Walt Disney World Removes More Statues From Magic Kingdom’s Central Hub

Walt Disney World Resort has removed several more bronze statues from the central hub of Magic Kingdom. Yesterday, ComicBook.com reported on the removal of a Br’er Rabbit statue that had previously been displayed in the central hub of Magic Kingdom. The statue was one of several bronze statues placed in the central hub back in the 1990s and included characters like Mickey, Minnie, Dumbo, and Goofy. As visitors entered the park today, it was discovered that the remainder of the character statues were removed from the central hub area, along with their respective platforms. A central stage was also recently erected in the area around the famous “Partners Statue” that stands in front of Cinderella’s Castle.

Disney Parks has not provided any updates on why the statues were removed, but they were likely cleared away to make room for a number of new statues that will be displayed throughout all four Walt Disney World Resort parks starting next month. The Fab 50 Anniversary Collection are gold-plated statues of various Disney characters and will be scattered throughout the park to celebrate Walt Disney World’s 50th anniversary. All of the characters have some sort of tie to one or more ride or attraction at Walt Disney World, but Br’er Rabbit (who is featured at Splash Mountain and originally appeared in the controversial movie Song of the South) will not be included in that collection.

Disney Parks has made some major updates to Magic Kingdom and other Walt Disney World parks in preparation of the park’s 50th anniversary. In addition to new signage spread throughout the park, many of the iconic locations of the park have received an upgrade ahead of the celebration. Additionally, several new attractions will be added to several Disney World parks in the coming months. The first of those – Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure – will open at EPCOT in October. A Tron Lightcycle ride will open at Magic Kingdom in the next few months and a new Guardians of the Galaxy Ride and a Moana attraction are also expected to open during the 50th anniversary celebration. Several new restaurants, two new night-time shows, and several other new attractions will all be debuting during that time period.