Walt Disney World has made some progress on the complete refresh of the Cool Ship kiosk at Magic Kingdom. It’s been a while since we’ve published photos of the work, so we stopped by Tomorrowland for a ride aboard the PeopleMover for the most relaxing construction update possible. Here’s a look at the latest progress.
Foundation Poured for Return of Cool Ship in Tomorrowland
First, here’s a look back at what Cool Ship looked like. The snack kiosk previously had two structures. The “Cool Scanner” included a red ship on top, and misting spray during hot days for a quick cool down. Next to the ship was the snack kiosk, which had a number of different menu items over the years, including sushi! More recently, the venue had a less inspired lineup of popcorn, ice cream novelties, and soda.
The Cool Ship refurbishment began back in May, and the kiosk itself was removed shortly thereafter. Since then, crews have taken the entire pad down to dirt for a bottom-up rebuild of the foundation. Walt Disney World has not returned a request for comment on whether or not the structure will change at all during the refurbishment. Offically, Walt Disney World has only said that “Cool Ship is temporarily closed for refurbishment and is expected to reopen later this year”.
Here’s a look at the area from our visit to Magic Kingdom this morning! As you can see, the foundation has been poured, and it looks like screws are in place for the arrival of the structure. Interestingly, based on the visible foundation, it looks like changes are on the way for Cool Ship – perhaps even an entirely new structure.
The layout of the foundation doesn’t look like it’ll support the layout of the old structure. If I had to guess, it looks like the Cool Scanner portion of the kiosk will not be supported. At the very least, there are no in-ground drains to support the old misting feature.
It looks like the kiosk will retain a rounded shape, but I’m honestly not seeing much here that would indicate that the old kiosk will return. An interesting curb feature to the right of the foundation is inconsistent with the old layout, and the singular square concrete block to the left of the kiosk wouldn’t support the Cool Scanner structure of old.
Here’s a look at the foundation, followed by a look back at the old Cool Ship structure. The only other thing I could think of that could still “save” the old structure is that there is an orientation change coming that will be revealed when the slab of concrete “behind” the structure is complete.
Here are a couple more photos of the area as our PeopleMover vehicle kept on rolling by.
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!