Jungle Cruise Rehab

[sanaj2000]

There's suppossed to be a Jungle Cruise referb that's going on in disneyland soon. Anyone have any information on this?

 

[TP2000]

It's been two years since Jungle Cruise had a full rehab, so it's time to drain the river and tend to the animals and special effects. No reason other than routine maintenance and upkeep.

I'll try and refrain from making wise cracks about Disneyland regularly maintaining their attractions for no reason other than to keep things looking good, unlike a certain other Disney property in this country. :zipit:

 

[unkadug]

It's been two years since Jungle Cruise had a full rehab, so it's time to drain the river and tend to the animals and special effects. No reason other than routine maintenance and upkeep.

I'll try and refrain from making wise cracks about Disneyland regularly maintaining their attractions for no reason other than to keep things looking good, unlike a certain other Disney property in this country. :zipit:

Certain other Disney properties in this country don't have off seasons in order to do such things. Anytime that they close ANYTHING, they have thousands of guests up in arms that they closed the ONLY attraction that mattered to them!

 

[TP2000]

Certain other Disney properties in this country don't have off seasons in order to do such things. Anytime that they close ANYTHING, they have thousands of guests up in arms that they closed the ONLY attraction that mattered to them!

That has to be the oddest excuse out there for this concept; Walt Disney World defers routine maintenance for years at a time in order to not upset visitors that a ride is closed.

Using that logic, WDW couldn't close anything without going out of business. And yet, they do close rides for maintenance on occasion. They just don't do it as much as Disneyland. Heck, they closed Haunted Mansion for three months in the middle of summer - the busiest time of year - after years and years of neglect. A two week rehab once a year in January would have prevented that from ever having to happen.

So then you have a situation like Haunted Mansion, Space Mountain, Peter Pan, Pirates, Jungle Cruise, etc. where these attractions devolve into a horrible condition where they are just dusty, creaky, corny versions of their 1971 selves. But by golly, we can't close them for a few weeks to fix them up and update the technology to improve the show or else people would be mad!

If there is any truth to this excuse for deferred maintenance at WDW, it has to be grounded in the fact that the WDW parks have noticeably fewer attractions than their Anaheim cousins. Disneyland has over a dozen more rides than Magic Kingdom, many of them being major E and D Ticket attractions. So you could close an E Ticket at Disneyland and still have many left to soak up crowds. But when you close an E Ticket at WDW, it has more impact on overall park capacity.

The walkways are HUGE at WDW, but there's not as many rides to go around, so perhaps a ride closure does have a bigger impact in WDW than it does at Disneyland.

Still, the excuse that closing a ride for maintenance at WDW ruins thousands of peoples vacations and WDW management just doesn't have the heart to do that to people, while the same closure at Disneyland wouldn't matter much, just makes no sense. As if the 16 hour plane ride from Sydney to Los Angeles is less annoying than the 7 hour plane ride from London to Orlando. Or as if the 18 hour car trip from Seattle to Anaheim is less stressful than the 12 hour car trip from Cincinatti to Orlando.

 

[unkadug]

I certainly agree that this "deferred maintenance program" has got to go, however DL saw the same problem for awhile.

Isn't that why we saw a mass of refurbs right before DL's birthday?

 

[MainSt1993]

Certain other Disney properties in this country don't have off seasons in order to do such things. Anytime that they close ANYTHING, they have thousands of guests up in arms that they closed the ONLY attraction that mattered to them!

BAH!!!! It's a handful of whiney brats (adults, of course). Most people are reasonable. Much ado about nothing, IMHO...

 

[primetime52]

That has to be the oddest excuse out there for this concept; Walt Disney World defers routine maintenance for years at a time in order to not upset visitors that a ride is closed.

Using that logic, WDW couldn't close anything without going out of business. And yet, they do close rides for maintenance on occasion. They just don't do it as much as Disneyland. Heck, they closed Haunted Mansion for three months in the middle of summer - the busiest time of year - after years and years of neglect. A two week rehab once a year in January would have prevented that from ever having to happen.

So then you have a situation like Haunted Mansion, Space Mountain, Peter Pan, Pirates, Jungle Cruise, etc. where these attractions devolve into a horrible condition where they are just dusty, creaky, corny versions of their 1971 selves. But by golly, we can't close them for a few weeks to fix them up and update the technology to improve the show or else people would be mad!

