From MiceAge:
Fish are our Friends
Back on the subject of that rather infamous Submarine Lagoon, the rumored plans we'd told you about last year to dust off that old attraction are once again winding their way through the approval process.
In a story that has often been more complex than even Superstar Limo's fate, a Finding Nemo overlay for the old Submarine attraction is back again on a front burner. Using the Finding Nemo characters and the marketable tagline "The Subs Are Back, Let's Party!" Tony Baxter has been leading the charge in Imagineering (WDI) to return the fleet to service.
But it's not only been the funding from tightfisted Burbank executives that have been the problem, as both TDA and WDI have had to overcome the reality of dealing with the Air Quality Management District (AQMD) who aren't very enthusiastic about those underwater vehicles. Yep, those same folks that were responsible for the sudden mothballing of the Believe fireworks show have also been getting in the way of the Submarine's planned reopening.
The diesel engines that power the eight large vehicles are the culprits, and it will take a great deal of work to make whatever propulsion system that replaces the original engines compliant with the AQMD's rules regarding pollution output by private businesses. Updating the Subs to cleaner burning engines is not an insurmountable obstacle (in the past as a test one was converted to natural gas if I remember correctly), but it is one that has raised the price of the Submarine project much higher than originally estimated and has caused some of the delays.
Fish are our Friends
Back on the subject of that rather infamous Submarine Lagoon, the rumored plans we'd told you about last year to dust off that old attraction are once again winding their way through the approval process.
In a story that has often been more complex than even Superstar Limo's fate, a Finding Nemo overlay for the old Submarine attraction is back again on a front burner. Using the Finding Nemo characters and the marketable tagline "The Subs Are Back, Let's Party!" Tony Baxter has been leading the charge in Imagineering (WDI) to return the fleet to service.
But it's not only been the funding from tightfisted Burbank executives that have been the problem, as both TDA and WDI have had to overcome the reality of dealing with the Air Quality Management District (AQMD) who aren't very enthusiastic about those underwater vehicles. Yep, those same folks that were responsible for the sudden mothballing of the Believe fireworks show have also been getting in the way of the Submarine's planned reopening.
The diesel engines that power the eight large vehicles are the culprits, and it will take a great deal of work to make whatever propulsion system that replaces the original engines compliant with the AQMD's rules regarding pollution output by private businesses. Updating the Subs to cleaner burning engines is not an insurmountable obstacle (in the past as a test one was converted to natural gas if I remember correctly), but it is one that has raised the price of the Submarine project much higher than originally estimated and has caused some of the delays.
