Major 2015 Pirates of the Caribbean Refurbishment Watch/Rumor.

[wdwfan4ver]

If this ride is in such bad shape that it is deemed unsafe, why are they waiting 6 months to close it down?
Fix it now!!

Disney doesn't want anything else at Magic Kingdom to be closed at this time Since Splash Mountain has a refurbishment right now. Splash Mountain is one the attractions that Phil Holmes found out the hard way that it can't afford not having a yearly refurbishment.

Magic Kingdom also will have Little Mermaid down over a month starting next month and Jungle Cruise will be down from April 13th to May 8th. Magic Kingdom also would have short refurbishments for Liberty Square River Boat,It's a Small World and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in terms of attractions at different times.

 

[ford91exploder]

I would agree with that, although I would also caution against rushing work too much, especially on a 40 year old attraction. There's also the question of scheduling and having skilled people who know how to work on whatever needs work, in the order it needs work. I'd prefer every attraction getting dedicated maintenance on a regular basis, with parts being changed out on a schedule with heavier maintenance annually, like aircraft. But they don't always listen to me.

It's why I said a COMPETENT crew, One that can read and understand blueprints and electrical schematics, that all speak the same language(s) (Think Dutch engineering firms) not a crew they picked up from the Home Depot parking lot.

We both know once WDW attractions DID get wear components replaced BEFORE they failed in service. No longer.

 

[ford91exploder]

Unfortunately, this is all very true.

I smile every time I see an article mention Disney as the best example of customer service or creative standards, because anybody who worked for them in the last 15 years KNOWS it's not true. I left the company in 2012 and haven't looked back.

Sadly at one time Disney WAS the gold standard for customer service.

 

[Horizons1]

Maybe, but how do you explain the recent Splash Mountain big refurb?

If the ride is really closing for 6 months I refuse to believe they won't do much to it. It's killing local management to have the ride down at all so it really makes no sense to close it for 6 whole months and then just do some minimum amount of maintenance. That can be done at night without closing the ride at all.

Hey, up to you how you and all the kids who liked your post wanna feel. I'm simply warning ya'll. but oh well, I guess I'll go ride space mountain...

 

[VIPguide_2030]

I don't get a summer start...I went last in 2013 summer and I felt like things were OK but not quite the same. So now 2 years later that is when you change it? Also why close it in the summer? Why not close it after New Year's, get a good crew and get it done before Easter. Take a guess when I am going back

 

[GoofGoof]

I don't get a summer start...I went last in 2013 summer and I felt like things were OK but not quite the same. So now 2 years later that is when you change it? Also why close it in the summer? Why not close it after New Year's, get a good crew and get it done before Easter. Take a guess when I am going back

My guess is if they need 6 months and they want to avoid the 2 super peak crowd times of Christmas and Spring Break they have a pretty limited window. If they started in April or May after Spring break it would still go until October or November. If they could do it in 4 months they might be able to wait until after July 4th and get it in before Thanksgiving when the holiday crowds begin to pick up.

 

[GoofGoof]

Hey, up to you how you and all the kids who liked your post wanna feel. I'm simply warning ya'll. but oh well, I guess I'll go ride space mountain...

Thanks for the warning. The other kids and I will take it under advisement. Have fun on Space Mountain

 

[yoyoflamingo]

Apparently, bright metal vents are now visible throughout the ride's ceiling. The vents were installed but not painted to blend into the dark night sky. Does anyone have a pic of this?

Took a pic with my phone today since I conveniently read this last night. Ill try to upload it tomorrow. It is very noticeable. Even my wife noticed them before we talked about them.

 

[Steel City Magic]

Four months is all they need to disable all the mouth movements on the figures and replacing them with a replica of Phil Holmes' teeth.

After 6 more months the AAs will all look like this...

 

[Horizons1]

Thanks for the warning. The other kids and I will take it under advisement. Have fun on Space Mountain

Oh Lord, you people are dense.

 

[totchos]

I recently rode Pirates in mid December and I was sitting in the front row with two other people. This has never happened before but when we went down the drop we got completely drenched by water. Its like the front of the boat dove and gallons and gallons of water came rushing over the front. The only time I have ever gotten a little wet on Pirates was from the cannons in the battle scene but never like this... Hopefully they will do something about this in the refurbishment.

 

[BoarderPhreak]

Wow! I really hope this is true... PotC needs serious love.

 

[hokielutz]

They better not add lap-bars to the boats.....

 

[JohnD]

This is the biggest problem with WDW. They need to have the rides open 365 days a year or heaven forbid, you may offend a guest and ruin their vacation!

What's wrong with taking the ride down for as long as is needed? Boohoo, someone's feelings get hurt that they didn't get to ride their favorite ride. Well, hurt feelings are better than having something go wrong with the ride itself and you actually physically get hurt.

A long, extensive, intricate refurb can be some proof that maybe the higher prices we pay to go to WDW are worth it, and that our voices are being heard. This business of keeping the ride running at doing the minimum amount of maintenance is someday going to backfire. If that means that multiple rides have to be down, the so be it.

I'm really grateful to WDWMagic and other boards that post the refurbishment schedule for "those in the know" but WDW is doing a disserve do its guests by not publishing the schedule on their own website. Guess they would rather guests show up, having already spent their money, and be disappointed that something is closed rather than allow them to plan their trip around refurbishments, if that is what the guest chooses or can do. I understand some schedules don't allow for any flexibility.

 

[wdwmagic]

I'm really grateful to WDWMagic and other boards that post the refurbishment schedule for "those in the know" but WDW is doing a disserve do its guests by not publishing the schedule on their own website. Guess they would rather guests show up, having already spent their money, and be disappointed that something is closed rather than allow them to plan their trip around refurbishments, if that is what the guest chooses or can do. I understand some schedules don't allow for any flexibility.

The refurb dates are but yet confirmed, so there won't be any official notice until then.

 

[Sage of Time]

In 2006, WDI wanted to add an explosion and a post-ride skeleton scene, similar to the DLP version.

Goodness, YES. Yes please. That would certainly help.

Is it still possible for them to revisit this?

 

[Bocabear]

I have always felt like the WDW version is like the cliff notes POTC... or POTC Greatest Hits...lol If you have ridden the Disneyland or the Paris versions (when everything was working) it is glaring how reduced our version is... Sure wish there was some way to fix this... Maybe adding some digital mapping for better effects, bring back the projected clouds on the ceiling.. etc... WDW deserves some love.

 

[imagineer boy]

I have always felt like the WDW version is like the cliff notes POTC... or POTC Greatest Hits...lol If you have ridden the Disneyland or the Paris versions (when everything was working) it is glaring how reduced our version is... Sure wish there was some way to fix this... Maybe adding some digital mapping for better effects, bring back the projected clouds on the ceiling.. etc... WDW deserves some love.

Very true. When I went on Disneyland's version, I was floored but just how much better it was. Better animatronics, better special effects (love the smoke that shoots out of the pirates' guns!), better beginning, better end, and better integration of elements from the movies. The only thing in WDW's version that is better is the queue line.

 

[JordanNite]

Guys relax ... we all know this is just going to be a new queuing system. It's what Disney does these days/

 

[JordanNite]

Goodness, YES. Yes please. That would certainly help.

Is it still possible for them to revisit this?

Don't be silly - that would mean investment. We know investment only goes into shops.