Goofyernmost
Well-Known Member
At this point, I doubt that there is a GOOD time.
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The Land Escalator Replacement?
- Thread starter wishiwere@wdw
- Start date
montyz81
Well-Known Member
I guess the escalators should now be considered an "E" ticket ride. Wonder if they will start to offer a Fast Pass? Has anyone heard about a permit being filed to begin construction?
Tom
Beta Return
Hmmm....in all seriousness, this type of work would likely require a Notice of Commencement to be filed, since they won't do the work with their own maintenance personnel. The only way around permits/NoC's (usually) is for emergencies, and this definitely isn't one.
Goofyernmost
Well-Known Member
Please...Disney issues it's own permits. The own all the property so who is going to complain about work being done there? If they wanted to start tomorrow there is nothing stopping them, if for no other reason it's replacing a broken piece of existing equipment. It's like saying that they need a permit to fix a broken pipe in the restrooms (sorry, didn't mean to bring restrooms up again).
EOD K9
Well-Known Member
This just in, Soarin' wait times drastically cut in half due to lack of escalators.
New narration, "Today, we are learning to live with the escalators". Also, thanks for posting the original and construction pics.
Tom
Beta Return
Good gracious! How silly of me to think that a Notice of Commencement would be filed for as small as an escalator repair. That would be like filing permits/NoC's for things like ice maker work, air conditioner replacements, elevator updates or to replace a broken pipe.
Note, the above paragraph is pure sarcasm. If work is done by a third party (including Disney's private construction firm, Buena Vista Construction Company) on any real property, it must be filed with the County.
You may have run across this thread during your journeys: http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/wdw-permits-2013.857579/
Goofyernmost
Well-Known Member
OK, let me rephrase that...In the history of WDW has Disney ever been denied a Notice of Commencement and, for that matter what in the hell is a Notice of Commencement and why would anyone want to know. If Florida or the county was going to collect money on the issuance of one of those, that would be the only reason that they would matter one iota. I wouldn't be surprised if Disney could "go for" a Notice of Commencement months after the work was done, and no one would even blink. I'm also pretty sure that for something within the theme park, Reedy Creek (fancy words for Disney) would be the only "governing" agency that would be consulted, if then.
Heck maybe that's why they haven't built much of anything new. Here we are blaming Disney when all the time it's just that the NoC has not been acknowledged yet.
Tom
Beta Return
I was trying to be nice in my previous response, but now I see you weren't being sarcastic.....
A Notice of Commencement is nothing like a Building Permit. Nobody at that office reviews blueprints to ensure compliance with codes. Notices of Commencement are filed to protect the Owner (person/entity owning the property where work is taking place) and those performing the work (BVCC, General Contractor, Subcontractor).
They're used to track work being done on any "real property" - so that if someone doesn't get paid for their work, there's a record of it taking place, when it started, and what the work entailed (roughly). I don't do work in Florida, so I don't know the specifics, but I don't think you can be "denied" a NoC....but you get in trouble if you don't file one PRIOR to doing the work, because by then the entire purpose of the NoC is moot.
People like to think that Disney has complete autonomy via RCID, but they really don't. While Reedy Creek will issue actual building permits (after reviewing plans and ensuring code compliance) for any work done within their jurisdiction, any third party doing work on Disney property (or any property in Florida) still has to file a Notice of Commencement with the County - both Orange and Osceola. This includes work done on the major roadways, down to a fiber optic cable run 30 feet through the MK tunnels.
And for the record, neither Reedy Creek nor Orange/Osceola Counties are holding up any major development at the parks. If any governmental entity can be "blamed" for slowing the development process, it's the South Florida Water Management District...but they're just making sure that new development doesn't negatively impact the flow of water around the state (hence all the canals and retention/detention ponds on property).
Hope this clears things up.
Goofyernmost
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the serious response. No I wasn't being sarcastic, I was being a business man (retired) and thinking, to require any type of paperwork or notification of something as minor as repairs to existing structures, would be one of the biggest unnecessary bottlenecks that any government could impose upon a business. What a waste of time. Why does it matter to anyone that they get outside contractors to "fix" a broken stair. Hence my moment of disbelief. Honestly, I still find it totally crazy.
And just for the record, my last paragraph concerning "holdups" was sarcasm. I wasn't serious about that.
