The Central Florida Tourism Oversight (CFTOD) District Board of Supervisors has approved an initial $6.75 million budget for a massive electrical system expansion in support of the Cars-themed expansion to Frontierland and the upcoming Villains Land at Magic Kingdom theme park. The budget was unanimously approved during a late January meeting. In this article, we’ll discuss the approved budget and what’s next for the project.
Oversight District Approves $6.7 Million Electrical System Expansion for Magic Kingdom
During a late January meeting, the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a $6.75 million initial budget for an electrical system expansion to Magic Kingdom theme park. Well, that’s what it looks like. Exact details have not been released, so we have to do a bit of reading between the lines to figure out what’s going on. We’ll start with the facts of the recent budget approval, followed by some speculation on what the approval is for.
As outlined in documents published for the late January meeting, the CFTOD Board of Supervisors approved an initial budget of $6.75 million for the North Service Area Electrical System Extension. Of the $6.75 million, $1 million is for Reedy Creek Energy Services (RCES) design/support services, $750,000 for professional services, and $5 million for materials. On top of that, there is a 10% contingency for unforeseen issues.
The CFTOD received a Utility Service Request for a new customer located in the North Service Area. To meet the customer’s increased load requirements, the District must extend the 12,000-volt electric distribution service within the North Service Area.
The scope of work associated with the project includes installing new underground electric cables from the existing 12,000-volt system to the electric service yard that will service the new customer. Other work includes the installation of 12,000-volt protective switches and pad-mounted transformers within the electric service yards to supply power to the new District customer.
The project is one of twenty-two projects that were funded with the $170 million worth of bonds secured late last year.
Ok, those are the facts of the approval, now it’s time for a little bit of reading between the lines. First, it’s worth noting that the new customer that the documents are talking about is Disney. The phrase “new customer” means that there is a new area within Disney’s property that will need service – not that Disney as a whole is a new customer.
Support materials show that the existing North Service Area electric distribution system is located along the Floridian Place road that extends north of Magic Kingdom, connecting to Reams Road. In the screenshot below, we circled the existing 12,000-volt system in red, and overlaid the Magic Kingdom expansion project area in blue (containing Cars and Villains projects).
While not explicitly stated, the proximity and immense power load suggests that the expansion of power from the existing 12,000-volt system will be for the Cars-themed Piston Peak National Park and upcoming Villains Land.
As seen in the aerial photo below from Bioreconstruct, Disney is in the middle of a massive land clearing and grading project for some 33 acres in and around the northwest corner of Magic Kingdom.
There have been some recent rumors that Disney has instructed Imagineers to “dream bigger” when it comes to their plans for Villains Land. While we have some reservations about the rumor, it is clear that Disney isn’t physically too far down the road to make adjustments. Things like land clearing and grading would need to happen anyway, as would sourcing power for the project.
As noted by employees working on the RCES budgeting process, this is an initial budget. As the year progresses, we’ll see bids for the work and a finalization of the project before shovels hit the ground to bring power to the northwest corner of Magic Kingdom.
For everything we know about the Cars-themed expansion to Magic Kingdom’s Frontierland, check out our dedicated project page below!
For everything we know about the upcoming Villains Land at Magic Kingdom, check out our dedicated Villains Land page 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!