Splash Mountain falling apart (literally?)

[Midlife Mouse]

I only started visiting WDW on an annual basis in late '06. On that trip, everything seemed to be in great repair. Every subsequent trip has seen more broken show throughout the parks. On a trip in May of 2010, I lost count of missing or non-functioning AA and other elements, including Hopper in It's Tough to be A Bug, Donald's backside in Philharmagic and numerous broken elements on Splash. It was frustrating, because I expect so much more for the price - and of the brand.

 

[ExtinctJenn]

I only started visiting WDW on an annual basis in late '06. On that trip, everything seemed to be in great repair. Every subsequent trip has seen more broken show throughout the parks. On a trip in May of 2010, I lost count of missing or non-functioning AA and other elements, including Hopper in It's Tough to be A Bug, Donald's backside in Philharmagic and numerous broken elements on Splash. It was frustrating, because I expect so much more for the price - and of the brand.

My hope has been, at least since New Fantasyland was announced, that once it was complete, they'd start putting funds into other stuff on property that is in need. I'd say the refurb of Big Thunder (with the upcoming new queue), the pending refurb of Splash and the Teacups, etc., point to that. The question though is will they continue to keep it up or as things break down will they be left to rot again?

 

[Midlife Mouse]

My hope has been, at least since New Fantasyland was announced, that once it was complete, they'd start putting funds into other stuff on property that is in need. I'd say the refurb of Big Thunder (with the upcoming new queue), the pending refurb of Splash and the Teacups, etc., point to that. The question though is will they continue to keep it up or as things break down will they be left to rot again?

Is there any truth to the stories that, back in the day, even the slightest piece of broken show would result in shutting down the attraction and fixing it immediately?

 

[ParentsOf4]

Is there any truth to the stories that, back in the day, even the slightest piece of broken show would result in shutting down the attraction and fixing it immediately?

I can't speak for the attractions. However, in the early 1980s I went to WDW with my brother and friends. The running joke was the almost frighteningly polite CMs. On more than one occasion we mentioned the "Stepford Wives", even calling the CMs the "Disney Wives". (You have to see the original movie to understand the reference.)

We saw a small child throw a wrapper on the ground and thought it would be interesting to watch how long it took a CM to pick it up. We discretely stood to the side to monitor the offending article. We expected to wait a while. Wouldn't you know it, the paper was gone in 37 seconds! (Yes, we timed it.)

On another occasion, we were at central hub at MK and noticed a bench with chipped paint on one arm. We joked about it for the rest of the day. We even took a photo. Wouldn't you know it, we came back the next day and the chip was fixed to the point that we couldn't see where the chip had been! That really freaked us out.

This was the standard of quality we used to expect from WDW.

 

[Midlife Mouse]

I can't speak for the attractions. However, in the early 1980s I went to WDW with my brother and friends. The running joke was the almost frighteningly polite CMs.

My wife and I took our kids to Stone Mountain just prior to Christmas. This was the case there. The friendliness and helpfulness took me aback a bit. It reminded me of similar stories I've heard about Dollywood. I only later discovered that Herschend Family Entertainment manages both parks. The cleanliness was also along those lines.

 

[baymenxpac]

My hope has been, at least since New Fantasyland was announced, that once it was complete, they'd start putting funds into other stuff on property that is in need. I'd say the refurb of Big Thunder (with the upcoming new queue), the pending refurb of Splash and the Teacups, etc., point to that. The question though is will they continue to keep it up or as things break down will they be left to rot again?

let's be honest though: the "refurb" of big thunder was a joke. down 6 months and there are still non-functions effects. and they couldn't finish a full interactive queue (that no one really care about anyway) in that time. pretty weak when you consider THIS:

I can't speak for the attractions. However, in the early 1980s I went to WDW with my brother and friends. The running joke was the almost frighteningly polite CMs. On more than one occasion we mentioned the "Stepford Wives", even calling the CMs the "Disney Wives". (You have to see the original movie to understand the reference.)

We saw a small child throw a wrapper on the ground and thought it would be interesting to watch how long it took a CM to pick it up. We discretely stood to the side to monitor the offending article. We expected to wait a while. Wouldn't you know it, the paper was gone in 37 seconds! (Yes, we timed it.)

On another occasion, we were at central hub at MK and noticed a bench with chipped paint on one arm. We joked about it for the rest of the day. We even took a photo. Wouldn't you know it, we came back the next day and the chip was fixed to the point that we couldn't see where the chip had been! That really freaked us out.

This was the standard of quality we used to expect from WDW.

used to be the standard of things at WDW.

 

[marni1971]

Is there any truth to the stories that, back in the day, even the slightest piece of broken show would result in shutting down the attraction and fixing it immediately?

Each attraction had its own list of what was bad show. What could be left and flagged for work that night, what needed a manager to decide, and what would be a closure no questions asked. Items like work lights not turning off, more than one projector failing, theatre doors not closing and the like all would mean immediate shutdown. Same for certain characters and effects.

