Atomicmickey
Well-Known Member
Thanks grr for grr the grr info grr.
They really have lost sight of the prize, it seems. GRR.
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Splash Mountain falling apart (literally?)
- Thread starter MUTZIE77
- Start date
Thanks grr for grr the grr info grr.
They really have lost sight of the prize, it seems. GRR.
Correct, and instead of shutting the ride down and fixing the problems properly, there are tarps in load/unload and black band aids throughout the ride. I was also seriously concerned about the water leaking through the rock above the final lift, where is that water even coming from?
ParentsOf4
Well-Known Member
A basic tenant of maintenance is that, over the long run, proactive maintenance is less expensive than reactive maintenance. Unfortunately, Finance in many modern companies doesn't see it this way. It's much better for this year's EPS to kick the can down the road and defer maintenance with thinking along the lines of "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Splash Mountain should have regular maintenance and periodic extensive inspections. Barring some natural event, it should never reach the point where elements are falling off.
It would be interesting to learn if the issue was known before the event and there simply was no budget/manpower in place to repair it or if the incident caught WDW completely by surprise. If known, it's possible there were plans in place to address the issue.
In both Space Shuttle disasters, the issues were known before the disasters but cost and schedule factors caused management to ignore concerns expressed by engineers.
It would be interesting to learn if the issue was known before the event and there simply was no budget/manpower in place to repair it or if the incident caught WDW completely by surprise. If known, it's possible there were plans in place to address the issue.
In both Space Shuttle disasters, the issues were known before the disasters but cost and schedule factors caused management to ignore concerns expressed by engineers.
AndyMagic
Well-Known Member
In the 1970's, when New York City was bankrupt, most of the subway was held together with duct tape and a prayer. The city has spent the past 40 years trying to bring the system back to a state of good repair. Funds that were originally dedicated to building new subway lines were diverted to general repairs in the 80s to prevent complete collapse. Let's hope RSR and Avatar get fully built before Disney has to do the same.
WDW1974
Well-Known Member
Yes, it is quite true, but the fanboi brigade is busy crying frappucino tears over Starbucks sponsoring the Bakery and Fountainview (much less so on that one) instead of attacking Disney over this. Why don't some of you kids that love social media email Tom Smith or Blondie (Jenn Fickley) or Crazy Gary (Buchanan) of the Disney Parks Blog/Celebration Place Social Media cabal and ask/demand what Disney will be doing for some of its show quality issues other than ignore them or place nets up when something falls ... gee, this is what ... the third time we have tarps and netting over guest areas AFTER parts of structures have just collapsed?
Seriously, we should be concerned about whether those cinnamon buns are going to served, not that safety issues and show issues have become one in the same.
And if anyone thinks they'll have Splash Mountain even looking 90% like new after its refurb, stop and take a ride on the mountain next door!
WDW1974
Well-Known Member
Yeah ... hopefully. ... Wait, I am not really that hopeful.
Wonder what they paid off to the folks on the ride when the mountain slid onto their ride vehicles ...
WDW1974
Well-Known Member
Yeah. You have it right.
George Lucas on a Bench
Well-Known Member
I remember going down the drop one night in '09 and whacking a dangling weed with my outstretched hands. At first, I freaked out and thought I'd gotten my hand chopped off. These days, it seems you just might.
Animaniac93-98
Well-Known Member
That and mandating guests wear helmets. Rental fee extra.
The Empress Lilly
Well-Known Member
Once parts come falling down, then you know that there are safety issues. You are aware of the issue. You've got nowhere to legally hide anymore. You'll be found negligent pretty much by default.
So either you immediately shut down the ride and make absolutely certain the problem can not happen again, or you put up safety measures. The lawyers leave WDW no choice but to put extensive netting up.
Rocks at Thunder are removed, the nets at ToL are permanent for the foreseeable future, and it remains to be seen what will happen at Splash. Show elements removed and guets put under netting. One wonders at what point it becomes better for show and safety to equip guests with obligatory helmets instead.
Meanwhile, in three threads the last two weeks guests returning from a trip and opening a thread to report serious issues at rides were being jumped on and called trolls.
Enchantâmes
Active Member
Its a good thing I quit visiting WDW 3 years ago or I could have been in a grave today...
