Disney World is constantly working on updates around its stores, parks, and hotels, and now we’ve got some clues about what changes could be coming next!

We constantly look at the latest permits filed that could be related to Disney projects to see what is being planned for the future. We’ve seen permits indicating possible restaurant remodels, changes at Magic Kingdom rides, and more. So now let’s take a closer look at what other updates could be hitting popular Disney World spots soon!

Before we dive in, we want to note that technically what we look at are called Notices of Commencement. These typically indicate that work on projects at these addresses could start soon. Here’s what type of work we could see in the next few months.

Hotel News

We’re back with ANOTHER update from Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. We’ve seen a few different permits filed for the hotel in the past related to its main building and other spots, and now ANOTHER has been filed.

On the one hand, the continued filing of these permits related to the Grand Floridian is not surprising given the amount of ongoing construction there. But we do think this permit is particularly interesting.

Why? Well, the location of the work is 4401 Floridian Way, which is tied to the Grand Floridian’s main building. But the really interesting part is the contractor listed on the permit — Friedrich Walkins Company. According to their website, this company does a number of things including working as a general contractor, designing builds, and…hotel renovations. Hmm…fascinating.

Their website displays many projects they’ve worked on for Disney specifically, including hotel renovations at Disney’s Old Key West Resort, Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort (and All-Star Music), Disney’s Port Orleans Resort, Disney’s BoardWalk Resort, and more.

The filing of this permit with this specific contractor is of particular interest mainly because Disney previously announced that the Grand Floridian lobby would be undergoing a refurbishment. Could this be the permit to indicate that those changes will be taking place soon? It’s not clear.

The permit only notes that it is for “general construction” (not much in terms of details there), and is not set to expire until June 4th, 2024. So it’s possible that this is just a permit for other work, but we’ll certainly look for updates.

Click here to read more about the changes at the Grand Floridian

A Store UPDATE

Next up, we have a very interesting permit related to a Disney Springs store — specifically, the oh-so-popular LEGO store. The permit specifies that the work that will be done is the “installation of temp. animat[]ed characters in planter.”

That alone makes this unique — what temp. animated characters could be coming to planters at the LEGO store? This almost sounds like it could be for the installation of new LEGO statues (perhaps outside the store) that maybe move a little? It’s been a while since we’ve seen new LEGO statues outside the store so that would be a cool possibility.

The contractor involved in Southeastern Lightning Solutions, who we’ve seen listed on other permits related to work in Disney Springs. According to their website, this contractor has worked on a number of large signs (sometimes illuminated), typically for restaurants or stores like AutoZone, Waffle House, and more.

This permit is set to automatically expire 1 year from June 6th, 2023, so we’ll have to see what changes take place there. Another permit related to the LEGO store also involving Southeastern Lighting Solutions has been filed, though that one is just for “general construction,” so we’ll watch for updates.

Ride Changes

When it comes to ride changes, there are two main ones we want to tackle. First, there’s a permit related to work at the future home of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. We’ve seen quite a few of these recently, but this is a newer one for the “fab” (which we expect means fabrication) and “install of aluminum & FRP items.” It looks like FRP items could be fiberglass-reinforced plastics.

The owner of the property is listed as Walt Disney Imagineering, which can sometimes signal important changes coming to a ride on property. The contractor working on this is Mecca Productions, Inc. which we’ve seen involved in other work around Magic Kingdom before.

According to their LinkedIn, “Mecca Productions is a full service custom fabrication and design facility.” They are reportedly the country’s “leading Halloween fabricator” and describe themselves as being “committed to delivering world-class experiences through the creative design and integration of themed environments for attractions, theme parks, museums, corporate events and more.”

The permit is set to automatically expire 1 year from June 7th, 2023. Disney previously announced that a tiara-topped water tower will be debuting at this attraction in the summer, so it is interesting to see this permit filed now. It could be related to that or related to a variety of other things.

There are a LOT of changes going on with this ride as it undergoes its massive transformation, so we’ll continue to watch for any updates.

Click here to see whether a Tiana’s Palace Restaurant could come to Disney World

Next, we have a permit for an address that links to the Cambodian Ruins at the Jungle Cruise ride. The work to be done here is only noted as “general construction.” It is set to be completed by Adena Corporation and the expiration date is June 2nd, 2024.

What’s interesting about this is that it is the second permit we’ve seen filed recently related to the Jungle Cruise. The other was filed a few weeks ago for the main Jungle Cruise ride entrance building but also involves Adena Corporation and is not set to expire until May 25th, 2024.

According to the Adena website, they do a bunch of work on different projects, including amusement parks. Their experience includes amusement rides, indoor waterparks, lazy rivers, ride stations, roller coasters, thrill rides, water slide complexes, and wave pools.

The combination of their experience with rides in general and water-specific amusement park experiences makes their work on the Jungle Cruise particularly appropriate.

But just what is going on here? It’s not clear since this latest permit just says it’s for “general construction” and it won’t expire for quite some time, but we’ll keep our eyes peeled to see what might get altered on this classic attraction.

Finally, we do want to quickly mention one other interesting ride-related permit, this time at…The Haunted Mansion!

There’s not a lot of specificity here as the permit just says the work will be to “Provide labor, material and/or electrical for construction,” but it is interesting to see something filed for that address. The owner listed is not Imagineering (instead, the owner listed is Walt Disney World Resort — so that might indicate that it won’t be a substantial change on the ride) and the contractor is Buena Vista Construction Company (Disney’s internal contractor), so there’s not a lot of information to gather from there.

But, considering the fact that the Hatbox Ghost is coming to The Haunted Mansion in 2023, we can’t help but be hopeful that this could relate to the iconic ghost. On the other hand, it could just be related to some general behind-the-scenes work, only time will tell!

And those are the big permit updates for this week. We’ll continue to watch for updates and let you know what we find — stay tuned for the latest updates.

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Click here to see what CHANGES have hit a popular restaurant in Disney Springs

 What do you think about these potential changes? Tell us in the comments.