Tom
Beta Return
Thanks for the serious response. No I wasn't being sarcastic, I was being a business man (retired) and thinking, to require any type of paperwork or notification of something as minor as repairs to existing structures, would be one of the biggest unnecessary bottlenecks that any government could impose upon a business. What a waste of time. Why does it matter to anyone that they get outside contractors to "fix" a broken stair. Hence my moment of disbelief. Honestly, I still find it totally crazy.
And just for the record, my last paragraph concerning "holdups" was sarcasm. I wasn't serious about that.
Gotcha.
While I'd be the first person to vote to get rid of any layer of government or additional regulation, if I understand Florida's NoC process correctly, it's a useful step that helps ensure contractor's don't get "stiffed" when they do work, while also protecting the property owners from frivolous liens.
danlb_2000
Premium Member
There have been NOC's for broken pipes:
Between Buildings 4100 and 4500 - Repair in ground water leak
And here are some NOC's for other minor things:
The Land Season's Soda room - Run air line to soda room
Columbia Harbour House - Columbia Harbour House Menu Shrouds
Door to Main Kitchen - Replacement of Boma kitchen main doors
Tom knows of what he speaks, trust him.
danlb_2000
Premium Member
BTW, I haven't seen a NOC for the escalator project yet.
Goofyernmost
Well-Known Member
Oh, I trust him completely. I don't hold him responsible for what I feel is an enormous waste of time and expense. Some of the things are no brainers. Digging in areas that have sinkholes, adding to a structure, etc. I just think that running an air line, replacing doors, replacing broken escalators that do not add value to anything, just maintain it...is a foolish waste of everybody's time. Who are they protecting? Let Disney stiff a few contractors and find out how quickly that will make the rounds. Then who will Disney get to do their work? Contractors stiffing Disney? A contractor would have to have some pretty big ones to think that they will be able to stare down the army of lawyers that Disney has on payroll. I'm no longer saying it isn't true, I am merely commenting on the waste of it all.
danlb_2000
Premium Member
We live in a world build on wasteful bureaucracy, this is just one small example.
Personally I love this specific bureaucracy because it gives us insight into what Disney is working on.
nepalostparks
Well-Known Member
Well, I'll go ahead and be the one who post the pics of an escalator replacement. It's not a simple repair by the looks of things, but a whole rip out and replace sorta deal. The "down" escalator is completely ripped out. The "up" escalator was still running as usual today.
Multi-color refurb walls:
Look mom, no escalator!
Also worth noting is the alternate entrance/exit they have set up for the pavilion near Soarin, on the ground floor. The doors that lead backstage near the restrooms at the Soarin entrance are open and you can walk backstage along the building to the right side of the Imagination pavilion where it goes back into the park. A CM explained to me it was being used as an alternate because of the escalator replacement.
Multi-color refurb walls:
Look mom, no escalator!
Also worth noting is the alternate entrance/exit they have set up for the pavilion near Soarin, on the ground floor. The doors that lead backstage near the restrooms at the Soarin entrance are open and you can walk backstage along the building to the right side of the Imagination pavilion where it goes back into the park. A CM explained to me it was being used as an alternate because of the escalator replacement.
willtravel
Well-Known Member
Just seeing the inside of the pavilion, some what anyway, makes me want to be down there right now..
Then I look at the weather and say maybe not.....
nepalostparks
Well-Known Member
Just seeing the inside of the pavilion, some what anyway, makes me want to be down there right now..
The weather was definitely less than stellar today. On and off rain/thunder showers, sticky hot humidity... the typical Florida summer weather. It's been too long since we last drove up for the day, so we bit the bullet and made the best of it. Surprisingly, crowd levels at Epcot this morning and afternoon were very manageable.
willtravel
Well-Known Member
And this the beginning of a holiday week is a surprise. I was at WDW May 11-18. And for that week it was perfect weather. 20 minutes of rain that Saturday afternoon. By Sunday afternoon the humidity went away. Temps for the week and low humidity was great....
nepalostparks
Well-Known Member
That's what we were thinking. Maybe everyone was arriving today and hadn't hit the park yet. Fine by me!
Before we moved here, we twice vacationed that second week of May, and both times very little rain and otherwise great weather (although hot back in 2011 - record heat of 95+).
danlb_2000
Premium Member
Turns out it was there, I just missed it, probably because it was filed back in March.
Land Pavilion - Escalator Work