SSE closed until Feb 18th!

[nibblesandbits]

Good point, I guess I am just looking at this situation from the construction aspect only - not from the PR department or Media department etc...

Still I would think it would have been in their best interest to correct the information released to the public if it was indeed incorrect from the get go. That is the only part of this entire situation that I have a problem with. As far as the refurb itself goes, heck let them take a year if that is what they need to have the end product be done properly.
As soon as SSE is re-opened all of this will be forgotten anyway so you are correct that in the end this really will not matter. Until that happens though we need to critique every move they make - that is after all what we do best!!

Agreed. This is the part I have a problem with. Not the actual extension of the refurb. I hope this extension makes SSE look even more amazing. I'm excited to see what they've done to enhance it.

But don't wait 3 weeks before something is due to be open (when you already know it's going to take way more than 3 weeks to accomplish what needs to be done) to announce that the ride is going to be down for longer. That is the part that's uncalled for. I don't care if Ops was being optimistic on the dates. They should have known way before now that what they had listed as their reopening dates weren't going to pan out for a while ago. It's a matter of common courtsey (ok, I totally know I spelled that wrong.) which maybe the company doesn't care about, however, by not caring, it does make them look a little bad. Bad enough to impact the company right away, no, not totally, however, if they keep handling refurbs in this manner, keep waiting to announce refurbs until the last moment or keep waiting to announce extensions in refurbs, that stuff starts to build up and then people do remember that.

 

[jasondiff]

First, let me say that I am a SSE fan. I am not upset that this is taking longer then expected. I Will not be there in the next 4 months and am not worried. But for people to not think that someone is going to be held responsible for the delay is crazy. This is a public company, a company that is proud to get it right, but most importantly, needs to make a profit. SSE does not effect attendance. What it does do, is make Disney send more money. This is not a $10,000 error. If they truely thought they were going to open soon, and now we are talking Febuary, this is a big cost. Someone will pay the price. Whether it's someone within Disney our an outsourced company that will never work with Disney again.

The timeframe may not have anything to do with the cost. They budgeted X dollars for the refurb, and now they decide they need to replace the track or whatever and it will cost Y dollars. Now the budget is X + Y dollars. The delay has nothing to do with it. Something was discovered that needed to be done and they are doing it.

If you decided to replace an electrical outlet and then discovered your whole house needed to be rewired because mice ate the wiring, that would turn it into a much bigger project, and it would cost more, but unless you had an exterminator who didn't do his job, there's not really anyone to blame.

Although I do agree with many here that for a four-month extension to be necessary, someone had to know a while ago and there was a communication breakdown somewhere between them and the people that update the refurb calendar.

 

[jasondiff]

I'm pretty sure that Soarin' has taken over as the single most ridden attraction in WDW.

I really don't think so. Just because Soarin' has long waits all day doesn't mean it's the most ridden attraction. It means it has nowhere near the capacity of SSE.

 

[CaptainMichael]

Each theater at Soarin' holds 90 guests. There are two theaters, so that's roughly 180 guests every 10 minutes or so. I can't imagine that 180 people entered SSE every 10 minutes, but it's probably not that far off.

Flame away, but I'd rather wait a hour for SSE than Soarin'. Soarin' is the product of being new and being hyped up by the obscene wait times and word of mouth. I love Soarin', but if I don't have a fastpass, I will NOT wait in that line.

 

[jmvd20]

Flame away, but I'd rather wait a hour for SSE than Soarin'. Soarin' is the product of being new and being hyped up by the obscene wait times and word of mouth. I love Soarin', but if I don't have a fastpass, I will NOT wait in that line.

Agreed, I have never minded waiting for SSE as the line is constantly moving whereas Soarin is stop and go. I like Soarin as well but to wait for over 30 minutes is simply not worth it to me.

 

[artbell2]

Good thing I haven't made reservations yet to see the new Spaceship Earth.

Here are a few things to keep in mind about the Feb. 18, 2008 date. I can tell you why that date is important. If you know anything about Florida and what happens in February it is NASCAR's Super Bowl - Daytona 500 weekend or in other words the day after the Daytona 500, which is Monday, February 18th. 200,000 plus fans swarm over Daytona Beach for the race. So Disney is probably hoping that those fans will come to Orlando. Plus you have fans staying in Orlando who will drive to Daytona. If they play their cards right they can really pour on the advertising for the new ride with all the extra guests in town. Since the ride won't be ready before Christmas they probably figured wait till after the Daytona 500. One thing to keep in mind the ride itself maybe almost finished but they may want to delay the opening.

