Space Mountain

LAPVLB

New Member
I'm still hearing April as a start date, but no one is positive that it will be going down. I just checked tonight :-/ And, strangely, they are still cross-training other T-land CMs into SM.
 

the-reason14

Well-Known Member
I say fully gut it, and put 1 longer track in there (cheaper than 2 shorter ones). The R&D has been done on most of the effects and sound tech already, so this should not be that gigantic a budget.

If all those smaller parks can afford new coasters, it's rediculous to say Disney can't.

In this down economy, this would be the fastest way to a new marketable E-Ticket and marketing plan to get people coming back. Everest worked after 9-11, and this would cost far less than a new mountain....

And I say no. I dont think disney should do anything to SM other than track replacement and keep the current layout, and adding new effects. I think it would be stupid of them to destroy a classic coaster/classic disney ride. IMO SM, is just thrilling enough to keep a lot of coaster folk happy, and not to thrilling for little Sarah's first "big" rollercoaster. Im not saying that they couldnt replace the layout with something just as tame as the current layout. I just think it would be too much work, and unneccessary work as well.

I also think that if people and disney wanted a more thrilling SM, then they should just build another coaster with the proposed layout somewhere else in the MK or WDW. Its not like WDW or the MK have no room. Other amusement parks rarely sacrifice a classic coaster to make way for a newer one, why should disney do it?
 

Jaytrod

New Member
I found this on Screamscape.. Its a site about roller coasters... I don't know how reliable the source is though. Just thought I'd pass it on..


Late 2009 - Space Mountain: Mission 2 - Rumor - (10/9/08) While I haven’t heard any updates in awhile, the latest update at Jim Hill Media mentions that Space Mountain is still on track to go down for it’s lengthy rehab in January 2009 and isn’t expected to reopen until at least September.
 

Jaytrod

New Member
And this is from that Jim Hill media link...




The only projects that are still going forward are the redo of "The Hall of Presidents" (Which is due to close for a lengthy rehab on the 31st of this month) as well as Space Mountain's long overdue overhaul (This seven-month-long project should get underway sometime after the 1st of the year).
Space-Mountain-web.jpg

Copyright Disney. All Rights Reserved
Hopefully by the time work begins in earnest on the retooling of that Tomorrowland thrill ride, Mouse House managers will have a better understanding of what's actually going on with the economy. And Walt Disney World can then make the proper adjustments to that resort's future plans.

Hopefully this means it will at least be more than 4 months.
 

WDW 3

Well-Known Member
This is in response to the first post. May have been commented on in the 15 pages, if it was, sorry.

We were seated in the ride vehicle when they shut down (last month) so we had a nice chat with several CM's. A CM said it shuts down several times a day because if a rider takes longer than 20 seconds to exit the ride at the end, it shuts down the entire ride. Then they bring up all the lights, unload all the cars, and it takes awhile to restart. I can honestly say I heard it directly but I don't know if this falls under the same catagory as boat driver/bus driver info:). She was with the college program from Jamestown College.
 

captainkidd

Well-Known Member
Again, no way will Space Mountain go down at least until Splash reopens (January 18). I don't care how quiet early January is, no way would Disney close the 2 most popular attractions in the Magic Kingdom at the same time.

If they do, people will go nuts. I'd cancel my trip. One big mountain, hey, everything has to be worked on at some point. But to close 2 down at the same time is just poor planning on Disney's part. I get if the big rehab happens and it's for over a year, then yes, a normal refurb of Splash or Thunder is bound to have 2 of the big 3 closed at the same time. However, to start a long rehab in early January instead of simply waiting 2 weeks, makes absolutely no sense.
 

marni1971

Park History nut
Premium Member
We were seated in the ride vehicle when they shut down (last month) so we had a nice chat with several CM's. A CM said it shuts down several times a day because if a rider takes longer than 20 seconds to exit the ride at the end, it shuts down the entire ride
Yep - there or there abouts. Space is so easy (too easy) to cascade. Yes, it will close next year. For between 6 and 9 months. No, there won`t be a single track or side by side seating. No, it won`t be as good as it could have been. Yes, it will be a lot more up to date when it reopens.
 

jt04

Well-Known Member
Yep - there or there abouts. Space is so easy (too easy) to cascade. Yes, it will close next year. For between 6 and 9 months. No, there won`t be a single track or side by side seating. No, it won`t be as good as it could have been. Yes, it will be a lot more up to date when it reopens.

We don't want "up to date" we want future-esque. Very disappointing.


Thankfully we still have M:S :sohappy:........:hurl: (kidding, I love M:S)
 

WDW1974

Well-Known Member
Again, no way will Space Mountain go down at least until Splash reopens (January 18). I don't care how quiet early January is, no way would Disney close the 2 most popular attractions in the Magic Kingdom at the same time.

