Casey Jr. Being "Reassessed"

[Alektronic]

I take it none of you saw the thousands of people — children and adults alike — who used to frolic in what was once a pair of beautiful fountains out in front of Countdown to Extinction. At first there were CMs on hand to get everyone out of the water, but they eventually succumbed to the sheer numbers of idiots who thought it was perfectly okay to wade in the fountains, and they ended up putting up those god awful cement planters to keep everyone out. Now you can't even tell there are fountains behind that horrible mess. A crying shame.

It was fine when everyone just waded or cooled off their feet but when parents let their kids use it as a bathroom, then they would have to close it off, drain it, sanitize it, and refill it, that got old after a while so they just decided to close it off permanently.

 

[Amused to Death]

plexi over the areas would look horrendous... remember this is big splashing water area afterall. Plexi will just take abuse, always be visible because of the water droplets, water stains, etc.

That is why I said "either metal or clear plexiglas door panels." The benefit of the plexiglas is that it would allow Casey Jr. to keep its open cab look and for its interior design elements to remain visible. I don't think accumulated water droplets would look too out of place on something that is spraying water at you from all directions. Nor do I think wet/spotted plexiglas doors would be as unsightly as the (ineffectual) fence they have now.

The only real solution is to design the cab with no interior at all (make the sides solid) and do not have any ground accessible platform ledges.

Yup. That's what they should have done. But they didn't. And we all know that Disney likes to fix things on the cheap. I'm guessing we'll see some sort of metal/fiberglass/clear plexiglas door panels and the removal of the steps before we see them rolling out a whole new Casey Jr.

Idiot design. Simple as that.

I told 'em. But they already knew it.

 

[ellie-badge]

This is precisely why we can't have nice things.

 

[mousefreak]

Someone will get hurt and it will be Disneys fault.

 

[TubaGeek]

I just hope we don't lose sight of one thing: it was all ended by stupid ____ing parents.

 

[fireman17]

Here's a question, why did this area need to be a splash play area? Why couldn't have been a smaller version like at the entrance to Downtown Disney? They could have had Casey's stack doing the mist and the elephants and monkey occasionally shoot out water. Yes, the kids will still get wet but I don't think you may have the chaos that is there now. I do however agree with the one post that says it Six Flagsish...

 

[danlb_2000]

There is no way they ever intended for a CM to be stationed in front of the gate. Who would want to stand there in rain gear like they're a Maid of the Mist worker at Niagara Falls? How many kids would they let in at a time? How do they get them back out without a fight? One plausible explanation is that the gate was added for maintenance to be able to get in/out without having to climb over the fence.

This is what was posted in another thread:

talked to a cast member in the SBC area, he said that Casey's train is accessible, however a Cast member will be there at all times, so kids dont get hurt or climb on the wrong parts, the front gates open, and kids can sit in the engine and press buttons and what not to make noises. however when a cast member is not available, the gate is shut

I know CM chatter often can't be trusted, but it seems somewhat plausible so I see no reason to completely dismiss it as a possibility. If this is done I would think it would be a temporary solution until they come up with a more permenant way to address whatever concern caused them to put the fence there in the first place. I personally don't believe the fence was part of the original design but was put there at the last minute due to some sort of safety concern.

 

[ToTBellHop]

Someone will get hurt and it will be Disneys fault.

In this case, it truly would be Disney's fault. Yes, there is a fence, but the bars are far apart, this is certainly an attractive nuisance to a 4 year old, and CMs stand around and say nothing while the kids climb all over everything (and apparently they even predicted this would be a problem and still opened it).

 

[WDWFREAK53]

Ok well, having water being sprayed around and having kids climbing a metal railing...that's got disaster written all over it.

Their reasoning for the fence was because of the ADA? Not to sound harsh but is it really that big of a deal that a person in a wheelchair can't go into the cab? There are plenty of places in WDW that people in wheelchairs can't go. The Digsite comes to mind...as does many of the areas of the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground.

 

[ReganA]

How do a team of experienced imagineers not see this coming?

Is there a disconnect between imagineering and park operation managers? Do they only come together after the executed plan becomes an operational nightmare?

 

[MissMorrow]

Somehow I don't think this will last long. BB moguls anyone?

 

[raven]

Am I the only one a little creeped out that someone is taking random photos of other peoples children?

 

[runskimom]

Exactly. I have always thought having water attractions like this are a poor idea in a theme park. Water park yes. Non water park no.

I would never let my kids in this thing. Who wants to drag around sopping wet kids in street clothes the rest of the day? Yuck. A little mist is one thing, but this is full on BB or TL wet. And I think all that water trends toward an environment that encourages the wild behavior. All the regular parameters are thrown out the window -- we've got our shoes off, we are either partially disrobed or so wet as to be unpresentable in a regular setting, it's no holds barred pandalerium!!

