Has the Castle moat been drained [Merged Threads]

[epceddie]

Read that the moat around the castle was supposed to be drained on Jan.3. Has this happened?
Also, have the castle renovations begun yet?

[WDWfanatic742]

Read it's been pushed back to Friday. Not sure why though...

[Patricia]

I would think it has something to do with the Marathon weekend.. it would not be good to start work on the castle (they run through it) till that is over.

[Buttercup]

I thought none of the castle refurbs were supposed to start until January 12th? (I read that in Figment's "Tidbits")

[Gator]

Maybe they'll push it off until Feb 1. That'd be fine my be.

[jwildflower1981]

Does anyony know when the castle will be finished?

[Patricia]

Work on the castle will not be completed till late March. I'm not sure if they will keep the moat drained the entire time or not.

[csdavis]

We were there yesterday and it had not been drained yet. There were a lot of people standing around with blueprints- I guess for the Fantasyland renovation. They may drain it for something to do with that. I think it starts the 12th.

[Buttercup]

Actually, I don't think the moat being drained has to do with the Fantasyland refurb. They're just freshening up the exterior of the castle facing Main Street USA, and in order to set up the scaffolding, etc., it was my understanding the moat would have to be drained. They did the Fantasyland side of the castle back in September.

[Genie1953]

Does anyone know how long will this refurbishing take? Will it be done by April 10 when we arrive at Disneyworld?

[JPL]

You should be fine in April especially that close to Easter

[Figment!]

The castle moat is currently in process of being drained. Low construction walls have started to be placed, with the higher walls and scrim expected to go up over the next day.

The refurbishment is tentatively scheduled to be completed March 25, 2010.

[Gator]

Saw pictures today of the moat being drained. Should be quite magical to see:thedolls:

[ChipNDale79]

Saw pictures today of the moat being drained. Should be quite magical to see:thedolls:

If your so upset about disney maintaining their property during the slowest time of the year, then why are you going?

[Buttercup]

I saw (on another Disney site) pictures of the scrim (painted screen) they had at the back of the castle when it was being refurbished in September. I must say, I was quite pleasantly surprised. It was painted just like the actual bricks and wasn't ugly or obtrusive at all.

From what I read on this other site, the scrim on the front of the castle is only going to be 25ft high, painted similar to the one they used on the backside. Again - pleasantly surprised. I was under the impression that the ENTIRE front of the castle would be covered in a scrim -- but just the bottom section of the castle apparently is. 25-feet would only be the first sort-of "level" to the castle, not all the towers above.

I was wondering about this as we're taking our neighbours to Florida in a few weeks and they've never been to WDW and I was sort-of hoping the castle would be there to "wow" them. :mickey: Glad to see it's not going to be as horrible as imagined!

Now, as for the moat being drained, that doesn't bother me - you don't need the moat to be filled to have great pictures. :thumbsup:

[Patricia]

The scrims are always very well done. I have seen quite a few of them on other trips and feel that they blend quite nicely. Last year Italy was under wraps during Christmas (pun intended).

As the front of the castle will be under the scrim when I am there this year, I intend to take pictures on the back side.

Hmm, I just realized.. I don't have any back side castle pics. :D

[Gator]

If your so upset about disney maintaining their property during the slowest time of the year, then why are you going?

Because I booked flights back in April. Had I know they were draining the moat, boarding up Crystal Palace, and closing Splash Mountain, I wouldn't have booked for January. Do you think that posters can just drop $600 to change flights?

[John]

Because I booked flights back in April. Had I know they were draining the moat, boarding up Crystal Palace, and closing Splash Mountain, I wouldn't have booked for January. Do you think that posters can just drop $600 to change flights?

But anyone who spends more than a few days on the boards here knows that January thru Spring is the time where Disney reloads, repairs and refurbishes.

If you don't want to deal with things being out of service or under repair, you don't book when crowds are low.

It's a trade off - low crowds, a few less attractions. Big crowds, most everything working, longer wait times.

