Hub - WDWNT Archive 2014

Tom Corless’ 12/8/14 WDW Photo Report (Hub Remodel, New Magic Kingdom Merchandise, Animal Kingdom Construction, ETC.)

WDWNT Author on December 8, 2014

I recently visited the Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom theme parks at Walt Disney World and have plenty of newsworthy photos to share with you from my trip, so let’s see what’s new and exciting:

We begin with the latest progress on the Hub at the Magic Kingdom

It may look rough, but with some dirt moved, some lamps installed, and some concrete poured, this is done

The other side looks a lot more complete

Most of the lamp & speaker towers are already installed here, leading us to believe this side will open by Christmas week

The new lampposts are nice, but I will miss the green coloring on everything…

A look over the walls from the other side

So… this happened…

Anyway… there are touch-points at the exit of Splash Mountain now to claim your photos

Provided everyone kept their clothes on, you can tap this to get your pictures

The “Made with Magic” wand is now out

You can change the color of other Made with Magic items

An incredible new line of Magic Kingdom merchandise has been released

I LOVE this notebook

Not related, but a new shirt

Some 2015 items are out

iPhone 6 Plus cases have arrived in GIANT packaging

Moving over to Animal Kingdom, work continues on the new pathway on Discovery Island

Walls in front of the Tree of Life were pushed back

So there’s a new area with planters that has been revealed

New Animal Kingdom merchandise

Not much new to see at the walls to AVATAR

Can’t see much at the future site of the Africa Marketplace either

Rivers of Light construction still isn’t much to look at yet…

The other side of Disney Outfitters and the new walkway through Discovery Island

Some people believe the work near Flame Tree BBQ is for a covered queue, but it looks like a service window to me…

It’s fairly small, but has openings on each side…

I’m guessing Starbucks or maybe a place to offer picnic packages once Rivers of Light begins in 2016

A look at the new path in front of the Tree of Life

Expedition Everest also has touch-points to claim photos as well

Not quite as well themed as some of the other ones…

I at first was excited about this Expedition Everest shirt

Until I saw that i had the wrong year…

Animal Kingdom is open after dark most nights currently, so if you can, get over there and do some walking around with the park’s light son (yes, they have lights)

See? LIGHTS!

Tom Corless’ 9/30/14 WDW Photo Report (Big Hero 6 Art, Backlot Tour, Rivers of Light, New Frozen Merchandise, ETC.)

WDWNT Author on September 30, 2014

It was quite the busy weekend at Walt Disney World, so I managed to visit all 4 parks to see what was new and have a ton of newsworthy photos to share with you in today’s report:

The Studio Backlot Tour closed forever on Saturday

A Big Hero 6 exhibit can now be found at the Magic of Disney Animation

Moving over to Epcot, menu changes have been made a the Electric Umbrella

I decided to try the French Dip burger

It was surprisingly good!

I also tried the Pumpkin Macaroon from the France ice cream parlor and it was amazing.

Over at the Magic Kingdom, this low clearance was added in the bus stop to ensure busses go the right way through the loop

The awning on the boat dock at the entrance was replaced, it’s now red instead of green

The latest progress on the hub at the Magic Kingdom

The Astro Orbiter reopened this weekend, but you can read more about that here

The leave-your-phone charging stations in Tomorrowland have all been closed, the test period came to an end and we’ll now have to wait to see if it was a success and is brought back

New Space Mountain ladies’ shirt

New men’s “I conquered Space Mountain” shirt

This artwork was previously on a black t-shirt and slightly different

Dumbo character sketches are now being sold at Big Top Souvenirs

New Beast plush for sale at Bonjour Village Gifts

Instead of selling generic items, there is a now a Beauty and the Beast shield toy

If you don’t have a FastPass for it, prepare to arrive at Be Our Guest at park opening to get a return time to eat lunch there or you’ll be turned away

Even more of Sir Mickey’s has been taken over by Frozen merchandise, even Ariel merchandise got pushed out

Some new Frozen artwork for sale

A two-sided Olaf ceramic ornament was just released

Queue work continues at Peter Pan’s Flight

We thought it would only be at Disneyland, but the Zero popcorn bucket was released at the Magic Kingdom! It costs over $13 but has a light-up nose feature

Strange new t-shirts…

LOVE this new sweatshirt!

