State of the Parks

[SeaCastle]

I wanted to share some thoughts from my visit this past week. I'm having a trip report soon, but here are some non-touring related thoughts I had. These are specific things that I noticed, so I apologize for being heavy on the details.

Magic Kingdom:
- Main Street, USA looks nice and fresh, but is lacking in color. The flowerbeds are mostly filled with bushes and green leafy things rather than flowers...it makes for less interesting sightlines.
- Caribbean Plaza had many burnt out lightbulbs. It really doesn't look very nice. The area is also lacking in water features, which you would expect to find in such a place.
- Many lighting fixtures throughout the Magic Kingdom had cobwebs on them which weren't brushed off by maintenance.
- The area by Enchanted Grove/Mad Tea Party needs some TLC. When it rains, the gutters were overflowing and leaking, causing water to spew. Another thing I noticed is that a light fixture here was crooked and didn't look like it was right. (We were stuck in this area for a while waiting for a rain storm to pass, so this area got extra scrutiny.)
- There's chipped paint in the Space Mountain queue. Nothing obvious, but it still doesn't look well maintained. The rest of Space Mountain is great...the refurb made it noticeably much darker and it is still a fun ride.
- Splash Mountain had the jumping Brer Rabbit working, and the ride looked great. Big Thunder Mountain also had most of its effects working, save for the falling rocks and the geysers by the exit area.
- Music is no longer playing when the TTA goes through Space Mountain. The lighting, however, looks great. (We also got to go through Space Mountain on the TTA with lights on...it was a blast!)
- We saw PUSH the trashcan on one day at the MK, it seems to be rare to see him these days.

Overall- It has a long way to go, but hopefully the problems will be addressed soon so it looks great for its 40th.

EPCOT
- Very impressed with EPCOT. The park looked beautiful...many flowers and the maintenance was superb.
- In World Showcase, I noticed many people looking like they were having a fun time. Between the Beatles tribute band, World Showcase Players in Italy, the acrobats in China, and mariachi band in Mexico, everyone looked like they were enjoying themselves.
- The countries looked dazzling. The gardens at UK and Canada were flourishing.
- We thought Via Napoli was expensive, but it was some darn good pizza.
- The water wheel/elaborate fountain at Morocco was turned off. I don't know if it was temporarily broken or disabled permanently, but it was disappointing.

Overall- They are doing something right here. Keep it up.

Hollywood Studios
- Also very impressed here as well. It was always busy when we went...there was even a 40 minute wait for Muppet Vision.
- All of the effects around Echo Lake seemed to be working, from the water features at Min and Bill's to the steam coming out of Dinosaur Gertie's nose. A statue by the Echo Lake Apartments was removed for some reason.
- Huge crowds for HSM3 stage show.
- Rode Tower of Terror for first time in five years. I don't remember what it looked like before, but the lights in the fifth dimension sequence really make it look great.
- You can see some sort of metal infrastructure from the entrance into the hotel. Anyone know what this is?
- Big crowds at Lights, Motors, Action!, and they looked like they were enjoying it.
- One of the firework effects in Muppet Vision was broken. It was on for the entire show but not working for when it was actually supposed to be used. The rest of the show was great and everyone seemed to enjoy it.

Animal Kingdom
- All of the geysers/misters/waterfalls on Kilimanjaro Safaris were working. I never noticed them before, and it looked very impressive. The ride was a walk-on, too. (The park was not crowded on this day...20 minute waits for Everest and walk-ons on KS.)
- We did not see the talking palm tree.
- One of the prominent falls on Everest was working, but there was a maintenance man nearby the track, as the water seemed to be leaking. There was no bird, and some steam at the load.

 

[marni1971]

- Splash Mountain had the jumping Brer Rabbit working, and the ride looked great. Big Thunder Mountain also had most of its effects working, save for the falling rocks and the geysers by the exit area.

Sadly the falling rocks have not fallen for a few years now. They seem to have been replaced by a hit n miss gobo projection.

 

[JustInTime]

I wanted to share some thoughts from my visit this past week. I'm having a trip report soon, but here are some non-touring related thoughts I had. These are specific things that I noticed, so I apologize for being heavy on the details.

Magic Kingdom:
- Main Street, USA looks nice and fresh, but is lacking in color. The flowerbeds are mostly filled with bushes and green leafy things rather than flowers...it makes for less interesting sightlines.
- Caribbean Plaza had many burnt out lightbulbs. It really doesn't look very nice. The area is also lacking in water features, which you would expect to find in such a place.
- Many lighting fixtures throughout the Magic Kingdom had cobwebs on them which weren't brushed off by maintenance.
- The area by Enchanted Grove/Mad Tea Party needs some TLC. When it rains, the gutters were overflowing and leaking, causing water to spew. Another thing I noticed is that a light fixture here was crooked and didn't look like it was right. (We were stuck in this area for a while waiting for a rain storm to pass, so this area got extra scrutiny.)
- There's chipped paint in the Space Mountain queue. Nothing obvious, but it still doesn't look well maintained. The rest of Space Mountain is great...the refurb made it noticeably much darker and it is still a fun ride.
- Splash Mountain had the jumping Brer Rabbit working, and the ride looked great. Big Thunder Mountain also had most of its effects working, save for the falling rocks and the geysers by the exit area.
- Music is no longer playing when the TTA goes through Space Mountain. The lighting, however, looks great. (We also got to go through Space Mountain on the TTA with lights on...it was a blast!)
- We saw PUSH the trashcan on one day at the MK, it seems to be rare to see him these days.

