
There are plenty of rumors circulating about the Spaceship Earth project. It had already been scaled back once from a major multi-year overhaul to a more minor months-long retheme. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that this project will either be canceled or scaled back even more. But, if the work continues as planned, and the parks aren’t open by May 26th, it’s likely guests won’t get to enjoy “one last ride” on Spaceship Earth 4.0.
Just like TRON over at Magic Kingdom, EPCOT’s Guardians coaster will still happen but could end up opening later than expected.
Here’s what EPCOT’s soon-to-be newest attraction, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, and the new France expansion area looked like a few days before closure:
The Ratatouille project is almost finished. Since construction teams stopped working a few days after the park’s closure, and while we can’t see what’s going on inside, this ride may be able to debut a few weeks after the resort finally re-opens. An official opening date hadn’t quite been announced yet but was expected during Flower & Garden Festival. Interestingly, the new area was added to the Flower & Garden maps and not grayed out or marked as “Coming Soon”:
EPCOT’s Flower & Garden Festival was originally set to run through June 1st. It’s looking less and less likely that the parks can reopen much before then. Could the Festival be extended? Time will tell. But it would be a huge help for there to be a festival and a new ride ready to open which could help pull reluctant visitors back to the parks.
Keep in mind that Disney won’t be able to just snap their fingers and have everything ready to open. WDW’s timeline will require the calling back of employees, training on new safety procedures, cleaning and preparing properties for operation, and related operations activities. Construction projects could very well start back up before the parks are ready for guests again as well. So a project as far along as Ratatouille could very well be ready for guests when Epcot reopens.
When Could the Parks Reopen?
No one has a definite answer on when the parks will re-open, or when our lives will get back to ‘normal,’ not even Disney. The updates from health officials seem to change by the minute. One thing is for certain, things will eventually get better.
But, if there’s a date that looks most promising, Disney has pegged June 1st. All of Disney’s American properties have that set as the first date a guest can book. That doesn’t mean the date won’t be extended again, or possibly even new dates opened before, but it’s the closest thing we have to an approximate date to look forward to.
A Salute to Health Care Workers
Yesterday was World Health Day and Walt Disney World marked the occasion by sharing a touching tribute video to health care professionals on the front lines of the global pandemic.
Here’s how some of Disney’s other parks and resorts paid tribute to health care professionals:
Disney Resorts Celebrate Medical Professionals on World Health Day
Love Finds a Way
Let’s end today’s update with a message of love. This heartfelt image has recently popped up on social media – the cast members over at Disney’s Contemporary Resort and Bay Lake Tower have strategically lit some of the rooms to form a symbol of love and hope for the few passers-by…
Give Your Family a Little Happy!
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Let’s Hear From You
Are there projects at Walt Disney World that you fear will be canceled or left unfinished for a while due to Disney’s difficult financial situation? How likely do you think a June 1st reopening is? Would you like to see Flower and Garden Festival extended when the resort gets back on its feet? And how do you feel about the new saturated pinks and blues of the castle?
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Remember: there’s a great big beautiful tomorrow, shining at the end of every day!
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