Disney World Construction Update

Disney announced a TON of new Disney World construction projects at the 2017 D23 conference over a year ago. Have they made any progress? Today’s post revisits the original list of announcements and highlights all of the work completed to date. Spoiler alert: it’s going to be awesome!

(Please note: All of the photos and concept art included in this post have been publicly released by Disney. I’ve included links to various other sites containing unofficial photos and aerial construction imagery.)

New transportation  

As promised, Disney introduced a new point-to-point transportation service called “Minnie Vans” in the summer of 2017. Most of the vehicles are technically SUVs, but “Minnie SUV” doesn’t sound as clever so I’ll (reluctantly) let it go. The vans charge a flat rate of $25 to transport up to six guests anywhere on Disney World property or $150 to the Orlando International Airport. The service was originally limited to guests of select resorts, but the company rolled out service to all Disney World guests in June 2018.

If you’d rather stick to the “free” transportation at Disney World, another awesome option is under construction. Disney’s new gondola transportation, dubbed the Disney Skyliner, will connect the International Gateway entrance at Epcot to Hollywood Studios, Caribbean Beach, Art of Animation and Pop Century.

Concept art for the gondola terminals, such as the one shown above for Hollywood Studios, is on display around Disney World. Some of the supporting structures are now complete and visible to guests. Disney released a brief video in October of this year that shows a little more detail, still using concept art. They also stated that the boat service to Epcot’s back entrance may be discontinued at times throughout the end of this year to allow for further construction of the Epcot Gondola station.

The project should finish sometime in 2019.

Toy Story Land

Toy Story Land opened as scheduled on June 30th of this year! This new section of Hollywood Studios is designed to look like Andy’s backyard, straight out of the Disney Pixar films. The space includes a family-friendly roller coaster based on Slinky Dog and a spinner ride based on the aliens from Pizza Planet. The new land received a new entrance near the original Pixar archway. The space also includes a new quick-service dining location, called Woody’s Lunch Box.

Eventually, the space will also include an entrance to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge which is under construction nearby.

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge

Speaking of Star Wars, this exciting new land is in full throttle construction mode. The new addition, which will be larger than Toy Story Land or Pandora, will allow guests to visit the planet of Batuu and place themselves in the middle of the battle between the Resistance and the First Order.

A new Millennium Falcon themed ride is slated to open in the Resistance area (interior shot shown above!). The First Order area will receive what appears to be a massive new attraction set within a Star Destroyer hanger bay. Details are limited, of course, but the new ride is supposed to feature a new “trackless” technology that stretches Disney’s Imagineers into new territory. Of course the land will also feature restaurants, shops, character interactions and other awesome things like new “Toydarian wares” designed exclusively for this space.

After seeing Pandora, I’m beyond excited to see what Disney will do with Star Wars. This new section of Hollywood Studios is slated to open in “late Fall” 2019, although there’s a chance it could get pushed later. A similar expansion is also underway at Disneyland in California.

Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway

At the D23 conference last year, Disney also announced a new Mickey Mouse attraction! This new ride, within the existing Chinese Theater at Hollywood Studios, offers guests the chance to travel through a series of scenes resembling those in the newer Mickey Mouse animated shorts. Guests will watch an animated short and then board a train led by Mickey’s old pal Goofy. Disney claims the ride will feature brand new “2 1/2 D” technology, that will deliver an effect similar to 3D without special glasses. The ride will also feature more hidden Mickeys than any other attraction on Disney World property. (Hot Dog!)

To make way for Mickey’s new home, Disney closed the Great Movie Ride in August 2017.  In February of this year, Disney confirmed the ride will open in 2019. In June the company released new concept art of the ride (shown above).

Tron-based roller coaster

Moving on to Magic Kingdom, Disney is planning to build a new Tron-cycle-styled roller coaster in Tomorrowland!  The ride is similar to an attraction in Shanghai Disneyland. Disney filed for permits for constructing the new attraction in November of 2017. The attraction will occupy a currently unused area near Space Mountain.

In August of this year, Disney added a new billboard near the Storybook Circus portion of Fantasyland to advertise the coming attraction (shown above). In the next few months, the company will close two attractions to allow construction to begin. The first is the much-loved Walt Disney World Railroad, which will close to passengers in December. Interestingly, Disney will park the railcars at the Main Street Station near the entrance of the park to allow guests to explore the cars and take photos. The second attraction that will close is the Tomorrowland Speedway. The specific dates are little unclear at the moment, but Disney states the ride will close in 2019 and reopen in the summer. The ride will not change dramatically, Disney is just reworking the footprint of the track to allow space for Tron.

