Full Admission Price vs. Attraction Closures

jd3921fl · Post by **jd3921fl** » Feb Wed 28, 2007 8:39 am

Yeah, you had me til the Maui thing. We have beaches here but ...yeah, Maui.....a little better. Maybe I'll see it one day!

Keri · Post by **Keri** » Feb Wed 28, 2007 2:16 pm

It is disappointing, but like everyone has said, it is necessary to close things at some point! It's kind of the same as visiting WDW during a slower time period (is there such a thing anymore?) to try to avoid long wait times but then complaining that some of the attractions are closed.

Mr.ToadWildRider · Post by **Mr.ToadWildRider** » Mar Wed 07, 2007 1:37 am

js3901 wrote:yeah, but as another thread points out, with the exception of IOA, Universal is in a state of near disrepair (as far as attractions go). goes to show that at least Disney is taking care of their attractions.

I would say when I was down in the WDW area in July that WDW was in a much more visible state of disrepair than Universal. I was so disappointed with HM, not only with weird lighting issues (it seemed like some figures were too dark while others the lighting was too bright making them look blatantly fake) but also the audio which had spots of heavy static noise and at points cut completely for whole segments of the ride. I will say there were attractions at WDW that looked amazine, such as Small World - but then again SM was being refurbished for a lonnnnnnnng time. Same with PotC. You can really tell which rides have undergone refurb in the recent past and which are probably (or maybe I should say hopefully) on the top of the list for getting the next round of refurb. Universal on the other hand didnt seem to have the same issues other than maybe the Jaws figure head looking like it needs some lovin'. As pointed out the problem with Universal is there is a dated feel - other than the Mummy, T2 and MIB there's really nothing new and/or innovative in the Studios and the rest of the stuff, while fun, seems old - not classic just old. I still love the place and as fun as I think Back to the Future is I'll never be able to think of a motion sim as a classic. It's weird though, I don't ever recall seeing an attraction closed at Universal for refurb unless it was actually rehab - that is putting in a new attraction as opposed to just upkeeping it. Do they even go down? They must I would assume although to be honest a lot of the attractions at Universal aren't figure heavy and are in the dark which probably reduces the need drastically. They do a lot more with movies, and physical environments - which in some ways benefit from lack of refurb as they look more realistic with the aging.

PureCerium · Post by **PureCerium** » Mar Wed 07, 2007 9:09 am

Last time I went to WDW, which was in March of 06, Pirates was still closed. I was disappointed, but Disney is such a great experience overall, it's worth the ticket prices and an occasional ride closure! Hopefully what they're planning for Mexico and Soarin' will be as good or better than what was there before!

TikiTikiRoom · Post by **TikiTikiRoom** » Mar Wed 07, 2007 8:11 pm

Soarin' is already undergoing refurb? When did Soarin' open?? I thought it was really recent!

FlatlandMounty · Post by **FlatlandMounty** » Mar Thu 08, 2007 12:19 am

the Soarin refurb is a complicated issue. Be happy though...the fast pass pline is a little longer, but the standby is shorter

jcodirewolf · Post by **jcodirewolf** » Mar Tue 27, 2007 4:10 am

Soar'in opened officaly in May 05, I don't remeber when it soft opened, Feb maybe?

So it's been operational for 2 years now.

Remeber all most all the attractions get some PM every week. But the referb time is when they get to strip the guts out of it and really get to check thing out.

I think what is more disapointing than referbs is pretty much test track. Because of the design of the attaction (All those cars are indpendant vehicles sharing a track) the mainatance guys I've talked to say it's more like 30 attractions. Which is why it stops all the time, one car "intrudes" into another cars track segment. which causes the whole thing to shutdown.

I can't think of another attraction that starts and stops operation as much as TT.

johno

GhostHost · Post by **GhostHost** » Mar Wed 28, 2007 7:07 am

jcodirewolf wrote:Soar'in opened officaly in May 05, I don't remeber when it soft opened, Feb maybe?

So it's been operational for 2 years now.

Remeber all most all the attractions get some PM every week. But the referb time is when they get to strip the guts out of it and really get to check thing out.

I think what is more disapointing than referbs is pretty much test track. Because of the design of the attaction (All those cars are indpendant vehicles sharing a track) the mainatance guys I've talked to say it's more like 30 attractions. Which is why it stops all the time, one car "intrudes" into another cars track segment. which causes the whole thing to shutdown.

