Water Effects

[SeaCastle]

It seems over the years many water effects have been disabled or uninstalled across the property. Examples:

- Skyway pylon near it's a small world
- Caribbean Plaza fountains
- Big Thunder Mountain overlook waterfall (I think this was a water effect?)
- Tomorrowland Entrance Pylons
- CommuniCore pools

Besides effects that were removed as part of rides being removed (TL Skyway building, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea), does anyone have a list of water effects that were disabled they can share? Apparently this was due to water conservation, but I'd love to see them up and running again.

 

[BrerFrog]

The waterfalls from EE are occasionally not working, but they haven't been disabled for good. That is the only one I can think of right now.

 

[Timon]

Wow hit my pet peeve on the head...heres what I have to share.

Then & Now

Then & Now

Now & Then

And these two - bye-bye

Still hanging in there...

BUT the biggest of all!

Quick list of outdoor general water features in the MK
(I'm quite sure I missed a few, feel free to add any I missed)

Fountains with plants -
1. Outside near Adventureland Veranda
2. Between Jungle Cruise and PoC
3. PoC queue courtyard
4. PoC store courtyard
5. Left of Capt Jack's stage
6. El Pirata y el Perico courtyard under stairs - overlooked again in a major remodel
7. Pecos Bill fountain - Night time dining room
8. Disney Story outer garden - even after a remodel no love fore the fountain
9. BTM - Gysers, no plants just off.

Removed park water features -
1. Small fountain outside PoC bathroom, now Family restroom. (No they didn't put a door on the fountain, people!)
2. King Triton fountain, lost when 20K was filled in.
3. Fountain between Small World and Peter Pan at base of Skyway pylon, removed with pylon.
4. Tomorrowland entrance fountain towers, lost during Tland remodel.
5. Tomorrowland skyway water fall, removed with building.
6. Pooh's Playground - removed during FLE construction.
7. Ariel's Grotto - OK Gone but traded up for a cool ride with outside water features.


Reduced water feature -
1. Tiki Room waterfalls and pond greatly reduced for Alladin
2. Spitting Camels - the head on the outer camel used to turn, does the other camel still spit at the flyers.

Still there -
1. Cinderella fountain
2. Pinocchio's outdoor seating
3. Outside Crystal Palace Restroom fountain
4. Tiki Totems
5. Tomorrowland Marble (only works half the time)
6. Donald's Boat - still there for now.

 

[chaggy102]

It seems over the years many water effects have been disabled or uninstalled across the property. Examples:

- Big Thunder Mountain overlook waterfall (I think this was a water effect?)

If you're talking about the water fall on the top of the first hill it's still there.

 

[hpyhnt 1000]

If you're talking about the water fall on the top of the first hill it's still there.

Yeah, that waterfall is still there. Maybe the OP means the geyser that was located on the exit path? I haven't seen it in a while, and the area kinda looked abandoned last trip. Anyone know if its still there?

 

[RiversideBunny]

The 'splash' on Splash Mountain used to go farther out onto the walkway than it does now.
Maybe they were spraying too many guests.

 

[SeaCastle]

Yeah, that waterfall is still there. Maybe the OP means the geyser that was located on the exit path? I haven't seen it in a while, and the area kinda looked abandoned last trip. Anyone know if its still there?

Yup! This is the area I'm referring to.

 

[xdan0920]

I love water effects. The more the merrier. It adds a dynamism to the parks that is sometimes missing. Plus a little splash in the florida heat is always welcome. If I was in charge we would have fountains and waterfalls everywhere you looked.

 

[cblodg]

The 'splash' on Splash Mountain used to go farther out onto the walkway than it does now.
Maybe they were spraying too many guests.

I remember the air cannon blasting water on to the bridge of people looking on!

 

[Rob562]

The water cannon still fires out onto the bridge at Splash, but is often disabled when there is water conservation measures put in place, or if it's too cold.And even when it's running, it only fires for every 3rd log down the hill.

As for the Tomorrowland entrance fountains, I believe they were disabled within the first few years of the park opening because any kind of wind would carry the water and mist and soak people walking by on the bridge.

-Rob

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Great thread!

It is one of my pet peeves to.

Apparently this was due to water conservation, but I'd love to see them up and running again.

Water conservation, nah. A few fountains and water features barely register on the total water consumption of WDW.

Discontinued fountains is a matter of declining by degrees.

Some water, some ponds, may have gone owing to aestethic choice. But all those little fountains and the like, no, I don't think so. They are a drag to maintain. It costs money to keep the pipes and intallations up and running. Whereas filling them in with a flowerbed takes three hours of work by a low paid gardener. :shrug:

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Wow hit my pet peeve on the head...heres what I have to share.

Now & Then

And these two - bye-bye

The ironny of these pictures is that 'Fuente' means 'Fountain'.

Guests now visit a 'Blue Sky Fountain' and a 'Fountain of Fortune' consisting of....flowerbeds.


The plants look a bit like the ones I put up on my balcony last week. Took me two hours and $35. :zipit:

 

[Timon]

Here's two more lost fountain pictures. One in the El Pirata courtyard and the other in a Pecos Bill dining room.

The Tomorrowland enterence fountains were actually waterfalls. The tall towers shot water down and on occasion misted the walk way on windy days but felt really good. The blue side waterfalls were ineffective with little drama if not dull and the dripped on the walkway to Tomorrowland Terrace (Plaza Pavilion). The blue falls always needed cleaning. I would love to see some tall tower-like falls again to blend into the current theming.

