The Transportation and Ticket Center, home to the parking lot used by Magic Kingdom guests, has replaced its decades-old lighting with new LED lights. While more energy efficient and easier to maintain, it does mean the lot has lost its familiar orange glow.
New LED Lights Installed in Magic Kingdom Parking Lot
These new lights are much smaller and more streamlined than the old high-pressure sodium lights. LEDs have a much longer lifespan before needing to be replaced and are also much more energy efficient. These upgrades come as the roadways surrounding the Transportation and Ticket Center (TTC) see major upgrades. With the opening of the new Polynesian Island Tower on the horizon, these roadways will see more traffic than ever. The roadways themselves have also been upgraded to LED lighting around much of the resort.
These new fixtures have a few distinct elements. As is common for most structures at Walt Disney World, a lightning rod is the highest vertical point. Below that are three lighting elements on this particular pole. They are adorned with bird-deterrent spikes to prevent nesting, and thus minimizing the free souvenirs from birds left on guests’ cars. The lights themselves are flood-style, to spread their light around the area evenly.
No More Orange Glow
One of the most observable differences between these new LEDs and the old sodium bulbs is their color cast. Those sodium bulbs, commonly used in parking lots, emit a very warm yellow-orange color cast. The Magic Kingdom parking lot was notorious for its orange glow. As is often the case with progress, that orange glow has become a thing of the past.
It should be noted, though, that the LEDs being used in the parking lot are indeed warmer (more yellowish) than the bright white LEDs being used on the roadways. They are not as harsh, and this was likely a conscious decision by Disney. Unfortunately, they are a far cry from that well-known orange glow which we’ve become accustomed to.
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