One of the easiest things to miss at Magic Kingdom is also part of what makes the park feel different from an ordinary collection of rides.
Throughout Main Street, U.S.A., Disney has filled buildings with props, displays, architectural details, and pieces that help sell the idea that guests have entered another time.
One of those small pieces has now disappeared from the Walt Disney World Railroad station.
A vintage Mutoscope featuring Fritz Lang’s Metropolis (1927) has been removed from the station, reducing a collection of four machines to three.
Whether that change is permanent remains unknown.
A Connection to Magic Kingdom’s Former Penny Arcade
The Mutoscopes haven’t always been inside the Walt Disney World Railroad station.
Magic Kingdom previously operated a Penny Arcade on Main Street, U.S.A. When the location closed in 1995, Disney moved several of its machines to the nearby train station.
That decision kept a small part of the old Main Street experience alive.
Guests could still stop inside the station and use the machines, which create moving images through a flip-book-style mechanism. For younger visitors, they’re a look at entertainment from a completely different era. For longtime Magic Kingdom fans, they’re also a reminder of something that disappeared from Main Street more than 30 years ago.
The station recently had four Mutoscopes. Following the latest removal, three remain: Car Train Bag, Way Down East, and The Cats in the Bag.
The Metropolis (1927) machine is the one that has disappeared.
The Removal May Only Be Temporary
There is reason to remain cautious about calling this a permanent change.
Disney has removed other Mutoscopes from the area before for maintenance. Machines have undergone work such as cleaning and repainting before eventually returning.
That could be exactly what’s happening this time.
However, Disney hasn’t provided an explanation for the Metropolis (1927) machine’s disappearance. Cast Members reportedly didn’t know when it was removed, either.
That leaves its future unclear.
It’s certainly not the biggest change happening at Magic Kingdom. Disney is currently transforming major portions of the park as it develops Piston Peak National Park and prepares for its future Villains-themed land.
Still, the smaller pieces matter.
Millions of guests may walk straight past these machines without ever noticing them. Others deliberately stop because they’re remnants of a Magic Kingdom that no longer exists.
For the moment, one of those remnants is gone.
Whether Disney is simply restoring the Metropolis (1927) Mutoscope or has something else planned remains to be seen. Hopefully, the vintage machine eventually returns to its longtime home inside the Walt Disney World Railroad station.
