Thunder Mountain to close this September and will remain closed through most of 2013

Cosmic Commando

Cosmic Commando

Well-Known Member
WDW1974 said:
This is what you do with older rides, especially coasters ... then, they tend to not kill folks later on.
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Been there, done that unfortunately. That was actually why I thought WDW did such a long refurb on theirs... don't want ANOTHER Big Thunder killing somebody.

I think I'm taking the news harder than my son; it's his favorite ride. He's not normally a coaster person yet, but he likes BTMRR. I told him they had to fix it and we wouldn't be able to ride it, he asked me a bunch of questions, and then he seemed fine. The good thing is that there is so much to do in DLR that it's not as big of a deal. Actually, my wife brought up the idea of a return trip to get the value out of our AP's the other day... sounds like a good way to assuage my hard feelings about not being able to ride it this year! With Tony Baxter on the scene and the willingness to spend money in TDA lately, this will be a really great thing.
 
Californian Elitist

Californian Elitist

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Cosmic Commando said:
Been there, done that unfortunately. That was actually why I thought WDW did such a long refurb on theirs... don't want ANOTHER Big Thunder killing somebody.

I think I'm taking the news harder than my son; it's his favorite ride. He's not normally a coaster person yet, but he likes BTMRR. I told him they had to fix it and we wouldn't be able to ride it, he asked me a bunch of questions, and then he seemed fine. The good thing is that there is so much to do in DLR that it's not as big of a deal. Actually, my wife brought up the idea of a return trip to get the value out of our AP's the other day... sounds like a good way to assuage my hard feelings about not being able to ride it this year! With Tony Baxter on the scene and the willingness to spend money in TDA lately, this will be a really great thing.
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Oh no. I'm sorry to hear that, I hope your will still have a good time on all the other rides! Maybe Matterhorn? A return trip doesn't sound like a bad idea.:)
 
Cosmic Commando

Cosmic Commando

Well-Known Member
raven24 said:
Oh no. I'm sorry to hear that, I hope your will still have a good time on all the other rides! Maybe Matterhorn? A return trip doesn't sound like a bad idea.:)
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I'm hoping to get him excited about Space Mountain. The DL one is pretty much my favorite ride. He is really excited about the idea of a "space ride"... he likes space but did not like any roller coasters until BTMRR.
 
Californian Elitist

Californian Elitist

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Cosmic Commando said:
I'm hoping to get him excited about Space Mountain. The DL one is pretty much my favorite ride. He is really excited about the idea of a "space ride"... he likes space but did not like any roller coasters until BTMRR.
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Ok, that's good. I think Space is a little faster than Thunder. It's a good thing you're going in November because Ghost Galaxy would probably been a little scary for your son. Make sure you let him know he'll be in total darkness. I suggest you let him ride Gadget's Go Coaster in Toontown or Goofy's Sky School in California Adventure to warm him up to Space Mountain.
 
cheezbat

cheezbat

Well-Known Member
Cosmic Commando said:
Been there, done that unfortunately. That was actually why I thought WDW did such a long refurb on theirs... don't want ANOTHER Big Thunder killing somebody.

I think I'm taking the news harder than my son; it's his favorite ride. He's not normally a coaster person yet, but he likes BTMRR. I told him they had to fix it and we wouldn't be able to ride it, he asked me a bunch of questions, and then he seemed fine. The good thing is that there is so much to do in DLR that it's not as big of a deal. Actually, my wife brought up the idea of a return trip to get the value out of our AP's the other day... sounds like a good way to assuage my hard feelings about not being able to ride it this year! With Tony Baxter on the scene and the willingness to spend money in TDA lately, this will be a really great thing.
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Unlike when they closed BTMRR at WDW...there's plenty to do at Disneyland and it's alot easier to spread out crowds. It was quite rough on the MK without one of it's big E-tickets...especially on Space Mountain. I remember wait times for SM reaching 120 minutes or more at certain times. It was unpleasant.
 
