Our latest photo report brings us to the Magic Kingdom before and after Hurricane Matthew hit. While the storm had little effect on the parks other than a 1.5 day closure, there is still plenty happening around the Magic Kingdom this week.
Hurricane Matthew
Knowing Thursday would be an interesting day to visit the parks, I journeyed to the Magic Kingdom to see how Hurricane preparations were going. If you haven’t seen our popular video of the park getting ready for the storm, you may want to check it out:
Thursday morning was actually fairly nice.
Tarps around the Swiss Family Treehouse (closed through October 20th now) had to be removed for the storm, offering an unusual look at the work.
Flags all around the park were tied up as well.
Some were just removed, like those in Liberty Square.
The Muppets present Great Moments in American History
The Muppets present Great Moments in American History is proving to be quite popular. If you haven’t seen the show, check out our video below:
Ropes to redirect guests around the show have been implemented on busier days.
This and That
The tarps are still up on The Haunted Mansion.
Flags on “it’s a small world” were tired up for the storm.
The same at Peter Pan’s Flight.
Banners down by Mickey’s Philharmagic.
Flags missing from the carousel.
Storybook Circus has a lot of banners, so it was pretty barren before and after the storm.
Even the flags at the Speedway were removed.
The banners outside of Cinderella Castle were rolled up for the storm.
As the rain started, I decided it was best to leave.
Coming back to the park on Saturday, the most damage I could find was this lamppost.
There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow
Some recent enhancements to Tomorrowland really make the area glitter at night.
The new signage for Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress is pretty great.
Another great touch is the theater numbers on the exterior.
And of course there’s that fantastic new lighting on Space Mountain.
“it’s not working again”
A few weeks back, we reported that many of the MagicBand interactive features in attractions were turned off. Then Disney apparently turned these features back on the following week. On my latest park trips, the screens for these effects have been completely turned off. Something certainly seems to be up with these effects as of late.
45th Rolls On
The 45th anniversary of the Magic Kingdom may have passed, but new merchandise continues to roll in, like this puzzle.
The Main Street Electrical Parade Glows Away
On Sunday, guests started lining up early for what would be the final Main Street Electrical Parade performances in Florida before it heads back to Disneyland.
Garbage cans were pushed off of the curbs to allow for more viewing space for guests.
I staked out my spot at about 4:30PM just to be safe. I was joined by hundreds of guests minutes later.
You can watch the final Florida parade below if you haven’t seen it yet:
New Souvenir Mug
A really great Be Our Guest Restaurant mug can be found at select locations at the Magic Kingdom. The mug is $7.50 with a drink.
Tom, do you know why Disney got rid of the Main Street Electrical Parade? I read your history of it, and I can’t figure why they’d want to eliminate something that’s so beloved and keeps people in the park after dark.
The reason i think is because Paint the night at Disneyland is getting refurbish (Maybe a new float) so Disney desired to return Main street Electrical Parade to it’s original home. And i seen both night parades at MK and Disney knows that WDW Needs a new one. Hopefully next year but we will see.
Where are the select locations that offer the Be Our Guest mugs??