Rumor Stitch's Great Escape Replacement— Don’t Hold Your Breath

[Goofyernmost]

The old Disney would've fixed it anyway because of its huge part in the show whether people knew it was supposed to move or not. They had a commitment to a top quality product whereas today's Disney is more, "they're tourists, what do they know? It's good enough."

Btw we're getting close to exactly 10 years since I saw the working Yeti. That's just plain disgusting.

I'm not convinced that the "old" Disney world would have fixed it. I think the same parameters would have applied. Remember Walt was gone by then. I also think that disgusting is a bit to strong a word. Disappointing yes, but, what exactly are any of us missing by it's inactivity. Time to let that pass and, like I said, in my opinion, just get over it. I don't envision it as ever being given CPR.

 

[Pi on my Cake]

I'm not convinced that the "old" Disney world would have fixed it. I think the same parameters would have applied. Remember Walt was gone by then. I also think that disgusting is a bit to strong a word. Disappointing yes, but, what exactly are any of us missing by it's inactivity. Time to let that pass and, like I said, in my opinion, just get over it. I don't envision it as ever being given CPR.

Honestly, I would love to see the yeti fixed, but mostly just on principle. The disco lights actually make for a pretty good effect. The difference between Disco Yeti and Regular Yeti is pretty small. Especially since you only see it for about a second. Fixing the yeti would not really change much of the ride experience (speaking as someone who has ridden it both ways).

I would love to see it fixed, but really just on principle.

 

[GoofGoof]

IMO...

The FLE has been too successful and I think dispersing crowds throughout all the parks is a priority. So to draw guests from the MK to Epcot they choose Frozen. Which includes a M&G that is very FLE 1.0-ish.

I also think this it is a major factor in the Studios getting TSL rather than RSR as was rumored. It will have the effect of pulling younger families away from the MK.

The choice to go from FLE 1.0 to FLE 2.0 has had a major domino effect on the parks. Not to mention Disney management.

Personally though, I think the 'unintended consequences' are working out magnificently.

Seriously???

I am one of the biggest supporters of FLE on here but I can't agree with that. It's a really well done land that's visually stunning and added capacity to the park (compared to where it was in recent history). I don't think it's drawing tons of people to MK now. Maybe when it first opened, but the newness has worn off. I don't think a lot of people are booking trips to WDW to see FLE. MK always was and probably always will be the most popular park at WDW. They need to draw people out of MK to the other parks. That I agree with, but it's not because of FLE.

I have stated this here before, but I think they got the order of construction wrong. They should have done DHS and/or AK first then FLE. I think the addition would have been a lot better received had it not been the first substantial new thing in many years.

 

[Kman101]

I'm not convinced that the "old" Disney world would have fixed it. I think the same parameters would have applied. Remember Walt was gone by then. I also think that disgusting is a bit to strong a word. Disappointing yes, but, what exactly are any of us missing by it's inactivity. Time to let that pass and, like I said, in my opinion, just get over it. I don't envision it as ever being given CPR.

And in my opinion, the old Disney would have fixed it. But nice of you to say "get over it" ...

 

[marni1971]

Seriously???

 

[Haymarket2008]

So Wreck it Ralph is canned, and Stitch won't close in January but will run seasonally for the the rest of the year? Say it ain't so.

 

[EPCOTCenterLover]

This may be an unpopular opinion- but I say kill Fastness, and you'll see the crowd disperse more evenly.

 

[Goofyernmost]

And in my opinion, the old Disney would have fixed it. But nice of you to say "get over it" ...

I didn't say that to imply anything other then a decade has passed, it isn't fixed, why spend more then a moment of effort being concerned about it. It's a big, expensive failure and if it hasn't been fixed by now probably won't be. As so many of you folks have stated over and over... spend the money on things that are going to add to the experience in a substantial way, that one won't. My parents died years ago, I still think about them often, but, the trauma is over. I have gotten over the loss. Seems like we should be able to do that when dealing with an animatronic figure in a theme park ride.

 

[PorterRedkey]

More rides / capacity without relying on IP
Purpose built nighttime parade
Frontierland - Fantasyland connector without sacrificing TSI
Finally fix Space Mountain properly
A proper, reasonable breakfast available for a reasonable price (yes, really! like it used to be!)

While all those ideas are great the connector is tops on my list. A Frontierland - Fantasyland connector would totally open up the park for more future expansion areas. The key is not losing TSI in the process. The Frontierland dead-end has always bothered me. I think this would greatly improve the guest flow. Attractions in this area will help pull guest further into the park.

Of course, More rides/Capacity has to be part of this expansion or my points are moot.

 

[jt04]

Seriously???

I am one of the biggest supporters of FLE on here but I can't agree with that. It's a really well done land that's visually stunning and added capacity to the park (compared to where it was in recent history). I don't think it's drawing tons of people to MK now. Maybe when it first opened, but the newness has worn off. I don't think a lot of people are booking trips to WDW to see FLE. MK always was and probably always will be the most popular park at WDW. They need to draw people out of MK to the other parks. That I agree with, but it's not because of FLE.

