Don't take this the wrong way but I am always the skeptic... How exactly are you related to Mission: Space and why do you know this information? I have no reason to think your lieing but sometimes people truly believe something to be true and it isn't the case. Also, if you are in the know... do you have any word on when soft-openings might occur?
I really wish I could tell you how I know this, but then I'd have to kill you, and then kill myself too.
You never caught the sarcasm there.
Sorry, no. And I still don't.
It's also CONTROLLED by the Walt Disney Company.
In a way, yes. In a way, no. Reedy Creek was created by Disney as an incorporated entity. Basically, Disney did this so they could control their own destiny as well as the local legislation in the area that contains the parks and hotels. In that respect Disney is very unusual as there's no other such corporate land incorporation in Florida.
That said, Reedy Creek is subject to applicable Florida laws and therefore must implement legislation ranging from wetlands usage to the location of port-o-lets on Disney property. Some of this comes from local and state laws that cannot be overriden and that Disney must comply with. What Reedy Creek say goes and Disney must comply. Yes, Disney is master but so is Reedy Creek in its own way. Think of them as siamese twins. It's a symbiotic relationship.
There is a key difference in getting certification from Reedy Creek and turning the ride over to Epcot Operations for management of the ride. Imagineering is free to do whatever testing and adjusting they wish while the ride is in their hands (and the attraction is still in very heavy test and adjust), but Epcot Operations is left out of the equation until the keys are in their hands. The ride also has to been in Epcot's hands before the first guest is allowed on the ride.
Imagineering is not free to do as they please and had to meet a list of regulations - from Reedy Creek regulations to OSHA requirements to Florida Ride legislation, and more - before the first Imagineer could "legitimately" step foot into a capsule with the intent of putting the ride in motion. EPCOT operations will eventually control the ride operations portion (and ONLY that portion), however, even after the "keys", so to speak, are turned over to EPCOT operations, Reedy Creek will continue to control the regulatory aspects of M: S. Only Reedy Creek can authorise riders, not EPCOT operations.
I will tell you this much about how I know this information. I live in Orlando. I have been involved in Disney on and off for over 25 years. My first job was in the Bi-centenial parade in 1976. I am familiar with Disney's management structure, corporate structure, and regulatory structure and have been intimately involved with various aspects of all three. There are many things that I don't know about Disney. However, this subject is not one of them.