Overall- It has a long way to go, but hopefully the problems will be addressed soon so it looks great for its 40th.

EPCOT
- Very impressed with EPCOT. The park looked beautiful...many flowers and the maintenance was superb.
- In World Showcase, I noticed many people looking like they were having a fun time. Between the Beatles tribute band, World Showcase Players in Italy, the acrobats in China, and mariachi band in Mexico, everyone looked like they were enjoying themselves.
- The countries looked dazzling. The gardens at UK and Canada were flourishing.
- We thought Via Napoli was expensive, but it was some darn good pizza.
- The water wheel/elaborate fountain at Morocco was turned off. I don't know if it was temporarily broken or disabled permanently, but it was disappointing.

Overall- They are doing something right here. Keep it up.

Hollywood Studios
- Also very impressed here as well. It was always busy when we went...there was even a 40 minute wait for Muppet Vision.
- All of the effects around Echo Lake seemed to be working, from the water features at Min and Bill's to the steam coming out of Dinosaur Gertie's nose. A statue by the Echo Lake Apartments was removed for some reason.
- Huge crowds for HSM3 stage show.
- Rode Tower of Terror for first time in five years. I don't remember what it looked like before, but the lights in the fifth dimension sequence really make it look great.
- You can see some sort of metal infrastructure from the entrance into the hotel. Anyone know what this is?
- Big crowds at Lights, Motors, Action!, and they looked like they were enjoying it.
- One of the firework effects in Muppet Vision was broken. It was on for the entire show but not working for when it was actually supposed to be used. The rest of the show was great and everyone seemed to enjoy it.

Animal Kingdom
- All of the geysers/misters/waterfalls on Kilimanjaro Safaris were working. I never noticed them before, and it looked very impressive. The ride was a walk-on, too. (The park was not crowded on this day...20 minute waits for Everest and walk-ons on KS.)
- We did not see the talking palm tree.
- One of the prominent falls on Everest was working, but there was a maintenance man nearby the track, as the water seemed to be leaking. There was no bird, and some steam at the load.

Good to hear on most points.

But what is the talking palm tree?

 

[SeaCastle]

Good to hear on most points.

But what is the talking palm tree?

Animal Kingdom's equivalent of PUSH the Trashcan. Video here.

 

[jakeman]

- Main Street, USA looks nice and fresh, but is lacking in color. The flowerbeds are mostly filled with bushes and green leafy things rather than flowers...it makes for less interesting sightlines.

I wonder if this is one of the lingering effects of the frost. We were there in the middle of that cold snap earlier this year and in some places it looked like a hurricane had gone through with all the plant damage.

I wonder if they are having to start from the ground up in horticulture in some areas?

 

[SeaCastle]

I wonder if this is one of the lingering effects of the frost. We were there in the middle of that cold snap earlier this year and in some places it looked like a hurricane had gone through with all the plant damage.

I wonder if they are having to start from the ground up in horticulture in some areas?

That's what I had thought, too. However, I read that te flower replacements had been ongoing for a long time. Perhaps they decided replacing all of the flowers were too expensive?

 

[Hakunamatata]

I believe WDW grows there own flowers and bushes so the freeze may have caught them off guard and they are trying to make do with what they have. Not sure how long it takes to get a flowering bed plan to the point it can be used, but with the size and magnitude of what they do there, that could be th reason.

 

[raven]

A few insights for you. :animwink:

-Maintenence won't "clean" much of anything, even if they have to go into the lamp posts to change the lightbulbs anyway. They leave it to 3rd shift utility workers but that job is usually only done twice a year because it takes a lot of man hours to do it.

-Chipped paint comes and goes and is usually delt with if it's reported by maintenence/management in that area.

-Not sure why most of the flowerbeds at MK are being reworked. Horticulture comes in at 5AM and sometimes even earlier depending on the work being done at the time. Currently at Epcot they are there most of the night but then F&W is just around the corner as well.

- The Morocco water wheel fountain is being worked on during 3rd shift.

-Special lighting effects for shows are worked on by maintenence. Depending on the importance of the effect it may be pushed off for a while. More than likely the maintenence at Muppets also work on another attraction.

-My favorite effect from when KS first premiered at AK was the jeep in the bushes that rushed by shooting at you. You still hear the gunshots but the jeep hasn't worked in years. If you look closely through the bushes you can see the rail/track on the ground.

-Sadly, Wes Palm (talking palm tree) ended a few years ago.

I believe WDW grows there own flowers and bushes so the freeze may have caught them off guard and they are trying to make do with what they have. Not sure how long it takes to get a flowering bed plan to the point it can be used, but with the size and magnitude of what they do there, that could be th reason.

