News Big Thunder Mountain to receive full retrack

Andrew25

Well-Known Member
I think they have basically taken 1 tier 1 ride down at a time.

I think it went Tiana/Splash>Pan>JC>Big Thunder. I assume Space will close shortly after Big Thunder comes back.

I also think Cars Road Rally will push Big Thunder down to tier 2 whenever it opens.
Yeah, long-term view makes sense for Big Thunder to go down first as much as we all want SM to receive a refurb.

It seems like Disney still needs time to figure out what exactly Tomorrowland should become (hence the lack of anything DL-related as well), so they can tackle both coasts at the same time.
 

TheCoasterNerd

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
In the Parks
No
It seems like Disney still needs time to figure out what exactly Tomorrowland should become (hence the lack of anything DL-related as well), so they can tackle both coasts at the same time.
God I hope that's what they're doing. Knowing Bob, he's sitting in his office staring at Tomorrowland shouting,
You lose willy wonka GIF
 

Purduevian

Well-Known Member
Yeah, long-term view makes sense for Big Thunder to go down first as much as we all want SM to receive a refurb.

It seems like Disney still needs time to figure out what exactly Tomorrowland should become (hence the lack of anything DL-related as well), so they can tackle both coasts at the same time.
I assume/hope that park ops has some say in when things go down for scheduled refurb. For example, I'm guessing AK park ops really wants Zootopia up and running before Dino closes (I know it isn't a 1 for 1, but having both down would be rough for LL).
 

Trauma

Well-Known Member
I assume/hope that park ops has some say in when things go down for scheduled refurb. For example, I'm guessing AK park ops really wants Zootopia up and running before Dino closes (I know it isn't a 1 for 1, but having both down would be rough for LL).
I’m here now and LL is less than ideal. Most stuff you want to use on in is gone immediately. If there was a little more availability and slightly better ride selection, I would actually say it’s worth the $$$. As it is now it kinda feels like your getting ripped off, but your not riding much of anything without it.
 

Purduevian

Well-Known Member
I’m here now and LL is less than ideal. Most stuff you want to use on in is gone immediately. If there was a little more availability and slightly better ride selection, I would actually say it’s worth the $$$. As it is now it kinda feels like your getting ripped off, but your not riding much of anything without it.
Agreed... now imagine pulling Bugs Life and Dino offline at the same time.

You are left with:
Navi, Safari, Everest, Kali and shows.
 

Andrew25

Well-Known Member
Agreed... now imagine pulling Bugs Life and Dino offline at the same time.

You are left with:
Navi, Safari, Everest, Kali and shows.
+ add the fact that Everest/Safari tend to have shorter wait-times later in the day after people leave early/park hop (and Kali being a water ride), you're really paying just for Navi & FoP.
 

TheMaxRebo

Well-Known Member
+ add the fact that Everest/Safari tend to have shorter wait-times later in the day after people leave early/park hop (and Kali being a water ride), you're really paying just for Navi & FoP.

Isn't FoP a LLSP? So really your LLMP is just for Navi if you see those lines go down later in the day
 

ToTBellHop

Well-Known Member
Major attraction closed for a year yet they can build a DVC from scratch in 2 years WOW
They are not slow walking Thunder at all. It desperately needed work (that had been deferred) and they are completing it as quickly as possible. They don’t actually like taking down popular LL rides. We should be thankful they are ensuring Thunder will operate another 40 years. We had better hope Space Mtn. closes next year.
 

John park hopper

Well-Known Member
They are not slow walking Thunder at all. It desperately needed work (that had been deferred) and they are completing it as quickly as possible. They don’t actually like taking down popular LL rides. We should be thankful they are ensuring Thunder will operate another 40 years. We had better hope Space Mtn. closes next year.
I'm not disputing the fact it needs maintenance just the time frame comparison
 

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
I'm not disputing the fact it needs maintenance just the time frame comparison
Based on what? Give us some comps. Just a bare coaster takes how long to install?

The DVC resort is really just a box, it is very quick and straight forward to do. Big Thunder is a complete rats nest of complexity.
And they’re not actually built all that fast.
 

Mr. Sullivan

Well-Known Member
I’m here now and LL is less than ideal. Most stuff you want to use on in is gone immediately. If there was a little more availability and slightly better ride selection, I would actually say it’s worth the $$$. As it is now it kinda feels like your getting ripped off, but your not riding much of anything without it.
Its actually not gone you just need to keep refreshing. I was there on a super busy day earlier this week and had no issues finding times even when it said “not available” at first.
 

Raineman

Well-Known Member
View attachment 835066
Here is a closeup, it seems the same color tag actually can be either protect or demo.
As someone who works in manufacturing Quality Management, this makes me shake my head. It's pretty standard that scrap items have a much different color label (usually red) than retain/rework items (usually yellow or green). Something's gonna get thrown out that they want to keep.
Nice to see MK closing something down to do proper work on. Space mountain when?
WDW 100th anniversary in 2071.
 

Purduevian

Well-Known Member
Web search
Building a roller coaster typically takes around 10 months from design to construction,

this is not a new build
A parking lot coaster can go up even faster than that... However, the fact that this isn't a new build actually makes this a longer process. Demo and removal of old parts alone might take a few months.

The Incredible Hulk Coaster retrack is the closest recent comparison I can think of. It was down for ~11months but has significantly less theming than BTMRR.
 

TheCoasterNerd

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
In the Parks
No
Web search
Building a roller coaster typically takes around 10 months from design to construction,

this is not a new build
Yes, but consider the intricate rockwork, theming, aging, etc. Then the process of removing old track, doing mechanical work, and then reinstalling track. That alone takes half a year. Then the theming, and installing new show effects (another while) and safety testing. Not to mention the struggles that come from it being bordered by an operating railroad and a giant river, neither of which can be impacted by this. This stuff takes time. In California, the same project took 15 months.
Here's a timelapse of the California retrack to help you understand just how much needs to be done -
 

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