It's not Epcot anymore.. (wand demo pics)

[tirian]

Bad show? Yeah, but I think after hearing for years about how the wand was the cause of the downfall of civilization, you can all deal with a little bad show.

Not civilization.

The universe.

 

[Champion]

The tanks behind the E are indeed parts of cutting torches, that steel that everyone thinks is so hard to remove is cut rather easily with one of those. It takes far less time to remove than it does to install.

The wiring isn't hard to remove, it is the conduit that can become time consuming. I would bet that a fair portion, if not most of the raceway system has been removed which is of course something you wouldn't notice right away.

The letters, I would guess the E is somewhere around 30' tall, the others around 20' - not a bad accomplishment to have removed those on day 2 of the project. Now all they need to do is expand on that pace, in a project such as this the first few days are the slowest and it should progress faster and faster.

I still hold that this is nowhere near a 2 month project, though they may drag it out that long.

The letters are easier to remove than once they start actually deconstructing the structure though.

 

[LivingtheDream]

btw ... about SSE ... any truth to the rumor that Patrick Stewart is going to be the new narrator?

 

[tirian]

The letter E is approximately 36 feet tall.

 

[ToTBellHop]

does anyone know how long it took them to put this monster up?

8 months...so you all need to chill.

 

[TomorrowlandTyler]

I wouldn't be surprised if the "Epo" are gone from that side by morning...It will be interesting how they lower the letters on the other side without moving the crane to that side..

 

[jmvd20]

The letters are easier to remove than once they start actually deconstructing the structure though.

Easier in terms of what?

You have a crane, you rig up each of them (letters and steel) - cut/unbolt them and then lower them to the ground. Section by section, piece by piece they are almost one in the same. In reality it would be "easier" to rig and lower one of the structural steel sections (which are more uniform and easier to find center of gravity etc..) than the odd and awkward letters.

If we are talking length of time of course the steel structure will take longer to remove than the letters because there is a whole lot more of it.

 

[jmvd20]

I wouldn't be surprised if the "Epo" are gone from that side by morning...It will be interesting how they lower the letters on the other side without moving the crane to that side..

It is tall enough to manuever over the wand and drop them down on the other side - that's why crane operators make the big bucks!

 

[ag2000]

can someone tell me what has changed in the unloading section of SSE? why do i keep seeing pictures of it? it looks the same to me....

 

[marni1971]

It is tall enough to manuever over the wand and drop them down on the other side - that's why crane operators make the big bucks!

- apart from the staging area is on the south side. This will start to be one tricky operation; with a mass transit beam on one side and a building worth upwards of $160m on the other.

I bet the insurance company is cringing....

can someone tell me what has changed in the unloading section of SSE? why do i keep seeing pictures of it? it looks the same to me....

Look closer - not only are some headrests missing, there is a whole chain of Omnimovers missing too.

 

[bayoutinkbelle]

btw ... about SSE ... any truth to the rumor that Patrick Stewart is going to be the new narrator?

Ohhhh, I could totally live with that. Love his voice.

BTW, thanks for all the pics, merf!

 

[CThaddeus]

Is that a propane tank, perhaps? That'd be one way to get the wand down. :animwink:

As Roy Scheider once eloquently put it, "Smile, you son-of-a-_____!"

 

[coasterridr]

As I look at the picture more closely, it almost looks like the letters have been removed from the front already, it's hard to be sure by looking at the pic, does anybody know about the front side? I think the front is still there...

 

[Figment82]

The front side (entrance side) is still completely intact.

 

[Sir Hiss527]

I really wish they weren't taking it down, but o well..we all have different opinions. Btw, the EPC is the entertainment base over at Universal. Can't wait to see the new epcot!

 

[jt04]

I wouldn't be surprised if the "Epo" are gone from that side by morning...It will be interesting how they lower the letters on the other side without moving the crane to that side..

Elfen Magic

 

[MeTa]

I hope they put it on eBay, I want to install it over my house.

 

[M:SpilotISTC12]

I literally said that 10 sec. ago.

 

[Mansion Butler]

8 months...so you all need to chill.

Serious? Good lord that must have sucked.

 

[pelham304]

Thank Heaven

Hello everyone!

My name is Lisa and please don't get me wrong, I couldn't love Disney more. My first visit was at the age of 2 and my family and I visit every year. I decided to celebrate my 30th birthday with Mickey and the gang this year, but I couldn't stand the wand! After 2000, I was waiting for it to be taken down. I thought it made SSE look tacky, we all know where we are, we don't need Mickey's arm to remind us. It took the power away from SSE, which I adore especially at night. I can't wait until it is down for my visit so I can take pictures of it once again. If I go in November though, I'll miss out on the new Siemens version of the ride. My mother rolled her eyes at me today and said that I've only been on SSE 20 times. I'll live. Yes, but not the new one!