If you’ve never heard of the shoe tree, pull up a chair, let’s talk. As legend has it, there’s a tree in Bay Lake that is called the shoe tree. Sorry, was called the shoe tree. As the story goes, the tree contained shoes from decades of Cast Members, deposited there after they retired. In recent years, the tradition has continued, but instead of all Cast Members, only watercraft Cast Members working Bay Lake and the Seven Seas Lagoon partook in the tradition. Now, it’s gone.
Shoe Tree Stripped of Cast Member Sneakers
As we understand it, the shoe tree was stripped very recently – likely this week. The reasoning, we’re told, is that views from the nearby Disney Lakeshore Lodge would be impacted. Specifically, views out the back of the table-service restaurant that sits right on the shoreline next to the shoe tree. After hearing that the shoes may be gone, we got on the first boat out of Magic Kingdom to see for ourselves.
Before we get to what the tree looks like today, here’s a look back at what the legendary shoe tree looked like a couple of weeks ago. We’ve been keeping an eye on it after hearing rumors last year that the tree could be cleaned of the Cast Member shoes due to the yet-to-open Disney Lakeshore Lodge.
As you may be able to see in the photo below, the tree itself sat outside of the construction barrier for the new 900+ room hotel. That said, the impact on the hotel wasn’t literal, it was visual.
Well, unfortunately, most of the shoes were recently removed. Now, it’s not all bad news. We’re told that the shoes have been relocated and that the tradition will continue. In fact, we had to pull out our zoom lens to find the new shoe tree with all of the relocated sneakers. But more on that in a bit.
Before we get to the relocated shoes, here’s where they used to sit. The shoe tree is now mostly shoeless, with the remaining sneakers set to be removed at some point, I’m sure.
Not only is the tree home to just a few remaining shoes, but it is also home to what appears to be a double-crested cormorant.
In the background, we can see the table service restaurant under construction. This restaurant will likely have some good views of Bay Lake, but who wants to be staring at 40-year-old sneakers while cutting into their filet mignon?
Thanks to some wonderful watercraft Cast Members, we were able to spot the new shoe tree, way off in the distance across Bay Lake. In fact, the new tree is nearly a mile northwest of the old tree. The new tree is near the backstage entrance to the Magic Kingdom area marina. We can just make out some white in the tree near the left sign in the photos 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!