PHOTO REPORT: Magic Kingdom & Disney Springs 5/1/21 (Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom Plaques Removed, New Gideon’s Cookie, Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Food, Transportation & Ticket Center Refresh, and More)

Kevin Lake

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PHOTO REPORT: Magic Kingdom & Disney Springs 5/1/21 (Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom Plaques Removed, New Gideon’s Cookie, Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Food, Transportation & Ticket Center Refresh, and More)

It’s the beginning of May at Walt Disney World, and we’re starting off the new month at Magic Kingdom, with a little time at Disney Springs as well. We’ve got some interesting updates from both locations, some looking back to the discontinuation of Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom, and others looking forward to Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, and a bunch in between.

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Heading to the park on the Monorail, we noticed a new sign which attempts to clarify for guests how the boarding and seating works with the numbered cabin partitions.

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Inside the park, it’s hard to beat a sunrise hitting Cinderella Castle, so we won’t try to.

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Yesterday, we noticed that the six lifts used for decorating Cinderella Castle in its 50th-anniversary garb had been removed from the moat, and today water began to trickle back in.

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As the castle itself is just about completed for “The World’s Most Magical Celebration”, the stage looks to be nearly done as well. While it is currently missing the extra elements such as stairs, it’s quite possible that the old stage configuration will not be used, and new set pieces will be added in the near future.

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Back on Main Street U.S.A., we noticed the remaining plaques for the now-defunct Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom—those not already removed at Main Street Cinema or Main Street Train Station—have been removed, and replacement paving left in their place.

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Checking on the world-famous Jungle Cruise, scenes that have been the subject of recent work—including this past week—seem to have been left alone overnight.

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In Tomorrowland, the recently-reopened Peoplemover has some spiffy new signs to help direct guests to the entrance of the attraction.

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On the ride, we appreciated the work put into cleaning up the Progress City mode, which had seen some rough days (and many downed trees) before the refurbishment.

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We also checked on the status of the Walt Disney World Railroad, whose track terminates alongside Space Mountain due to TRON Lightcycle / Run construction.

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Progress on that coaster-based attraction has been inching along, and—five months ahead of Walt Disney World’s 50th anniversary—may be the reason we don’t hear a train whistle on October 1st.

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At Tomorrowland Light & Power Co., some merchandise has been “reset” and the Mandalorian merchandise centralized, with Space Mountain merchandise moved closer to Space Mountain’s exit. Peoplemover apparel was also displaced, and has been moved near one of the exits.

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Finishing up our lap of the park, we caught A Goofy Cavalcade passing by in Frontierland.

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Back at the Transportation and Ticket Center, more fencing has been removed as the transportation hub also receives a makeover for the 50th anniversary.

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Additional painting is making its way through the center, after the Monorail and ferryboat archways were completed earlier in the week.

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Moving over to Disney Springs, banners were up for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, for which Disney sort-of announced special additions for earlier in the day.

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One new treat we found were these matcha yuzu ganache squares at The Ganachery.

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We also happened upon these Korean BBQ Fries at The Daily Poutine, which we couldn’t help but review.

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Also added for the month of May are a jasmine tea cream tart and Mulan petit, both of which we tried from Amorette’s Patisserie.

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While we do expect more in the way of cultural art and information to be added at Disney Springs, one section of wall which was used for Black History Month and Women’s Appreciation Month remains blank.

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Finally, we also grabbed the new limited edition May cookie from Gideon’s Bakehouse, the Peanut Butter Espresso cookie. Naturally, we waited out the long virtual queue and reviewed it for you.

Thank you for joining us today at Magic Kingdom and Disney Springs, counting down five months until Walt Disney World’s 50th anniversary. Stay tuned to WDWNT.com for all of the changes leading up to the historic event!