Mike

 

[SweetMagic]

I have a question, when the wording on the Disney site is:

Spaceship Earth: Closed for Refurbishment [February 1, 2008 to February 18, 2008]

Wouldn't that mean it's closed on the 18th and re-opens on the 19th? This is important 'cause we're planning a meet for the day of the opening.

 

[WDW Monorail]

I have a question, when the wording on the Disney site is:

Spaceship Earth: Closed for Refurbishment [February 1, 2008 to February 18, 2008]

Wouldn't that mean it's closed on the 18th and re-opens on the 19th? This is important 'cause we're planning a meet for the day of the opening.

Closed on February 18th means close on February 18th. According to the surrent advertised timetable, SSE will reopen on the 19th.

Also, incase anyone was wondering, SSE has a capacity of about 4,000 guests per hour.

 

[marni1971]

They must have sped it up; assuming all cars are available SSEs THC was 2400, with a load of 600 riding at anyone time

 

[WDW Monorail]

They must have sped it up; assuming all cars are available SSEs THC was 2400, with a load of 600 riding at anyone time

I could be wrong (and probably am.) 4,000 is the number that I have seen most often.
Regardless, SSE has a very high capacity and is used as a method of crowd control just as any other ride.

 

[mousermerf]

Each theater at Soarin' holds 90 guests. There are two theaters, so that's roughly 180 guests every 10 minutes or so. I can't imagine that 180 people entered SSE every 10 minutes, but it's probably not that far off.

Flame away, but I'd rather wait a hour for SSE than Soarin'. Soarin' is the product of being new and being hyped up by the obscene wait times and word of mouth. I love Soarin', but if I don't have a fastpass, I will NOT wait in that line.

If i recall correctly, SSE operates with 2200 being its max hourly. (Main site says 2,400, but that's with adding a 3rd per some rows for small children - a theoretical) That's just over 36 people a minute. Sounds crazy, no?

But, if each vehicle holds 4 people, you'd need to fill 9 vehicles in a minute.

9 vehicles on SSE would mean 4 vehicle pairs (8 seats), 4 audio spacers, and 1 single vehicle (first half of a pair). So 13 "spaces" would have to advance.

Most omnimovers advance at 2-2.5 feet per second, SSE is slower though, going around 1.5fps. That means SSE could advance 90ft in a minute.

13 spaces in 90ft means 6.9ft per "space." SSE vehicles about 7ft long? Yup, sounds right.

So, while Soarin moves 180 people in ten minutes, SSE moves 360 people.

 

[EPCOT.nut]

Anyone wanting to go to the WDWMagic meet on 2/19 for the SSE re-opening please check this thread: http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=233887

We are trying to book early dinner reservations at the Biergarten and make our schedule. Sweetmagic has made some phone calls and we all need to make a decision. The nitty-gritty post is on page 15.

 

[sillyspook13]

One can hope, but also wonder - what the heck went wrong? 3 months behind on a 5 month refurb?

Perhaps a speeding car flew off the track, through a wall and into World Showcase Lagoon?:lookaroun

We're all busy reading about DCA. LOL.

Extreme Makeover Theme Park Edition!:lol:

 

[goofyfan13]

Good thing I haven't made reservations yet to see the new Spaceship Earth.

Here are a few things to keep in mind about the Feb. 18, 2008 date. I can tell you why that date is important. If you know anything about Florida and what happens in February it is NASCAR's Super Bowl - Daytona 500 weekend or in other words the day after the Daytona 500, which is Monday, February 18th. 200,000 plus fans swarm over Daytona Beach for the race. So Disney is probably hoping that those fans will come to Orlando. Plus you have fans staying in Orlando who will drive to Daytona. If they play their cards right they can really pour on the advertising for the new ride with all the extra guests in town. Since the ride won't be ready before Christmas they probably figured wait till after the Daytona 500. One thing to keep in mind the ride itself maybe almost finished but they may want to delay the opening.

Mike

Ugh...don't remind me. :hurl:

Traffic is a nightmare here come Race Week. :brick:

 

[80sRockKevin]

It seems like half the guests don't even realize there's a ride in that there big ball anyway!

