Magic Kingdom - What a Mess!

[kaligal]

Reminds me of when we were there 15 years ago during the 25th WDW celebration. You know, where they transformed Cinderella's castle into a giant pink nightmare, ala a huge birthday cake?

People were complaining like CRAZY! People squawked and moaned that they had waited and saved for YEARS to take a trip to disney and get a family photo in front of the castle! The traditional castle! Not this pink...thing!

My husband and I just shrugged our shoulders. Yeah, we were there for our honeymoon, and my dream trip but hey, it was a celebration! 25 years! And I have amazing photos of a pink castle reminiscent of something you would find in the game CandyLand.

Happiness is what you make of it. Disney is ALL about suspending reality. Honestly, if you can suspend reality long enough to believe in fairy princesses, talking animals and lifelike feats of fantasy, then you should be able to suspend it long enough to look beyond what Walt Disney called "Progress."

I did not and to this day do not blame people who waited their whole lives and saved for years to see the castle for being totally pissed off with the Pepto Cake.

It is still the worst thing Disney ever did in the parks...and that includes the bling, the wand and even the hat.

 

[FairydustyPrincesses]

So when is Main st supposed to be finished?

I kind of get the frustration that it's all done at once. With btm and FLE maybe main st could have waited?

Ok so I know the wand and the hat travesties- the bling? What al I forgetting ?

I have to admit- I don't hate the hat but wasn't there pre-chapeau so I guess I have no loyalties or sentiments on the issue.

 

[popsynic]

Thanks everyone for some very balanced and reassuring responses.

I am 110% convinced we will have a great time - I just know it. It was just a tad disappointing to get the family round the video, and then they saw this. Sort of just deflated the excitement a bit.

But - yep, like many of you say - this work is going on behind walls, that when you are there you probably don't notice.

Its also a way off yet when we visit in October so much more may be done at this point.

Thanks all

 

[Disney_Princess83]

When we were there in January/February, there was alot of construction going on. I think that's part of the problem, there is TOO much happening at the one time. So many rides were down, Fantasmic was off, everywhere was being renovated. Obviously work has to be done but it just seems they're trying to do everything at the one time. Not great when you're there for perhaps you're only trip or first trip.

 

[WDW1]

Your forgot to mention all of the scrims on Main Street.

I understand that construction is necessary for bettering the park. And I understand rides refurbs are also necessary. My trip is coming up over Memorial Day. I booked at this time to avoid many closures since they are typically done during off peak times. I never would have thought that at the end of May, 2 headliners would be down and scrims would STILL be up on Main Street. We all know that the Fantasyland construction is happening, so work related to that is no shocker. While it's all necessary, it is disappointing that some of this couldn't be spaced out a bit.

A little research could have told you right away about the refurb. It is a huge deal for MK.

 

[suemom2kay]

I did not and to this day do not blame people who waited their whole lives and saved for years to see the castle for being totally pissed off with the Pepto Cake.

It is still the worst thing Disney ever did in the parks...and that includes the bling, the wand and even the hat.

Wow! Just... Wow!

 

[TLSnell1981]

Your forgot to mention all of the scrims on Main Street.

I understand that construction is necessary for bettering the park. And I understand rides refurbs are also necessary. My trip is coming up over Memorial Day. I booked at this time to avoid many closures since they are typically done during off peak times. I never would have thought that at the end of May, 2 headliners would be down and scrims would STILL be up on Main Street. We all know that the Fantasyland construction is happening, so work related to that is no shocker. While it's all necessary, it is disappointing that some of this couldn't be spaced out a bit.

Actually, yes. I would prefer to have less things down at one time and stretch it out with smaller closures. Now the Fantasyland construction behind the walls is fine, everyone should know that's going to be going on for years and no one can really avoid it if they want to go anytime soon. But the ride closures, scrims, etc. could be spaced out. Think about first-timers who may never get to go again. Many of us visit Disney often so it's only mildly inconvenient. But for many people Disney World is a once in a lifetime trip.

There is no right or wrong, that's just my personal preference. I hate the fact that 2 headliners will be down while I'm there, on top of everything else. But I'll make the best of it since I know I'll be going back next year. But it truly sucks for someone who is taking their one and only trip during that time.

Once upon a time, the construction and refurbs would have been planned..much better.

I agree, MK is a mess and there is really no need for this to happen.

 

[starrysky]

I have seen so many of these threads since the start of the fantasy land construction.

I have been in the lucky position like many on here to visit more than once in my life. That way I have seen the parks go through a lot of changes.

