New Magic Kingdom Welcome Show & Main Street Opening UPDATE: Page 15 - Post #281

[yulilin3]

From the HUB
"With more guests arriving early to the Magic Kingdom park, we are enhancing the morning arrival experience by opening Main Street USA earlier than the rest of the park.
Guest will be able to get a head start on their day they as enjoy the early morning charm of Main Street USA with photo opportunities, breakfast options and shopping before the park officially opens.
A new welcome show will debut at Cinderella Castle stage Jan 9th"

No word on the time for this new show or if the old welcome show at the train station will continue, I'm assuming it won't. As soon as I have more information I will post it here

 

[CAS239]

Interesting. Wonder how early they'll start letting people into the park.

This also seems like it'll put a damper on empty Main Street pics that some ppo adr guests like to take. Also looks like it'll cut down a little on ride time that other ppo adr guests try to get in

 

[Jennasis]

Hmmm...does this mean that now instead of the crowd entering and dispersing through the park like they do now, they will have the hoard entrance and pack into Main Street??

I wonder then will the welcome show still be out front of the train station or will it be moved to the hub/castle?

 

[cmarsh31]

Hrrm... we have a PPO CP breakfast in Feb, wonder if that's going to mess with my dreams of walking down Main St early. On the other hand, we're staying at CR, so it might be fun to get up one morning and do that before hopping to our planned park for the day.

 

[yulilin3]

Hmmm...does this mean that now instead of the crowd entering and dispersing through the park like they do now, they will have the hoard entrance and pack into Main Street??

I wonder then will the welcome show still be out front of the train station or will it be moved to the hub/castle?

I was just double checking and the railroad is under refurb starting on the 9th and the welcome show is still on the schedule at the same time, 8:40am. So that should be the time for the new show at the castle stage.
I don't think the railroad show will be back after the refurb. They are obviously cracking down on people that make ppo ressies and then don't show up, the guest only pays $10 for the no show but the restaurant loses a lot of money

 

[Jennasis]

Awww...I'll miss the train! I'm sure the new show will be fun but we typically skip the castle stage shows. There was something special about the welcome show happening before you got into the park and the reveal of the castle.

I'm also sure Disney just trying to find a way to monetize the welcome show (by opening the shops and snack spots early).

 

[BrianL]

I don't know if I like this. MK Welcome Show is so very special to me. I don't think it'll be the same at the Castle Stage. I wish they had given more warning so I maybe could have gotten one last look at the old show.

 

[beesly]

I was just double checking and the railroad is under refurb starting on the 9th and the welcome show is still on the schedule at the same time, 8:40am. So that should be the time for the new show at the castle stage.
I don't think the railroad show will be back after the refurb. They are obviously cracking down on people that make ppo ressies and then don't show up, the guest only pays $10 for the no show but the restaurant loses a lot of money

Someone on another thread was just asking how the railroad refurb would affect the welcome show - as soon as I saw your post, I figured the two were related. I'm glad I finally got to see the welcome show with the railroad on my October visit, just in case it doesn't return after the refurb!

 

[yulilin3]

Someone on another thread was just asking how the railroad refurb would affect the welcome show - as soon as I saw your post, I figured the two were related. I'm glad I finally got to see the welcome show with the railroad on my October visit, just in case it doesn't return after the refurb!

but in the past they have done the welcome show even during the railroad refurbs, the characters are just there at the station and they didn't arrive by train

 

[yulilin3]

I don't know if I like this. MK Welcome Show is so very special to me. I don't think it'll be the same at the Castle Stage. I wish they had given more warning so I maybe could have gotten one last look at the old show.

I tend to agree with you. The train station welcome show will def. be more intimate than the one they will have at the castle stage. It was a great reveal of the entire park. Countdown to 1 and then, "ta-da" you can now enter. Now you will already be in the park. I know it may seem silly, I understand why they are doing it though

 

[klove]

It's so hokey and simple but I love to start my trip with this. It just gets me in the mood for Disney. boo.

 

[Gina Starr]

I'm not sure how I feel about this. As long as they keep it at 8:40. We have a ppo breakfast on the 11th and my sister and her family were excited to see Main Street empty-ish.

 

[yulilin3]

I'm not sure how I feel about this. As long as they keep it at 8:40. We have a ppo breakfast on the 11th and my sister and her family were excited to see Main Street empty-ish.

Main Street will probably open around 8 to 8:15am with this new system. Same time as they currently open the tapstiles

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

Well I'm torn. I absolutely love the welcome show and will definitely miss the train part of it. Silly as it sounds, I still get butterflies when they start to sing about Casey Jr. coming down the track and I look up and see the smoke before I can ever see the train. I never really watch the castle shows. But, I like the idea of getting in a little earlier and strolling around Main Street because I so rarely spend significant time there. I think it will also make it nice that you won't have quite as large of crowds walking down Main Street before people turn towards their destination. It will also be nice to have something to do when we get to the park. My daughter tends to get bored waiting (like all kids, I suppose) and then tells me that she doesn't want to see the welcome show. She wants to go into the park. I can't convince her that they don't let people in the park until after the welcome show. Now, I can get to the park around 8:20 or so, take her to The Emporium, and then get out at 8:40 for the new show and the park to open.

 

[mom2rtk]

I don't know if I like this. MK Welcome Show is so very special to me. I don't think it'll be the same at the Castle Stage. I wish they had given more warning so I maybe could have gotten one last look at the old show.

I feel the same way.

 

[AngiTN]

I get why they are having to do this. More folks can fit on Main St than in the entrance area. At least I assume they can. As with so many things, word spreading on the Internet has made things more popular than ever before. I'm sure it's gotten to the point where they had to make the change. I think it will significantly impact PPO folks. I mean, they'll still get in to go eat but it will be a very different environment.

 

[WEDWDW]

I wouldn't think this will effect CRT and BOG Early ADRs much since they will be past the Castle and Guests will not be allowed past the Castle until Park Open.

It will greatly effect CP Early ADRs though.

 

[BrianL]

I feel the same way.

I'll with you. I have the "Welcome, welcome, welcome" song downloaded in my car. I usually don't listen to it when I start thinking about a trip so it will be fresh when I get there, but I may have to listen to it now because I won't get there by the 9th (I was thinking about a Jan/Feb trip though). This new show better be AMAZING and give me all the feelings the current one does.

 

[AngiTN]

I wouldn't think this will effect CRT and BOG Early ADRs much since they will be past the Castle and Guests will not be allowed past the Castle until Park Open.

It will greatly effect CP Early ADRs though.

I guess I meant it will effect their getting pictures more than anything. And guests will have a significant head start on reaching the rides vs. when they started back at the entrance

 

[jpeden]

Depending on how this works and goes down, I will definitely cancel our BOG and Crystal Palace PPO breakfasts. I'm not going to pay those prices for breakfast in the park if they let everyone else in at the same time. I think this will backfire and a lot of people will cancel their PPO breakfast. Why pay $25 for breakfast to get in early when they let everyone in at 8:00AM now?

The only way this works is if they make more money off the Main Street shops than off the PPO reservations. This is a cash grab - plain and simple. Cut out the railroad show and replace it with a cheaper stage show. Then, allow everyone in the park at 8:00ish so they can spend money at the shops. I'm sure their thought is so many people rush past the stores in the morning to get to rides but by making them a captive audience on Main Street, they'll at least walk in and look around and are more likely to buy something.

The next question is, how does this effect morning extra magic hours or Early Morning Magic? If I payed to be on site or payed $70 a person to get in early, and this happens, then I'm going to be pissed.