Odd new Magic Kingdom shirt

Simple, but nice

Halloween 2014 Duffy

Some of the Haunted Mansion 45th anniversary lithographs have made it to Florida

An awesome new print by Alex Maher

In preparation for “Move It! Shake It! Dance and Play It!”, video screens are being installed on the floats

Moving over to animal Kingdom, it’s still a mess

At least all of the construction walls are decorated now

The UP meet and greet has seen better days

“it’s tough to be a bug” re-opened this weekend

Most of the nets installed to protect guests from falling particles have finally been removed from the queue

There are still nets by the base of the tree, not sure if these will stay here

work is picking up on the new nighttime show, Rivers of Light

The Everest shrine is behind walls and probably will be until the construction is done in late 2015/early 2016

Since one of the Wilderness Explorers’ answers is behind walls, they made a copy and placed it on the walls

The walls wrap around most of the river

We can peek through and see that the construction vehicles are already in place, ready to start working on the show and viewing area

Some sort of new structure is going up by Flame Tree Barbecue

An Oswald Christmas ornament was released

John Corigliano's 8/11/14 Magic Kingdom Photo Report (Peoplemover, Hub Construction, ETC.)

WDWNT Author on August 11, 2014

WDWNT Reporter John Corigliano visited the Magic Kingdom this weekend and has some newsworthy photos to share with us from his trip, so let’s take a look at what’s new:

A Stitch photo-op is up on construction walls near Tomorrowland

Alright…

The Peoplemover has returned from refurbishment

Besides some new paint, not much has changed on the Peoplemover, but we still have a video ride-thru to share with you today

This side of the Astro Orbiter elevator shaft has still not been painted

Work continues on the expansion of the Hub

As you can see, an orange and red paint scheme has taken over the entrance and the center of the structure

Some of the painting hasn’t been finished yet

A look at the other side of the Astro Orbiter elevator shaft, painted orange now

Most of the Astro Orbiter is still missing

Dirk Wallen’s 8/7/14 Magic Kingdom Photo Report (Hub Work, Halloween Merch, Mansion Store, ETC.)

WDWNT Author on August 7, 2014

WDWNT Reporter Dirk Wallen returns with some fantastic, newsworthy photos from the Magic Kingdom to share with us, so let’s take a look at what’s new:

The parking lot at the Vacation Club wing at the Polynesian is taking shape

Work continues on the Hub expansion at the Magic Kingdom

Halloween merchandise has arrived

This year’s shirt features Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion

Mad Hatter Mocha cake cup served at Cheshire Café

The Seven Dwarfs Mine store is closed for refurbishment, but it’s unclear if it will return as the same store or carry Seven Dwarfs merchandise currently on sale at Hundred Acre Goods

The Yankee Trader is now closed for conversion into The Haunted Mansion-themed store

7/25/14 Magic Kingdom Photo Report (Hub Work, TTA, Frozen, ETC.)

WDWNT Author on July 25, 2014

WDWNT Reporter John Corigliano visited the Magic Kingdom one evening this week and has some newsworthy photos to share with us from his trip, so let’s take a look:

Another curb flattened, this time by Tony’s, probably having to do wioth the eventual pathway around the back of Main Street that will dump guests here

We thought it strange that there were no fences near the new Casey’s seating area, well, that has since been rectified

Work on the Hub continues

Tarps are still up at the Enchanted Tiki Room

July seems like a good time to board up the Peter Pan’s flight queue, right?

We expect it to just be some routine painting and such

The FastPass sign with tic tock croc is gone… it dated back to the days of Hook’s Tavern which was located here

New Simba and Mufasa plush for sale

Instead of overloading the queue, guests are now being given stand-by return times for Anna and Elsa, as this point they were gone for the day

The fancy new FastPass and Stand-By line sign at Mad Tea Party was taken down for some modifications

Work continues on the TTA and the Astro Orbiter in Tomorrowland

Tomorrowland Terrace is open, TRY THEIR FROZEN LEMONADE* (Item not related to Disney’s animated hit Frozen)

A closer look at the work near the Plaza Restaurant for the new Magic Kingdom Hub

Another look at the new flattened curb by Tony’s

6/24/14 Walt Disney World Photo Report (Polynesian Resort, Magic Kingdom, & Animal Kingdom)

WDWNT Author on June 24, 2014

WDWNT Reporters Joe Hogarty and John Corigliano visited Disney’s Polynesian Resort, the Magic Kingdom, and Disney’s animal kingdom over the last few days and have plenty of exciting pictures to share with us, so let’s take a look:

Concept art for the changes at the Polynesian are decorating the walls that cover up the work in the lobby

The entrance to what will be the Disney Vacation Club wing

TRADER SAM’S!!!

