Why Are The Construction Walls So High?

[wdwjmp239]

What is the reason why the construction walls in front of Mickey's Fantasia/100 YOM Hat so high up that you can't see what's going on behind there?

Also, when Mission: Space was being built, what's the deal with the signage on the construction wall that said "WATCH THIS SPACE FOR A FUTURE DEVELOPMENT?"

Does Disney Imagineering make the "Construction Walls/Signs" attractive enough so that you can't see what's going on behind the wall? And do the signs sound better than "COMING SOON - MISSION: SPACE"?

These may sound like dumb questions, but I'm just curious thats all. Maybe there's a CM around here that can assist in the answering of these questions?

Thank you!

 

[JeepGuy77]

well disney is all about "presentation" and "show". They want the guests to have an enjoyable experience and not see the "behind the scenes" so they make the walls high so that teh guests never see anything thats not completed. SO in way its like changing a scene in a play. they close the curtain and when they open it "voila" a new scene. Hehe. But of course the walls just make people want to peek through the seams. I know I do.

but think of it this way. Would you want to see your favorite attraction with the lights on or partially dismantled. It could be a bit disturbing.

 

[JoshUlfers]

but think of it this way. Would you want to see your favorite attraction with the lights on or partially dismantled. It could be a bit disturbing.

One time when I was the King Kong ride at USF the ride stopped working correctly and we got to ride through it. It was cool to see how everything worked because all of the cars and such on the ground were flipped upside down still and you could see the machines that flip them.

-Josh Ulfers

 

[mkt]

the construction walls are that high so

1-they don't disrupt the theming too much
2-keep the guest flow moving
3-keep little turds like us from getting access to unauthorized areas (but then again... that hasn't stopped some people before)

 

[Snoballego]

Walls...

This is not a crazy new concept done by the folks at WDW. I don't know if you have been to a shopping mall before. Sometimes they will put an entire wall up to block the entrance of a store being constructed or renovated. There are some excellent suggestions why posted above me. I remember one time Disney had a wall up at a coming attraction with a hole purposely put in the wall so people could peek (for the Big Hat at The Studios). So I think they know that walls tend to make people curious as to what is going on behind them. It helps create a little buzz.


Other potential reasons for these walls...

1) To control the dust and debris sometimes caused by construction. The wall would act as a "barrier" from this dirt escaping.

2) Liability - They don't want to take any chances of people wandering around at a construction/renovation site. Sometimes there can be potentially dangerous construction equipment lying around (Especially hazardous at a theme park designed for children).

3) Efficiency - Let's pretend there was no walls and they had visible construction workers working around the clock (which would be bad show). How many times in a day would one of the 40,000 visitors stop and ask the guest, "when does this open?" or "what is this going to be?" My guess would be that may occur quite frequently. It may even happen so frequent enough that it may start to impede the amount of productivity you could get out of a worker who now has to stop and answer questions.


So I guess after further review....These walls do make sense!


I could be way off!

Snoballego

 

[Hank Scorpio]

I was once on Pirates of the Carribean and there was a rather large gentleman in the front row, squeezed to one side.... after we went down the drop and into the scene with the big galleon ship, our boat got stuck and was pratically sinking! The weight of this guy was too much! Anyway, we where trapped for about 5 mins before the lights came on and we could see the entire attraction all lit-up. It was pretty wierd, as you could see the bottom of the water - it basically looked like a giant pond! Eventually this guy in boots waded through the water (it's only knee deep) and then pulled the boat along the tracks into the next section, where we got off and out into a fire exit. So we saw not only the interior of the ride with the lights on, but the behind the scenes once we got out the fire exit.

 

[wdwjmp239]

Originally posted by Hank Scorpio
I was once on Pirates of the Carribean and there was a rather large gentleman in the front row, squeezed to one side.... after we went down the drop and into the scene with the big galleon ship, our boat got stuck and was pratically sinking! The weight of this guy was too much! Anyway, we where trapped for about 5 mins before the lights came on and we could see the entire attraction all lit-up. It was pretty wierd, as you could see the bottom of the water - it basically looked like a giant pond! Eventually this guy in boots waded through the water (it's only knee deep) and then pulled the boat along the tracks into the next section, where we got off and out into a fire exit. So we saw not only the interior of the ride with the lights on, but the behind the scenes once we got out the fire exit.

I remember being on RnR Roller Coaster @ MGM during their soft opening and we had something similar happen. The car got stuck (not because of some heavy dude) and when the lights came on, you were able to see the trackwork inside the building.

 

[DarkImage4]

Drifting....

Originally posted by Hank Scorpio
...our boat got stuck and was pratically sinking! The weight of this guy was too much! Anyway, we where trapped for about 5 mins before the lights came on and we could see the entire attraction all lit-up.

You know...I'm a "big" guy, but if I ever get to the point where I sink a boat in Pirates Of the Caribbean....please put me out of my misery.....

 

[Hank Scorpio]

In all fairness, the boat was pretty jammed with most of the guys family (and me and my brother sitting at the back) but you could see that the boat was tilting down towards the front right where he was sitting - the water was about two inches away from flooding into the boat!

 

[gjpjtj]

Re: Drifting....

Originally posted by DarkImage4
You know...I'm a "big" guy, but if I ever get to the point where I sink a boat in Pirates Of the Caribbean....please put me out of my misery.....

:lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Justin]

So that really really tall people cant jump over them!

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

Originally posted by mktiggerman
the construction walls are that high so

1-they don't disrupt the theming too much
2-keep the guest flow moving
3-keep little turds like us from getting access to unauthorized areas (but then again... that hasn't stopped some people before)

After part of central Manchester was destroyed by the IRA in the 1986 bomb blast, the construction walls that were erected had purpose built holes cut into them so that the people of Manchester could see how their city was being redeveloped.
Pretty cool idea !! - One for Disney to think about ??