Space Mountain set to reopen Nov 22 2009 and TTA closing dates

[Uncle Lupe]

IF it is only 7 months they can still do a lot of things because this was a planned refurb. I agree as the end date nears closer that it will be pushed back just like any construction.

 

[Lee]

The longest part of any coaster construction is putting in the footings. With SM they are already there. So it's going to be whether they decide to swap out all of the supports or just the track which is going to decide the length of downtime. If it's just the track then I can see this time frame being very realistic.

I am basing everything on them getting new supports. I jost don't see any way around it.
The existing supports had to be reinforced back in the early 90s, a couple years after the new trains debuted. The weight of the trains was stressing the structure. So what they have now is a 34 year old support structure that has been patched and reinforced.
Having seen that supports I don't see how, over 15 years later, that same structure can withstand the existing track being pulled out and replaced with new track. It just doesn't make sense at all not to do a full replacement.

That said, imagine the difficulty of ripping up the existing floor and footings and redoing the whole thing. Not a simple task. At DL they ripped out the track, supports and footers, then dug down even deeper and redid the whole thing.

 

[Lee]

Wait. Does this mean we're getting a preshow? Or does that relate to queue related work?

Just the queue. No "preshow".

Another bit of perspective.
Tokyo's Mountain was down for 6 months. All that was done was some minor track work, a remodeled loading station and queue, an effects overlay and refurbed trains.
Six months.

 

[hypercatmatt04]

No love for June, Matt is sad.

 

[csm]

Just the queue. No "preshow".

Another bit of perspective.
Tokyo's Mountain was down for 6 months. All that was done was some minor track work, a remodeled loading station and queue, an effects overlay and refurbed trains.
Six months.

Yeah, and that's exactly the problem. One of the long-standing rumors is we would get minor track work, a remodeled loading station and queue, and possibly some new effects. Add an extra month for asbestos removal and that's seven months.

It's kind of nerve-wracking that it's right on the cusp of happening and no matter who has what source, we STILL don't honestly know. My source inside this project, granted this was a year ago and so much has obviously changed, said no track no trains no music.
Seven months would work.

 

[Pete C]

Just the queue. No "preshow".

Another bit of perspective.
Tokyo's Mountain was down for 6 months. All that was done was some minor track work, a remodeled loading station and queue, an effects overlay and refurbed trains.
Six months.

Well, I can at least say this much...I was lucky enough to ride SM in Japan after the refurb, and it was as smooth as greased lightning. I can only hope that our ride will be as smooth and as dark as Tokyo's SM. It blew away our SM. I really hate that you can see the ground in our SM as you get near the end.

 

[csm]

Well, I can at least say this much...I was lucky enough to ride SM in Japan after the refurb, and it was as smooth as greased lightning. I can only hope that our ride will be as smooth and as dark as Tokyo's SM. It blew away our SM. I really hate that you can see the ground in our SM as you get near the end.

TDL's Space Mountain was extremely smooth *before* the rehab.

 

[Lee]

It's kind of nerve-wracking that it's right on the cusp of happening and no matter who has what source, we STILL don't honestly know.

It's been like catching mercury with this thing.:lol:
I get different info no matter who I ask. Even CMs working the ride don't know for sure.
Either this has been the most up and down, on and off refurb I have ever seen, where nobody knows what is going to happen from one day to the next (which I find likely), or some people have been having a laugh by feeding me red herrings for a couple years.
:shrug:

Surely...somewhere out there is some reliable, solid info. Lance's update a couple days ago meshes with the most recent info I have, so I guess I'll go with that for now.

 

[diddy_mouse]

Hmm...no Mountain in October, sad but I'll survive. Now TTA in October....that makes me happy

 

[TP2000]

I swear a whole generation has grown up not knowing what a "Sorry this attraction is being refurbished for your future enjoyment' sign looks like.

There's currently two major E Ticket attractions at Disneyland with just such a sign in front of them. And it's been that way for a month. This past weekend was sunny and warm in Anaheim and lots of tourists were taking their picture in front of the construction walls in front of their favorite closed rides. Small World reopens on February 6th with a Disney/Pixar Character overlay, and Haunted Mansion reopens February 13th.

Even last month over at DCA an E Ticket and a D Ticket were both closed, Grizzly River Run and the Sun Wheel. The Sun Wheel is closed for six months for its Mickey's Fun Wheel makeover, and then Orange Stinger closes for a year to become Mickey's Band Concert, etc., etc.

VACATIONS WERE RUINED AT DISNEYLAND USA! :lol:

Why people think this can't be done at WDW is beyond me. And yet, it does happen on occasion, with Small World, Haunted Mansion and Pirates all closing for multi-month rehabs, sometimes in summer, in recent years. And yet WDW is still in business and didn't collapse under the weight of the tears flowing down Main Street from all the crying tourists.

So close Space Mountain for a year and do it right! Disneyland's Space Mountain was closed for 27 months for the big rehab in 2003-05, and the joint is still in business.

 

[wdwmagic]

I'm pretty sure Steve got the info from the Mickey Monitor...now...that doesn't mean he believes it to be correct, but it was the date put out by Disney, so he went with it, as that was all he had to go on as well.

No it didnt come from the Mickey Monitor. It is from within the company.

 

[Gepettotrevor]

Random thought of the day:
How would MK management do playing RCT?
Rather poorly, I would think.

"This path is disgusting."
"I want to go on something more exciting than Tomorrowland Speedway."
"I'm not paying that much for Dumbo."
"Space Mountain has crashed and killed 8 guests."

:lol:

"Stitch's Great Escape is too intense for me"

 

[Skyway]

WDW is still in business and didn't collapse under the weight of the tears flowing down Main Street from all the crying tourists.