I'm ashamed to admit it, but I was one of those guests on our first visit. We never even went near it on our first trip, because we thought it was just for "display". Ironically, it's now my youngest daughter's favorite ride at Epcot, and she's upset it will be closed when we are down there (Nov. 28 - Dec 3) but she also understands that it will be "much cooler" next time we go

 

[DisneyMusician2]

Well, the current rumor on Touringplans.com (which I check every so often) is that the construction was always supposed to take until Feb. and the website was a large error. Just through I would throw it out there for debate.

 

[AEfx]

The same thread as you. :shrug:

Your definition of irate and mine may differ, but references to people polishing their resumes and being fired are interwoven throughout the 12 pages of thread I've read. Slightly over a hundred individuals have weighed in on the 'catastrophic' bungle that is the delay of re-opening SSE, perhaps half of those are upset at some level that someone or some department has misled or misrepresented to the public.

All I did was interject my opinion that Disney is unlikely to care much, if at all.

It's funny people keep putting up the "Disney doesn't care..." thing. Like it somehow negates what we are discussing or makes them look better. I find it odd if that is truly your point, "Disney doesn't care, so we shouldn't discuss it?".

I guess the heck our definition of "irate" is different. To me, irate is, "OH MY GOD I CAN'T BELIEVE THEY DID THIS! I'M NEVER GOING AGAIN!" I don't think it's irate at all to point out that, yes, they did misrepresent this/mislead the public. Someone, in some department, made an error in judgement, at the least.

I think *you* are the one breathing too much into this discussion...you're trying to fan flames that weren't there. The only thing worse than over-reacting by being "irate" is over-reacting and inventing drama where there really wasn't any, just people discussing this news regarding the Walt Disney Company. No one is "irate" here, despite your proclaimation. Critical discussion can happen, for some of us, without resorting to creating controversy that isn't really here.

Disney did something kind of shady here. I don't think pointing that out makes me "irate", but if you do - God bless you if you ever encounter anyone who truly meets that definition, LOL.

AEfx

 

[Monty]

It's funny people keep putting up the "Disney doesn't care..." thing. Like it somehow negates what we are discussing or makes them look better. I find it odd if that is truly your point, "Disney doesn't care, so we shouldn't discuss it?".

I guess the heck our definition of "irate" is different. To me, irate is, "OH MY GOD I CAN'T BELIEVE THEY DID THIS! I'M NEVER GOING AGAIN!" I don't think it's irate at all to point out that, yes, they did misrepresent this/mislead the public. Someone, in some department, made an error in judgement, at the least.

I think *you* are the one breathing too much into this discussion...you're trying to fan flames that weren't there. The only thing worse than over-reacting by being "irate" is over-reacting and inventing drama where there really wasn't any, just people discussing this news regarding the Walt Disney Company. No one is "irate" here, despite your proclaimation. Critical discussion can happen, for some of us, without resorting to creating controversy that isn't really here.

Disney did something kind of shady here. I don't think pointing that out makes me "irate", but if you do - God bless you if you ever encounter anyone who truly meets that definition, LOL.

AEfx

I'm quite happy to discuss the topic. If you wish to take my statements and opinions as proclamations, perhaps you are the one over-reacting. Disney did nothing 'shady' at all. They announced something and then adjusted the date... That's it, that's all...

But since you're not irate...

 

[AEfx]

I'm quite happy to discuss the topic. If you wish to take my statements and opinions as proclamations, perhaps you are the one over-reacting. Disney did nothing 'shady' at all. They announced something and then adjusted the date... That's it, that's all...

But since you're not irate...

Um, you came in saying people were "irate". I simply could not, and still can't, find the postings you were referring to.

What is "shady" is that it seems they full-well (someone knew) that date would never be met, and yet they posted it for months on their website and did not change it until a couple of weeks before it was supposed to open. I find that deceptive and not something I like to see, and have shared that opinion here with others.

For someone that thinks this is nothing, you certainly have spent a great deal of time in this thread poking about and trying to cause a ruckus where there wasn't one to begin with...just fans discussing a recent change at WDW. But that seems to be what you do, you even proclaim it in your profile - next time I won't take your exaggerated language seriously, I guess.

AEfx

 

[EPCOT.nut]

Well, the current rumor on Touringplans.com (which I check every so often) is that the construction was always supposed to take until Feb. and the website was a large error. Just through I would throw it out there for debate.

Know what I think??? I think we started emailing about our big SSE re-opening party and wanting a confirmation on the date and they looked at their website and nearly poohed themselves! :lol: