Cesar R M
Well-Known Member
Actually, we should be thanking god for space mountain refurb.. anyone remembers that the one in Disneyland was sorta declared to be about to collapse thanks to structural failures?
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Main Street U.S.A. hub redevelopment at the Magic Kingdom
- Thread starter wdwmagic
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rle4lunch
Well-Known Member
I do. We lived in San Diego for 6 years before being transferred to the East Coast last year. We went to DL 10 times a year. It was pretty bad, but I wouldn't say it was in shambles.
Monorail_Red_77
Well-Known Member
Yes, it's actually a very interesting and sad story. I won't go into too much detail here. Really quick summary: It was built around 1961 and the builder was trying to be Disney's first international park but they could not agree on licensing fees, etc. with Disney. This is why it is nearly identical to DLR in the same era complete with their own monorail with the bubble over the drivers head. So the pressured deal fell through. Then TDL was built in 1982 and that started Dreamland - Nara's death spiral. It finally closed in 2006. They also had a sister park Dreamland - Yokohama. It closed in 2002 and by 2005 it was torn down and they built a College of Pharmacy in its place. Nara didn't fair as well and remains in ruins to this day. It amazes me at the amount of damage, etc. in just 10 years time of being shuttered.
There are several youtube videos showing this park after it closed and also before it closed. In both cases very sad.
Here's aerials of each showing roughly last year of operation and the 2015.
Dreamland - Yokohama - Jul 2002
Dreamland - Yokohama - Nov 2015
Dreamland - Nara - Feb 2005
Dreamland - Nara - Mar 2015
The Orlando work is not addressing the ride or track quality.
Cesar R M
Well-Known Member
yikes!!!
Should we pray we do not get another disneyland kind issue? or the Orlando's gets good maintenance?
MerlinTheGoat
Well-Known Member
Tirian relayed a conversation he had with several Disney engineers two years ago. They apparently said they would not ride Space Mountain in the condition it was in. Again this conversation was two years ago...
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/...mes-takes-anaheim.915452/page-20#post-7316772
I'm not here to tell other people what to do by any means, i'm only repeating info from a good source here (whom i've been given no reason to doubt). Even without tirian's post, i'm already wary of riding Space Mountain. It has been getting more and more uncomfortable, and the brakes they installed not too long ago set off a lot of alarms in my head (not to mention kills a lot of the fun). It has been a while since I rode it last. Tirian's post makes me hesitate even more, I would not be surprised if what he said is completely true.
Orlando needed the DL remake years ago.
deeevo
Well-Known Member
I don't often ride it when we go over because I am running around with my girls but the last time I did it reminded me of they last time I rode Gwazi at BGT. It beat me up pretty good. And Gwazi got shut down.
Brad Bishop
Well-Known Member
It's a shame they didn't do it when they had the long-refurb, and planned track replacement, from what I understand, back around 2009 or so.
You could make the argument that they made the right call. They could have a major incident on SM at the MK and I think that the average Disney-person's brain is so filled with "magic" that they wouldn't think twice about it / be incredibly forgiving about it. The reasoning would be along the lines of, "They had an incident. It's tragic but these things happen.. They'll fix it and set it straight...," and completely ignore that it was purposeful negligence that led to it. That's some pretty incredibly strong magic (loyalty).
Goofyernmost
Well-Known Member
I believe you are way underestimating the litigation power of todays common folk. They would hardly forgive anything until after the check cleared. Disney has a lot more to lose than anyone of us can even imagine just in lawsuits with all the knowledge about the "long overdue" rebuild of SM. But, this year has completely destroyed my ability to understand todays motivations. But... I don't ride it anyway, so it will not be me getting injured so, I'm just going to make like it has no problems, because for me, it doesn't.
Cesar R M
Well-Known Member
holy crap.. are they really putting lives at risk for maintenance cost cuts? x_x
MerlinTheGoat
Well-Known Member
I don't like to believe it, but there are warning signs this may be the case and i've been given no reason to distrust tirian.
I hate to keep reminding people of past horrors (and I hope it won't happen again), but Disney forgoing safety-related maintenance in favor of profit is not unprecedented. Recall that Disneyland had multiple incidents during the Pressler/Harriss era of management that were directly caused by foregoing necessary maintenance and safety inspections...
