Two BIG Problems With the Magic Kingdom Park Expansion

Multiple Disney World parks are under major construction right now, mostly to bring new attractions and experiences to guests, but since they’re all happening at the same time, things are a little rough.

Over in Magic Kingdom, there are TWO major lands being added. Piston Peak is taking the place of the former Rivers of America and Liberty Square Riverboat section, and then we’ve got Villains Land coming behind Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. While we’re looking forward to both of them, don’t get us wrong, we’ve gotta admit that there are two reasons why we’re nervous about the expansion, and we’re not totally sure if anyone else is talking about it just yet.

The Walt Disney World Railroad

Currently, the Walt Disney World Railroad is only running half of its track, from Main Street, U.S.A. to Fantasyland, due to the construction, because Disney doesn’t want us seeing them working on the new lands before it’s done! However, many guests are concerned that even when construction is complete, the train may not be able to go back to the same route it used to…or, at least not easily.

It’s very possible that the current train tracks won’t be able to be used, or they’ll need to be rerouted in order for the train to run on them successfully again after the construction.

However, it’s unclear right now if Disney is factoring in changing the railroad tracks in the current construction. If they’re not, it’s possible that the lands could be complete in 2027, but only THEN will the railroad be rerouted, meaning that it’s possible the train could still be at least partially closed for LONGER than the lands are under construction.

Disney hasn’t announced much about the construction and progress on the railroad itself, which honestly has us a little nervous. We’re hoping to hear an announcement come out sooner rather than later, so we know what to expect.

Changing The Vibe of The Park

Currently, Magic Kingdom is known for being the park full of stories, rides, attractions, and more that focus mostly on the heroes of Disney IP. The villains are certainly there, and you can even meet characters like the evil Stepmother, Drizella, and Anastasia, but the main focus is on the heroes.

We, just like a lot of other guests, are thrilled to have villain representation coming to the parks, but we have to admit that it coming to Magic Kingdom is a bit of a jarring switch.

Over in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, we now have the Disney Villains: Unfairly Ever After show, which brings some sympathy to villains and has them at the front of the show, but having this in Magic Kingdom will be the first of its kind. It might be pretty jarring to go from the rest of the park, where it’s “here are the stories and the villains are bad!” to a land where you’ll be excited to see and meet them.

Additionally, as some people have pointed out, Piston Peak now fits more with Frontierland than Liberty Square, meaning that Liberty Square is now almost nothing (and with the overlay of Toy Story characters coming to The Diamond Horseshoe for the summer, that leans more towards Frontierland too, even if it’s just temporary).

Does this mean that Liberty Square could be on its way out as a whole? We certainly hope not, but we’ll admit that we’re curious to see how the new land will flow when all of this is said and done.

We know that Disney Imagineers have thought this through thoroughly and likely have a great plan in place, but it’ll be hard to really understand how it’ll look until we can see it ourselves in real time. We’ll be sure to keep you updated as we hear more and more about these new additions in Magic Kingdom, as well as around the other parks, so stay tuned to AllEars!

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How are you feeling about these upcoming additions? Tell us in the comments!

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