A Walt Disney World attraction will soon close, seemingly to pave the way for additional parking capacity.
On June 16, 2015, Disney filed a permit request with the South Florida Water Management District so that it could expand the guest parking at the Magic Kingdom. The new parking area will be south of the existing Magic Kingdom parking lots in the area currently occupied by the Richard Petty Driving Experience.
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According to the permit application, the guest parking expansion project generally consists of demolishing the existing Richard Petty speedway / infield and constructing an expansion to the existing surface parking lot.
The closure was announced in February 2015 with Disney saying only that the space would be used for "transportation improvements" per the Orlando Sentinel. The original target date for the speedway closure was June 28, 2015.
Permits indicate that a new dry detention pond will be added to treat the eastern expansion while an existing wet detention pond will serve the remaining expansion areas.
It is perhaps noteworthy that the Magic Kingdom parking lot is located adjacent to Disney's Polynesian Village Resort, home of the newest Disney Vacation Club property. The DVC modifications to the Polynesian elimiated a modest number of parkings spaces, while the twenty shorline bungalows increased overall occupancy of the property. If DVC were to eventually move forward with additional new construction on the Polynesian grounds, a portion of the current Magic Kingdom parking lot could be utilized for resort guest traffic.
Wil Lovato is a contributor to DVCNews.com and has been a Disney Vacation Club owner since 2009. His DVC Home Resorts include Bay Lake Tower, Animal Kingdom Villas, and Aulani. He can be found posting on many Disney discussion forums under the username of “wdrl”.
