Splash Mountain and Thunder Mountain Refurb?

[captainkidd]

Granted, Disneyland is only going to be in this position for about a week, but that's 4 E-Tickets all at one time, in a resort that's supposedly half the size. Sorry, but I take quality over quantity. I'll suck it up if a couple of rides are down, knowing that when I come back, they should be in excellent shape. If nothing ever goes down for refurbishment, everything is just going to get worse. And sometimes you have to close things simultaneously.

Just a couple things here:

Disneyland isn't "half the size" of WDW. It's about 1/60th the size. That being said, Disneyland and WDW are VEEEEERY different animals. The majority of visitors to Disneyland are locals. The majority of visitors to WDW are tourists.

 

[Thrill]

Just a couple things here:

Disneyland isn't "half the size" of WDW. It's about 1/60th the size. That being said, Disneyland and WDW are VEEEEERY different animals. The majority of visitors to Disneyland are locals. The majority of visitors to WDW are tourists.

Geographically, yes, WDW is way, way bigger. But in terms of parks, WDW only has twice as many.

You're right, but it just irks me that upgrades and maintenance can't happen.

 

[captainkidd]

Geographically, yes, WDW is way, way bigger. But in terms of parks, WDW only has twice as many.

You're right, but it just irks me that upgrades and maintenance can't happen.

I've yet to go to DL (next July is our first trip), but from what I gather, it's somewhat like Universal Orlando. The parks are great, and the DTD area is cool, but after that, there's not much else to do (at Disney anyways.) At WDW, you've got recreation up the ying-yang, dinner shows, sports, etc. Not sure why I brought that up. Probably because I just got back from Universal and really missed Disney.

I get y about maintenance, but I get it. But for the MK to lose 2 of the 3 mountains at the same time for maintenance just doesn't work.

 

[TheBeatles]

BTMRR needs a refurbishment asap.

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

WOW! That's bad. I didn't ride splash yesterday, so I didn't get a chance to see it. So did they do ANY general maintenance during the last "refurb" (lap bar installation)?

I rode Splash Mountain immediately before and after the lapbar installation. I only noticed two change during this time-
- They replaced one of the handrails in the queue right as you are entering the loading area (though ironically, they didn't paint or finish the railing to look like the rest of them, so it looks like light blond freshly cut wood).
- After you fall down the final big drop, as you round a corner you get to the small little dip and there's a small waterfall on your right hand side. Near the base of this waterfall there had been a damaged portion of the rock work i assume as it had a plywood sort of cutout covering it. After the refurb, this apparently was fixed

Otherwise i really didn't notice any sort of fixes. The lighting in places seemed somewhat weird in places though. All the same broken things were still broken, things needing paint remained unpainted, and some animatronics were hit or miss depending on the day (particularly hopping Brer Rabbit for one). Gophers in the Laughing Place sometimes didn't work (like the FSU one). During the year and my many visits, i noticed a gradual decline of the spinning beehives going into non-working mode.

So all in all, i'd say they did ALMOST nothing during the down time, and more and more things have broken since the down time...:hurl:

Both Splash and Big Thunder need serious work. And it WILL have to be done sooner or later, because you can only go so far with broken stuff until even normal people will start to notice (the birds on the riverboat for example). One kid we rode with once earlier this year asked his mom why Brer Rabbit was hunched over near the left side of his bush and not hopping or moving. I didn't know what she said, she was rather caught off guard by his question and mumbled some excuse...

It's a shame about both of these rides. Splash in particular is probably my all time favorite ride in working condition (Pirates in Paris rivals it though). It's the best version of the ride too IMO, again when it's functioning properly.

BTW- anyone who wonders why people ride this with ponchos and don't want to get wet. I am guilty of that myself at times. I ride in the back with a poncho to almost completely guarantee i won't get wet. Believe it or not, i enjoy the ride not because of its soaking factor, but because of the characters and lovely well designed environments. Also because of the thrills (not a huge big coaster fan). I do like to get wet SOMETIMES, but at least i can control it when i don't want to get too soaked. So don't be so judgemental and assume everyone is a hypocrite for riding it and not wanting to get soaked. I ride it for the fun experience, the thrills and scenery.

