I’m back from a whirlwind tour of the Magic Kingdom on Sunday. Managed to sneak in a little Sorcerer’s of the Magic Kingdom with my son, rode a few rides and scoped out changes across the park. And there is a lot to keep track… Read More »Storybook Circus Photo Update
When I lived out in California, there were frequent problems with ducks or seagulls camping out on the monorail beam. Usually a horn honk or two would scare them off, but sometimes it could take quite a few attempts to clear the beam. Thanks to the magic of ubiquitous smart phones, we now get to see the equivalent problem unfold at Walt Disney World.
According to reports, the resort loop at the Magic Kingdom Monorail was delayed by 45 minutes as the pilot of Monorail Gold attempted to clear the beam of a poor little squirrel who, for some reason, wouldn’t run down a support beam and instead, kept running straight down the line all the way from the Grand Floridian to the Magic Kingdom Monorail Station where it finally jumped off the track into the station.
Kudos to the pilot for being sensitive to other forms of life! Apparently the Monorail Gold pilot is not the only friend to squirrels at the Walt Disney World Monorail. Check out this video below the jump: The Squirrel Whisperer!
The Magic Kingdom’s popular western themed roller coaster reopened today after a months long rehabilitation process. The Big Thunder Mountain Railroad had extensive work done to its track, show scenes, primary queue, and lighting.
Where the queue was a tightly formed switchback that was seldom fully utilized, the new queue is better themed but shorter. It still has switchbacks, but the queue is wider and there are added show scenes. Also new to the queue is air conditioning. The new wider queue seems to be a conscious decision to accommodate American’s new wider body shapes.
I’m a little concerned about some of the new railings in the queue, they seem designed to cause welts on the heads of young children at the right height. Additionally, there are random boxes in the queue that have already become defacto benches. Without fastpass a full length queue was a wait of less than 30 minutes. Adding in Fastpass and the standby queue could be very long.
In the ride itself, many safety rails, paths, and lights have been added. The new LED safety lights really stood out as we rode, but I’m sure that over time they’ll fade into the background like other safety features. With the exception of some lighting a good attempt was made to theme the added safety features. Most show elements got a general makeover and many effects that haven’t worked in a long time are now functioning fine, even the geyser in the exit queue:
Big Thunder is supposed to return to regular operation on Monday and is not guaranteed to be open between now and then.
Read More »Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Opens for Test After Rehab
A new section celebrating summer has been added to the popular Castle Digital Projection show called The Magic, The Memories, and You! It kicks off with Phineas & Ferb and includes segments with The Lion King and Ariel, the Little Mermaid (not coincidentally two characters opening up at the Art of Animation Resort, I’m sure).
The Magic, The Memories, and You! plays at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World.
Concept art for the show below the jump:
We were waiting in line for a quick pre-parade dinner at Casey’s Corner when word came out of the kitchen, they’d run out of Hot Dogs and it would be at least 6 minutes before the next batch was ready. Some quick thinking manager sent… Read More »A Cracker Jack Solution at the Magic Kingdom
At Disneyland, Merida has set up camp across from “it’s a small world.” At the Magic Kingdom, Merida is located on the edge of Fantasyland to the right of Cinderella Castle (as you face it from the hub). Both feature an animatronic trio of bear… Read More »Meeting Merida
There was a lot to see on my latest walk through the Magic Kingdom. They’re moving at a quick pace now to get ready for a July opening for a few attractions and a ‘holiday’ opening for more of new Fantasyland. The second Dumbo spinner… Read More »Magic Kingdom Update – New Fantasyland, Storybook Circus, and more
No, it’s not a description of the latest political climate, it’s my short summary of the latest update from my walk in the Magic Kingdom on Sunday. My time in the kingdom was short, but I managed to sneak around Storybook Circus, New Fantasyland Expansion,… Read More »Magic Kingdom Photo Update – Change, Hope, and Dumbo