It is what it is. I for one am glad things are being tended to and kept up - and when we go as a family, it's usually in January. Heck, I even take shorter park hours as a trade off - of course, someone could argue, since the ticket price is the same, I am getting less for my money...... :rolleyes:

[Ian]

But anyone who spends more than a few days on the boards here knows that January thru Spring is the time where Disney reloads, repairs and refurbishes.

If you don't want to deal with things being out of service or under repair, you don't book when crowds are low.

It's a trade off - low crowds, a few less attractions. Big crowds, most everything working, longer wait times.:ditto:

[BigThunderFan]

OK all, let's not get into the January refurb debate again. I'm pretty sure it is now beating a dead horse (or mouse) after the last thread on this was shut down. I think most of us already voiced our opinions on both sides in that thread.

Wait... Booo on castle refurb...

OK, NOW we can call this closed for debate. :thedolls:

Back to the OP topic: Has anyone seen pictures of how the castle looks with the scrim up yet? I'm curious what to expect.

[Strmchsr]

Back to the OP topic: Has anyone seen pictures of how the castle looks with the scrim up yet? I'm curious what to expect.

As of yesterday (Jan 13) the screen wasn't up yet. The moat was drained and the crane was there taking down the Dreamlights, but there wasn't nothing else in front of the castle. According to the CM I talked to yesterday it'll probably be up tomorrow or the weekend.

[Altair]

I just want to say thanks to Disney for turning the icycle lights on this Monday, 1/11. They did this even though they were in the process of removing them. It was a pleasant surprise.:mickey::thumbsup:

Many of the Christmas decorations were still up as of 1/13. Many of the workers may have been busy winterizing plants and water pipes during the cold snap.

[hubbyofadisneyholic]

I'm not going to get into the whole January rehab thing, but I have to say having a huge crane next to the Castle does kind of ruin the "magic" a bit.;)

But, on the other hand it was nice to have the Christmas decorations still up most places earlier in the week. I guess that's the silver lining to the cold weather...:D:D

[Imagineer1981]

Just got back. The moat was drained and looks werid. Also the castle had a huge crane behind it taking down Christmas. definitely ruined the magic

[DisneyPrincess21]

Is the crane there just to take down the decorations/lights? Or is it there for the construction/refurb of the castle?

[Strmchsr]

Is the crane there just to take down the decorations/lights? Or is it there for the construction/refurb of the castle?

Some of both. It's there to take down the lights but will be used for a couple of other things before they remove it.

[DisneyPrincess21]

Some of both. It's there to take down the lights but will be used for a couple of other things before they remove it.

Do you think ths crane will be gone by the end of
Feb?

[beksy]

I just want to say thanks to Disney for turning the icycle lights on this Monday, 1/11. They did this even though they were in the process of removing them. It was a pleasant surprise.:mickey::thumbsup:

Many of the Christmas decorations were still up as of 1/13. Many of the workers may have been busy winterizing plants and water pipes during the cold snap.

I know what you mean. We checked into the CR on the 1st and I warned Mom the light would only be on for the first couple of days (I'd read somewhere they stopped being turned on around the 3rd) but each night we had a special treat when they were turned on again! :cloud9: It was great since Mom had to stay in the room a good bit due to all the cold weather. I never thought about why the decorations were still mostly up when we left on the 10th but it might have been dealing with all the cold.

[pixiesmimi]

Well, it isn't just during the off season when the crane is up, etc. We went during a very busy time in August and the crane was up, I guess putting up lights. Ruined all our Anniversary Castle pictures. But that's life!

[Jeff T]

Does anyone know how long the moat and waterways within the Magic Kingdom will remained empty? Recently they were drained.

[Strmchsr]

Does anyone know how long the moat and waterways within the Magic Kingdom will remained empty? Recently they were drained.

Probably until the end of March when they are finished with the castle refurb. The moat had to be drained so that they could clean it up and get all their equipment in for the castle refurb.