 

[SeaCastle]

I rode Splash Mountain immediately before and after the lapbar installation. I only noticed two change during this time-
- They replaced one of the handrails in the queue right as you are entering the loading area (though ironically, they didn't paint or finish the railing to look like the rest of them, so it looks like light blond freshly cut wood).
- After you fall down the final big drop, as you round a corner you get to the small little dip and there's a small waterfall on your right hand side. Near the base of this waterfall there had been a damaged portion of the rock work i assume as it had a plywood sort of cutout covering it. After the refurb, this apparently was fixed

Otherwise i really didn't notice any sort of fixes. The lighting in places seemed somewhat weird in places though. All the same broken things were still broken, things needing paint remained unpainted, and some animatronics were hit or miss depending on the day (particularly hopping Brer Rabbit for one). Gophers in the Laughing Place sometimes didn't work (like the FSU one). During the year and my many visits, i noticed a gradual decline of the spinning beehives going into non-working mode.

For the sake of semantics, there really is no such thing as the "FSU" gopher- he's sneezing. The leaked individual ride tracks indicate it as "sneeze", and I'm almost positive the same gopher appears in Disneyland as well.

Otherwise, I very much agree with what you said.

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

For the sake of semantics, there really is no such thing as the "FSU" gopher- he's sneezing. The leaked individual ride tracks indicate it as "sneeze", and I'm almost positive the same gopher appears in Disneyland as well.

Otherwise, I very much agree with what you said.

Yeah, i didn't mean to state that like it was actually true or not. I just read about the FSU thing and found it rather silly and it stuck with me. Plus, most Disney fans know what it means.

BTW, those birds on the riverboat were working back in March or so. Just in case that helps anyone track down when they broke. The Brer Bear figure with the beehive on his nose has been gradually going into B-mode for a while. I believe his fully functional mode includes arm movement as well as wobbling around (judging by Japan's version). During my several months of visiting occasionally, his entire body was just wobbling without any arm movement. The beehives above him were working fully i believe last year and have gradually stopped working. From what i've heard, they may have taken the spinning bees off of them completely.

In terms of Big Thunder, i more or less witnessed the removal of one effect- the spinning possums on the tree. One day they were there, the next day they simply weren't. They were even working perfectly the previous day too (i always loved that gag, it made me laugh).

Is the waterfall over the first lift hill still turned off? I think i read somewhere that it had been deactivated. It was working when i went earlier this year, but i dunno.

 

[dreamfinder]

While I agree that this would be a headache for Guest Relations ... to me the burden should be on the consumer ... Do your homework. You wouldn't go on a cruise during Hurricane Season?.? Look into where your heading to see what is happening, if your going to be spending that kind of money to go on vacation then do a little legwork and plan it around the projected refurbs. The mentality that refurbs ruin vacations has to go away ... the consumer needs to start getting a little smarter and learn to think for themselves, espically in this day and age where information is so easily accesable. IMHO.

I have to disagree with this comment. I understand refurbs are a necessary evil, and accept that something is going to be down when I am there. It happens, I know I will be going back again. And I feel bad for those who save up for years and may not get another trip. But short of shutting down for months like most regional parks do, there is no other way to keep things operating. Would it be bad show to have 2/3 of the mountains down at once? Perhaps, since MK already can get pretty full. But is it worse show to have dead AAs laying around as shown in that video clip? I would say so. Standing up not moving, ok, I could see running the ride for the day til 3rd shift could fix it. But passed out like they partied to hard at Food & Wine Fest? Never. WDW should have never let maintenance get to the state it is in. But a very short sighted cut back to maintenance and staffing is leading to long term problems that are starting to surface as times go on. By all reports the 3rd shift does what they can, but I had read that some attractions that were making do with levels they had 5 years ago, have been cut by 2/3rds, and now can barely keep some things operational.

However, expecting someone being able to plan their trips around refurbs is complete garbage. WDW is leaning towards needing to plan everything at the 180 days if not earlier. If WDW publicly released the refurb schedule at 180 days, when they release the calendars then its slightly possible. But here we are 120 days out, and we are assuming that the yearly Splash refurb will happen, but only guessing on a Thunder refurb. Never mind the people who have to pick a week at least a year in advance to get the time off from work scheduled. Or those who can only take certain weeks off. Some companies give their employees 2 weeks vacation, but then tell them we will do our yearly shutdown for maintenance for 2 weeks at such and such a time, and you have to use your vacation then. Or people like teachers who have a limited time during which they can take time off. Expecting people to plan around refurbs is just not being reasonable. Never mind the tons of people who don't know how to/where to find the refurb schedule in advance.

