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News Runoff Rapids water slides at Blizzard Beach closed for refurbishment
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
Gabe1
Ivory Tower Squabble EST 2011. WINDMILL SURVIVOR
And Volcano Bay opens late May. If tourists are going to spend a day in a waterpark which one would you choose?
Blizzard keeps having major slide issues even after coming off a refurb which begs the question (since this just happened with their 2 premiere slides not long ago at Blizzard) how much refurb is happening in the cooler temp seasons and how much of the closures are simply taking a park off line do to lack of demand over the winter? Saying, fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.
Blizzard keeps having major slide issues even after coming off a refurb which begs the question (since this just happened with their 2 premiere slides not long ago at Blizzard) how much refurb is happening in the cooler temp seasons and how much of the closures are simply taking a park off line do to lack of demand over the winter? Saying, fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.
MonorailMan
Active Member
I thought Blizzard Beach was closed from October-December for refurbishment... Why are they doing this work now when the park has been open for only about a month? I was at Blizzard Beach like 2 weeks ago and Runoff Rapids was closed every time I went to the waterpark and it really does knock off quite a bit of the slides you can do because they are the only tube slides for 1 or 2 people (with the exception of Downhill Double Dipper). Really disappointing...
cheezbat
Well-Known Member
I'd wager a guess and say all they really do during these 'refurbs' is some general cleaning and touch up paint. With the continual issues they've had the past few years, there's no way they go full refurb when the park is closed. I honestly think they really just close the parks to cut back on labor since the parks aren't busy that time of year anyway.And Volcano Bay opens late May. If tourists are going to spend a day in a waterpark which one would you choose?
Blizzard keeps having major slide issues even after coming off a refurb which begs the question (since this just happened with their 2 premiere slides not long ago at Blizzard) how much refurb is happening in the cooler temp seasons and how much of the closures are simply taking a park off line do to lack of demand over the winter? Saying, fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.
Gabe1
Ivory Tower Squabble EST 2011. WINDMILL SURVIVOR
I agree. It was more of a rhetorical post of mine. Both waterparks have hit their life expectancies for many of their premier waterslides unlike many park attractions waterslides have their lifespans. Both parks have hit and surpassed the average. My adult kids worked a rather large waterpark over the span of 15 years, my DD still part time manages it in addition to her career. They flattened the waterpark after year 25, closed it for a year and brought back an amazing replacement. Disney can ignore the obvious but it won't solve the aging issues that waterparks worldwide face.
CJR
Well-Known Member
Just an update, I was at Blizzard Beach today and took a look at the Runoff Rapids area. It appears to be just sitting there closed with no work being done at all.
Due to the openings in that area, you can easily see the slides from the mountain, no equipment at all could be spotted, just dry slides. So, this may just be a temporary cost cutting move. If they are doing any actual work, it has to be pretty minor as anything major should be more noticeable.
Due to the openings in that area, you can easily see the slides from the mountain, no equipment at all could be spotted, just dry slides. So, this may just be a temporary cost cutting move. If they are doing any actual work, it has to be pretty minor as anything major should be more noticeable.
peter11435
Well-Known Member
CJR
Well-Known Member
I figured as much, but it still seems a bit iffy to me. A whole water ride could be constructed by April (technically, one is at TL). Three months seems like a long time to fix an issue like that, especially after the park was just closed for a few months to take care of such repairs. Also, the fact that it's opening right in time for the big Easter time frame is a pretty nice coincidence.
There could be something real happening backstage, but it could also very well be they just didn't need the slides running until Easter from an operational standpoint. From an in park perspective, there's nothing to see except a closed, empty slide.
UpAllNight
Well-Known Member
So they've basically opened up a new slide at typhoon and closed one at Blizzard Beach for no reason, to pay for their increased staffing costs? That's the way it looks.
You can't spend 3 months refurbing a water slide when you could demolish, and rebuild it in the same length of time. What's going on??
You can't spend 3 months refurbing a water slide when you could demolish, and rebuild it in the same length of time. What's going on??
Magic Feather
Well-Known Member
If you ever get a chance to head over to where DDD's queue is and look down into runoff, it is plain to see why it was closed. There are giant areas where the coating has worn down, and it needs refurb. But will it get it...
Absimilliard
Well-Known Member
It is quite baffling when Proslide has an established maintenance to prevent that. Notably, they recommend buffing the slides every month with good car wax to preserve the coating. Given the annual 3 month closures, I'd hope they had been doing that...
erider
Well-Known Member
It doesn't sound like it will reopen soon then unfortunately. Amazing how they just let this rot away, especially with Volcano Bay opening.
Biff215
Well-Known Member
Is Runoff really not getting worked on? Granted they're not the most popular slides in the park, but I certainly wouldn't consider them unneeded, especially with summer coming. We were planning on visiting BB this summer, but I may flip to TL if these stay closed. I can't imagine the length of the lines of the other slides with so few offerings. Standing in the reflective heat of all that white concrete is not my idea of fun.
Magic Feather
Well-Known Member
Biff215
Well-Known Member
That's good to know, just not all that practical with two kids. We usually try to arrive early, grab a few chairs, have lunch, and head back to the resort early afternoon. It's been a few years since we've been to TL, mostly because of the lines and having access to Stormalong Bay. We're staying at Poly this time so the pool has less to offer, and I've always wanted to show my kids BB since I once worked there and it will be my son's birthday. The water parks have become too crowded to be enjoyable IMO, and BB having three slides potentially closed in the August heat certainly won't help.