The Empress Lilly
Well-Known Member
bubbles1812
Well-Known Member
Did anyone claim that? No. They are pointing out that the rides structure is deteriorating to a point where it could be dangerous. If a chunk really did fall in, can you imagine what would have happened if a guest had been underneath? Also, Dudley Do Right is a pretty fantastic water ride. But you've never been to Universal, at least not in a long while...you just keep on' keeping those pixie glasses on buddy. And we'll continue to laugh at you
Agree with everything you wrote. And I've seen it time and again on both small and large scales. Just look at our roads for instance... many are falling apart but sometimes it takes an accident before any thing gets fixed. And it's truly sad that it takes people getting hurt/killed before modern companies fix obvious problems
George Lucas on a Bench
Well-Known Member
Bairstow
Well-Known Member
Standby queue is still around 50 minutes.
MerlinTheGoat
Well-Known Member
This comment at least gives me some hope. So we're possibly nearing a point where WDW starts cleaning its act up? I agree it can't come soon enough if that's what's going to happen. I very much hope this happens before anyone actually ends up getting seriously hurt or even killed (like what happened with DL).
I think at least people have begun to realize that WDW has reached a tipping point. It's something I had a feeling would happen sooner or later. Maintenance cuts always escalate when they start to rear their ugly head, and they appear to have finally been slashed to the point that the cuts pose a very real danger to the health and lives of park guests. It's no longer just cutbacks like lightbulbs and chipped paint, nor even broken animatronics and other show issues. We're now witnessing a truly unacceptable lack of guest safety maintenance. And it's continuing to escalate as time goes on. It took people getting hurt and dying at Disneyland before they cleaned their act up on that coast (and they seem to have learned their lesson there at least thus far). Do WDW guests have to pay such a prce before anything is done on the east? I would hope not, but it has become an unfortunate possibility unless better leadership happens right now.
There's really no excuse anyone can try to give Disney here either. The fact that someone even attempted to turn this very serious discussion into a Disney vs Universal ride debate shows how completely immature and ignorant certain people are. I've always been a diehard Disney fan, but you would never see me defend any corporation for deliberately putting guests in danger. Continually putting customers in harms way to make more money is simply evil. It's an absolute sign that you're failing as a business when your greed literally endangers the health and lives of park guests.
I am now convinced more than ever that what WDW1974 and myself have been saying for some time now is true. The Splash Mountain refurb is not going to cut it. Big Thunder went down for 5 months and still managed to open with a considerable amount of its broken show elements still broken. While I'd love Disney to prove me wrong, I will be absolutely shocked if the Splash refurb actually manages to fix the majority of the broken show elements. Though i'd wager that most of the budget will be going to fixing inherent structural damage of the mountain's infrastructure. Splash is a far more complicated ride than Big Thunder is and it's receiving far less time for its refurb. It'll be quite interesting to see just how much ends up being fixed. And yes I will eagerly admit to being wrong here if the mountain opens with the overwhelming majority of all of its issues fixed. I do not enjoy constantly seeing Disney fail to amount to their own standards they once took pride in (especially in regards to guest safety).
I'm not trying to be dramatic here either, I find putting guests in actual danger is no laughing matter and shouldn't be taken lightly.
sweetpee_1993
Well-Known Member
@MerlinTheGoat: Where's the "Amen" button when a girl needs it?!
cupanudles
Active Member
alissafalco
Well-Known Member
The place is beginning to look like a flea market. I seriously am reconsidering not going back for a very long time. This is just scary, what else is going on with other attractions that we just dont know about? Or that we cant see with the visible eye?
MerlinTheGoat
Well-Known Member
I would agree that there are most likely massive underlying structural issues with the attractions that they're not telling us upfront. Big Thunder is a good example, word is that when they starting its recent rehab they found far more than they bargained for and had to put in much more work just making the ride safe than actually addressing much about the show issues (probably at least one reason it reopened still with many of the show elements nonworking). Splash Mountain you can even more easily tell is a complete wreck from a visual perspective, one can only imagine what is going on underneath.
I tend to visit WDW around Christmas (I live pretty darn close and it's easy to visit occasionally). I will not be doing so this year. Nor will I be returning any time in the near future until Disney starts taking their maintenance seriously again. My AP expired in February and I won't be getting a new one thanks to the many issues that now plague the parks. As much as I love visiting WDW and regret not visiting, I draw the line at incompetent safety maintenance. And we've now hit that point.
Maybe I'll be able to visit Disneyland sometime within the next few years, though it will be far more difficult for me than visiting WDW. And perhaps by that time WDW will see a shift in leadership and management as well. Hopefully someone who cares more about the parks, or at least is more competent at running a theme park. Martin's comment inspires a little hope, but it's going to be an uphill battle to salvage WDW from the neglect it has received as of late.