Captain Chaos
Well-Known Member
When will the official announcement come out telling us what is planned???
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Space Mountain refurbishment begins April 19 2009
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
brkgnews
Well-Known Member
Is it a faux pas to dance a nekkid jig in the N&R thread? :lol:
Serioiusly... this makes me a very happy Jackie.
The ride needs some major TLC... even if nothing show-related happens, just having a ride that doesn't help my chiropractor pay off his boat will be worth it.
Serioiusly... this makes me a very happy Jackie.
The ride needs some major TLC... even if nothing show-related happens, just having a ride that doesn't help my chiropractor pay off his boat will be worth it.CaptainMichael
Well-Known Member
I'm sure they say late 2009 because Ops wants it open for Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Years. Spaceship Earth all over again...
EpcotServo
Well-Known Member
epcotWSC
Well-Known Member
It goes down the day after Easter this year.
If this is down past the holidays next year then it'd be smart IMO to keep it down until either around Easter next year (April 4) or maybe a bit earlier. Late February for Mid-Winter breaks or Early March in time for spring break season would also be good.
Unfortunately I don't have plans to go to WDW in 2010. Ah well.
If this is down past the holidays next year then it'd be smart IMO to keep it down until either around Easter next year (April 4) or maybe a bit earlier. Late February for Mid-Winter breaks or Early March in time for spring break season would also be good.
Unfortunately I don't have plans to go to WDW in 2010
. Ah well.
wvdisneyfamily
Well-Known Member
I agree. It's about time. I love the music, too.
I'll sure miss this one in June. But...now I have a reason to go back in 2010! (As if I really needed one...:ROFLOL
***crosses fingers for incredible refurb that restores some dignity to one of my favorite rides***
bayoutinkbelle
Active Member
Glad to see something happening here. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a good outcome. In the meantime, I'll be spending a fair amount of time during my February trip getting in the last rides on both SM and TTA.
GenerationX
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the scoop, wdwmagic!
The one change they can make to restore SM's cool factor: remove all light leaks. The darker, the better.
The one change they can make to restore SM's cool factor: remove all light leaks. The darker, the better.
rdour@techminds
New Member
Even if the thing only lasts 8 to 10 months, we don't know the workforce being thrown at the project. We don't know what has been prefabricated. We don't know what it takes to open up the mountain to get equipment in and junk out. Then, once the physical work is done, and the construction workers move on to another project, bring on the software engineers. Development of show element programs and proper syncing and timing of elements.
The workforce and logistics make up everything here. Who cares if it is a 6 month or 2 year rehab. If you had two years, but only a dozen people doing everything, it still wouldn't be done. If you have 6 months, and hundreds of individual contributors, amazing things can be done. Of course, the more people you throw in, you start thinking of operations management issues like lead times for specific tasks, predictions can only go so far. Plus, this is no ordinary building, it's Space Mountain.
It's a lot to think about, but don't let time frame be the judge of the quality the project may turn out to be. Let the number of contractor vehicles in the parking lot in the back speak a stronger volume.
The workforce and logistics make up everything here. Who cares if it is a 6 month or 2 year rehab. If you had two years, but only a dozen people doing everything, it still wouldn't be done. If you have 6 months, and hundreds of individual contributors, amazing things can be done. Of course, the more people you throw in, you start thinking of operations management issues like lead times for specific tasks, predictions can only go so far. Plus, this is no ordinary building, it's Space Mountain.
It's a lot to think about, but don't let time frame be the judge of the quality the project may turn out to be. Let the number of contractor vehicles in the parking lot in the back speak a stronger volume.
THis is my concern. Ops, especially phil holmes, are severly hurting the show quality at the orlando parks by doing minimal refurb work. Yes some people MIGHT complain that a ride is down during there trip but people are always going to complain about something that doesn't mean you stop doing what needs to be done. Disneyland and even Walt Disney World about 20 years ago would shut down rides for refurbs whenever necessary and that was how they maintained top notch show quality regardless if a few people complained.
Funny thing is with the recessing nobody is coming anyway so you might as well keep Space Mountain closed for a year. This is an excellent time for refurbishments and construction build up and clean up while things are slow so you are ready to go when business picks up again!
the-reason14
Well-Known Member
Ok, thanks for the official news. So WDW closes for me in April. Glad I got to go this past week as I wont be back until SM is back.
TP2000
Well-Known Member
Because I'm a freak with dates...
Disneyland's Space Mountain closed April 10, 2003 and soft opened July 4, 2005 with the official opening July 17, 2005.
A total closure of 27 months.
I'm surprised that they are closing WDW's Space Mountain for six months or more. I mean, we all know that any time an attraction is closed for one day or more that thousands of VACATIONS ARE RUINED and children cry themselves to sleep in Moderate and Deluxe Resorts all over property. So basically, every day from April 19th through the end of the year VACATIONS WILL BE RUINED.