Pretty exciting stuff don’t you think? I’m excited to see something new (and more futuristic!) in Tomorrowland! Tron is scheduled to open by the summer of 2021. There are rumors that other updates to Tomorrowland are in the works for the same time period too. (Fingers crossed!)

New Theater at Magic Kingdom

Sadly, Disney has officially cancelled a new live-theater venue at Magic Kingdom. The new theater was supposed to sit on a tract of land behind Main Street that is currently used for parking.  The cancellation is understandable, of course, since the company is busy spending gobs of money and building attractions at numerous other locations at the moment. I’ll let you know if I hear anything different, but for now consider this project tabled.

Future World Refresh at Epcot

Moving over to Epcot, Disney also shared plans to update the Future World area of the park. Mission: Space received a refresh last year. Additional plans include a new space-themed table service restaurant nearby. I’m still not sure about adding a restaurant right next to the only Disney World attraction that offers motion sickness bags, but I’ll keep an open mind (and an empty stomach!). The early concept art (shown above) looks amazing.

Also in Future World, Ellen’s Energy Adventure closed and new construction walls went up to start work on a new Guardians of the Galaxy attraction. In early February of this year, Disney confirmed the new ride will be an indoor roller coaster!

The ride will be the first of its kind at Epcot and one of the longest enclosed coasters in the world. Check out the awesome aerial shot of construction by @cchard on the WDWMagic site above! You can see the tall building that will house the roller coaster under construction near the entrance of the Epcot in Future World. Check out the scale of the building relative to Spaceship Earth. Impressive.

The new attraction will open by 2021.

World Showplace updates at Epcot

As we stroll from Future World to the World Showplace, Disney is also working on updates among the pavilions. France will receive a new Ratatouille-based ride, similar to the one currently in operation at Disneyland Paris.

Here’s another cool construction photo by WDWMagic.com. You can see the new attraction is a fairly large building nestled between France and Morocco. C’est magnifique!

Disney’s Riviera Resort

Moving on to the resorts, there are even more grand plans. After months of construction, some of the work at Caribbean Beach is finally reaching completion. The newly renovated lobby opened in early October, along with some updated food options. A new table-service restaurant, called Sebastian’s Bistro, is now up and running and accepting reservations. Across from the existing Caribbean Beach resort construction continues on a new Disney Vacation Club hotel.  The new property, called Disney’s Riviera Resort, will feature rooftop viewing of the fireworks at Epcot and Hollywood Studios and access to the new Disney Skyliner (mentioned above). The new resort should open by the end of 2019.

Disney’s Coronado Springs

Although not quite on the same scale as Caribbean Beach, Disney’s Coronado Springs is also under extensive construction. The resort will receive a new 15-story tower near the entrance and a multi-story restaurant in the middle of the resort’s central lake. (What?!) You can read more about these updates in my full post on Coronado Springs here. Updates are scheduled for completion by the end of 2019.

New Star Wars-themed hotel

Disney also announced plans for a new Star Wars-themed resort that will allow guests to fully “immerse” themselves in a galaxy far, far away. The hotel will offer Star Wars-themed rooms with views of space and a unique all-inclusive experience. Guests of the resort can choose to dress-up in Star Wars attire and pursue multi-day quests with other galactic characters.

Earlier this year, Disney announced the new Star Wars-themed resort will be “seamlessly connected” to the new Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge section of Hollywood Studios. In May, Disney stated the location of the hotel will be east of World Drive and south of Hollywood Studios. Resort guests will have direct access to a private entrance to the new Star Wars space, which places them between the two new attractions.

With its premium location and over-the-top features, you can bet the hotel will be priced accordingly. Perhaps it will reach some new galactic level above a Deluxe? We’ll find out when the hotel opens by 2021.

New Nature-themed hotel

In October of this year, Disney announced yet ANOTHER new resort for Disney World. This new deluxe resort will be situated near Magic Kingdom between the existing Wilderness Lodge resort and the Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground. There is no official name for the resort yet, but Disney claims it will be a nature-inspired retreat. The new facility is scheduled to open in 2022.

Whew! Did I mention it was a TON of construction? I didn’t even include the other projects that are underway, such as the never-ending additions to Disney Springs (new stores! new restaurants! new World of Disney!) or the 14-story tower addition to the Disney Swan hotel. Overall, I think it’s safe to say you’ll see an increase in the construction barriers around the World for the next few years.

Add a little (construction) magic to your world!