I have stated this here before, but I think they got the order of construction wrong. They should have done DHS and/or AK first then FLE. I think the addition would have been a lot better received had it not been the first substantial new thing in many years.

You are making many of my same points. Original FLE was supposed to be much more conservative. But the mine train changed all that and it still often has extreme wait times. Although I am sure Frozen has helped with that, it will be even longer before they effectively balance attendance. Pandora is a giant step but also TSL.

 

[marni1971]

You are making many of my same points. Original FLE was supposed to be much more conservative..

No, originally it was meant to be much better. We got the one that dragged the Rasulo version out of the gutter.

You must have missed that.

 

[Bacon]

2 Days left! The attraction has hours on the website through the 2nd the 3rd and on has nothing

 

[NearTheEars]

No, originally it was meant to be much better. We got the one that dragged the Rasulo version out of the gutter.

You must have missed that.

So an awesome one was planned, then a lame one, then one sort of in the middle is what we ended up with?

 

[MisterPenguin]

2 Days left! The attraction has hours on the website through the 2nd the 3rd and on has nothing

Which attraction?

 

[Mike S]

I didn't say that to imply anything other then a decade has passed, it isn't fixed, why spend more then a moment of effort being concerned about it. It's a big, expensive failure and if it hasn't been fixed by now probably won't be. As so many of you folks have stated over and over... spend the money on things that are going to add to the experience in a substantial way, that one won't. My parents died years ago, I still think about them often, but, the trauma is over. I have gotten over the loss. Seems like we should be able to do that when dealing with an animatronic figure in a theme park ride.

That's a terrible analogy. People cannot be brought back to life. An animatronic can still be fixed.

 

[GoofGoof]

You are making many of my same points. Original FLE was supposed to be much more conservative. But the mine train changed all that and it still often has extreme wait times. Although I am sure Frozen has helped with that, it will be even longer before they effectively balance attendance. Pandora is a giant step but also TSL.

Mine Train has long waits because it has a low capacity of about 1,500 guests per hour. It has the capacity to allow less than 20K guests a day to ride which is well below the average daily attendance at MK. LM has much higher capacity and is rarely above a 15 min wait and a lot of times a walk on. They are both part of FLE.

I don't disagree that Frozen in EPCOT was intended to draw more young kids and families into WS. It was also thrown in there along with the extra Soarin theater because they knew it would be years before the rest of EPCOT got the attention it needed.

 

[Goofyernmost]

That's a terrible analogy. People cannot be brought back to life. An animatronic can still be fixed.

It wasn't meant to be physically feasible it was meant to be mentally doable. Let's not get this too out there. Just make believe that the Yeti was shot by a big game hunter and frozen solid by the cold air. The hunter unable to haul him (or possibly her) off the mountain just left him (or her) standing there as a Yetisicle to warn other Yeti's about what their fate will be if they try to grab anymore tourists as they pass by. Consider it a Nepal branch of the Adventurers Club.

 

[Bacon]

Which attraction?

The one we have been talking about this whole time...

 

[EPCOTCenterLover]

No, originally it was meant to be much better. We got the one that dragged the Rasulo version out of the gutter.

You must have missed that.

Marni, can you tell us more about this? Also, thanks to you and all those in the know for sharing your insider info with us!

 

[Absimilliard]

Isn't the opposite generally true though? I recall reading some marketing material from B&M stating that the trains they built for Steel Dragon 2000 were lighter than the original trains Morgan built for the ride and I know that TDO bought new boats for Pirates a couple of years ago that were lighter than the older fiberglass ones. Were the new sleds for the Matterhorn at DL heavier than the 1978 sleds?



Interesting. So how did they fit the necessary components into the vehicles at DL? Is there a small computer and a battery bank stuck beneath the rear seats? Do they have to plug in the vehicles every evening or are they charged through induction?

Batteries and a computer are mounted in every train. They are recharged every cycle using bus bars in the station. The new sleds for Matterhorn Bobsleds were a HUGE design dilemna: how do you fit bench seats, automatic locking system for seatbelts while keeping the weight the same or close to the original? That's where things like padding get cut sadly and why the current Matterhorn sleds are so uncomfortable.

On the aspect of weight, take a look at this:

Those were the original Indiana Jones et le Temple du Peril trains at Disneyland Paris. They had 4 seat per cars and 8 per train total.

Those are the current trains that were added in 2000. Notice something is missing? Padding. You went from sitting on comfortable foam padding in the original to having a hard headrest and two thin strips of foam for "comfort" as you sit on the fiberglass directly. They had to do this as they increased the capacity by having 6 person per car (12 per train) and having to keep the weight as close as possible to the original.

Going back to Space Mountain, there is no way to add the heavy on-board audio system to the existing cars or designing new trains with it that would not greatly increase weight. The current track is in so bad shape they had to install magnetic brakes a few years ago before the big drops to protect the curve and helix at the bottom. Heavier cars would certainly take us to a Disneyland circa 2003 situation.