Magic Kingdom Castle Crane

[Lindsey1026]

Just got back from my Disney trip and noticed that anytime I was at MK there was a huge crane behind the castle.

Anybody know what it was there for?

Walt Disney would turn over in his grave if he saw that sight.

 

[AllieBoo]

That has been a pretty common sight the last few years with all of the construction that was going on in new Fantasyland...

 

[yulilin3]

Just got back from my Disney trip and noticed that anytime I was at MK there was a huge crane behind the castle.

Anybody know what it was there for?

Walt Disney would turn over in his grave if he saw that sight.

They are repainting and retouching the castle...I think Walt Disney would be upset if they didn't do this.

 

[MichelleWDWfan]

Also they use the crane to remove the Christmas lights that are draped on the castle.
Usually takes them a few months to get those down.
There is almost always a crane when I go every year in March.
They don't start taking the Christmas Lights off until 1st or 2nd week of Jan.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

You should probably read up on the history of Disneyland's opening day to get a sense of Walt's tolerance for not-so-stellar park conditions.

 

[AtlantaDisneyDreamer]

You should probably read up on the history of Disneyland's opening day to get a sense of Walt's tolerance for not-so-stellar park conditions.

To what specific park conditions are you referring? I know that, like the OP, I have read that Disney did not want guests to see any of the construction. He wanted it hidden from view. He thought of his park as a stage show, and he wanted everything to be perfect for the audience. Construction was supposed to be hidden from sight, according to what I have read.

Now I get that it is hard to hide an enormous crane, but I, too, have thought that the visibility of construction, and even construction workers wandering around the parks in their hard hats and work clothes (which I saw at both MK and AK on our last trip) is not at all what I have read about as Walt Disney's idea of what a park should be. While it may be impractical to hide all of the construction, I think current park management could do a better job of hiding it than they are doing now.

 

[Robo]

To what specific park conditions are you referring? I know that, like the OP, I have read that Disney did not want guests to see any of the construction. He wanted it hidden from view. He thought of his park as a stage show, and he wanted everything to be perfect for the audience. Construction was supposed to be hidden from sight, according to what I have read.

As someone who was around when Walt built his Matterhorn ride, I can tell you he tolerated seeing a LOT of raw construction in his park.

 

[siskaren]

To what specific park conditions are you referring?

Just off the top of my head, I know that the asphalt wasn't completely dry on opening day and ladies' high heels got stuck in it and that they ran out of soda (which was particularly not good as it was an extremely hot day in July). Also, I think there were a lot of ride breakdowns.

 

[siskaren]

Duplicate post.

 

[DVCcurious]

I love when people claim to know what Walt Disney would or would not think about today. Do you also worry about what Edison would think of GE?

 

[ForeverAlice]

Ah Ichabod Crane! I cannot take credit for the name (as I believe it may have been named that by Pete or someone else on the podcast)but it stuck with me!!! It is hideous but necessary for various work needed.

 

[Accident]

The crane is an attraction.... It even has it's own social media accounts.

https://twitter.com/wdw_crane
https://www.facebook.com/wdwcrane/

 

[pixxi]

I often have wondered why they couldn't hire third shift workers, have "construction" light systems to paint the castle, handle the lights. I have more pictures of the crane over the last 10 years than without it.

 

[JWigs]

I was hoping that the crane was NOT there! It's my FIL's first trip with us for WDW and got Memory maker. That'll be disappointing to have it be on the backdrop.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

To what specific park conditions are you referring? I know that, like the OP, I have read that Disney did not want guests to see any of the construction. He wanted it hidden from view. He thought of his park as a stage show, and he wanted everything to be perfect for the audience. Construction was supposed to be hidden from sight, according to what I have read.

Just for starters on opening day:

There were so many people, the restaurants ran out of food and beverages.

Due to a plumber's strike, they had to choose between working bathrooms and working water fountains. They chose bathrooms.

There was a gas leak in Fantasyland.

Many rides broke down. The Storybook Land Canal Boats had to be pulled by a cast member in rubber boots. There were no guard rails at Autopia so many cars crashed and most became completely inoperable.

The asphalt on Main Street had just been poured the night before and was still wet, so women's heels sank into the concrete.

Within the first few weeks, the stagecoach ride had to be discontinued because it kept flipping over, a tiger and a panther got loose during a circus parade and got into a tussle on Main Street and the Mark Twain almost sand and got stuck in the mud because too many people were onboard.

 

[MermaidMommy]

Also they use the crane to remove the Christmas lights that are draped on the castle.
Usually takes them a few months to get those down.
There is almost always a crane when I go every year in March.
They don't start taking the Christmas Lights off until 1st or 2nd week of Jan.

It doesn't actually take that long to take down the lights, but for the last three years, they've either been doing work on the castle itself or doing construction in Fantasyland that has caused the crane to be up in March. I was hoping it wouldn't be up during our March trip, but we've been "blessed" with it again this year.

 

[pens4821]

I was hoping that the crane was NOT there! It's my FIL's first trip with us for WDW and got Memory maker. That'll be disappointing to have it be on the backdrop.

FYI. We were there a couple weeks ago and it wasn't always up. We have some pictures with and some without. Don't know if there is a routine to what they do or not, but it was not up the whole time we were there.

 

[Anonny]

My husband got rid of the crane!

 

[MamaMaleficent2016]

The crane is always there when we visit in early February. At this point I would be surprised NOT to see it!

 

[CinderellasKastle]

My friend who works for Disney informed me recently that the crane is usually there for the slower seasons.