We have gotten a first look at Disney World’s Magic Kingdom ahead of its official reopening.
We’ve been sharing updates on characters, safety procedures, and a first look at the NEW Cinderella Castle with you as we all figure out the “return to theme parks.”
As we’ve been exploring attractions, checking out wait times and social distance measures, we happened to notice one BIG thing is missing from the iconic Haunted Mansion!
The Stretching Room is no more!
Let us be clear, it still exists, but not in the way us Foolish Mortals are used to! Now, instead of gathering “in the dead center of the room” while the Ghost Host introduces himself, you just keep walking through an already-stretched room as part of the queue.
The Ghost Host still makes his iconic announcement while you pass through, but it has been cut short significantly. The entire middle section of the speech was removed out to encourage guests to keep moving through the room.
This makes sense — it would be very hard and impractical to operate the stretch room with social distance guidelines in place. But still, it’s not quite the same without our cadaverous pallor betraying an aura of foreboding.
We have also confirmed that Animal Kingdom’s Flight of Passage is showing a shortened version of only the first pre-show to keep the line flow moving and spaced out. We will continue to keep you updated on any further pre-show developments!
We’ll keep you posted with any other big attraction changes as we continue to explore the two Kingdoms, as well as EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios when they reopen on July 15.
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Want to learn more about the Reopened Disney World?
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It brings up the question: what will Disneyland do? In Florida, the stretching room is an aesthetic piece. It is part of the story, and a tie to the original, but it isn’t necessary.
Over in California, it is necessary because it is the elevator to get down under the railroad tracks and into the actual ride building outside the park boundary. There’s no way you can go there without it.
Yeah, I thought the same thing, but I also know from experience, there is a stairwell that leads from a portion of the queue down into the hallway that could be used instead. Obviously those with mobility issues would still have to use the stretching rooms, but since that would be a limited number of guests by nature and there are two rooms, it could be possible. While not ideal, it could be themed a bit with minimal effort and made to work.