New aerial photos from friend of the site Bioreconstruct offer a fresh overhead look at Piston Peak National Park construction at Magic Kingdom. Crews have buried the utility pipes previously staged throughout the site, with primarily stubs now poking up from the graded dirt. Two of the new photos also offer a wide combined view of both the Piston Peak site and the future Villains Land footprint. Here’s a look around!
New Aerial Photos Show Piston Peak Pipes Buried
IN THIS ARTICLE:
- Crews have buried the utility pipes previously staged throughout the site, leaving primarily stubs visible above the graded dirt.
- The concrete retaining wall continues to outline the site’s southern perimeter past the former Liberty Square Riverboat launch.
- Two wide overview shots capture both the Piston Peak site and the future Villains Land footprint together.
Pipes Now Buried Across the Site
The most notable change in this batch of aerials is what we can’t see. Crews spent recent weeks installing utility pipes throughout the site, as we reported earlier this month. Those pipes are now primarily covered with dirt. Mainly small stubs remain visible, poking up from the graded earth in scattered clusters.
The site looks very different from above than it did even a couple of weeks ago. Exposed pipe runs and staged materials have given way to smoothed dirt and continued equipment movement. Excavators and dump trucks remain active throughout the site. Mud-caked tire tracks crisscross the graded surface in wide arcs, almost serving as a preview of the off-road rally race attraction coming to the Cars-themed land.
Retaining Wall and Riverboat Launch Area
The concrete retaining wall that will support the planned stream continues to wrap the site’s southern edge. It runs past the former Liberty Square Riverboat launch building toward Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. The wall’s angled, stepped sections trace the future waterway’s shoreline. That matches the development we tracked in the site’s most recent ground-level update. Standing water still pools behind some sections, a holdover from recent rain.
Near the Haunted Mansion side of the site, a metal-framed structure sits visible behind the construction wall. It’s built onto the back of the former Mike Fink Keel Boat Landing building. That matches what we found on a recent visit to the site.
A Combined Look at Piston Peak and Villains Land
Two of the new photos are wider overview shots that frame the entire construction footprint in one image. They stretch from the Piston Peak site on the south side of the plot to the Villains Land staging area on the north side. Stacks of pipe, concrete drainage sections, and other materials remain staged in neat rows across the Villains Land portion of the site. That mirrors what we previously saw there.
The wide shots also show just how much of the former Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island footprint the combined project now covers. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad serves as a visual anchor point on the site’s western edge in both photos.
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!