Some of the taller trees throughout Tomorrowland at Magic Kingdom have been replaced in the past few days.
The new trees, being smaller, offer less shade. For reference, see our photos below from January.
Above is Tomorrowland today, below is another photo of Tomorrowland in January.
Some of the old trees reached above the PeopleMover track, while the new ones are shorter than it.
The trees are in planters surrounding the central hub of Tomorrowland, where guests board the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover.
The new trees have white flowers in them.
These seems to be another of many projects to clean up Magic Kingdom’s image ahead of “The Most Magical Celebration” beginning October 1, 2021, the park’s 50th birthday.
It’s nice to see that WDW has decided to truly celebrate their 50th the right way… get a facelift and upgrade to a younger model.
The shade was nice, will definitely miss it, wondering if the white flowers will attract the pollinators 🐝 ? Be prepared with Benadryl
Kinda strange. In the Florida heat, don’t you need bigger shade trees? It’s not like they were all that large anyway.
This will drive more people where Disney wants them. Into the air conditioned stores where they can spend more money.
There were also other reasons for removing the trees. Including sight lines and safety. Those trees, sadly, as beautiful as they were, have very weak wood. This means they can break easily, and we do not want that happening!
The “trees” are crepe myrtles. They are the same ones on the corner as you leave main street and enter the hub. And they do look nice.
They will be much easier to keep cut back every year.
You are so right! We are probably going to cut them the same way we do the crepes in the rest of Tomorrowland and at the end of Main Street!
How can I find out about on property hotel updates? Any news on the Polynesian opening? The return of the luau at the Polynesian as well as the hotel spas reopening? We are coming in July.
What’s done with the removed trees? Were they replanted, somewhere else on the Magic Kingdom site, or out in the boonies / still-forested areas?