I think that if it was an only trip that people we going on then yes its not nice to see walls and construction. That being said a number of pps have pointed out that with a little research then you can find out all about the construction and there are plenty of photos out there of it.

I love MK and have been excited over the past couple of trips to see how the construction is going and can't wait for our trip in october to see how much has changed.

People moan on here about how run down, dirty, in need of updating etc etc but they still book trips knowing this yet they come back and moan on about it, There was a thread on here about how they need to put EPCOT out of its misery!!! People forget how lucky they are in a very bad global economy to be able to afford the trips to WDW. I do agree poor service and sub par food are a problem but to moan on about the fact that Disney is using their money to improve, re new, update then don't go and don't give Disney your money. I would be far more pissed off if people were paying money to go somehere that there was no improvement, broken, never updated yet I was spending lots of money to go there.

Disney is a huge global company that if one person was pissed off about the construction and the mess then there are hundreds of thousands of other people that have a fantastic time.

 

[d1gitman]

we were in MK two weekends ago and i have to say the construction walls, printed tarps, cranes, etc...had zero impact on our enjoyment. i'm sure you will be wrapped up in the magic of the moment and not be focusing on the construction.

 

[disnut8]

My son and his family went with us to Disney World the first week of January, 2012. Fantasyland construction going on, cold weather for a few days, marathon happening. And you know what? That was their once in a lifetime trip and they had a fantastic time. Why? Because they were together and having a vacation. Lighten up people. Do you want Disney World to shut down five or six months of the year to do all the construction?

 

[vicki_c]

We were just there March 31-April 7, and honestly, I barely noticed any of the construction stuff. Now we have gone a lot, so maybe I just don't care - but it is nothing that is vacation-impacting, unless you let it be.

(But what do I know - I thought the pink castle was cool - even though it was my honeymoon and my first trip to Disney since I was a little kid. My husband and I just thought it was an amazing spectacle.)

 

[Mousemommy1]

I'm fine with the construction, it's so exciting that Disney is continuing to try and keep things fresh and make each experience new!! Once it's all done, it will be amazing!

 

[kadesha]

A little research could have told you right away about the refurb. It is a huge deal for MK.

I am on the DIS, I do research... Is there a date for the scrims to come down on Main Street? I don't believe research tells everything....

No one was sure about Test Track until a couple of days before it closed.

And as far as first-timers needing to research, many of them don't realize that it's anything bigger than Six Flags. They don't know that such research is necessary. I know I didn't until AFTER my first trip.

 

[Pixie Princess]

Call me a geek, but I was loving the MK portion of that video. We were there just a couple weeks before that video was shot, and there was so much new stuff that was up and going on in the video that wasn't there when we visited. I love watching it all go on, and seeing what's new on each visit.

 

[npcougar]

I'm on vacation, I'm at Disney. I'm happy. The only thing I would check before I went were closures. I'm not sure too many first-timers would care if there was some construction. They aren't used to that "perfect" image some people seem to have. Your option would be to have them close the parks and I bet more people would have an issue with that. Imagine not being able to go the during your only vacation or the crowd increases because of the more limited months it was open. I guess if you don't like construction, you need to stay home until it is over.

 

[disprincessatheart]

We go often and definitely don't spend as much time in mk lately. It wouldn't be a big deal if it wasn't so many parts of mk all being worked on at once, but it does feel like everywhere you turn theres something torn up. It doesn't ruin our trips but mk is certainly not as magical in it's current state. We spend a lot of time on main street and in fantasyland, so that's probably why it bothers us more than some.

 

[Julie711]

When there's nothing new or rides start to get run down...people complain.

When there is construction...people complain

Love This!

 

[Bob NC]

Isn't that awesome!!!!

I'm glad we got to visit while the castle was all caked out.

 

[kayely]

I'm going in October and there will still be construction going on. I'm just going to be excited to be at Disney in the first place.

But as PP's stated before. Disney can't make everyone happy, you have to choose to make yourself happy.

 

[Polydweller]

I'm going in October and there will still be construction going on. I'm just going to be excited to be at Disney in the first place.

But as PP's stated before. Disney can't make everyone happy, you have to choose to make yourself happy.

That is one of the best things I've seen written in a thread. And it's so true.

We've been going at least annually for twenty plus years now, and a few times before and there has always been construction and many times with 2 or more headliners down. If we chose to make ourselves unhappy about it we'd have never had a good time. But we always had a great time on each trip. As you say you just choose to make yourself happy.