For example, in Timekeeper, if the smoke that hid the pole that made Nine-Eye "float" didn't work, the attraction would close. Splash has had it's turtles poles in The Laughing Place visible for months if not longer.

 

[Bairstow]

Is there any truth to the stories that, back in the day, even the slightest piece of broken show would result in shutting down the attraction and fixing it immediately?

I don't think that was ever true, but from what I've read there were key figures and effects that would require immediate ride closure and repair.
The auctioneer pirate in Pirates of the Caribbean, for example.

 

[Midlife Mouse]

So what we're saying is that Hopper completely missing from It's Tough to be A Bug was a bad thing?

 

[the.dreamfinder]

I would absolutely love it if someone posted the internal SQ lists for SM and other attractions. Kevin Yee will bring his iPad on every attraction!

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

Today, a malfunctioning effect means either leave it, cover it with wood or flash a strobe light. Literally.

 

[Britt]

I can't speak for the attractions. However, in the early 1980s I went to WDW with my brother and friends. The running joke was the almost frighteningly polite CMs. On more than one occasion we mentioned the "Stepford Wives", even calling the CMs the "Disney Wives". (You have to see the original movie to understand the reference.)

We saw a small child throw a wrapper on the ground and thought it would be interesting to watch how long it took a CM to pick it up. We discretely stood to the side to monitor the offending article. We expected to wait a while. Wouldn't you know it, the paper was gone in 37 seconds! (Yes, we timed it.)

On another occasion, we were at central hub at MK and noticed a bench with chipped paint on one arm. We joked about it for the rest of the day. We even took a photo. Wouldn't you know it, we came back the next day and the chip was fixed to the point that we couldn't see where the chip had been! That really freaked us out.

This was the standard of quality we used to expect from WDW.

It's funny you mention the quick action of the CMs! One of our favorite moments this past trip was while waiting for Wishes, standing on that bridge where the Mickey and Minnie bushes are! 2 guests hopped the fence and went to pose next to the bushes and no joke, out of NOWHERE a CM appeared and was on them telling them to get out!! Lmao

We'd been sitting there a long time and hasn't seen a single CM the whole time! We have no idea where she came from, but now its a joke when we do something we shouldn't "shhhhh the CMs are watching you" LOL

 

[WDW97]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/91888925@N04/
Here is a photo that someone posted on Instagram of Splash Mountain yesterday (1/3/2013) Work has began!

 

[ThemeParks4Life]

Looks like they aren't joking around like TDO normally does.

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

Looks like they aren't joking around like TDO normally does.

Well one hopes they aren't joking around. But the problem is that there's a massive list of things that need to be done and they've allotted a stupidly small amount of time to get it all done (no telling whether the budget will be enough either). I'll be more than glad to be wrong here, but I seriously doubt they'll fix everything. Structural and safety issues would probably be addressed first. There's no telling what sort of problems they'll find once they start looking closely (Big Thunder apparently had serious underlying problems that they didn't expect to find). Second priority (or perhaps even more important than structure and safety nowadays) would likely be getting it running more efficiently with fewer stops and breakdowns (probably track and computer work, looks like track work being done in the picture above). Broken show elements are likely dead last on the priority list.

Until this ride reopens and we see video footage showing whether they fixed the glaring show elements, I wouldn't get any hopes up. Remember that Big Thunder received a much longer refurb period in the first half of 2012. From its pictures it seemed like they were also working hard on its refurb, constant streams of pictures showing track and mountain work. They did indeed get a lot of work done on the physical mountain and all, but they failed to fix numerous non-working show elements (and some things that were fixed are already broken/turned off again). Not to mention the interactive queue elements are STILL not present. Splash is a far more complex ride that has been given far less refurb time than BTM. There's no way to tell whether any substantial work is being done on the inside where all the show scenes are.

I will very gladly admit I was wrong if they do indeed clean this mess of a ride up. I very much WANT to be wrong (it gives me no pleasure in always knowing to expect the worst from WDW management). I just can't see a true and great refurb happening. I simply cannot fathom there being enough time to get this ride back up to proper show standards. And current leadership hasn't given anyone any reason to have faith that they even WANT to get it to proper show-ready level.

 

[ToTBellHop]

Well one hopes they aren't joking around. But the problem is that there's a massive list of things that need to be done and they've allotted a stupidly small amount of time to get it all done (no telling whether the budget will be enough either). I'll be more than glad to be wrong here, but I seriously doubt they'll fix everything. Structural and safety issues would probably be addressed first. There's no telling what sort of problems they'll find once they start looking closely (Big Thunder apparently had serious underlying problems that they didn't expect to find). Second priority (or perhaps even more important than structure and safety nowadays) would likely be getting it running more efficiently with fewer stops and breakdowns (probably track and computer work, looks like track work being done in the picture above). Broken show elements are likely dead last on the priority list.

