You do not finish an attraction six months before an attraction opens; Disney has NEVER done this. Five months before Rock 'n' Roller Coaster opened they were just installing the large guitar on the outside. You do not turn on outside effects that long before an attraction opens, and you certainly do not put in the official ride marquee; Disney has never done this, with any new attraction. They just did the final paint job on the outside; Disneyland received its final paint job the day it opened. What would be the point in giving a final paint job if this attraction is not to open for months? The paint would fade. That is simply not how you build an attraction, and it is precisely why work on the outside progressed so slowly, so it would not be completed before the inside. Imagineers do not have a picnic outside an attraction until it is finished--why would they solute themselves before knowing it had been a job well-done. Disney, a company that saw a poor third quarter, would pay workers overtime to make a mad dash to finish the outside before the inside? I think not. Look at Primeval Whirl--ALL of its theming went up just weeks before it opened. Then there is the Tower of Terror--opened in July 1994; I was at Disney in February 1994--wasn't even close to being finished on the outside, and yet it opened five months later. Disney does not complete the outside work on projects before the inside is very close to completion--especially going so far as to put up the space training and the Fastpass signs. They never have. We have known for several months now that this attraction was ahead of schedule--from the start people felt it would be soft opening by February, then they said Christmas of this year; I can easily see it opening further ahead of schedule, ESPECIALLY with the last announcement regarding poor attendance at the parks; Disney wants more people in the parks, which is why they would be willing to pay workers overtime to get the outside done quickly so this attraction can open. Remember that this attraction was originally designed to have one full year of testing for the ride elements; is it hard to believe that just maybe testing went without many problems explaining an early completion of the project? Anyway, I think it will open soon, and every clue points toward that conclusion--the paint job, the doors, the signs, the marquee, the elements and lighting being turned on, the work on four World Showcase nations during the summer season, the Imagineers, and the new bushes.
