BTMRR refurb

RSoxNo1

RSoxNo1

Well-Known Member
It was right after the Dinosaur before the turn into the station that I heard a really loud noise like a wheel scraping on 1/4.
 
stitch2008

stitch2008

Member
RSoxNo1 said:
It was right after the Dinosaur before the turn into the station that I heard a really loud noise like a wheel scraping on 1/4.
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Sounds like a bad wheel. Wheels wear down often and are an easy fix really. Could be something else though. But it sounds like a bad wheel.
 
K

kimmy1213

New Member
If there is work being done in the Flash Flood, can anyone get a picture from the train as it passes by? (or have they walled it off from view) or a picture from the Liberty boat that passes between Tom Sawyer Island and Thunder?
 
Scuttle

Scuttle

Well-Known Member
kimmy1213 said:
If there is work being done in the Flash Flood, can anyone get a picture from the train as it passes by? (or have they walled it off from view) or a picture from the Liberty boat that passes between Tom Sawyer Island and Thunder?
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I'll try to get some close up aerial shots next time I am up, but I'm not sure my camera can get close enough for any significant detail.
 
HDS

HDS

Well-Known Member
They didnt have it walled off so you can take a photo from WDWRR as you pass. I would have but didnt think about it before it was already passed. There were a few workers in the tunnel right before the flood as well.
 
ewensell3

ewensell3

Well-Known Member
warlord said:
Yea you can mix rollercoasters with water.. Matterhorn uses water brakes on one of the last portions of the ride. So does "Fire in the hole" in Dollywood. Will there be more maintenance that needs to be done? maybe..
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Not to hijack the thread, but Dollywood removed the splashdown on Blazing Fury last year. It now has strobe lights and magnetic brakes at the end.

"Fire-in-the-Hole" is the sister ride at Silver Dollar City. Last I heard it still has the water ending.
 
stitch2008

stitch2008

Member
Mike730 said:
That's great thanks! Is that the track they are working on? I thought I hear some sort of metal grinder or saw....
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Thats exactly what you are hearing. You are definatly hearing them grinding or cutting that piece of track. Im pretty sure they are going to work on those steel track ties. On most coasters ive worked on, the ties take a massive amount of punishment. On BTMRR, with that style track, the ties take the weight and force of both rails. So it appears that may be removing the ties and replacing them.

Now ive never done this before so ill give it my best shot. The ties are just welded to the steel tubbing of the track. They can be easily cut or grinded off the tublar steel track. And new ties can be welded on and then the track is basically good as new.

You may be going why in the world is Disney doing this? Why not just replace the track altogether? Well in this situation that is nearly impossible. It would be difficult to get the sections of track in and out with the rocks, scenery, and railroad track. Not the ideal place to be bringing heavy duty equipment. And judging from that video, the track refurbishment will focus on the turns, and rightfully so. Turns take the most punishment of any section of track on any roller coaster. You would be stunned how much time coaster designers spend simply caluclating all the turns on a coaster. All the angles, speeds, forces, weight probabilty.

9 times outta 10, track needs to be replaced because of tie issues. And steel rails are steel rails. If you get new track, its the same thing. So if they just make sure the current rails are smooth, and they should be unless someone took a hammer and smashed the track up, the rails are fine.

Back to the ties. The new ties will be welded on in place of the old ties. So there wont be much noticeable difference. Now im gonna place an educated guess that those slotted wooden planks are to make where the new ties will go. The ride experience wont be too much different. Possibly a little smoother in the turns. But more importantly, it will help the intergrity of the track. The ride experience on a steel coaster is mainly determined by the condition of trains. So we'll see what they do with the trains.

This videos does show that some significant work is being done. I dont care what you think, taking a big saw or grinder by steel like that isnt something small. For those of you more into the artistic side of things, you'll notice in the video lots of scaffolding. Most likely to repaint the mountain.

There you go. Educated guesses from someone whos been around these things. Ive never done this before, but Ive heard about this process before. It will for sure improve the ride from a structural standpoint and will make sure the track is ride ready for a long time.
 
culturenthrills

culturenthrills

Well-Known Member
I just want a thorough rehab. I want all the broken effects fixed and the damaged rockwork fixed. As far as the falling rocks if they can come up with an impressive projection effect I am all for it. Some of the effects in that section where a little hokey to begin with. I just hope it gets the same kind of tlc that HM got. It is my second favorite ride in the park after haunted mansion.
 
J

jgage66

New Member
Since this is one of my families favorite attractions, we are happy that it is going through a refurb. Unfortunately, we are going to be there 2 weeks prior to it's scheduled completion. Any chance of soft openings or a little bit of a early completion? It is surprising to me that with the Fantasyland completion date still a bit away, that they are taking some of the bigger attractions like BTMRR and Test Track offline. I am all for updating, but it still kind of stinks for the people that are in the parks during these refurbs.
 
RunnerEd

RunnerEd

Well-Known Member
jgage66 said:
Since this is one of my families favorite attractions, we are happy that it is going through a refurb. Unfortunately, we are going to be there 2 weeks prior to it's scheduled completion. Any chance of soft openings or a little bit of a early completion? It is surprising to me that with the Fantasyland completion date still a bit away, that they are taking some of the bigger attractions like BTMRR and Test Track offline. I am all for updating, but it still kind of stinks for the people that are in the parks during these refurbs.
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I feel your pain but, in all fairness to WDW, they are open 365 days a year (366 this year) and, if they do things correctly, something will always be down for refurb. BTMRR is one of our favorites as well and we missed it this trip but I'm glad that it's getting some TLC along with Test Track. I wish Everest would get some at the same time to fix the Yeti! I'm very happy for refurbs to bring the rides up to standards; even if it means missing them for one trip.
 
H

HalloweenNut

New Member
Although we're happy for the refurb (as it sounds like it was sorely needed) we'll be in WDW from April 22-29 so we'll just miss it. So very disappointing to say the least!! They could take Space Mountain down for a refurb and it wouldn't bother me too much but I love BTMR and was looking forward to introducing my daughter to it. I guess if we win one of those One More Day trips we'll get a chance to ride it and the new Fantasyland as well. That reminds me - better go enter for today!! :)
 
SpoonOfSugar

SpoonOfSugar

Member
I didn't realize until now that BTMRR will be down during our trip in may. That's all my DD12 talks about it riding that ride :( I'm glad to see it getting some needed TLC but it seems like a long time down for some minor changes. :shrug:
 
ToTBellHop

ToTBellHop

Well-Known Member
SpoonOfSugar said:
I didn't realize until now that BTMRR will be down during our trip in may. That's all my DD12 talks about it riding that ride :( I'm glad to see it getting some needed TLC but it seems like a long time down for some minor changes. :shrug:
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They aren't minor changes. It is a large-scale refurbishment as visible in the pics in this thread.
 

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