If they do, people will go nuts. I'd cancel my trip. One big mountain, hey, everything has to be worked on at some point. But to close 2 down at the same time is just poor planning on Disney's part. I get if the big rehab happens and it's for over a year, then yes, a normal refurb of Splash or Thunder is bound to have 2 of the big 3 closed at the same time. However, to start a long rehab in early January instead of simply waiting 2 weeks, makes absolutely no sense.

You know, it's reactions like this that frankly put Disney in a no win situation and allow Disney to WalMart its product by having attractions fall into disrepair out of fear they'll have a line of whining guests demanding that Disney refund their $8,000 magical WDW vacation for having the gall to rehab/refurb a beloved attraction.

Fans need to grow up.

If missing any attraction will ruin your trip, you might not want to visit to begin with because an attraction can close for any reason at any time. And Disney does keep major closures updated on its website to help planning.

I remember visiting the MK in January of 1979 (yes, as a child) and Space Mountain, Jungle Cruise, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Peter Pan were all closed. Big Thunder Mountain wasn't open yet and Splash Mountain wasn't even a gleam in Tony Baxter's eyes.

EPCOT was't even a construction site yet. There were no places to 'park hop' to.

But guess what? I had a great time. I enjoyed what was there. There weren't lined of entitlement mentality guests/fans demanding refunds.

Attractions close ... and at WDW they should close a whole lot more often for the TLC they need.

In Anaheim, despite all the local APers (many who have entitlement issues of their own), I've been there in recent Januarys when Space, Splash, Mansion and Small World were all closed at the same time. I lived. And so did most guests.

I will likely visit again in January. I hope both Space and Splash are closed. It wil mean Disney is doing something right!
 

agent86

New Member
I remember visiting the MK in January of 1979 (yes, as a child) and Space Mountain, Jungle Cruise, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Peter Pan were all closed. Big Thunder Mountain wasn't open yet and Splash Mountain wasn't even a gleam in Tony Baxter's eyes.

EPCOT was't even a construction site yet. There were no places to 'park hop' to.

But guess what? I had a great time. I enjoyed what was there. There weren't lined of entitlement mentality guests/fans demanding refunds.

And how much was the price of admission then? It's all relative. I think fans and guests have every right to be demanding when Disney makes it a regular practice to continually raise prices, while adding minimal experiences and calling them "attractions" and at the same time allowing their existing "classic" attractions to diminish and not keep up with the times.
 

WDW1974

Well-Known Member
And those old favorites are allowed to diminish because Disney doesn't close them down regularly for rehabs. What has been passed off as amazing new changes to Mansion, Pirates and Small World the past three years is in fact just the kind of stuff Disney regularly did to its attractions ... it was called 'plussing.'

Now, in addition to being too cheap to want to do things like this, Disney must contend with guests who will and moan and raise holy hell if their favorite attraction is closed.

That's life. As I said, Disney has FOUR PARKS: ONE WORLD, so if they close your favorite attraction, live with it and park hop to another.
 

captainkidd

Well-Known Member
You know, it's reactions like this that frankly put Disney in a no win situation and allow Disney to WalMart its product by having attractions fall into disrepair out of fear they'll have a line of whining guests demanding that Disney refund their $8,000 magical WDW vacation for having the gall to rehab/refurb a beloved attraction.

Fans need to grow up.

If missing any attraction will ruin your trip, you might not want to visit to begin with because an attraction can close for any reason at any time. And Disney does keep major closures updated on its website to help planning.

I remember visiting the MK in January of 1979 (yes, as a child) and Space Mountain, Jungle Cruise, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Peter Pan were all closed. Big Thunder Mountain wasn't open yet and Splash Mountain wasn't even a gleam in Tony Baxter's eyes.

EPCOT was't even a construction site yet. There were no places to 'park hop' to.

But guess what? I had a great time. I enjoyed what was there. There weren't lined of entitlement mentality guests/fans demanding refunds.

Attractions close ... and at WDW they should close a whole lot more often for the TLC they need.

In Anaheim, despite all the local APers (many who have entitlement issues of their own), I've been there in recent Januarys when Space, Splash, Mansion and Small World were all closed at the same time. I lived. And so did most guests.

I will likely visit again in January. I hope both Space and Splash are closed. It wil mean Disney is doing something right!

A.You should really watch your language if you like using this board.
B.I have no problem if something happens unplanned and they have toshut an attraction down. But to close the most popular ride with hardly any notice when the 2nd most popular attraction is already closed isn't right. If you can't understand the difference between the 2 situations, I can't help you.