 

[Master Yoda]

I have to disagree with this comment. I understand refurbs are a necessary evil, and accept that something is going to be down when I am there. It happens, I know I will be going back again. And I feel bad for those who save up for years and may not get another trip. But short of shutting down for months like most regional parks do, there is no other way to keep things operating. Would it be bad show to have 2/3 of the mountains down at once? Perhaps, since MK already can get pretty full. But is it worse show to have dead AAs laying around as shown in that video clip? I would say so. Standing up not moving, ok, I could see running the ride for the day til 3rd shift could fix it. But passed out like they partied to hard at Food & Wine Fest? Never. WDW should have never let maintenance get to the state it is in. But a very short sighted cut back to maintenance and staffing is leading to long term problems that are starting to surface as times go on. By all reports the 3rd shift does what they can, but I had read that some attractions that were making do with levels they had 5 years ago, have been cut by 2/3rds, and now can barely keep some things operational.

However, expecting someone being able to plan their trips around refurbs is complete garbage. WDW is leaning towards needing to plan everything at the 180 days if not earlier. If WDW publicly released the refurb schedule at 180 days, when they release the calendars then its slightly possible. But here we are 120 days out, and we are assuming that the yearly Splash refurb will happen, but only guessing on a Thunder refurb. Never mind the people who have to pick a week at least a year in advance to get the time off from work scheduled. Or those who can only take certain weeks off. Some companies give their employees 2 weeks vacation, but then tell them we will do our yearly shutdown for maintenance for 2 weeks at such and such a time, and you have to use your vacation then. Or people like teachers who have a limited time during which they can take time off. Expecting people to plan around refurbs is just not being reasonable. Never mind the tons of people who don't know how to/where to find the refurb schedule in advance.

With the way things currently are, refurb schedules would need to be released a good bit earlier than 180 days. A more realistic number would be 240 days. An ideal number would be 12 months out. That being said, I doubt they will ever approach 180 days let alone 240 or 365. Personally I think the best thing Disney could do it to plan and publish an annual or bi annual refurb for every attraction. (ie HM will be closed for the first 2 weeks of November every year, HOP will be closed for the first week of February every even year, etc)

WDW is in a no win situation. If they leave everything open 24/7 and rely solely on third shift to keep the attractions at 100% you get the situation they are currently in. If they close headlining attractions guest relations gets an earful. Right now WDW is reaping what the sowed. They have done the 24/7 thing for so long that it seems that there are no longer any options but to close and refurb attractions. Hopefully, they will learn from their mistakes and once the parks are up to Disney standards again they will have a regular maintenance schedule.

 

[KingdomofDreams]

^ Agree. It's a terrible shame things have been allowed to fall into such a state of disrepair, but because they have, it's undoubtedly going to take some time and painful sacrifices to get things back to where they need to be. The longer it goes on, the worse it gets and more money and longer down-times will be required.

I don't like walls and attractions being down any more than anyone else, but it's necessary. There has to be a regular on-going maintenance schedule. By doing so, most years the downtime will be minimal and hopefully simultaneous headliner closures within the same park can be avoided. Also, that information can be made available for guest planning well in advance.

Obviously. most of that work will always have to take place from late August through May - avoiding Christmas weeks when possible. It will impact guests who traditionally visit during those months, but crowd levels are at their highest in the summer months and that would logically be the time they'd want to try to avoid negatively impacting capacity. That can be offset somewhat by value season rates and/or offering discounts and deals.

 

[desertrat]

I've yet to go to DL (next July is our first trip), but from what I gather, it's somewhat like Universal Orlando. The parks are great, and the DTD area is cool, but after that, there's not much else to do (at Disney anyways.) At WDW, you've got recreation up the ying-yang, dinner shows, sports, etc. Not sure why I brought that up. Probably because I just got back from Universal and really missed Disney.

I get y about maintenance, but I get it. But for the MK to lose 2 of the 3 mountains at the same time for maintenance just doesn't work.

