mickeysbrother
Well-Known Member
It's been raining longer then last summer from what I remember. Just not sure for how many years
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Splash Mountain falling apart (literally?)
- Thread starter MUTZIE77
- Start date
It's been raining longer then last summer from what I remember. Just not sure for how many years
StageFrenzy
Well-Known Member
NM
Longhairbear
Well-Known Member
I hope that TDO realizes sooner than later that we far away guests have tailored our travel plans when reading online threads such as this. We've not included WDW for next year's visit to the East coast to visit family and friends. As we are DVC members that live on the west coast, that's not a problem as we can burn off our points at Disneyland Hotels, and the GCH DVC Villas that we would usually use at WDW. DVC expects that we will return to WDW year after year, and keep the DVC resorts at 99% capacity as designed. That's no longer true. We've been getting emails, and discounts to lure us back. I think they know something is amiss.
Usually I would feel guilty for not going to WDW because of our DVC membership, but not now that we have west coast options. They've shot themselves in the foot. It's costing me the same year after year whether or not I stay at WDW, DLR, or cruise for 7 nights on west coast DCL. I feel a lot less guilty about not vacationing at WDW now knowing how much it reflects the bad years of DLR. And as a side note, those bad years at DLR influenced our purchase of our DVC membership in the first place. At the time, we viewed WDW as the better resort.
Usually I would feel guilty for not going to WDW because of our DVC membership, but not now that we have west coast options. They've shot themselves in the foot. It's costing me the same year after year whether or not I stay at WDW, DLR, or cruise for 7 nights on west coast DCL. I feel a lot less guilty about not vacationing at WDW now knowing how much it reflects the bad years of DLR. And as a side note, those bad years at DLR influenced our purchase of our DVC membership in the first place. At the time, we viewed WDW as the better resort.
pumpkin7
Well-Known Member
Why can't TDO employ someone who actually cares about these rides? Just one stinking person who can stand up and say 'well, hang on, we used to have everything in perfect working order all the time, so let us uphold the standards and actually fix splash moutain, and the yeti while we're at it!'
Seems they can spend $4bn on Star Wars and $7bn on Marvel but can't spend a few million fixing up a beloved attraction.
They seem to have completely forgotten that they used to have standards. Now, they have duct tape and tarp.
Seems they can spend $4bn on Star Wars and $7bn on Marvel but can't spend a few million fixing up a beloved attraction.
They seem to have completely forgotten that they used to have standards. Now, they have duct tape and tarp.
ParentsOf4
Well-Known Member
I don't think it's lack of someone who cares. It's lack of money.
It takes a lot of money to maintain the aging DLR and WDW. In the end, the money has to come from Burbank. Eisner started a trend to cut cap ex at the theme parks. Iger is continuing this trend because his background is in TV and he simply doesn't understand (or perhaps "doesn't want to accept" is a better phrase) that WDW and DLR are really expensive to operate. In the end, all roads lead to the top.
71jason
Well-Known Member
I will say the Leads and Coordinators are embarassed by this (not to mention the non-working effects). But as Parentsof4 said, they don't control the budget. This is a high-up corporate issue, not a Disney issue in general.
Atomicmickey
Well-Known Member
Sad. Grr.
alphac2005
Well-Known Member
We're there with you and could care less to give the company a cent of our money until they get their act together with the Florida property. It's a disgrace, plain and simple. Decades of quality and goodwill have been rapidly washed away. We took our kids to Universal in September and had a wonderful time, it was, um, oh, Disneyesque, or should I say old school Disneylike.
My mother was talking to a guy yesterday who was originally from So. Cal (now here in ATL) and he said that he recently went to WDW and it was "a dump." He couldn't believe the disaster zone that it is and he has no plans to go back and been telling everyone about how awful it is now. What was interesting is that he's pretty well connected with friends in the company in So. Cal from Imagineering to DL and he can't believe at this point that they are even run by the same company.
I'm glad to see that although it has taken a long, long time, that people aren't being apologists for the Orlando property as had been the case here and are on the fact based, reality train as to how bad things really are there.