If there is any truth to this excuse for deferred maintenance at WDW, it has to be grounded in the fact that the WDW parks have noticeably fewer attractions than their Anaheim cousins. Disneyland has over a dozen more rides than Magic Kingdom, many of them being major E and D Ticket attractions. So you could close an E Ticket at Disneyland and still have many left to soak up crowds. But when you close an E Ticket at WDW, it has more impact on overall park capacity.

The walkways are HUGE at WDW, but there's not as many rides to go around, so perhaps a ride closure does have a bigger impact in WDW than it does at Disneyland.

Still, the excuse that closing a ride for maintenance at WDW ruins thousands of peoples vacations and WDW management just doesn't have the heart to do that to people, while the same closure at Disneyland wouldn't matter much, just makes no sense. As if the 16 hour plane ride from Sydney to Los Angeles is less annoying than the 7 hour plane ride from London to Orlando. Or as if the 18 hour car trip from Seattle to Anaheim is less stressful than the 12 hour car trip from Cincinatti to Orlando.

Looks like someone's been drinking their WDW "Hate-or-aide" today. :ROFLOL:

I do agree with you overall, though. And I think WDW management is starting to see the light. If you consider how many refurbs have taken place in recent months at WDW, and how many are scheduled to take place in the near future, it seems to me that they are seeing the error in their ways and now are taking the time to refurb as many rides as they can.

Let's examine some of WDW's attractions.

Space Mountain: Number one on my list for rides that need refurbs... and it's expected to get one very soon.

Splash Mountain: Definitely needs rehab because the AA's here have alot of problems. I concede that this ride is a problem right now.

Big Thunder: Just finished a routine cosmetic refurb and looks fine. I've ridden both the WDW and DL versions and few could argue the fact that WDW's version is better.

Pirates: WDW's version sucks compared to DL's version, but only because it is so abbreviated. There's nothing they can do about that. Cosmetically it looks fine since the Jack Sparrow refurb a couple years ago.

Haunted Mansion: Just finished a much needed refurb and looks great!

IASW: Went through a rehab recently and looks up to par.

Jungle Cruise: This ride could use some work and some new technology, but compared to the DL version I don't really see many cosmetic differences aside from DL's piranhas. I actually prefer WDW's version due to the cave scene.

I think that once Space is refurbed, MK will definitely be on the right track as far as cosmetic maintenance goes. Then you consider the rehab being done on Spaceship Earth in Epcot and the potential "Star Tours 2.0" coming soon to MGM (DHS). Everything in Animal Kingdom is still brand spanking new so no rehabs needed there (but some new attractions would be nice). All in all it looks like WDW is moving in the right direction and might be learning a few things from DL.

 

[TP2000]

Looks like someone's been drinking their WDW "Hate-or-aide" today. :ROFLOL:

I do agree with you overall, though. And I think WDW management is starting to see the light. If you consider how many refurbs have taken place in recent months at WDW, and how many are scheduled to take place in the near future, it seems to me that they are seeing the error in their ways and now are taking the time to refurb as many rides as they can.

Let's examine some of WDW's attractions....

Yes, I do see WDW taking a turn for the better. At least it appears senior management out there has seen the error of their ways, particularly with their repeated visits to Disneyland lately.

But then that would sort of shoot a big hole in the standing excuse for the past 10 years why WDW can't rehab their rides regularly, and why WDW would never-ever-ever-never try to do a hugely popular seasonal overlay like Haunted Mansion Holiday or Small World Holiday.

Because, as we all know, if you close one ride at the Magic Kingdom for a rehab then thousands of people will have their vacations ruined and they will storm City Hall and vow to never return to WDW ever again, never ever. WDW will be plunged into chaos, hotel occupancy rates will nosedive, people will stop buying Mickey Mouse ears, and the entire Disney Company will descend into economic hardship. Don't you dare try to schedule a two-week annual maintenance rehab for Haunted Mansion! It's far too risky!

