Walt Disney World has made two schedule changes for shows at the Cinderella Castle forecourt stage, as expected. The changes will take place on January 28th, which is when Disney previously announced that changes would occur. That said, we’re of the opinion that the Cinderella Castle project is already a little bit behind schedule. Let’s investigate.
Changes to Cinderella Castle Stage Shows as Repainting Begins
We’ll start with the facts. Starting January 28th, there are no showtimes listed for the Let the Magic Begin welcome show. This show is typically performed just a few minutes before Magic Kingdom officially opens each morning. Previously, Walt Disney World said that there would be modified performances of Let the Magic Begin. We’ve reached out for more information and will keep you updated should we hear back from Disney.
Another change in the operating schedule removes morning performances of Mickey’s Magical Friendship Faire. Starting January 28th, the two morning performances that are typically on the schedule will be removed. Instead, there will be an additional evening performance, with an overall impact of one fewer performance per day. Here’s a look at the upcoming schedule change.
Now through January 27
- 10:05am, 11:05am, 12:40pm, 1:55pm, 4:00pm
Beginning January 28
- 1:00pm, 2:05pm, 4:00pm, 5:15pm
Now, why do we think that the Cinderella Castle repainting project is behind? Well, Walt Disney World previously announced that work around Cinderella Castle would begin in early January. My assumption was that the “early January” timeframe was within the first two weeks of the month. Now, we’re nearly three weeks into the new year, and there is no visible work taking place.
Disney previously announced that the first thing that guests would see would be the draining of the moat around Cinderella Castle. As of today, the moat draining has not begun. In fact, there are no temporary dams installed in the moat yet. This leads me to believe that we’re somewhere between a week and two weeks behind schedule at this point.
If I had to point my finger, I would say that the reason for this could be the ongoing Hallmark Channel filming that we recently saw taking place near Cinderella Castle. Because Hallmark is creating a holiday season movie at Walt Disney World, they need holiday decorations to remain in place. This year, holiday decorations remained in place at Magic Kingdom longer than I remember them remaining in years past. This was likely due to a delay in the Hallmark Channel filming.
In fact, there is still holiday decor in place at at least one Walt Disney World Resort hotel where holiday filming was taking place this morning. More on that in another article.
All told, we expect that the draining of the Cinderella Castle moat will begin very shortly, hopefully this week. That is a necessary step before high-reach cranes can allow crews to repaint Cinderella Castle.
If you’re visiting in the next few months, keep in mind that Walt Disney World has announced that cranes will be lifted in the morning hours, but that they will be lowered out of sight by noon each and every day, creating picture-perfect views of the iconic castle in the afternoons and evenings.
Walt Disney World encourages guests to enjoy everything that the park has to offer in the morning, and to return in the afternoons and evenings for photos with Cinderella Castle.
Disney says that the new paint scheme will be completed later in the year, with an exact end date not announced yet. Of course, we’ll be sure to keep an eye on the project and keep you updated every step of the way!
The updated paint will feature grays, creams, blues, and touches of gold, aiming to enhance the castle’s architecture.
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!
