Closure Update: Disney Sets Deadline for Main Street, U.S.A. Transformation

Disney has fixed the closure date for a Main Street staple as it preps to give it a “substantial makeover.”

All of Disney’s theme parks across the globe undergo regular renovations and makeovers to keep the magic as fresh as possible. While some of these are relatively minor and take a matter of days, sometimes it shutters rides, restaurants, stores, or even entire sections of a park for a much more radical change.

Credit: Disney

Related: Disney Replacing Entire Hotel, Axing Original Theme in Favor of More IP

In 2024 alone, we’ve seen Disney World close County Bear Jamboree in Magic Kingdom to transform it into the Country Bear Musical Jamboree (scheduled to open later this summer) and prep to say goodbye to the current version of Test Track at EPCOT.

The resort has also announced closures at some of its hotels – including Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground and Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort. Its resort renovations haven’t been particularly well-received in recent years, with guests complaining that it is watering down its own theming, resulting in hotel rooms that feel more like a hospital than a Disney resort.

Credit: Disney

Unfortunately, the same criticism is true of some in-park locations, too. Over the past few years, we’ve seen Disney “un-Disneyfy” several stores, such as World of Disney in Disney Springs, and instead adopting a more industrial, bland aesthetic.

As Disney announces its latest closure, this approach once again seems like a possibility.

Credit: Disney

Yesterday, it was confirmed that Disneyland Paris will shutter its candy store on Main Street, U.S.A. – known as Boardwalk Candy Palace – for what’s been described as a “substantial makeover.”

🔧 Boardwalk Candy Palace is set to close from July 1 for a substantial transformation. There is no reopening date yet for the location.

🔧 Boardwalk Candy Palace is set to close from July 1 for a substantial transformation. There is no reopening date yet for the location. pic.twitter.com/BTwZ2rZYRn

— DLP Report (@DLPReport) May 15, 2024

With no end date in sight for the store, it’s safe to assume that this makeover will involve much more than a lick of paint. Judging by the responses on social media, plenty of Disneyland Paris fans are concerned that it will doom the store – which currently boasts one of the most immersive, intricate designs of any Main Street store worldwide – to a fate of “white and grey.

Please please please don’t make it white and grey for the love of god.

Please please please don’t make it white and grey for the love of god

— Cherish (@UdonNoodle98) May 15, 2024

Other users have theorized that it will involve a massive “downgrade” for Boardwalk Candy Palace (which is the equivalent to Disneyland’s Candy Palace and Candy Kitchen, and Magic Kingdom’s Main Street Confectionery), and that “the beigification continues.” (Other stores on the park’s 20th-century, small-town-America-inspired Main Street, U.S.A. have already undergone the same treatment).

They’ve also noted that it continues a common trend for Disneyland Paris (which recently gave its iconic Disneyland Hotel a mild “beigification” while conducting its Disney Princesses-inspired makeover). “Disneyland Paris, or how to transform things that really don’t need to when so much need to be done elsewhere part 5929,” said one X (formerly known as Twitter) user.

Credit: Disney

Until Disney provides an update on the store’s refurbishment, we can only speculate on the fate of Boardwalk Candy Palace. However, for the sake of our own sanity, we’re manifesting that its spectacular mural remains intact.

Boardwalk Candy Palace isn’t the only location on Main Street, U.S.A. getting a makeover right now. As guests walk closer to Sleeping Beauty Castle (or Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant as it’s technically named in French), they’ll see that new Victorian-inspired covered terrace is also being constructed for the hotdog counter-service staple Casey’s Corner.

What are your thoughts on “the beigification” of Disney’s theme parks in recent years? Let us know in the comments!

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