And yet, Magic Kingdom is getting rehabs. Heck, they just shut down one of their highest capacity E Tickets for the entire summer to fix a decades worth of neglect and poor maintenance. And yet Bob Iger just announced record profits for the company in '07 and a very healthy stock dividend for the fiscal year just ended.

So, now that Magic Kingdom is returning to the regular rate of rehabs the place had in the 1970's and 80's before the Internet where tourists could easily look online and see ride closures months in advance, what will WDW management be doing to prepare for the coming tsunami of complaints and crying children who had their vacation ruined because Jungle Cruise was closed?

Will they be issuing bullet proof vests to the hostesses at Guest Relations once Splash Mountain closes for animatronic overhauls? Will they make the liquor in the hotel room minibars complimentary so Dad can drink in the room alone since Peter Pan's Flight was being rehabbed out of its 1971 timewarp? Will they have the Goodyear Blimp drop 100 dollar shopping spree certificates over Downtown Disney so Mom can try to shop her way out of the mental depression caused by the Space Mountain closure?

How on earth will all of those tourists in Florida be able to mentally cope with routine maintenance returning to Walt Disney World?

 

[Nicole220]

So, now that Magic Kingdom is returning to the regular rate of rehabs the place had in the 1970's and 80's before the Internet where tourists could easily look online and see ride closures months in advance, what will WDW management be doing to prepare for the coming tsunami of complaints and crying children who had their vacation ruined because Jungle Cruise was closed?

Will they be issuing bullet proof vests to the hostesses at Guest Relations once Splash Mountain closes for animatronic overhauls? Will they make the liquor in the hotel room minibars complimentary so Dad can drink in the room alone since Peter Pan's Flight was being rehabbed out of its 1971 timewarp? Will they have the Goodyear Blimp drop 100 dollar shopping spree certificates over Downtown Disney so Mom can try to shop her way out of the mental depression caused by the Space Mountain closure?

How on earth will all of those tourists in Florida be able to mentally cope with routine maintenance returning to Walt Disney World?

:ROFLOL::ROFLOL::ROFLOL:

:sohappy:

 

[Dragonrider1227]

I still believe the main reason Disney World doesn't get as many refurbs as Disneyland is because it doesn't have the money. Granted, profits from WDW are up, but how much of that has to go to the thousands of employees at Disney, or the HUUUGE energy bill Disney must ring up year after year? Disneyland doesn't have that problem being smaller, and needing less employees everyday. As the rides stand at the moment, the only one I think needs a refurb is Space Mountain, I think the tracks could go smoother and there could be better visuals on the ride itself. I know it's supposed to be dark, but it could still at least use some starry effects or something. Something to make me feel like i'm riding through space.

 

[primetime52]

I still believe the main reason Disney World doesn't get as many refurbs as Disneyland is because it doesn't have the money. Granted, profits from WDW are up, but how much of that has to go to the thousands of employees at Disney, or the HUUUGE energy bill Disney must ring up year after year? Disneyland doesn't have that problem being smaller, and needing less employees everyday. As the rides stand at the moment, the only one I think needs a refurb is Space Mountain, I think the tracks could go smoother and there could be better visuals on the ride itself. I know it's supposed to be dark, but it could still at least use some starry effects or something. Something to make me feel like i'm riding through space.

I tend to agree with you on that. I think the alleged need for refurbs on certain WDW rides is grossly overstated. I can't deny that DL is in overall better shape. However, some people talk as if WDW is run down, which simply isn't the case.

 

[Dragonrider1227]

I tend to agree with you on that. I think the alleged need for refurbs on certain WDW rides is grossly overstated. I can't deny that DL is in overall better shape. However, some people talk as if WDW is run down, which simply isn't the case.

I hear ya. If I didn't know any better, i'd think they were talking about Coney Island or something :lol:
I've heard some people complain that POTC is "run down" and "falling aprat" but honestly, I rode it this october and my only issue was that there seemed to be a bit of silence between the scene of the Mayor getting dunked and the auction scene which frankly kinda makes sense considering they're supposed to be humans, not walking megaphones XD

 

[darthjohnny]

There's suppossed to be a Jungle Cruise referb that's going on in disneyland soon. Anyone have any information on this?

To answer the original question, Screamscape reports that the Jungle Cruise will be closed from 1/28/08 to Spring 2008.