There are many problems with Casey, but when I first saw the pictures the most obvious problem to me was it is just TOO MUCH WATER!!

 

[MansionGoer13z]

Mark this as another EPIC Disney Fail!

 

[NewfieFan]

Exactly. I have always thought having water attractions like this are a poor idea in a theme park. Water park yes. Non water park no.

Can I ask why? The water attractions that are designed to be water attractions (I'm not talking about fountains) are fine by me. How are they any different than another play area in WDW? If the kids want to get wet, let them get wet (who cares, if it's not your chid you don't have to worry about drying them off or changing their clothes). If it keeps said child from having a melt down later in a queue - bonus! My kids will take a run through them but won't get soaking wet. If they wanted to get wet I would let them but they would be warned that they are walking around in wet clothes until it dries.
This is letting kids blow off some steam and stay cool at the same time (I would go as far to say they're better suited for a theme park in Florida). Besides for the safety issue with this particular water attraction I see no problem with water play areas in the theme parks.

 

[asianway]

Ok well, having water being sprayed around and having kids climbing a metal railing...that's got disaster written all over it.

Their reasoning for the fence was because of the ADA? Not to sound harsh but is it really that big of a deal that a person in a wheelchair can't go into the cab? There are plenty of places in WDW that people in wheelchairs can't go. The Digsite comes to mind...as does many of the areas of the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground.

Yes, it is. New ADA laws in the past 2 years now say everything needs to be accessible to the extent that non-disabled people can participate. Lawsuits are already being filed by professional scam artists. See the UOR mini golf suit. Their concern is a real one and the problem is with the way the new law is worded.

Adding link specific to "play areas". Tons of info here if anyone cares to wade through it. If you believe in conspiracy theories, which I know no one here does, word on the street is that this was intended as a hidden stimulus bill due to the amount of money required throughout for various business to retrofit existing facilities which may have previously been grandfathered in under the original act.

http://www.ada.gov/regs2010/2010ADAStandards/2010ADAstandards.htm#pgfId-1011276

 

[lebeau]

wait....so are the kids NOT supposed to be playing on Casey Jr at all? I haven't seen the area in person, and I was wondering why a fence would be built in a play area...but the design of the engine looks like it welcomes people to play in/on/around it. I guess I need to look at some more pictures of the area.

I get the impression it was designed to be played on and then someone realized that they would get complaints about compliance and slapped the fence on as a half-a$$ed measure to prevent complaints from those who couldn't play on it.

 

[devoy1701]

I get the impression it was designed to be played on and then someone realized that they would get complaints about compliance and slapped the fence on as a half-a$$ed measure to prevent complaints from those who couldn't play on it.

I might get flammed for this...but sometimes I think that ADA goes too far. Just like some attractions can't be experienced by everyone because of height requirements, or because some people are prone to motion sickness, or have heart conditions, or whatever the reason, does EVERYTHING have to be accessable to disabled visitors? I know that the definition of disabled is large and varied, but I still think it's over the top.

flame away.

 

[WDWFREAK53]

Yes, it is. New ADA laws in the past 2 years now say everything needs to be accessible to the extent that non-disabled people can participate. Lawsuits are already being filed by professional scam artists. See the UOR mini golf suit. Their concern is a real one and the problem is with the way the new law is worded.

Adding link specific to "play areas". Tons of info here if anyone cares to wade through it. If you believe in conspiracy theories, which I know no one here does, word on the street is that this was intended as a hidden stimulus bill due to the amount of money required throughout for various business to retrofit existing facilities which may have previously been grandfathered in under the original act.

http://www.ada.gov/regs2010/2010ADAStandards/2010ADAstandards.htm#pgfId-1011276

But aren't there areas of the new Dumbo queue that aren't accessible to people in wheelchairs?

 

[WDWFREAK53]

I would never let my kids in this thing. Who wants to drag around sopping wet kids in street clothes the rest of the day? Yuck. A little mist is one thing, but this is full on BB or TL wet. And I think all that water trends toward an environment that encourages the wild behavior. All the regular parameters are thrown out the window -- we've got our shoes off, we are either partially disrobed or so wet as to be unpresentable in a regular setting, it's no holds barred pandalerium!!

There are many problems with Casey, but when I first saw the pictures the most obvious problem to me was it is just TOO MUCH WATER!!

What about Kali River Rapids? I've even been completely drenched (head to toe) on Splash Mountain.

I guess the bottom line is...if you don't want to get wet, don't go on it...but why not have it for people that want to enjoy this type of thing?