As for the "Water Conservation" argument. I don't buy it. Modern fountains have pool filters and pumps to recycle the water, I'm sure these could be modified. Heck, there is a Publix supermarket 3 miles north of the MK that has a fountain. So does Publix know something Disney doesn't? Yup, just do it because it's the right thing to do. Disney uses "Reclaimed Water" for cleaning the streets and gardens why not the fountains? Not bringing them back is just being cheap and not embracing their own standards.

 

[THEMEPARKPIONEER]

All I can say is Disney can be inconsistent with their fountains. I know my fountains well and some fountains in the parks look very sad. On the other hand I have worked on fountains in my yard and at my old work and they seem to have a mind of their own. They are hard to keep up with and take forever to fix. Their can be the littlest thing wrong almost not noticeable and it can cause the wackiest problems unimaginable. I should be there fountain manager, I would have them running ship shape and the fountain of nations would look the way it did in the 90's (I sound like a jerk LOL).

 

[The Empress Lilly]

I have worked on fountains in my yard and at my old work and they seem to have a mind of their own. They are hard to keep up with and take forever to fix. Their can be the littlest thing wrong almost not noticeable and it can cause the wackiest problems unimaginable.


(I sound like a jerk LOL).

No, you don't sound like a jerk at all. Fountains are a pain to maintain. If they leak one might end up having to tear down half a construction just to fix the plumbing.

Maybe poor or cumbersome design is the root of the problem here. When WDW was created, DL was only fifteen years old. Eventual structural problems, the very high costs of maintaining an intricately build theme park in a pristine condition, had not really become an issue yet.

It is prohibitively expensive to maintain WDW, what with all it's non-standard constructions and heavy usage. Functionality and simplicity of design have not always featured high on the list of Disney's creative departments.

If the MK were a house or an office block, the solution would be the same as for many other designs that were designed by an all too creative architect: tear it down and rebuild it. Which often works out cheaper than maintaining an all too intricate design. Alas, the MK is a work of art, and demands careful restoration.

 

[SeaCastle]

Here's two more lost fountain pictures. One in the El Pirata courtyard and the other in a Pecos Bill dining room.

The Tomorrowland enterence fountains were actually waterfalls. The tall towers shot water down and on occasion misted the walk way on windy days but felt really good. The blue side waterfalls were ineffective with little drama if not dull and the dripped on the walkway to Tomorrowland Terrace (Plaza Pavilion). The blue falls always needed cleaning. I would love to see some tall tower-like falls again to blend into the current theming.

As for the "Water Conservation" argument. I don't buy it. Modern fountains have pool filters and pumps to recycle the water, I'm sure these could be modified. Heck, there is a Publix supermarket 3 miles north of the MK that has a fountain. So does Publix know something Disney doesn't? Yup, just do it because it's the right thing to do. Disney uses "Reclaimed Water" for cleaning the streets and gardens why not the fountains? Not bringing them back is just being cheap and not embracing their own standards.

I'd really like to see the fountains back in operation again. Water elements are relatively simple but do wonders for a space, especially somewhere like Caribbean Plaza and Adventureland, where a Guest would expect a water feature.

Is the Pinocchio's Village Haus fountain still working? I saw a picture recently and it looked like it was turned off, but maybe because the stream of water is so thin.

 

[THEMEPARKPIONEER]

No, you don't sound like a jerk at all. Fountains are a pain to maintain. If they leak one might end up having to tear down half a construction just to fix the plumbing.

Maybe poor or cumbersome design is the root of the problem here. When WDW was created, DL was only fifteen years old. Eventual structural problems, the very high costs of maintaining an intricately build theme park in a pristine condition, had not really become an issue yet.

It is prohibitively expensive to maintain WDW, what with all it's non-standard constructions and heavy usage. Functionality and simplicity of design have not always featured high on the list of Disney's creative departments.

If the MK were a house or an office block, the solution would be the same as for many other designs that were designed by an all too creative architect: tear it down and rebuild it. Which often works out cheaper than maintaining an all too intricate design. Alas, the MK is a work of art, and demands careful restoration.

I always complain about the Fountain of Nations because deep down dancing fountains are my passion. One can look at it and say its fine but to me it is a disaster. The problem is actually not related to what I said. If you notice not only the air doesn't shoot it doesn't refill, if there was a leek water would squirting like a leaking hose. That does that show me... the wirings shot and there is no excuse for that one. The lights were priority but I hope the wiring is repaired real soon. The upside down waterfall is actually in good shape but like any other fountain somethings going to come loose with all that intense pressure.

I made a cement fountain in my back yard and let me tell you... I am ready to drain the thing and make it into a flower pot. I was being tight with space and made the bottom pool to small so when it splashes you know what happens, that water is going to be low and the pump is going to squeak. Now I have to add another pool connected to the bottom pool and run the water from there to the top level. Just my luck when I cut away at the cement and break thru the mesh I am going to shake the frame which will crack the cement which will lead to a mess. Dont even get me started on how many plants are surrounding this fountain. Luckily my dancing pumps and the beat detecter are still going strong (knock on wood). They survived a thunder strike so I am just going to leave it as gods protecting that.

 

[SeaCastle]

Bump for a discovery of other lost fountains, this time in the IASW load area. Any idea when these were removed?

 

[unkadug]

I just have to say those Tomorrowland entrace fountains/falls are intenesly crazy. That's far more impressive and grand than the current rocks.

I so agree!

 

[Timon]

Is the Pinocchio's Village Haus fountain still working? I saw a picture recently and it looked like it was turned off, but maybe because the stream of water is so thin.

Yes it's still working and it looks in really good condition, too. The fountain on the left is how it looked in June. Maybe there is hope for the Adventureland fountains.