Splash Mountain probably is the most complex single ride at WDW just because of the combination of animatronics, outdoor, water, and fast motion at parts. The fact the problems are getting this big is a sure sign of inside park bureaucracy getting in the way. It tends to happen when organizations get too huge, poorer regular full time employees probably get shuffled around instead of let go, and nobody has enough pull to get what is becoming more and more apparent done.
It's not like they were unaware of all the issues until recently.
It's not like they were unaware of all the issues until recently.
Cosmic Commando
Well-Known Member
If the BTMRR refurb is our guide it could very well be 90% "new": the new stationary figure in place of the hopping Br'er Rabbit, the new empty space where the spinning bee hives and the turtle in the laughin' place were, etc.
Maybe Br'er Frog's shadow in the queue will know my name, though.
Bairstow
Well-Known Member
If repairing the rockwork and/or flume leaks is going to be expensive (ie, they'll need to essentially gut the center of the structure and re-build most of it), they may just need to close the attraction semi-permanently. Disney can't afford to make such costly repairs when they've already got 2 major expansions slated, and I don't think the attraction's connection with such a racially-charged film ever sat right with Disney anyway.
Jim Hill recently hinted that plans to scale back the rockwork of any potential Florida Carsland would be due to Disney's slow learning curve in figuring out that you can't necessarily build in Florida's climate what you build in California and expect it to last.
Jim Hill recently hinted that plans to scale back the rockwork of any potential Florida Carsland would be due to Disney's slow learning curve in figuring out that you can't necessarily build in Florida's climate what you build in California and expect it to last.
I do love Dudley Do Right - hate the queue though - possibly the worst place in the Florida parks to be - very tight/makes you feel claustrophobic. Hopefully, staying on site on our next visit will allow us to cut down on queue time there!
bubbles1812
Well-Known Member
Lol. As much as I love the ride/Uni I do have to agree about the queue. Last time I was there my family could not for the life of us even find the entrance! Thankfully, a very kind CM noticed our bewildered looks. He actually took us to the exit area and put us immediately on the ride.
Goofnut1980
Well-Known Member
I would almost think that in a 3 month period they could really fix a lot on that ride. It is not like they have to replace tracks like on Big Thunder. They should be able to replace the mechanics, plantings, repaint in 3 months. One can only hope!
Goofnut1980
Well-Known Member
There are so many things to do at Disney besides just rides. A ride needing some fixing does not spoil my fun, nor does it make me want to skip years of going. Just pick different times of the year to experience other offerings.
bubbles1812
Well-Known Member
Nope... They just have to replace the good old' chunk of mountain that fell in... And that's not even considering what other structural damage there probably is that guests can't see. I'd like to hope they could get a lot done too but this is Disney remember? They couldn't even fix all the things wrong with Big Thunder and that got double the refurb time. Sorry, but your post is a little naive. I understand the hope/wish though
flynnibus
Premium Member
Remember.. the skeleton of the thing is solid steel beams. What is probably deteriorating is the framework supporting the skin.. and the skin itself. So not structural damage in the sense of building integrity, but probably more like replacing the drywall in your house
bubbles1812
Well-Known Member
I get that. I wasn't trying to imply that steel beams are falling. But I'm guessing that's not exactly something they anticipated happening nor calculated for it in the expense for the project. Skin is still an important organ... As well as the underlying epidermis, dermis, and basement membrane. You don't live very long without them. And it can be expensive to maintain or fixRemember.. the skeleton of the thing is solid steel beams. What is probably deteriorating is the framework supporting the skin.. and the skin itself. So not structural damage in the sense of building integrity, but probably more like replacing the drywall in your house
George Lucas on a Bench
Well-Known Member
This all sounds completely horrific. The sad state of Splash Mountain has been no secret for YEARS now. The broken animatronics and effects (including relatively simple water fountains), screwy sound, show lights turned down and now the mountain is literally falling apart. This is arguably one of their biggest and best attractions. It's technically complex, but that's the sort of thing that really sets apart a Disney experience. Not anymore!