With the Disney parks closed and construction halted right now, there are a lot of what-ifs about the near future of Disney. Luckily, when things calm down and the parks reopen, construction will pick back up again! That’s good to hear because we are SUPER excited about some upcoming projects.

You know we love to keep an eye out for construction in the park, but since we’re not getting the chance to hang out with Mickey and pals right now, we’re looking into a bunch of building permits instead! Oh, boy, did we dig up some great peeks at behind the scenes work in Disney World! Check it out!

Just like everybody else, Disney has to file permits with the government when they want to take on a construction project. Now, we keep an eye on these permits ALL THE TIME and a lot of them are just for general work. We bet you don’t want to hear about roofing, plumbing, and electrical! On the other hand, we bet you DO want to hear about upcoming attractions and other exciting news! Here’s what we found.

Magic Kingdom

Peter Pan’s Flight

We’re starting off our tour of behind-the-scenes work this month in Magic Kingdom where a much-loved Fantasyland dark ride will be getting a healthy dose of TLC. On March 3rd, we spotted a building permit for Peter Pan’s Flight. Now, no worries. This infamously popular attraction doesn’t have any major work or closures announced for it. Instead, the permit was for “General Conditions” from a creative environments contracting firm.

This likely means that the theming in either the queue or the attraction itself is getting a little touch-up. Of course, if Peter Pan’s Flight is set to undergo any work that will interrupt the day for guests, we’ll be sure to let you know. But, in the meantime, it looks like a little non-disruptive work is going into the theming to keep the lost boys and pirates looking as spiffy as ever.

Stitch’s Great Escape

As you might have seen, we also dug up two VERY exciting permits for the address registered to Stitch’s Great Escape! This attraction has been primarily closed since 2016, so seeing ANY work on the building is exciting. Still, this work is especially notable because it calls for the demolition of the interior. Could this mean we’re getting something new in the ol’ Stitch space?

Maybe! Still, this permit could be for a separate part of the building or even for just a portion of the attraction. Regardless, we’ve been seeing all sorts of changes around Tomorrowland and we’d love to see the Stitch space in use once more.

Want to learn more about the surprising Stitch’s Great Escape permits? Click here!

Epcot

Epcot Fireworks Trailer

Heading on over to Epcot, we spotted two exciting permits for the construction-riddled park. The first is for the Epcot Fireworks Trailer for some “electrical installation.” Now, of course, electrical work goes on all the time and isn’t usually anything to write home about. But, in this case, we’re thinking the permit could have something to do with some NEW electrical work… Harmonious, perhaps? It IS supposed to open in Spring of 2020!

Two things about the permit stand out. The first is that it was ordered by Walt Disney Imagineering instead of Walt Disney World Resort. Standard electrical work is usually overseen by the resort departments instead of Imagineers. So, this work must be at least a little interesting.

PLUS, the permit calls for “installation.” Regular maintenance shouldn’t require the installation of anything new, but set up for an upcoming fireworks show sure might!

Click here to learn everything we know about the upcoming Harmonious!

Journey Parking Lot

We also found a permit for just outside of Epcot in the parking lot. Journey Parking Lot is apparently getting an expansion and Disney is set to clear trees and structures to prep for it.

Although more parking might not sound that exciting, we’re pretty interested considering Disney World’s 50th Anniversary is coming up in 2021 and Epcot’s 40th Anniversary is soon after. There sure are going to be a LOT of people who need to park at Epcot!

Hollywood Studios

Roundup Rodeo BBQ

Over in Hollywood Studios, we’re waiting patiently for the opening of Roundup Rodeo BBQ, the new table-service restaurant coming to Toy Story Land. Well, it looks like we’re two very big steps closer since we spotted a couple of BIG progress permits for the restaurant recently! First, we noticed a permit on March 3rd to “install entrance marquee” at the spot. That’s right, they’re ready to get the sign up on the building!

Then, a little over a week later, we spotted one for the fabrication and installation of set elements in the new restaurant space as well. Neat! Looks like Andy’s play area, complete with toy pals, is really coming together! We can’t wait to get our nosh on at this new dining location when it opens later this year.

Click here to learn more about Roundup Rodeo BBQ!

Disney World Resorts

Galactic Starcruiser

And last but CERTAINLY not least, we spotted a permit for work on Disney World’s new Galactic Starcruiser! Yep — the Star Wars Hotel!

This new hotel experience is set to be a vacation like never before and we should see it opening in 2021. Woohoo!

The permit we found says that work is being done to “construct a guard shack and security booth” for the hotel. The building sits right behind Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and looks like it will be most easily accessible from World Drive. We can’t WAIT to go on our own space adventure!

Want to learn more about what to expect from Galactic Starcruiser? Click here!

And that’s all we’ve got for our permit update this time, but hey, we found some pretty exciting ones, huh? We’ll definitely keep digging through Disney files to bring you some inside details. Until next time!

What do you think of some of these behind-the-scenes projects? Tell us in the comments!