There is a small patch of ground at Disney's Hollywood Studios, tucked between the exit of the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular and Backlot Express. If you have walked through Echo Lake this year you have gone past it without noticing.
Something has been under construction there since 17 March.
Seven months later, Disney still has not said what it is.
What is actually on the site
According to BlogMickey, which has been photographing the plot through the year, the build has moved in clear stages:
- 17 March — overhead netting comes down at a former merchandise spot, rolling planters go in.
- 15 May — Disney files two Notices of Commencement with Orange County for general construction.
- 24 July — a large tree near Backlot Express is removed.
- 3 October — fresh concrete, rebar and formwork appear.
- 9 October — the first steel shows up in aerial photos.
- 19 October — the frame now encloses the entire plot.
The frame is described as galvanized steel pipe, each post seated on its own square concrete pad, the sections joined with couplings and some joints wrapped in orange marking tape. Horizontal pipes link the tops of the posts on every side, with a second, lower ring inside and a few angled pieces near one corner. It stands tall enough to be seen over the planter wall.
BlogMickey also reports the work happens overnight.
The one genuinely official detail
Almost everything above is observation. One thing is a public record: Disney filed two Notices of Commencement on 15 May for general construction at the site.
One of them names Artistic Entertainment Services LLC, a firm whose previous Walt Disney World work includes set pieces for Donald's Dino-Bash and for Woody's Lunch Box in Toy Story Land.
That is the most informative word on the entire project, and it is a contractor name on a form. A company that installs themed set pieces is not who you hire to rebuild a kitchen.
What nobody actually knows
The project is called Project Fedora. That name is not Disney's public label for anything; it is what the filings and the fan community have attached to the site.
The obvious read is an Indiana Jones tie-in, given the hat and given that the plot sits at the stunt show's exit. WDWMAGIC has reported hearing it may be an Indiana Jones-themed play area for younger guests. Disney has not confirmed that, and we are not going to repeat it as though it were settled. Walt Disney World has not responded to requests for comment on the project at all.
What the steel frame will carry is equally open. It could take a canopy, it could take themed structure, it could be scaffolding for something else entirely. The reporting that is closest to the site says plainly that it is too early to tell.
Why a seven-month unannounced build is worth watching
Small projects do not usually take this shape.
A refurbishment gets announced, because guests need to know the thing is shut. A retail conversion goes up behind a wall and opens quietly. What is happening at Echo Lake is neither: it is a months-long build on a visible plot, with two permits, a themed-set-piece contractor, overnight crews, and complete silence from Disney.
The honest summary is that this is a reasonably sized piece of work in a part of the park that has not had new construction in a long time, and the only people who know what it is are not talking.
We will update this when Disney says something. If the pattern holds, that will be well after the thing is nearly finished.