Foundation work begins on Imagineering's new campus at the STOLport site beside Magic Kingdom's parking lot
Crews are laying reinforcing steel on the first building pad of Walt Disney Imagineering's new campus at the STOLport site, the former airstrip next to the Magic Kingdom parking lot. The 12.5-acre project, approved shortly before Thanksgiving 2025, covers two buildings plus parking, sidewalks, utilities and drainage.
Walt Disney Imagineering's new campus near Magic Kingdom has moved from permits to foundations. Crews are laying what appears to be a reinforcing steel grid on the first building pad at the STOLport site, the former airstrip next to the Magic Kingdom parking lot.
Key Details
- Where: STOLport site, beside the Magic Kingdom parking lot
- Size: 12.5 acres
- Scope: Two buildings plus parking, sidewalks, utilities and drainage
- Approved: Shortly before Thanksgiving 2025, by the South Florida Water Management District
The Buzz
As construction ramps up at Magic Kingdom, Imagineering's presence beside the world's busiest theme park is growing, and these are the first permanent buildings for it.
Foundation work on the first Imagineering building
The first building pad is being prepared for what looks like a concrete slab foundation.
- Sheeted pad. Most of the large rectangular pad is covered in bright yellow sheeting, taped at the seams in red.
- Rebar grid. Rebar appears to run along the pad's edges and in rows across it, with more bundles waiting on bare dirt.
- Utility stubs. White pipes rise through the sheeting, likely marking where utilities will connect.
- Next step. Together these point to a slab foundation, so a concrete pour is the likely next stage.
- Heavy equipment. Excavators and a skid steer work the surrounding site among mounds of dirt.
Steel and drainage pipe staged along the access road
Materials lined up beside the pad hint at what comes after the foundation.
- Structural steel. Stacks of gray structural steel sit along the fence, which suggests framing will follow the foundation.
- Drainage pipe. Sections of what look like large concrete drainage pipes fit the stormwater work in the permit.
- Site support. Storage containers, contractor trucks, portable restrooms and telehandlers line the road beside the pad.
- Office trailers. Existing blue office trailers still stand beyond the construction area.
Two buildings for Imagineering's Magic Kingdom projects
The campus is likely support space for the projects now underway at and around Magic Kingdom.
- Second building. The permit also covers a second building; the current work is on one building's foundation.
- Piston Peak. Piston Peak National Park, the Cars-themed area coming to Frontierland, is one project the space is likely to support.
- Villains Land. The villains-themed land Disney is planning for Magic Kingdom is the other.
- Temporary base. Imagineering also has a temporary trailer setup closer to the northwest corner of Magic Kingdom.
Our take. The site is visible from the monorail, so watch for the next milestone on your ride in: a concrete pour on the pad, then the stacked steel going up as framing.