Freeze? In August?

 

[Hakunamatata]

Freeze? In August?

Yes. This past Sunday. The day after I was born.

 

[SeaCastle]

Exactly the insight I was looking for.

A few insights for you. :animwink:

-Maintenence won't "clean" much of anything, even if they have to go into the lamp posts to change the lightbulbs anyway. They leave it to 3rd shift utility workers but that job is usually only done twice a year because it takes a lot of man hours to do it.

-Chipped paint comes and goes and is usually delt with if it's reported by maintenence/management in that area.

I guess I have to stop using "maintenance" as a catch-all for upkeep and such throughout the park. Are reports of chipped paint, etc. more frequent these days?

-Not sure why most of the flowerbeds at MK are being reworked. Horticulture comes in at 5AM and sometimes even earlier depending on the work being done at the time. Currently at Epcot they are there most of the night but then F&W is just around the corner as well.

I was under the impression that the flower cutbacks at the Magic Kingdom have been ongoing and are not related to the cold snaps (after all, EPCOT and DHS are bursting with flowers). If you look at pictures of certain spots (i.e. Mad Tea Party) from a few years ago and compare them to today, the flowers are all gone.

- The Morocco water wheel fountain is being worked on during 3rd shift.

This is news I like to hear.

-Special lighting effects for shows are worked on by maintenence. Depending on the importance of the effect it may be pushed off for a while. More than likely the maintenence at Muppets also work on another attraction.

-My favorite effect from when KS first premiered at AK was the jeep in the bushes that rushed by shooting at you. You still hear the gunshots but the jeep hasn't worked in years. If you look closely through the bushes you can see the rail/track on the ground.

-Sadly, Wes Palm (talking palm tree) ended a few years ago.

I'll have to watch a video of the old KS to see what that effect looked like. Was Wes Palm remotely related to NextGen (like a sort of precursor like Lucky or Ratatouille) or is that Living Character Initiative?

 

[BrerFrog]

-My favorite effect from when KS first premiered at AK was the jeep in the bushes that rushed by shooting at you. You still hear the gunshots but the jeep hasn't worked in years. If you look closely through the bushes you can see the rail/track on the ground.

I never knew about that effect!

I have been to KS many times, but I don't think I have ever seen the geysers working.

 

[mp2bill]

I never knew about that effect!

Me neither. Wish it still worked.

 

[Mammymouse]

Perhaps some of the lack of flowers has to do with it being a little hotter this summer than the last few years and annuals, that are the showiest of plants, can only stand so much heat, no matter how much watering you do.

 

[Mansion Butler]

The chipped paint in SM keeps happening. Every time it's fixed, it lasts for like a day. I'm not sure how it happens so much, why at SM, or what can be done about it. It's more weird to me at this point than it is upsetting.

 

[Mansion Butler]

Sadly the falling rocks have not fallen for a few years now. They seem to have been replaced by a hit n miss gobo projection.

I swear they were working last summer, I swear. I can't remember when they first went down, it has been a while, but I'm positive I saw them work less than a year ago.

If a Thunder CM wants to correct me. . .

 

[Clever Name]

-Sadly, Wes Palm (talking palm tree) ended a few years ago.

Darn it! He owes me five dollars!

 

[Tigger1988]

I swear they were working last summer, I swear. I can't remember when they first went down, it has been a while, but I'm positive I saw them work less than a year ago.

Yup, I saw them working within the last year too (it was on either my trip in May '09 or Nov '09). Took me by surprise during my trip a few weeks ago to see them not moving.

 

[LoriMistress]

Thanks for the review.

 

[NewfieFan]

A few insights for you. :animwink:

-Maintenence won't "clean" much of anything, even if they have to go into the lamp posts to change the lightbulbs anyway. They leave it to 3rd shift utility workers but that job is usually only done twice a year because it takes a lot of man hours to do it.

-Chipped paint comes and goes and is usually delt with if it's reported by maintenence/management in that area.

-Not sure why most of the flowerbeds at MK are being reworked. Horticulture comes in at 5AM and sometimes even earlier depending on the work being done at the time. Currently at Epcot they are there most of the night but then F&W is just around the corner as well.

- The Morocco water wheel fountain is being worked on during 3rd shift.

-Special lighting effects for shows are worked on by maintenence. Depending on the importance of the effect it may be pushed off for a while. More than likely the maintenence at Muppets also work on another attraction.

-My favorite effect from when KS first premiered at AK was the jeep in the bushes that rushed by shooting at you. You still hear the gunshots but the jeep hasn't worked in years. If you look closely through the bushes you can see the rail/track on the ground.

-Sadly, Wes Palm (talking palm tree) ended a few years ago.



Freeze? In August?

So, they only clean the cobwebs twice a year! I can't say anything b/c that's more often then the cobwebs get cleaned in my house! :lookaroun

And this is the first I've ever heard of Wes Palm! I thought AK use to have some sort of recycling bin that talked (similar to PUSH)!?!

 

[Kamikaze]

The parks are located in the State of Florida.

Next question?