So close Space Mountain for a year and do it right! Disneyland's Space Mountain was closed for 27 months for the big rehab in 2003-05, and the joint is still in business.

I don't think Disney is worried about tears flowing down Main St. Because that would mean those people had already swiped their admission tickets at the front gate.

I would imagine the fear is that, by announcing a lengthy rehab, someone contemplating a vacation might say "Hey, if we wait another 6-12 months, we'll be able to ride Space Mountain!"

Delayed vacations are bad enough for Disney in good times. I'm sure with park profits and occupancy already down due to the economy, Disney does not want to do ANYTHING to discourage a guest from booking a trip.

While a SM rehab is necessary and must be done SOME time, at least in a strong economy, the pain is felt a bit less.

Of course, the other theory is that, since visitors are staying away anyways, why not bring on the pain now, get it all nice and pretty, and promote the heck out of SM next year when people will (hopefully) be willing to open their wallets again.

As for the Disneyland comparison, remember that DL is not quite the "resort" WDW is. If someone stayed away from DL during their SM rehab, Disney lost the revenue from their admission ticket, a couple meals, a couple souvenirs, and maybe a night in a hotel. When a WDW visitor stays away from the resort, Disney loses roughly 4 admission tickets (since that visitor isn't going to the other parks either), 4 days of meals, 4 days of souvenirs, 4+ days of hotels. So a SM closure, in theory, could have a much more significant financial impact at WDW than DL.

 

[CaptainMichael]

I don't think Disney is worried about tears flowing down Main St. Because that would mean those people had already swiped their admission tickets at the front gate.

Oh, they are! They want them to come back. Holmes hates having to close any attraction because of guest complaints. Why do you think it's been like pulling teeth to get much needed rehabs done?

 

[csm]

I would imagine the fear is that, by announcing a lengthy rehab, someone contemplating a vacation might say "Hey, if we wait another 6-12 months, we'll be able to ride Space Mountain!"

Delayed vacations are bad enough for Disney in good times. I'm sure with park profits and occupancy already down due to the economy, Disney does not want to do ANYTHING to discourage a guest from booking a trip.

What's interesting to me is that while people will say that you are reading too much into things, this is the *exact* logic that dictates when other park chains announce a new attraction. Even in cases where a ride might be under construction from before the season prior starts, they will not announce it until after Memorial day at the soonest, and in many cases not until September after Labor day. The reason is exactly what you said - if you are weighing your options for a trip and then find out that this killer new ride will be there next year, it's very easy to say let's go somewhere different and wait until the place we really want to go is even better. While I admittedly have no inside information to the thought process with this particular situation regarding Space Mountain, all I'm saying is it's not too far fetched from possiblity.

 

[Disney Daddy]

Since I am not a Space Mountain fan, I am sad that the TTA will be down during the length of our visit. That was a favorite of ours

Sad...I am heart-broken. I was really looking forward to taking my kids on that ride.

 

[TP2000]

As for the Disneyland comparison, remember that DL is not quite the "resort" WDW is. If someone stayed away from DL during their SM rehab, Disney lost the revenue from their admission ticket, a couple meals, a couple souvenirs, and maybe a night in a hotel. When a WDW visitor stays away from the resort, Disney loses roughly 4 admission tickets (since that visitor isn't going to the other parks either), 4 days of meals, 4 days of souvenirs, 4+ days of hotels. So a SM closure, in theory, could have a much more significant financial impact at WDW than DL.

I've got to respectfully disagree with you there.

With the exception of a small handful of die-hard coaster fans who plan vacations around getting "credit" for riding them, I can not imagine any average American family cancelling a weeks vacation with the kids to Disney World because a ride is going to be closed for rehab. It just doesn't make sense.

Last time I went to Japan I planned three days at Tokyo Disney Resort. A half dozen rides were closed for rehab, and I knew I wouldn't fly 12 hours across the ocean for another visit for years. But I went. And I dealt with the closed E Ticket attractions in Tokyo.

I'm sure people are bummed about a favorite ride closed during summer vacation. But if one closed ride really does cancel an entire families trip to Disney World, cancelling multi-night hotel stays and steering them entirely away from central Florida, then they must not have wanted to be there too badly in the first place.

For whatever reason, WDW fans seem to have blown the concept of routine refurbishments both long and short totally out of proportion. There seems to be a quick and easy rush to claim such regular closures dangerously imperil the very financial survival of the largest theme park complex on the planet. I simply don't understand how that can be such an easily accepted argument for not scheduling routine refurbishments. It's odd.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Wow... Steve posts the EXACT same information I posted about Space Mountain yesterday, and instead of flaming him with the "It'll never happen, don't kid yourself...you don't know what you are talking about" postss like I was... He's placated..... I guess you guys know where your bread is buttered.. but no.. Mickey Monitor can't be right!



No offense meant to you steve.. Double standards frustrate me...

Its his website. He's got insane sources and tapped well into WDW.

You? Well i dunno who you are or your reputation for posting accurate information. So live with it or go somewhere else.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Random thought of the day:
How would MK management do playing RCT?
Rather poorly, I would think.

"This path is disgusting."
"I want to go on something more exciting than Tomorrowland Speedway."
"I'm not paying that much for Dumbo."
"Space Mountain has crashed and killed 8 guests."

:lol:

Thats really funny..... i wish i had a copy of that for my Mac.... loved the original RCT.

 

[Uncle Lupe]

I'm planning a trip WDW in 2010 so Space Mountain will be one of my considerations along with work schedule to plan my trip. So Disney will still get my money but it won't be as soon as I hoped.

The November open date is a "tentative" time frame.