Magic Kingdom, room for expansion???

[Jon99]

As a novice to the whole rumor arena, I got thinking the other day about problems facing the parks and what could be done to resolve them.. To us, the biggest problem is the huge lines and crowds at Magic Kingdom.. Would it be possible to expand the size of the park??

 

[zcasper]

Well, the Magic Kingdom is somewhat constrained by the railroad line. I took a look at some aerial photographs and it seems that there is plenty of room on the North side of the park (in Fantasyland). The 20,000 Leagues lagoon and show building were huge. Behind the show building is a service road and then another 300 feet of available land.

There are plenty of other spots that could be used but they are outside the rail line (like Space Mountain).

But honestly, I doubt the MK will ever be expanded. There is plenty of room for new attractions - of course this would mean some would have to come out (like the Timekeeper, 20,000 Leagues, Indy Speedway, etc.).

Zach

p.s. I hope all of the attractions stay, I just think they will eventually go (like 20,000 Leagues).

 

[FANTASMIC!]

I think they should add to it. To replace 20k, they should put in Casy Jr., Storybook canals, Mr Toad, and make the one down there more like DL, with grass and outdoor rides. And I say put in Nature's Wonderland trian ride in Frontierland. Mk needs more these days.

 

[Dznefreek]

Well, the Magic Kingdom is somewhat constrained by the railroad line

Not really. The SM area was made by digging under and past the MK RR. There used to be a station where the gate is next to the McD fry wagon. Also in DL the HM elevator goes down to take guests out to the show building which is beyond the track.
They could also do away with the lot behind the Exposition Hall. many people do not realize there is a parking lot behind it.

 

[mitros]

This business with the loooooong lines at MK has been a pet peeve of ours for a number of years. Before they changed MKs early opening to Sunday, you could actually walk into the front gate on Sunday morning at opening, and walk all the way to Splash Mountain and not run into more then a dozen warm bodies. {I have video,really!} Anyway, once they made Sunday early opening at MK, the lines are ridiculous.

 

[jimmybog]

Apart from the obvious such as the 20K lagoon site there is a big swathe of land South of Tommorowland (not sure if it is used for anthing though). Another area that could be used is Tom Sawyers island. ALso one proposed attraction in Adventureland (Fire Mountain?) was I think supposed to be located just South of SPlash Mountain. Isn't there also a spare area of land NW of the old 20k lagoon site?

 

[FANTASMIC!]

This business with the loooooong lines at MK has been a pet peeve of ours for a number of years. Before they changed MKs early opening to Sunday, you could actually walk into the front gate on Sunday morning at opening, and walk all the way to Splash Mountain and not run into more then a dozen warm bodies. {I have video,really!} Anyway, once they made Sunday early opening at MK, the lines are ridiculous.

That's the Secret to a good MK day. Just go to Splash with little or no wait! I just walked on! Then Big THunder and just move against the crowds.

 

[Greg K.]

...they expanded very cleverly -- building Toontown past the railroad, by digging a tunnel under the tracks. It turned out to be a great solution, maximizing space that is even more limited than what they have in Florida. (It's also, to my taste, a much better realization of the "Toontown" concept than what we have at WDW.)

 

[LeftCoaster]

Not really. The SM area was made by digging under and past the MK RR. There used to be a station where the gate is next to the McD fry wagon. Also in DL the HM elevator goes down to take guests out to the show building which is beyond the track.
They could also do away with the lot behind the Exposition Hall. many people do not realize there is a parking lot behind it.

At DL, a lot of the major attractions are actually "beyond the berm". Indy, Haunted Mansion, Pirates, Splash, Toontown, and Small World.

 

[ShadowWind]

Toontown was never meant to be Toontown that was in DL. It started as Mickey's Birthdayland, which I gather was meant to be temporary, but then it made sense to have the characters in an air conditioned location, especially Mickey and the Princesses which are the most popular. They then transformed it into a psuedo Toontown (and called it Fair). Would have been great if they actually built the real one though.

There is a bit more expansion room, but they really boxed themselves in with the service area to the north, World Drive to the east and the waterway for the Electrical Water Pageant to the west and of course the South is the lagoon. Kinda odd in a way, considering the purpose was not to do that.

 

[bicker]

It's not clear that expanding MK would really resolve the problem... it could just cause even bigger bottlenecks entering and exiting the park. Conceptually, the best way to resolve crowding at MK would be to make the other parks more attractive, thereby draining some attendance from MK. This is consistent with the stated intentions for the future, i.e., enhancing what's there already (though, in this case, directed at, say, a the other three parks) rather than building more parks or expanding the existing parks.

 

[titan247]

Bob Iger has pretty much made it clear that WDW won't be expanded with an additional park in the near future. Hence the comment that Disney would be investing in its current assets.

I would say that pretty much anything is possible at WDW given the time, energy, and resources.

 

[FANTASMIC!]

Unfortunaty we can't except any new BIG attractions anytime soon. With Expedition Everest, Soarin', and LMA. I think that the money is the problem. Now it's just small rides and..........Greet areas

 

[ktbutterfly2011]

With Disney being such a large space i'm not sure why they wouldnt later just have to add on another world? I mean its not a sin to add on another world without walt is it?? Those who dont know what i mean by Disney being large, Disney=47 square miles San Fransisco= 47square miles or so a bus driver told me...

 

[jswalker1981]

I wonder if it would be able to add a land to MK that would promote the villians. I know there was a rumor of a Fire Mountain that would include the villians. If there was a way to do it, I would hope they would. It would make it easier for families to greet the villians since they would have a place of their own to be at. And the rides could be more thrilling than the others in the park.

 

[Laurajean1014]

Even though Iger wants to lower costs, that does not mean that we will see the changes. Remember, we ARE the revenue that drives Disney.

Disney is going forward with all of their current large projects, which should satisfy all for a few years.

 

[seashoreCM]

There is still lots of expansion room for Magic Kingdom, although in some cases behind the scenes areas (backstage areas) would need to be relocated. Lack of space is no excuse for closing Carousel of Progress.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

In decades past some amusement park owners have had misgivings about the one must-have ride, the merry go round -- it took up too much space and did not bring in enough money.

 

[dkellumw]

Other than moving the parking lot behind Fantasyland there might be room north of Space Mountain. Please see link below.

http://www.terraserver.microsoft.com/image.aspx?T=4&S=11&Z=17&X=1107&Y=7859&W=2&qs=|orlando+|fl|

 

[jswalker1981]

I think putting a villian land behind fantasyland would be more appropriate then behind tomorrowland. It is basically an expansion of fantasyland. If the railroad track is in the way, then build a tunnel underneath. So if they had a Fire Mountain, the tunnel could lead to it. Imagine walking up the tunnel and seeing that mountain staring you in the face!

 

[minnie61650]

I think putting a villian land behind fantasyland would be more appropriate then behind tomorrowland. It is basically an expansion of fantasyland. If the railroad track is in the way, then build a tunnel underneath. So if they had a Fire Mountain, the tunnel could lead to it. Imagine walking up the tunnel and seeing that mountain staring you in the face!

Disneyland is in California so they can build tunnels. Disney World is in Florida and that's the problem. There's a high water table. There are utilidors, but they are actually built ground level and the MK area above the utilidors is built on a second level. I am not an engineer but perhaps there is not enough space to actually tunnel underneath the railroad. Maybe they could build some kind some kind of overpass that is hidden from view? Just a thought.
Linda
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