The Walt Disney World Resort is currently enhancing the overall guest arrival experience at all its theme parks, and Magic Kingdom is no exception. While we knew that most “Disney’s Walk Around the World” commemorative bricks lining the entrance were set to be removed in the coming months, it’s definitely been jarring to see construction walls go up and around the area.

Last Thursday, we noticed these square sections boxed out all along the entrance to the park:

The boxes are topped with an open tarp.

You can see where these were prepped for removal with quadrant scoring along the middle.

Since then, some boxes have been removed while others were added. However, in their place are now these red concrete squares:

It appears they are sectioning out parts of the commemorative bricks, scoring them, and removing them overnight.

The fact that they’re doing them in such odd placements throughout the space might hint at further plans for infrastructure. Could these sections be used for future security checkpoints? We’ll just have to wait and see how the project progresses.

From the parking lots to the theme park entrances, nearly every step in between those points is being reconfigured, including walkways and transportation loading and unloading zones.

Closer to the first bus loop, what looks like a set of three ramps are being built. They may also be extending the entire pathway in sections to lessen the bottlenecking that occurs whenever a bus full of guests spills out into the area.

The ramp structures also extend onto the curb, eating up previously existing commemorative bricks.

For now, the persistent construction around the entrance to the Magic Kingdom proves to be another nuisance guests have to deal with at the park, but in time, these improvements should make for a better overall arrival experience.

If you’ve lost your beloved commemorative brick, Disney has laid out some options for guests to obtain a take-home replacement at a special price. You have until August 31, 2019 to claim your replacement brick:

• Guests can stop by City Hall at Magic Kingdom Park or Guest Relations at Disney Springs to verify their previous brick by sharing the name and hometown of the Guest who sponsored it.
• After verification, they will be given a one-time use voucher to present by, or before Aug. 31, 2019, at Tomorrowland Light & Power Co. (at Magic Kingdom Park – separate theme park admission required) or the Marketplace Co-Op (at Disney Springs), enabling you to purchase one commemorative 6” brick at a special price of $10 (plus tax).

Jessica Figueroa