PHOTO REPORT: Magic Kingdom 3/1/20 (Sonny Eclipse Returns, New Character Pet Shirts, In-Depth Construction Updates, Directions from a Country Bear, and More)

Kevin Lake

Country Bear Helping with Map

PHOTO REPORT: Magic Kingdom 3/1/20 (Sonny Eclipse Returns, New Character Pet Shirts, In-Depth Construction Updates, Directions from a Country Bear, and More)

Kevin Lake

Country Bear Helping with Map

PHOTO REPORT: Magic Kingdom 3/1/20 (Sonny Eclipse Returns, New Character Pet Shirts, In-Depth Construction Updates, Directions from a Country Bear, and More)

Greetings from the Magic Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort! We’ve got construction, attractions, and merchandise updates galore. The weather is absolutely perfect for a trip around the park today – let’s take a look at what’s new.

Entrance Construction Entrance Construction Entrance Construction

Just outside of the touch points to enter the park, construction continues at a moderate pace to update the security checkpoints and walkways near the entrance.

City Hall

Inside the park, City Hall is still hidden behind this fairly detailed scrim. It’s now been well over a month since we first reported on the building being fully covered – click here for those details.

Moat Draining Moat Draining Moat Draining

The moat around Cinderella Castle has been completely drained. This is being done as part of the exterior refurbishment of the castle in advance of the Magic Kingdom’s 50th anniversary. These pictures are from the Adventureland side of the moat.

Moat Draining Moat Draining Moat Draining

These pictures, taken from the Tomorrowland side of the castle, paint a similar picture.

Pet Shirt Collection

At The Emporium, new character-inspired pet shirts appeared among the ever-growing collection of merchandise for our four-legged friends.

Pet Shirt Collection Pet Shirt Collection Pet Shirt CollectionStitch Pet Shirt

These new shirts feature designs from Chip and Dale, Tinkerbell, Stitch, and, of course, Mickey Mouse.

West Bypass Construction

The construction shown here is believed to be for a bypass walkway, similar to what currently exists from the east side of the hub to the front of Main Street.

Mismatched Hat

This hat, also found at The Emporium, is a bit contradictory. (See the Disneyland patch in the corner.) Accidental items like this can be a really cool souvenir, though.

PeopleMover Post Refurb PeopleMover Post Refurb

In Tomorrowland, we now have seven (yeah, seven) sets of scaffolding as the refresh of the PeopleMover posts continues.

PeopleMover Post Refurb PeopleMover Post Refurb

As has been the case for most of 2020, these posts are in various states of progress, ranging from “haven’t been touched yet” to “totally done.”

TRON Lightcycle Run Construction TRON Lightcycle Run Construction

TRON Lightcycle Run is always a hotbed of activity, and today was no different.

TRON Lightcycle Run Construction TRON Lightcycle Run Construction TRON Lightcycle Run Construction

Support columns for the giant canopy structure grow by the day, and it’s only a matter of time before more of the show building walls is enclosed.

Sonny Eclipse at Cosmic Ray's

In brighter news, Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe welcomed back its star performer, Sonny Eclipse. He was inexplicably missing from this popular Tomorrowland restaurant for far too long.

Storybook Circus Box

In Storybook Circus, adjacent to Dumbo The Flying Elephant, this set of small walls is still present in one of the planters.

Storybook Circus Play Area

Casey Jr. Splash ‘N’ Soak was doing very little soaking today. Its operation has been intermittent over the last few weeks, and we suspect that the walls pictured above are for reworking some nearby plumbing for the attraction.

it's a small world Queue Refurbishment it's a small world Queue Refurbishment

On the topic of walls, these walls around a portion of the it’s a small world queue remain little-changed since they went up for a refurbishment.

Splash Mountain Reopens

One refurbishment that is complete is that of Splash Mountain, which reopened this past Friday. Despite it being slightly chilly this morning, there was a 25 minute wait for the attraction.

Liberty Belle

The Liberty Belle is also making waves, but around Tom Sawyer Island instead of the Briar Patch.

Broken Tip Board

This digital times guide in Frontierland is broken – again.

Country Bear at Guest Experience Team

In lieu of the digital board, you could check the app or visit one of the Guest Experience Team locations around the park. We can only assume Country Bears don’t have smartphones, so G.E.T. it is.

Country Bear Helping with Map

Yup, that means using paper maps, too.

Grand Floridian Walkway Bridge Construction Grand Floridian Walkway Bridge Construction Grand Floridian Walkway Bridge Construction

Way outside of the park (this is what happens when you take directions from a bear), construction of the bridge which will connect the Magic Kingdom to the Grand Floridian Resort is taking shape.

Grand Floridian Walkway Construction

Most of the walkway is still more of a driveway, but the pavement will come soon enough.

TTC Construction TTC Construction

At the other end of the Seven Seas Lagoon, the Transportation and Ticker Center is getting closer and closer to wrapping up its construction. On the west side of the complex, we’re seeing more pavement laid, and we’ve hopeful that at least the tram pickup and drop-off station will open before the Spring Break rush.

Thanks for coming along on our journey through the Magic Kingdom! For more updates from the park, click here and follow @WDWNT on Twitter.

2 thoughts on “PHOTO REPORT: Magic Kingdom 3/1/20 (Sonny Eclipse Returns, New Character Pet Shirts, In-Depth Construction Updates, Directions from a Country Bear, and More)”

  1. That image of Wendall of the Country Bears trying to help a guest find their way is probably my favorite picture I’ve EVER seen. Nice catch!

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