Until this ride reopens and we see video footage showing whether they fixed the glaring show elements, I wouldn't get any hopes up. Remember that Big Thunder received a much longer refurb period in the first half of 2012. From its pictures it seemed like they were also working hard on its refurb, constant streams of pictures showing track and mountain work. They did indeed get a lot of work done on the physical mountain and all, but they failed to fix numerous non-working show elements (and some things that were fixed are already broken/turned off again). Not to mention the interactive queue elements are STILL not present. Splash is a far more complex ride that has been given far less refurb time than BTM. There's no way to tell whether any substantial work is being done on the inside where all the show scenes are.

I will very gladly admit I was wrong if they do indeed clean this mess of a ride up. I very much WANT to be wrong (it gives me no pleasure in always knowing to expect the worst from WDW management). I just can't see a true and great refurb happening. I simply cannot fathom there being enough time to get this ride back up to proper show standards. And current leadership hasn't given anyone any reason to have faith that they even WANT to get it to proper show-ready level.

Eh 2 1/2 months is a long time--a month more than the typical Splash closure. A lot could be done if budgeted appropriately.

 

[ParentsOf4]

Eh 2 1/2 months is a long time--a month more than the typical Splash closure. A lot could be done if budgeted appropriately.

To quote from the movie Vision Quest:

It ain't the six minutes... it's what happens in that six minutes.

Let's hope WDW really uses the 2 1/2 months to restore Splash Mountain to its former glory!

 

[Yert3]

Eh 2 1/2 months is a long time--a month more than the typical Splash closure. A lot could be done if budgeted appropriately.

I don't know why, but I'm also giving them the benefit of the doubt. Probably because I'm still in denial and still shocked WDW is ridiculously cheap now. Something I'm still not used to hearing.

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

A 2.5 month refurb period really is not a lot of time for what needs to be done. In the past the ride was never in this bad condition when its refurb time came along, so they didn't need a long time. But in recent years Disney has neglected preventative maintenance that would have kept the ride from getting in as bad a shape as it is. Not to mention they've gotten ridiculously slow at construction work.

Now though rides are run to the brink of failure and there's little to no preventative maintenance anymore. The most recent "refurb" Splash underwent was in early 2011. And I can tell you that the only purpose of it was to install lap bars in all the boats. There were tons of show quality issues already by that point and none of them were addressed whatsoever while the ride was down. It didn't get a refurb in 2012 and the amount of broken elements have escalated at an alarming pace since (now even with concrete scenery breaking off and falling in guest areas). The problems have piled on, i'll be shocked if there's enough time to fix everything. It probably needs 6 months or more all things considered.

I mentioned Big Thunder which recently went down in 2012. Technically speaking, Big Thunder is a less complex ride than Splash and one could argue that there was less wrong with it show-quality wise (there's far fewer and less complex show elements than Splash in the first place). It had a considerably longer refurb period and STILL reopened with broken or switched off show elements. They spent a significant amount of time just fixing aspects that were literally falling apart. Splash is very arguably in even worse shape and has even more broken show elements than Big Thunder.

That's not to say I am telling anyone that having hope is stupid, far from it. Just giving my logic and beliefs here. I keep my expectations realistically low due to being burned before from expecting that they'll correct everything in a refurb. That way I won't be disappointed if things turn sour. If i'm wrong and the refurb DOES end up getting the ride back to show-ready status, then i'll have a very pleasant surprise. One hopes that with Yert3's comments, they have been doing a bit of pre-refurb work on the ride in the extra EMH downtime it has gotten.

As ParentsOf4 said, a lot depends on how they use that time. Disney lately allocates small budgets for things as well as drags their construction work out for a long time without getting much done in the meantime. This is one reason New Fantasyland is taking so long.

 

[articos]

I would absolutely love it if someone posted the internal SQ lists for SM and other attractions. Kevin Yee will bring his iPad on every attraction!

Well, the current SQS list for SM is "Is there water?" and "Is the mountain still upright?". If yes, good to run.

Well one hopes they aren't joking around. But the problem is that there's a massive list of things that need to be done and they've allotted a stupidly small amount of time to get it all done (no telling whether the budget will be enough either). I'll be more than glad to be wrong here, but I seriously doubt they'll fix everything. Structural and safety issues would probably be addressed first. There's no telling what sort of problems they'll find once they start looking closely (Big Thunder apparently had serious underlying problems that they didn't expect to find). Second priority (or perhaps even more important than structure and safety nowadays) would likely be getting it running more efficiently with fewer stops and breakdowns (probably track and computer work, looks like track work being done in the picture above). Broken show elements are likely dead last on the priority list.

The thing is, they shouldn't have been surprised by the underlying issues at BTMRR. This is what the annual inspections are there to, and should have, caught, and they should have known at this point in the lifespan of the attraction that it was time for a major refurb of a different magnitude. They just don't have the braintrust in the right places on property any longer to know these things.

Two and a half months is enough time to get everything done IF they have enough people working. 30-45 days on structural, and 30 days on scenic, with 2 weeks of software at the end. They need to be pulling all the AA's now, though, and sending them back to the shops to be refurb'd, and the mechanical show action equipment can be worked on while the AA's are out. It's doable, if the personnel resources are available, freelance/contractors and internal.