Cosmic Commando

Cosmic Commando

Well-Known Member
cheezbat said:
Unlike when they closed BTMRR at WDW...there's plenty to do at Disneyland and it's alot easier to spread out crowds. It was quite rough on the MK without one of it's big E-tickets...especially on Space Mountain. I remember wait times for SM reaching 120 minutes or more at certain times. It was unpleasant.
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I remember reading an article (I wanna say it was from the 90's) where one of the maintenance guys was talking about when the pencil pushers first were brought in. He was talking about something like the seat latching mechanisms, and specifically about BTMRR at DL. The accountaneer was saying, "Why do you check these every night? They never fail." Of course, his reply was, "They never fail BECAUSE we check them every night!" Kinda sums up where I think maintenance has fallen to in a lot areas.

EDIT: and here we are: LA Times 11/2003. Disney Ride Upkeep Assailed
 
nemofinder22

nemofinder22

Well-Known Member
Cosmic Commando said:
I remember reading an article (I wanna say it was from the 90's) where one of the maintenance guys was talking about when the pencil pushers first were brought in. He was talking about something like the seat latching mechanisms, and specifically about BTMRR at DL. The accountaneer was saying, "Why do you check these every night? They never fail." Of course, his reply was, "They never fail BECAUSE we check them every night!" Kinda sums up where I think maintenance has fallen to in a lot areas.

EDIT: and here we are: LA Times 11/2003. Disney Ride Upkeep Assailed
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Interesting read, but for the "wrong" reasons.


In news to Big Thunder's upcoming refurbishment, it seems the dates will be Jan. 07, 2013-Oct. 30, 2013.
 
Matt7187

Matt7187

Well-Known Member
My dad and I are going to the D23 Expo in August and it is his favorite ride! Hopefully there may be a soft opening or something
 
nemofinder22

nemofinder22

Well-Known Member
Matt7187 said:
My dad and I are going to the D23 Expo in August and it is his favorite ride! Hopefully there may be a soft opening or something
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I don't think it will have any soft openings by Aug, that's nearly a 3 month time frame.

KeithVH said:
Has anyone heard anything about them revamping the show itself? Changing the backstory, etc.?
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This is what Al Lutz noted back in Aug.
EDITOR’S NOTE8/6: Disneyland's Big Thunder Mt. will be closing for a major rehab this fall, and remain closed through most of 2013. The 33-year-old coaster will receive a similar treatment as the one Space Mt. got in '03-'05, (without the extensive foundation work that Space Mt. needed). New track will be installed, the load/unload area will be widened for 21st century riders, and a new ride control system tops it all off. The queue will be prepped for NextGen additions, and unlike the recent WDW Thunder rehab Tony Baxter has returned to his first E Ticket to plus up the show and the aesthetics. Take your last ride on Big Thunder 1.0 in September. - Al Lutz
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T

thomas998

Well-Known Member
nemofinder22 said:
Interesting read, but for the "wrong" reasons.


In news to Big Thunder's upcoming refurbishment, it seems the dates will be Jan. 07, 2013-Oct. 30, 2013.
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I was puzzled when I saw this topic as we had gone there in October and it was running... I guess someone might want to change the topic heading because I'm guessing some people might not realize that it is open all of 2012, and closed 2013
 
AndyS2992

AndyS2992

Well-Known Member
dweezil78 said:
Exciting news! Even in its current state, Big Thunder is still one of my faves. Just noticed on Friday it has been a very long time since the rocks rumbled in the earthquake sequence. Guess it wasn't worth fixing up knowing a big overhaul was in the works, eh?
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They probably won't be fixed since the accident at Disneyland Paris where they fell onto the track infront of an oncoming train. I noticed WDW has stopped theirs moving too.
 
nemofinder22

nemofinder22

Well-Known Member
From Mouseplanet-

http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/entry.php?1038-The-Demolition-of-Rainbow-Ridge


Nostalgic Disneyland fans have a little over seven weeks left to pay their final respects to some of the most visible remnants of the old Mine Train through Nature’s Wonderland.

In January, when Big Thunder Railroad goes down for an extensive rehab, most of the remaining buildings in Rainbow Ridge will be demolished. Only the hardware store and the mercantile will remain. The mega-rehab, expected to last into the fall of 2013, will include upgrading the track, vehicles, show elements, and safety systems.
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