And drawing comparisons to Disney in 1979 is pointless. You can't miss what didn't exist. That's like saying how could people live without electricity?
 

wvdisneyfamily

Well-Known Member
I'm not someone who examines all that my beloved WDW does through rose-colored glasses. They make mistakes. I am sometimes one of the first to call them on it. However, that being said, I think that WDW is remarkable. I don't want to see any rides closed when I'm there, as I'm sure most others don't. However, that is just part of the game. There aren't little magicians that can make the rides perfect in between closing and opening each day. That's just impossible. I think it's terrible that a ride might be closed for the family who is making their one and only trip to WDW. But, for the rest of us, it's just life. When it's closed, plan around it.
 

RSoxNo1

Well-Known Member
Disney World has more attractions than Disneyland, however they are much more spread out. In California the two parks are next door to one another. You can ride Space Mountain, and be on Soarin' in 15 minutes.

Closing down a ride like Space Mountain in the Magic Kingdom is definitely problematic, but what it will likely mean is that the time that would be spent waiting in line for Space Mountain would just be used for park hopping. There's enough entertainment on property to deal with one major ride closed in a park. However, if multiple major rides (especially thrill rides) are closed, you are undoubtedly going to see attendance suffer as a result. For that reason, I can't imagine Disney scheduling both Splash and Space to be down at the same time, even if it's just for a few weeks.
 

the-reason14

Well-Known Member
You know, it's reactions like this that frankly put Disney in a no win situation and allow Disney to WalMart its product by having attractions fall into disrepair out of fear they'll have a line of whining guests demanding that Disney refund their $8,000 magical WDW vacation for having the gall to rehab/refurb a beloved attraction.

Fans need to grow up.

If missing any attraction will ruin your trip, you might not want to visit to begin with because an attraction can close for any reason at any time. And Disney does keep major closures updated on its website to help planning.

I remember visiting the MK in January of 1979 (yes, as a child) and Space Mountain, Jungle Cruise, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Peter Pan were all closed. Big Thunder Mountain wasn't open yet and Splash Mountain wasn't even a gleam in Tony Baxter's eyes.

EPCOT was't even a construction site yet. There were no places to 'park hop' to.

But guess what? I had a great time. I enjoyed what was there. There weren't lined of entitlement mentality guests/fans demanding refunds.

Attractions close ... and at WDW they should close a whole lot more often for the TLC they need.

In Anaheim, despite all the local APers (many who have entitlement issues of their own), I've been there in recent Januarys when Space, Splash, Mansion and Small World were all closed at the same time. I lived. And so did most guests.

I will likely visit again in January. I hope both Space and Splash are closed. It wil mean Disney is doing something right!


So basically you are saying that disney should close SM and Splash at the same time, instead of waiting maybe 2 weeks for Spl to re open? Whats the big deal in waiting for Splash to reopen for them to close SM? It may not seem like much, but those 2 wks could be crucial for a first time visitor. Yea, Im one to not go to WDW if SM is close, and Im sure there are a few others that wont go if one of their favorates is closed. That makes sense. But why would you spend money going to disney if disney is stale or growing stale as you said in another thread? To me, that makes no sense. I want SM to get a refurb, but if I did have a trip planned in 09, I wouldnt want it down when Im there, and if it was then I wouldnt go. I wouldnt waste money going to WDW if "my ride" is closed, thats what I ask you, why waste money going to WDW if its stale?
 

itasman

New Member
So basically you are saying that disney should close SM and Splash at the same time, instead of waiting maybe 2 weeks for Spl to re open? Whats the big deal in waiting for Splash to reopen for them to close SM? It may not seem like much, but those 2 wks could be crucial for a first time visitor. Yea, Im one to not go to WDW if SM is close, and Im sure there are a few others that wont go if one of their favorates is closed. That makes sense. But why would you spend money going to disney if disney is stale or growing stale as you said in another thread? To me, that makes no sense. I want SM to get a refurb, but if I did have a trip planned in 09, I wouldnt want it down when Im there, and if it was then I wouldnt go. I wouldnt waste money going to WDW if "my ride" is closed, thats what I ask you, why waste money going to WDW if its stale?

So...you don't want the ride to close for a refurb and at the same time, you don't want it to be stale?

Personally I wish they would give Space the full 18 mo refurb it needs...and restore the "wow" factor to this ride. The reputation of the ride will gradually diminish over time unless they keep it cutting edge.
 

the-reason14

Well-Known Member
So...you don't want the ride to close for a refurb and at the same time, you don't want it to be stale?

Personally I wish they would give Space the full 18 mo refurb it needs...and restore the "wow" factor to this ride. The reputation of the ride will gradually diminish over time unless they keep it cutting edge.

No, I want Space to close for a refurb, re read what I wrote before you try to call me out. Im not going if and when it does close. Yea, I would want it open in 09 if I had a trip planned but if it wasnt open then I wouldnt go.
 

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom