Walt Disney World has received the green light from the South Florida Water Management District to begin the next phase of construction that will lead to Villains Land and the Cars-themed expansion of Frontierland at Magic Kingdom. The permit was approved just under two months after we first covered the next phase of plans. Here’s the latest.
Next Phase of Construction Approved for Magic Kingdom Expansion
As a reminder, this is the “drain lines” permit that we covered back in October. While it’s not the flashiest story, tracing the drain lines outlined in the permit application actually gave us a pretty good idea of what to expect in terms of the layout of the Cars-themed Piston Peak National Park and the upcoming Villains Land.
The permit outlined a 33-acre impact to the northwest corner of Magic Kingdom, which is where the Cars-themed expansion to Frontierland and the all-new Villains Land will reside. The permit pertained to water management in the northwest corner of Magic Kingdom now that the Rivers of America is being filled in, and new hardscape is being created for attractions and experiences in two new themed areas.
The screenshot above showcases the project scope, comprising 33 acres of theme park and backstage areas. In general, the permit does not directly deal with buildings or attractions planned for the outlined area. Instead, the permit showcases how Disney plans to deal with stormwater once the grading of the northwest section of Magic Kingdom has changed as a result of the planned expansions and offerings.
The permit is for the construction of a conveyance system and a new dry detention pond (attenuation only) for discharge into the nearby canal. The project boundaries contain 33.15 acres of land, including hardscape and natural ground.
While this phase of the project doesn’t deal directly with buildings, we can still get some information based on the planned drain lines.
In the screenshot below, we can see the plans for creating drain lines for stormwater management in the area. Where this becomes useful is in determining what could be the main walkways in the expansion areas. The theory, and I could be off here, but the theory is that Disney would not put drainage lines under large buildings or structures. In theory, you’d want to retain a certain amount of access to these drain lines. If that’s the case, we’d expect that the drain lines would move along lightly-themed areas – such as walkways.
The permit is approved for the standard 5-year timeframe, meaning that it will expire in late 2030. It’s important to note that the late 2030 expiration timeframe does not mean that both Piston Peak National Park and Villains Land will be open by then. Instead, it only means that the scope of work outlined in the permit will need to be completed by then. Disney also has the option of filing an extension.
For now, the approval of this permit signals that the next phase of construction can commence. As a refresher of where we’re at as of today, Disney is still working on grading the site. There is a large pile of dirt where Tom Sawyer Island used to sit, and Disney will spend the next few months (or longer), filling in the former Rivers of America site to create a clean slate to work with.
As part of the grading work, we’d expect that Disney would begin to install the infrastructure outlined in the permit above. Namely, the drain lines and other utilities necessary to support four new attractions, and multiple shops and restaurants part of this massive undertaking.
For a much deeper dive into the permit and what it implies for the layout of Piston Peak National Park and Villains Land, check out our article below!
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!
What does anyone think about the concept artwork of the castle on top of the mountain being to the West. It looks to me like the sunset would be behind that and I would think that would be to the West.