Yes dl is like Universal in terms of size of the whole area. As far as mk vs dl. Dl wins hands down. My first impression of the wdw mk was that it looked old and tired, and the quality just wasn't not up to par with Dl. I prefer going to wdw for a better overall vacation. Like you said there is a lot more to do at wdw. Dl is more of 3 day trip whereas wdw you could stay for 3 weeks and not get bored. I wish wdw would refurb the rides at mk more often. The pirates of the carribean needs to be totally redone at mk. You will be shocked at how much better the one at dl is. Have a good trip.

 

[Pioneer Hall]

For the sake of semantics, there really is no such thing as the "FSU" gopher- he's sneezing. The leaked individual ride tracks indicate it as "sneeze", and I'm almost positive the same gopher appears in Disneyland as well.

Otherwise, I very much agree with what you said.

And let's be honest...who likes FSU anyway? Go Gators!



(Sorry I had to)

 

[Jane Doe]

While I agree that this would be a headache for Guest Relations ... to me the burden should be on the consumer ... Do your homework. You wouldn't go on a cruise during Hurricane Season?.? Look into where your heading to see what is happening, if your going to be spending that kind of money to go on vacation then do a little legwork and plan it around the projected refurbs. The mentality that refurbs ruin vacations has to go away ... the consumer needs to start getting a little smarter and learn to think for themselves, espically in this day and age where information is so easily accesable. IMHO.

I've had emails sent to me by Disney, I've seen the vacation planning DVDs, I've had a look through their brochures and nowhere does it mention that if you go in off-season that major attractions will be closed and this is to be expected.

 

[hpyhnt 1000]

I've had emails sent to me by Disney, I've seen the vacation planning DVDs, I've had a look through their brochures and nowhere does it mention that if you go in off-season that major attractions will be closed and this is to be expected.

And I personally think thats a problem, particularly as time goes on. In the short term, this kind of "keep attracions open at all times" management works well; after all, no matter when guests visit, everything is open. But it means essential or preventative maintenance gets pushed back or eliminated, leading to bigger long term problems that are not easily fixable. The problem is only exacerbated because WDWs daily maintenance is subpar.

Attractions need to be closed for maintenance, and the off season is the perfect time to do it. But i agree,Disney then needs to make it clear that if you visit in the off season, some attractions will be closed.

 

[seattlemousers]

While I agree that this would be a headache for Guest Relations ... to me the burden should be on the consumer ... Do your homework. You wouldn't go on a cruise during Hurricane Season?.? Look into where your heading to see what is happening, if your going to be spending that kind of money to go on vacation then do a little legwork and plan it around the projected refurbs. The mentality that refurbs ruin vacations has to go away ... the consumer needs to start getting a little smarter and learn to think for themselves, espically in this day and age where information is so easily accesable. IMHO.

For those that make their reservations early, before the refurbs are announced, there is no way of knowing what will be on the schedule for refurbs, except for rumors and speculations.

 

[MissAlmyra]

In January, I rode Splash Mountain the day after it opened from the refurb, and Brer Frog wasn't moving at all. :shrug:
The ride was in better shape than many of the experiences shared here, but I did notice the Laughing Place was much less "lively" than I remembered. Must have been the absence of the fountains.
Hopefully they'll fix it all soon, a downed/unmoving animatronic is really noticeable and disappointing to guests.

 

[dreamfinder]

With the way things currently are, refurb schedules would need to be released a good bit earlier than 180 days. A more realistic number would be 240 days. An ideal number would be 12 months out. That being said, I doubt they will ever approach 180 days let alone 240 or 365. Personally I think the best thing Disney could do it to plan and publish an annual or bi annual refurb for every attraction. (ie HM will be closed for the first 2 weeks of November every year, HOP will be closed for the first week of February every even year, etc)

180 days is not ideal, and yeah, a full year would be even better. But I agree that I doubt it will happen.

Scheduled maintenance is an interesting idea. I'd love to have the official heads up 2 years out as to what would be closed when, instead of guessing based on past years closures. The major issue I would see with that is the serious limitation it would put on any new changes. They would need to be planning 2 years (or more) out to get any new props, additionas, whatever ready to go so they can estimate the downtime. That is one place that DLR really does benefit from the yearly holiday makeovers. At a minimum, those rides get twice yearly upkeep.

 

[hpyhnt 1000]

180 days is not ideal, and yeah, a full year would be even better. But I agree that I doubt it will happen.