Another look at the DVC building

The new look lobby in the Great Ceremonial House

Captain Cook’s new look

Seating area by the outside pool bar

More Trader Sam’s

Captain Cook’s is still closed

Work outside the arrival area at the Great Ceremonial House

A look at the bungalows

Moving to the Magic Kingdom, Anna and Elsa now meet on one side of Fairytale Hall alone, they are also no longer posing with each other

Plenty of Frozen merchandise inside Sir Mickey’s

If you’re afraid of your children going deaf from loud music, buy these

This store really needs a name change… Sir Mickey’s has nothing but female character merchandise

A long line to buy Frozen merchandise…

The Astro Orbiter and the TTA are both closed for refurbishment

The entire Astro Orbiter has been dismantled

Work continues on the massive hub overhaul at the Magic Kingdom

The Gaston fountain is starting to look a little funky… not sure if they’ll leave it for the more realistic look

Aurora now greeting guests next door to City Hall

Moving over to Animal Kingdom, there are walls up all over the park

The KODAK sign is still up…

Walls near Flame Tree Barbecue

The gate along the path from Asia to Africa, has been demolished…

Maybe a new pathway?

Walls up on Discovery Island

Walls up in Africa where the new pathway should lead

The construction area for the path goes very close to the Wildlife Express Train tracks

The path would go around Tamu Tamu Refreshments and the adjacent seating area

Thanks for the report John and Joe!

Dirk Wallen’s 4/1/14 WDW Photo Report (Polynesian, Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Disney Springs, ETC.)

WDWNT Author on April 3, 2014

WDWNT Reporter Dirk Wallen recently visited the Magic Kingdom, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Downtown Disney and has a number of newsworthy photos to share with us, so let’s take a look:

The Polynesian lobby lives to see another day…

ABC’s The Middle was filming at the Magic Kingdom this week

The cake cups at Chshire Cafe were changed recently

The card is edible…

Work continues in the Magic Kingdom moat as part of the hub remodeling project

You can still make out the old Swan Boat track

Carnage in the old smoking section by Plaza Restaurant

We found the other cake cup…

Moving on to Disney’s Hollywood Studios, there is an ad for the “it’s a small world” animated series in the parking lot

After almost 25 years, the Kodak signage on the Darkroom has changed to Nikon

The ABC Sound Studio will soon be host to a preview of Maleficent

Some random Constantine wanted posters have appeared in the Streets of America

Some new Muppets t-shirts available

Stage 1 is one of the stores now selling MagicBands to guests, and they have a ton

Easter cupcakes are available at most counter service restaurants

Legends of Hollywood on Sunset Blvd. is also selling MagicBands

They also have some Captain America merchandise

More MagicBands at the Darkroom

Moving on to Disney Springs, work continues on the new parking structure

Wetzel’s Pretzels and Haagen Dazs are now moving to the other side of DisneyQuest after having closed to make way for Starbucks

Starbucks on the West Side is coming along nicely

No visible progress on the BET Soundstage

Work is picking up in The Landing

Nothing new to see here either

Soon guests will be able to pass through behind Raglan Road

A designated Food Truck area is coming to the West Side this summer

Here’s what’s open…

Continuing work the bridge for The Marketplace

The latest progress on the Starbucks in the Marketplace

Pollo Campero has already been leveled

Another look at the parking structure

Tom Corless’ 3/19/14 Magic Kingdom Photo Report (Hub Changes, Mine Train, Polynesian DVC)

WDWNT Author on March 19, 2014

WDWNT Reporter Tom Corless visited the Magic Kingdom yesterday afternoon and has a number of newsworthy photos to share with us from his trip, so let’s take a look:

It was a really beautiful day in Central Florida yesterday

With the monorail out of service in the afternoons for maintenance, the old Discovery River Boats are making trips between resorts instead of the smaller boats

The bungalows at the Polynesian are coming along nicely

I know everyone isn’t a fan, but these will have the be the coolest rooms at Walt Disney World

Maintenance vehicles out on the monorail beams

Moving to the Magic Kingdom, the hub redesign is in full swing

Tarps now block the view into the moat for guests

Cinderella Castle is getting fixed up while all of this is going on, getting ready for a new nighttime show rumored to happen in 2015

The turrets are being stripped and repainted among other changes

An empty moat

Plenty of tarps up in Adventureland

Walls also up at the Tiki Room still

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train could be soft opening any day now, some Cast Members got to ride during recent training

It is starting to look like the finished product

Another section of construction walls came down, revealing more track

Back in the hub, the expanded Casey’s Corner seating area is being enjoyed by guests

Most of the work on enclosing the balcony at Cosmic Ray’s in Tomorrowland is done

No more outdoor seating

The popcorn stand in the hub has already closed

VIDEO: Moat Drained Around Cinderella Castle in Preperation for Hub Overhaul

WDWNT Author on March 12, 2014

The very first step in remodeling the hub in front of Cinderella Castle at the Magic Kingdom is draining the moat…

Interestingly enough, some sections of the drained moat still have the remnants of track from the Plaza Swan Boats, an attraction that closed in the early 1980’s. As you can see in the video, the former loading dock for that attraction is already behind walls and should be demolished shortly.

The hub remodeling is slated to be finished in early 2014.

Thanks to John Corigliano for the video.