It's also not comforting that most executives running Disney today are even more greed-driven than back then (even viewing the parks and guests with contempt)...
Not my words. As I understand things the existing internal structure has been beefed up.
Cesar R M
Well-Known Member
Marni, thank you all for keeping us all informed on internal bits.
You are really a treasure of information (from current, past and future plans).
S 2
Well-Known Member
Wouldn't this be a great place for "Liberty Street" leading to Liberty Square? I know they already use it at night to relieve congestion but why not add the Disney Theming and more classic shops truer to the original Main Street (flower shops, maybe we could get our cinema back and throw that extra gift shop somewhere in this area instead, a brewery even!) Or go all out and create a covered side to Main Street like they have in other Disney Parks? Is it possible they are already considering ways to retheme this part since they are already using it?
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Ben E
New Member
Adding much more to it would be great! However, it doesn't lead to Liberty Square, so would be out of place as "Liberty Street." That idea was originally developed for Disneyland, but DL does not have a Liberty Square so it would work as a standalone area of off Main Street at DL. Some additional theming would be great, they've done a little bit with it so it's not just the back of buildings and we used it last year to avoid Main Street crowds on our way out of the park, but turning it into a completely themed area would be awesome!
You know Disney is starting to do a little more with their Villains, what if this was a "back alley" that had a Villian them? Not wanting to mention the "other guys" here, but there could be a lighter take on Knockturn Alley using the Disney Villains. That could be fun.
You know Disney is starting to do a little more with their Villains, what if this was a "back alley" that had a Villian them? Not wanting to mention the "other guys" here, but there could be a lighter take on Knockturn Alley using the Disney Villains. That could be fun.
S 2
Well-Known Member
It could angle towards liberty square and yes there would be a gap in the hub but some things could even angle out to make some cool forced perspective shots AND castle shots the way MS does. Liberty Street at Disneyland (see the video) was the reason I suggested it and it be a way to use one of Walt's original ideas and match them with modern needs like the need to free up traffic congestion without them giving up the glorified Disney Store that Main Street has become. With all that space there could be plenty of shopping options while adding some of the original sensory experiences the way Walt originally described Main Street (and Liberty Street) as being: Flower Shops, Blacksmith, Magic Shop, Penny Arcade, Main Street Cinema in intended form....
Having said that I absolutely love the thought of a Disneyfied Street section where the villains have taken over, great idea! That would be cool at Hollywood Studios where the Tower of Terror shadow lies (is that even an area I thought it sounded cool). I was reading about the Villain Dinner Show they offer there, sounds really cool!
Pirate Chief Kuala
New Member
This explains why the ride seemed so lackluster when I rode it last year.
The first time I rode SM was in 2001 when I was 16. My sisters and I waited what felt like 2 hours to go on the ride. When I stepped off the coaster, I remember feeling like those 2 hours were totally worth it. SM was one of the most thrilling coasters I had ever been on with the special effects, speed and smoothness of the ride.
Flash forward to 2015, my second time riding it. This time as a 30 year old and by myself. Also I had a FP for it so no 2 hour wait this time. I was feeling especially lucky as I scored the first car this time. As I was secured in my seat, my heart began to beat faster with anticipation and excitement. Soon, I was being hoisted up that initial incline with the strobe lights. Then, when the ride kicked into gear, I couldn't help but wonder if the ride was missing one (a gear that is). The first thing I noticed was the ride was not really going particularly fast and the special effects were functioning but the lack of speed was diluting their effectiveness. Next, I noticed how jerky the ride felt as we rounded corners. I felt like I was being thrown around a bit, which certainly was not a part of my first go-around. On top of all of this, I noticed they had left some of the services lights on which also took away from some of the experience.
As I departed, I was feeling like it wasn't as spectacular as I remembered it in addition to feeling a little sore. Now it makes sense why my second time riding SM left me wanting more (if Tirian's information is correct).
Goofyernmost
Well-Known Member
I haven't ridden it since the late 80's, as an 38 year old, because I simply don't enjoy it, however, I must say it was pretty jerky back then. Perhaps, your memory is tainted by a 16 year old adrenaline push.
Pirate Chief Kuala
New Member
That very well could be.