UPDATE:Â The work you see below is part of a project to expand parking at the Magic Kingdom. You can see the plans in South Florida Water Management permit 190429-9.
As we told you back in 2015, Walt Disney World Speedway was closed and demolished for parking improvements to the Magic Kingdom parking lot. This week, just days after the Wine & Dine Half-Marathon Weekend concluded, large construction equipment has arrived at the site of the former racetrack. While we aren’t sure what this construction work is going to be used for, it is clear that it won’t be a small project.
As seen from the EPCOT Monorail line, a large construction crane has arrived on site, as have various construction barrels and dividers.
From another angle, we can see that large dirt piles are being dug up and backhoes have arrived on site as well.
Orange construction scrims and piles of dirt have also arrived along the embankment that used to be turn 2 and the backstretch of the old Walt Disney World Speedway.
Along the entrance to the Magic Kingdom parking lot, smaller construction equipment was seen digging up dirt for various drainage lines. Workers were also hard at work planting new trees and shrubs as well.
From the Speedway gas station entrance road, we can see another angle of the construction work going on.
Judging by the wooden walls that have gone up around the root systems to the large trees along the roadway, the Southern Live Oaks that dotted the outside wall of Walt Disney World Speedway will not be going anywhere. Notably, the nearby Alamo Rental Car office used to use this space to store rental cars for guests with car reservations. It wasn’t clear as to where they’re being stored now.
We will be keeping our eyes on this site for further developments as work goes on.
Can we speculate that theyll be adding new Skyliner lines? or is that too soon lol
It has to be coming, I can’t see them holding out too long on completing the skyliner access to MK and AK, maybe even the water parks?
If you look at some of the new light poles just south of there, they are not on the road. To me it looks like there will be a connecting road probably with a flyover from northbound world drive to Floridian way
How is this going to effect taking a boat from Wildness Lodge to Magic Kingdom and what about the construction noise our room will be facing the lake
I read somewhere that the forest in the middle if the parking lot was getting paved and the speedway was getting turned into a big retention pond.
The boxes around the root system of the trees are for transplanting the trees. Over the last few weeks along the West side of the exit of the Magic Kingdom’s parking lot and along the berm of old turn 2 they have been boxing up several trees in that area. They are adjusting the spacing, orientation and location of the trees.
This is for storm water improvements. They will be removing the clump of trees in the middle of the parking lot and some of the drainage ditches to create more parking. They will also be expanding the Mickey pond in the old speedway area, so it will no longer look like Mickey.
You can see the plans in South Florida Water Management permit 190429-9: https://apps.sfwmd.gov/entsb/docdownload?object_id=0900eeea8b0ff8a4