I've asked this before when a Floridian defends the sparse rehabs of WDW with the "RUINED VACATIONS" line, but I'll ask it again... will they be outfitting the hostesses at City Hall with bullet proof vests to deal with all of those angry mobs? :lol:
At higher velocities, hardly anyone will notice the triangles. :lookaroun
the-reason14 said:
Interesting. SM is that important to you? I ain't saying it's wrong, I just find it interesting.
TP2000 said:
Ruined vacations is a bit much, but apparently it would ruin the vacation for the-reason14.:lol:
If I didn't have kids, it wouldn't ruin my vacation, but I may not go into MK if I were taking an O-town theme park vacation and it was just me and the wife. For me, MK has gotten a bit stale and I would think long and hard about spending some of my vacation time in a place that would have only 4-5 attractions I wanna hit. Actually, some kind of slight attendance hit at MK may be good for us theme park fans. However, this refurb is MUCH needed and I can't wait to see the results.
MousDad
New Member
The wdwmagic announcement says closure mid-April and re-opening late 2009. That is a maximum 8 month refurb, which conflicts with the statement in the announcement saying "year long refurb."
To further confuse my diminutive cognitive powers, everyone in this thread, including the insiders, is talking about a minimum 10 month refurb, with the possibility of an open-ended timeframe.
So which is it? Are we getting a maximum 8 month refurb, or a minimum 10 month refurb? There is, obviously, a big difference between the two. Am I the only one who is confused?
To further confuse my diminutive cognitive powers, everyone in this thread, including the insiders, is talking about a minimum 10 month refurb, with the possibility of an open-ended timeframe.
So which is it? Are we getting a maximum 8 month refurb, or a minimum 10 month refurb? There is, obviously, a big difference between the two. Am I the only one who is confused?
krankenstein
Well-Known Member
It goes down the day after Easter this year.
If this is down past the holidays next year then it'd be smart IMO to keep it down until either around Easter next year (April 4) or maybe a bit earlier. Late February for Mid-Winter breaks or Early March in time for spring break season would also be good.
Unfortunately I don't have plans to go to WDW in 2010
It closes the week after Easter. Easter is on April 12th this year, Space closes the 19th. I'm sure Ops did that for crowd control reasons during the busy Easter week.
And, don't worry. 2010 is a long ways off. You still might make it to see Space reborn! :wave:
As long as I don't hear Judy Drench's voice I be a happy man. :lol:
wvdisneyfamily
Well-Known Member
I think Disney is making a statement by closing Space Mountain during the very busy summer months and, possibly, the very busy holiday months (assuming this is a 10 month or longer refurb). To me, this is a reassuring statement. Maybe I'm being overly optimistic on this, but I think that if Disney is willing to "ruin the vacations of many" (much on that one) by closing a signature attraction during a time when so many visit, the refurb won't disappoint. Again, maybe I'm being overly optimistic, but Space Mountain holds a very special place in my heart (my first MK ride ever) and I want to believe it will get the TLC it needs.
By the way...think Haunted Mansion. A summer closure that disappointed many but delivered some great improvements. Let's hope that the same thing happens with Space.
on that one) by closing a signature attraction during a time when so many visit, the refurb won't disappoint. Again, maybe I'm being overly optimistic, but Space Mountain holds a very special place in my heart (my first MK ride ever) and I want to believe it will get the TLC it needs.By the way...think Haunted Mansion. A summer closure that disappointed many but delivered some great improvements. Let's hope that the same thing happens with Space.
TarzanRocked99-
Well-Known Member
A few quick questions for Lee or Marni:
1. If the budget and scope are finally fleshed out, could you elaborate on just what we should hope to expect once it reopens???
2. Why is there so much confusion across all the fan sites on just how long it will be down, you guys seem to think a 10 month minimum while other sites are swearing it will be open by the holidays? (personally I think the longer its down the better)
3. Do you know if Phil and managment are on board at this point or are they going to get cold feet and pull this at the last moment if the backlash gets too bad?
thanks for the feedback, I remain cautiously optimistic on this one
1. If the budget and scope are finally fleshed out, could you elaborate on just what we should hope to expect once it reopens???
2. Why is there so much confusion across all the fan sites on just how long it will be down, you guys seem to think a 10 month minimum while other sites are swearing it will be open by the holidays? (personally I think the longer its down the better)
3. Do you know if Phil and managment are on board at this point or are they going to get cold feet and pull this at the last moment if the backlash gets too bad?
thanks for the feedback, I remain cautiously optimistic on this one
Lee
Adventurer
1. Can't yet. Still waiting on my sources to provide more info so that I can maybe put it all together. For sure...not as extensive as Disneyland, but a bit more than what Tokyo got. Trust me...I'm trying to get better info.
2. The time frame that was given to me over the weekend was a minimum of 10 months, but with no firm date to reopen. The open-end nature makes sense due to the extent and type of work being done. I don't think it being closed for the holidays will be an issue like SSE was. My guess? Year.
3. Nothing will be pulled at this point. It is nailed down.