Scheduled maintenance is an interesting idea. I'd love to have the official heads up 2 years out as to what would be closed when, instead of guessing based on past years closures. The major issue I would see with that is the serious limitation it would put on any new changes. They would need to be planning 2 years (or more) out to get any new props, additionas, whatever ready to go so they can estimate the downtime. That is one place that DLR really does benefit from the yearly holiday makeovers. At a minimum, those rides get twice yearly upkeep.

I don't see what you are talking about as far as limitations. By scheduling the refurb one to two years in advance, all they would be doing is alerting the public that if you visit this particular month, there's a good chance this attraction will be closed. In most cases, I think Disney would have a pretty good ballpark estimate on how long an attraction would be closed, but even if they don't, its not essential. Whether its 3 days or 3 weeks is not what is important; what's important is that guests planning their trip a year out would know that certain attractions may not be open during their visit. As the refurb gets closer and Disney has a better idea on the timeframe, then it can get more specific about the dates. But initially, people who are planning a vacation will at least have advanced warning that a refub will be taking place, even if they dont know how long it will be.

 

[dreamfinder]

I don't see what you are talking about as far as limitations. By scheduling the refurb one to two years in advance, all they would be doing is alerting the public that if you visit this particular month, there's a good chance this attraction will be closed. In most cases, I think Disney would have a pretty good ballpark estimate on how long an attraction would be closed, but even if they don't, its not essential. Whether its 3 days or 3 weeks is not what is important; what's important is that guests planning their trip a year out would know that certain attractions may not be open during their visit. As the refurb gets closer and Disney has a better idea on the timeframe, then it can get more specific about the dates. But initially, people who are planning a vacation will at least have advanced warning that a refub will be taking place, even if they dont know how long it will be.

The limitations I am talking about refer to things like lead times on new tech, and knowing how long stuff will take 2 years out. But operating on say a 3 month warning, they can refine and test changes for a longer period of time, helping them to have a good grasp on how long it will take.

If I tell you now I need to know how long it will take to put together the Christmas gifts for your kids in 2013, what will you say? You either will estimate much longer than needed, or try to keep it short and possibly end up running out of time the day of. The same applies. If we asked an Imagineer today how long it would take them to isntall, setup, and test one of the scenes from the new mine train, their estimate won't be very good. But if you asked them how long to install the new Mermaid AA, their guess would be better.

Or heck, if you asked them to tell you how long it will take to set up an interactive queue using the NextGen tech. Where the tech isn't even finalized, they can't give you a good guess. But if the tech was ready to roll out in a very short while, they would have a better idea.

I imagine that WDI does have good project planning to get stuff done a few years down the road, but estimating anything new is tough. People will end up playing it safe to avoid upsetting people. Great new blue sky ideas could get shot for safety.

 

[hpyhnt 1000]

The limitations I am talking about refer to things like lead times on new tech, and knowing how long stuff will take 2 years out. But operating on say a 3 month warning, they can refine and test changes for a longer period of time, helping them to have a good grasp on how long it will take.

If I tell you now I need to know how long it will take to put together the Christmas gifts for your kids in 2013, what will you say? You either will estimate much longer than needed, or try to keep it short and possibly end up running out of time the day of. The same applies. If we asked an Imagineer today how long it would take them to isntall, setup, and test one of the scenes from the new mine train, their estimate won't be very good. But if you asked them how long to install the new Mermaid AA, their guess would be better.

Or heck, if you asked them to tell you how long it will take to set up an interactive queue using the NextGen tech. Where the tech isn't even finalized, they can't give you a good guess. But if the tech was ready to roll out in a very short while, they would have a better idea.

I imagine that WDI does have good project planning to get stuff done a few years down the road, but estimating anything new is tough. People will end up playing it safe to avoid upsetting people. Great new blue sky ideas could get shot for safety.

I see what you're saying. Basically you're concern is for new additions to an attraction, which I agree can be difficult to get a good time frame 1-2 years out. I was looking more at maintenance and installation of smaller items, like lighting, individual AAs and scene props; things WDI has done previously and knows how to do. New additions and technology would, of course, require larger refurb time frames but for upkeep and maintenance, Disney should have a pretty good idea on how long they need, particularly if daily maintenance is done properly and records are kept on what needs attention.