Behind The Scenes of Magic Kingdom | MCParks | Minecraft

Earlier today we reached a major milestone for our refreshed version of Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World! This morning we began the lengthy process of moving the entire park to the correct geographical location on the Walt Disney World server. While we always try to iterate and evolve what our parks look like,

The sheer size of the server means some areas can go years without being updated and can eventually fall into disrepair. Most of our current version of Magic Kingdom was build in 2015, making it some of the oldest areas on the server. While we wanted to update the style and detail of these buildings,

We weren’t doing a complete rebuild for many of the park areas- leading to us to refer to this project as a ‘refresh’ rather than a ‘new park’. [Josh] The biggest challenge for this step was figuring out how we would slide this new park

In place of the preexisting one, while being the least intrusive to the guest experience as possible. Most of the work the team does happens on site in the production version of the park, This provides the unique opportunity for our guests to view the construction as it happens live!

For these updates to Magic Kingdom we elected to do them off-site separate from everything else this way the team doesn’t need to worry about working around our guests who are just trying to enjoy the parks. In 2019, myself and a few other Cast Members began slowly updating parts of Magic Kingdom,

Starting with Storybook Circus and eventually moving to other small sections of the park. As we entered 2021, we decided that we wanted to have a larger push to rebuild a major portion of the park to help commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Walt Disney World, so we got to work!

It’s a historic day in MCParks history as we begin moving our new builds onto the server. This marks the first time since 2013, that Magic Kingdom hasn’t been available to all our guests, which should show the scale of this project!

I was able to help work on detailing in several areas of the Magic Kingdom Refresh. Starting with the entrance, I was able to work on the Mickey Flower Garden at the base of the Train Station. This is one of the first things the guests see when they visit Magic Kingdom

Both in real life and on MCParks, so I’m really proud to leave my mark on this popular spot to visit! Additionally I’m working on the Sonny Eclipse animatronic at Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe. For this ambient experience we’re excited to showcase our next test in facial animation and lip syncing of our animatronics!

You can see this in other areas on MCParks such as Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln and other attractions in the near future. As a newer Imagineer on MCParks, Magic Kingdom was my first big project on the team. So being able to see everything fall into place on the server today

Was a real treat! I’ve worked in smaller areas throughout the parks but nothing being worked on at the scale that will eventually be seen by so many people. It’s a cool step to see months of hard work from the team enter public view

Because we’re all extremely proud of how the park is turning out! The Parks Experiences- Pixel Artist team has been the fastest growing team in MCParks and has become one of most integral steps in our development pipeline since the creation of the team in 2020.

Magic Kingdom is going to feature some truly remarkable artwork and animation that the team has been really proud to put together over the past few months! This Pixel Art ranges from small signs on the shops of Main Street to large marquees for attractions. Every image you see in the refresh of Magic Kingdom

Was made by hand by someone on our Pixel Artist team. As this team continues to grow, I can’t wait to see the amazing work the team puts out in the future! I’ve been really lucky to have touched many projects in this park due to the nature of what we’re all working on!

In some areas I’ve done Imagineering work, in some areas I’ve been able to create Tech experiences and effects, while also being able to work on Pixel Art for many areas of this refresh. Having played on MCParks for over two years as a guest

It’s incredible to join the team and help bring this next evolution of the park to life! Two of my favorite additions I’ve contributed to the project are the Carousel of Progress sign and the Tomorrowland Kugel Ball because they both show what we’re able to create

With the tools we have within the limitations of Minecraft! Recently on MCParks, we debuted postion-based effects and interactive elements for our guests. There are currently several small tests and showcases of these effects visible but the effects in Magic Kingdom were all created with this technology in mind.

We can’t wait for you all to see all the incredible interactive elements and random effects while exploring the park! I’ve been very lucky to help bring the Magic Kingdom to life! Usually the Branding team participates in the very last step of development

Telling people about new updated and presenting that information in a fun way, but for Space Mountain I’ve had the opportunity to get my work placed in our flagship park! Bringing the preshow videos to life, I’ve been able to help make our recreation as immersive as possible.