I can't think of another attraction that starts and stops operation as much as TT.

johno

Yeah, every time I visit Epcot something is wrong with Test Track. I enjoy the ride but not enough to stand in a line that isn't moving. You can usually tell from peoples faces near the front of the line if the delay is something simple or something that might shut the ride down for an hour or more. With the times of year I visit now, basically if there is a line for anything I just come back to it later.

jcodirewolf · Post by **jcodirewolf** » Mar Wed 28, 2007 8:41 am

My other question has always been WHO is willing to stand in line for Soarin' for 3+ hours? I've seen the standby queue showing 180+ minutes. I've heard of people saying the tip board was showing 300 minutes (5 HOURS!)

Soarin' is good don't get me wrong. It's one of the attractions that I will be sure to get a fastpass for when I'm at Epcot. That said, I can't think of anything I'd wait in queue for 5 hours. Not M:S, not TT, not EE.

Insane!

Johno

GhostHost · Post by **GhostHost** » Mar Wed 28, 2007 8:53 am

Yeah, that's just insane to commit that kind of time to any one attraction. I would rather sit on a bench or watch a show or just take in the park atmosphere than to stand in a 3+ hour line. Then again, I'm kind of spoiled now as my wait times have generally been non existent and never more than 10 or 15 minutes for anything. That's the advantage of going during non-peak months or weeks. I really feel for those people that can only go in the summer because of kids being in school. They get hit with the heat of summer as well as the super long lines. At least Disney makes it somewhat interesting to wait in their lines with the ride queu areas.

jcodirewolf · Post by **jcodirewolf** » Mar Wed 28, 2007 10:09 am

That the other thing about the Soarin' queue. It's not as interesting as some of the other attraction queue areas. There are those "question" displays, but the loop is pretty short. Pal Mickey doesn't have anything to say in the queue line.

The only GOOD thing I can say about the Soarin' queue line is it's got A/C! But then that is why me and my friends use to love PotC. The queue is inside and had A/C. Although last summer when they reopened Pirates, man I've NEVER seen a line that long before (or since) for that attraction.

johno

GhostHost · Post by **GhostHost** » Mar Wed 28, 2007 10:21 am

jcodirewolf wrote:That the other thing about the Soarin' queue. It's not as interesting as some of the other attraction queue areas. There are those "question" displays, but the loop is pretty short. Pal Mickey doesn't have anything to say in the queue line.

The only GOOD thing I can say about the Soarin' queue line is it's got A/C! But then that is why me and my friends use to love PotC. The queue is inside and had A/C. Although last summer when they reopened Pirates, man I've NEVER seen a line that long before (or since) for that attraction.

johno

I have not seen the new updates at POTC yet so that will be a new thing for me. I agree about the lines in there as it's really nice walking through the dark cool cave inside and when you finally get in your boat and feel the breeze on your face it's just a little slice of heaven, especially in the heat of the day.

kgmadorin · Post by **kgmadorin** » Mar Wed 28, 2007 11:17 am

Every so often we were asked this same question by Guests purchasing tickets at the Guest Relations window outside the park. The answer: In order to say operating 365 days a year, every attraction needs to be closed from time to time to ensure the safety of the attraction isn't sacrificed, and the attraction offers the best show possible. Can you imagine if Disney just shut the whole park down for a month to do rehabs? I don't want to even think about those guest complaints.

It's funny that people take for grated that the Disney parks are open every single day of the year, AND they expect every attraction to be operating at all times.

jcodirewolf · Post by **jcodirewolf** » Mar Wed 28, 2007 11:46 am

kgmadorin wrote:Can you imagine if Disney just shut the whole park down for a month to do rehabs? I don't want to even think about those guest complaints.

Yea did you see that documentary made back int he 80's about the family that showed up at Wally World, and found the park closed? *smile*

But I agree people just assume Disney is open year round, and don't think that other parks are only open for 6-8 months a year (Six Flags parks, and Kings Island come to mind.)

johno

kgmadorin · Post by **kgmadorin** » Mar Wed 28, 2007 11:58 am

jcodirewolf wrote: Yea did you see that documentary made back int he 80's about the family that showed up at Wally World, and found the park closed? *smile*

Not sure if I'd term "National Lampoon's Vacation" a documentary.

But that's a good example of the family vacation gone awry, which is something Disney tries to prevent at all costs.