The summer officially concludes in just a few weeks, and as we prepare for the final stretch of 2015, we wanted to take a moment and look at some of Disney’s in-progress projects that are supposed to be complete by the end of this year. While some of these projects are still on track to be done by the end of the year, others are inexplicably overdue, and may not be completed at all this year.  

1. The completion of the hub at Magic Kingdom

The hub at Magic Kingdom hit a milestone last week when a new walkway leading towards Fantasyland was unveiled. Though this doesn’t exactly seem like huge cause for celebration, progress on this project has been so slow that any development at all seems like a big deal. Though the hub expansion is supposed to be complete by the end of this year, with walls still up in several places around Cinderella Castle, it seems doubtful that Disney will meet that goal, and we probably won’t be able to enjoy a barrier-free hub until early 2016… unless we’re really really lucky. 

2. MyMagic+ and MagicBands in Disneyland

© Disney

Late last year it was revealed that Disneyland Resort was going to be getting MyMagic+ and MagicBands sometime in 2015 as part of Disney’s plan to expand the reach of this all-encompassing technology. However, since the announcement was made back in December 2014, we haven’t heard anything further about Disney’s plans to introduce MagicBands to the west coast.

Though there was a rumor several months ago that implied Disney was planning to begin MyMagic+ tests in August, no announcements were ever made, and with the large influx of guests about to hit the resort for the Halloween and Christmas holidays, the timing doesn’t seem to be ideal to introduce this complex system at Disneyland Resort, even if it is (mostly) free of the bugs that plagued the Walt Disney World version in its early days. Though Disneyland did release a wait times app that is obviously a precursor to its version of My Disney Experience, we’d guess that the first stages of a full MyMagic+ rollout are still several months away. 

3. The Launch Bay comes to Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Though it was just announced this past week at the D23 Expo, Disney is planning on opening the Star Wars Launch Bay walk-though attraction at Disney’s Hollywood Studios before the end of the year. While that seems abnormally fast for Disney, it looks like they might actually meet this goal, as demolition on the exterior of the former Magic of Disney Animation building has been moving at quite a rapid pace, with the giant Sorcerer Mickey sign outside the attraction coming down only days after this attraction’s closure.

Of course, the pressure is definitely on to get this new attraction open, as many of the exhibits will be tied to the upcoming Episode VII film, which will open in December. Though Disney might be cutting it close with this attraction, we’re optimistic that it will be open sometime in November, just in time for guests to check out props, games, etc. from the new film.

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Source: http://www.themeparktourist.com/news