In the past I’ve worked on the Tower of Terror and Indiana Jones Adventure preshows so I jumped on the opportunity to take time away from working on Rise of the Resistance to help out in our most popular park! Tomorrowland is one my favorite lands in the real life parks,

So being able to reimagine how they look on MCParks was a real treat! Whenever people join the team, there’s always this feeling of missing out from new members because they don’t have the opportunity to build something like Magic Kingdom’s Space Mountain

Or work on a Main Street building or various other famous icons in the park. I feel extremely lucky, to have been able to help work on this next evolution of those iconic structures! Today is an important day on MCParks for me! Since we’re now pasting in Tomorrowland on site,

I’m racing against the clock to get People Mover back up and running again. My goal today with this attraction is to beat the clock and getting this crowd-favorite ride back to normal operations. Because of the nature of this expansion and refresh,

Almost all the preexisting work needs to be redone for the People Mover, but that’s ok, since we’re looking to really improve on the overall ride experience! By adjusting speeds to more accurately mimic the real life speeds, providing new providing new build projects for our guests to see,

And creating a much more realistic ride feel, we’re really hoping that our refreshed version of the Tomorrowland Transit Authority Peoplemover will impress every rider! Earlier this year, I was able to bring Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room to life at Disneyland. I’m excited that I had the chance to work on it again

For my favorite Disney Resort, Walt Disney World! Working on this new version of this show provided me the opportunity to develop enhanced ways of bringing this crowd favorite to life. I look forward to our guests being able to experience this familiar attraction in a whole new setting at Adventureland in Magic Kingdom Park!

One of my favorite parts of the changes to Magic Kingdom is the Cinderella Castle interior. I really like how the refreshed version looks because it helps tell the story of the park and provides a complete picture for what the Castle is truly like in real life.

Now that everything is being moved to the public server and getting ready to reopen, it’s incredible to see the hard work the entire team has put into the project pay off! *Overture from Beauty and the Beast playing* A large area of focus for us has been the enchanted forest area,

And while we’re happy to introduce some new visual upgrades to that portion of Fantasyland we’re excited to continue pushing out updates and changes to the space! From Enchanted Tales with Belle, to Be Our Guest, to Gaston’s Tavern and the surrounding village, this area is becoming one of my favorites on MCParks.

Opening in the near future we’re inviting guests to enter Belle’s Cottage on MCParks for the first time as we’re taken back to the day Belle and Beast fell in love. Since the start of MCParks, Enchanted Tales With Belle has been a show

That has really baffled the team in how it would come to life in a way that does the show justice. And while we’re not ready to show all of the tricks we have for the next generation of MCParks Storytelling, we’re really excited to bring this beloved show to MCParks!

With the refreshed Magic Kingdom being pasted in place, we’re starting a quick rush to get as many areas opened and ready for our guests as possible! One of those areas is Be Our Guest. I’ve been tasked with helping make some of the effects in the restaurant.

Right now, I’m working on the West Wing dining room with the switching paintings and the Enchanted Rose. This room is extremely important because so much from the story from Beauty and the Beast is told through those artifacts in this room. I’m thrilled that our guests will be able

Experience this on MCParks similar to how they can in real life! I was able to be a part of the first push towards updating some older parts of Magic Kingdom back in 2019 when I worked on “it’s a small world”. I really appreciate how the spirit we all showed back then

Continues to drive this project forward and I love being able to see how much the technical skill from the team has evolved since then. It’s really remarkable to play a role in the transformation of this park! Back in 2015, I was able to work on the original 7 Dwarfs Mine Train on MCParks.

As a new Technician, I enjoyed the challenge presented to me with this state of the art roller coaster. Now in 2021, as the Lead for the Technician Department, I’m thrilled to be working on the refreshed version of this iconic ride on MCParks! In 2020, several parts of this attraction were touched up

To include a 3D ride vehicle and other small enhancements, but that work was done with the expectation that the rest would follow after it eventually. It’s incredible to see just how much my skill set has evolved over the past 6 years!

I really enjoy being able to bring this version of the Magic Kingdom to life! Having the opportunity to work on several areas of Main Street and Tomorrowland will probably be some of my favorite projects of all time on the sever

The Fire Station was the very first building I ever created for Main Street and I’m so proud of how the Fire Engine turned out! I had a lot of fun recreating Center Street and adding every little detail! It is so surreal to see my hard work on everything

Finally making it onto the server! As the sun begins to set with most our work complete on this phase, we’re all able to take a moment to relax as we welcome in our guests for largest upgrade Magic Kingdom has received nice 2015! Despite being so new to the team

Having the opportunity to work on all these iconic lands inside the park has been incredible and I can’t wait for MCParks to showcase our hard work to all of you! We look forward to reintroducing Magic Kingdom with new refreshed areas on Main Street USA, Tomorrowland, and Fantasyland later this week

As we move towards the 50th Anniversary of Walt Disney World. We can’t wait to share old experiences, refreshed experiences and even brand new experiences with all of you! We’ll see you in the Kingdom!