Ok, so maybe not the best excuse in the world but.. I worked commercial construction for a year on much more boring things, door installations, trim, accessories, bathroom accessories, ect. When you are working construction you work based on a set time frame that you bid on before the job is completed. If you are a good estimator you will be able to give the most accurate cost and time wise bid, but the problem is someone will always underbid you if you give yourself a little slack. So you if you did win the bid you are working against time to make a profit.
Those guys in the hard hats for the most part work on a per piece salary. I can tell you that the last thing you want to do is sit there with a thumb up your butt losing money. In a perfect world and/or Japan things work like clockwork slap that stuff together and get it done, but it just doesn't work that way on a busy construction site. You have different crews getting in your way, you have red tape both in paperwork and physical red tape that prevent you getting to where you need to go. Concerns for safety in both the crew and for guests outweigh the need to work faster. I didn't have to deal with the guest issue but there were days that you have to wait for one crew to clear out before the other crew was allowed it. Unless you had someone else to work your day was hurry up and wait.
You have to think of all the other big rides that have been made that featured as much technical engineering they have all been on the edge of the guest area, not right smack in the middle. Its going to take longer to do, its going to be more tedious because you aren't allowed to have equipment and supplies located right next to the site.
To sum it up, that ride was a tiny space in the middle of a guest area with a lot of engineering to be done. I might have rambled a bit but if you are out there doing something similar it is easier to understand why it might take longer.
