The Magic Kingdom Welcome Show moves to Cinderella Castle stage in the new year

Dec 28, 2016 in "Magic Kingdom"

Posted: Wednesday December 28, 2016 1:18pm EST by WDWMAGIC Staff

Disney has today confirmed that the Magic Kingdom Welcome Show will move from the front of the park to the Cinderella Castle stage.

Beginning January 9 2017, guests will be allowed to enter the Main Street, U.S.A. area of the park earlier than the park's scheduled opening time for shopping and breakfast at the Main Street Bakery.

At opening, a new welcome show will officially open the park for the day on the Castle Forecourt Stage. A Royal Herald will appear to deliver a proclamation and welcome a few familiar characters to the stage, officially opening the park so “the magic can begin!”

The park's current Welcome Show takes place on the Main Street Railroad Station. More security screening has made the entrance area of the park increasingly crowded, and the existing Welcome Show causes significant crowds to gather at the entrance. Besides the additional shopping and dining time, the move should help to alleviate some of that congestion, making arriving at the park a more pleasant experience.

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ToTBellHopMar 15, 2017

That's the norm. The counter service breakfast places open at 8.

DryerLintFanMar 15, 2017

When I first heard of this I thought it was going to be like a corn dog but with a tater tot shell, lol. Which sounds amazing! But this,... I could definitely pass on this.

DisneyDreamer08Mar 15, 2017

Just a bit of an update in regards to EMH/8am opening. Kenny the Pirate is there now according to FB. He tapped his band at 7:15 but everyone is being held at the entrance to the tunnel. Someone commented that this same thing happened to them a few weeks ago and they weren't let in til 7:55. Does anyone know if this is the norm? It could certainly throw off some plans if you were hoping to grab an early breakfast.

wdriveMar 09, 2017

They open at normal park opening

slackhouseMar 09, 2017

we went to MK on the Sunday of the Princess Race (2/26). Due to the road closures, it took us an hour to get from PO FQ to MK (including the bus dropping us off at the Transportation Center, and us having to take the monorail to MK). We arrived at MK maybe at 9:05 or 9:10. There was maybe a 10 minute wait to see Mickey and the Tinker Bell line was way, way shorter. I had this same question and didn't really know what to do. We just kind of winged it and it worked out okay for us. We weren't there early enough to see if it was open prior to 9 though.

ml123_9Mar 09, 2017

So with the new procedure, is the meet and greet for The Main Cheese and/or Tink opening early, or are people queing up and waiting for it to open at normal time?

Mark P.Feb 17, 2017

There's no mention of EMH in that post.

cjkeatingFeb 17, 2017

When did e-a-s-y-w-d-w become an enemy of the site?

wdriveFeb 17, 2017

This may be of some help http://www.*******.com/easy/blog/magic-kingdom-seven-dwarfs-mine-train-rope-drop-with-new-opening-procedure/ EDIT: The website seems to be an enemy of WDWMagic. Put 'e-a-s-y-w-d-w' without the dashes in place of the stars.

Mark P.Feb 16, 2017

It's been a few weeks now -- does anyone have any update on the EMH situation? Our current plan has us at MK from "rope drop" to close (with an obligatory midday Mizner's break) on a day with AM EMH, and while seeing the show isn't a "must-do" I'm curious how it will affect crowd flow that morning...

GoofyernmostJan 30, 2017

This is how I think they figured it out. 1. Main Street USA. 2. Adventureland, 3. Frontierland. 4. Liberty Square. 5. Fantasyland. 6. Tomorrowland and 7. What used to be Toon Town or Mickeys place or whatever they called it. Which was torn down and became part of Fantasyland again. Or 6 lands now.

HauntedMansionFLAJan 29, 2017

Are lines longer now at 9 till 10?

slackhouseJan 24, 2017

Any insight into how this affects lines for Mickey and Tink at Town Square Theater? Is it open when guests are waiting for the new show to start? We normally go straight to see Mickey at rope drop on our 2nd MK day. I need to know if I need to adjust plans to get there early now that this change is in effect.