As part of a D23 interview, Imagineering President Bob Weis talked a bit about a few project timelines and how they have been impacted by COVID-19.
When asked about a timeline for the Princess and the Frog overlay to Splash Mountain, Weis expanded on how Imagineering is looking at various projects currently underway at their theme parks.
We have separate project teams working on these efforts, but we are still evaluating project timelines based on the extended closures we’ve experienced due to COVID-19.
While several projects, like Avengers Campus—at both Disney California Adventure and Disneyland Paris—are able to surge forward based on where we were in development, there are others that will be picked back up in stages—like Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway and TRON—and some that are longer-term that we will need more time to assess. We are working with our operations partners now to determine timing for this project to get under way.
For now, we know that both Magic Kingdom and Disneyland parks will re-open with the existing Splash Mountain attraction.
From the sounds of it, the construction site for TRON Lightcycle Run at Magic Kingdom might not spring back to life like it was before the theme parks closed back in mid-March. As we have reported numerous times, construction has not restarted at the TRON Lightcycle Run site. The above statement from Weis confirms that reporting.
While Disney has yet to give an official updated timeline for any of its projects under development, calling out TRON Lightcycle Run specifically in this interview is interesting. TRON is far from the only attraction underway at Walt Disney World right now, but it is possibly the most visible project, sitting in a partial state of completion next to Space Mountain in Tomorrowland. TRON Lightcycle Run was previously part of a lineup of new attractions and experiences announced to debut in 2021 ahead of Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary celebration.
Back when the parks closed, we told you that projects were being defunded. A story later backed up by Disney when they announced that they would be saving nearly $1 billion by stopping some construction and refurbishment projects. While defunded doesn’t mean cancelled, and it’s very likely that a lot of the projects we’ve been eagerly watching the construction of will be finished eventually, the originally announced timelines could be considerably later than previously announced.
Weis did not address any other projects by name, including the rumored cancellation of the Reflections DVC property, or the massive EPCOT overhaul.
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com for the latest Disney Parks news and photos. We’ll continue to bring you news and photos, where possible, through the Disney Parks closure due to Coronavirus (COVID-19) and will resume our normal coverage once the parks reopen to guests on July 11th!
What about the construction in both malls at the Magic Kingdom. Is the revamp at the TTC done and the mess at the magic kingdom including a walk way to the Grand Florida Completed.