Big Thunder closing thru 2013 (rumor)

[Mr Snappy]

First, take everything from Al with a grain of salt.
Second, if this is true, be suspicious of the dates...don't panic yet.
Third, if this is true, it will be great! I love this ride and if they decided to "+plus it up" as well as a refurb, we all win in the end.

Rides going down for refurb is simply fact at ANY theme park. Disneyland has so many great attractions, it is almost impossible to only close one at a time.

 

[HydroGuy]

So here's my thought (I am keeping in mind that this is possibly just a rumor)...This is the second MAJOR attraction rumored to be closing for an extended period of time as Indy is also rumored to be closed for up to 3 months (again, so far a rumor). BUT if these rumors do turn out to be true, I am deeply disappointed in Disney. I understand that rides do need refurbishments, don't get me wrong, but with the increase in ticket prices that Disneyland has implemented this year I do feel that to have TWO major attractions down has not been thought out out very well. Again, I know these are just rumors, but when you are coming from a distance and need to book rather early its tough not to be disappointed. So let's spruce this up with a little pixie dust and hope for the best!!

FWIW, last September DLR had not two, not three, but four major rides down at the same time - HM, POTC, Calif Screamin, Space Mtn. After HalloweenTime started HM and Space Mtn came back up and they operated with just POTC and Screamin down for a lengthy period.

It does happen but they try and keep it limited to off-season times. When rides require something more than a four month refurb then it impacts high season as well.

Big bummer about Big Thunder. And Indy needs work. It has for several years. Hard to say whether any of this will actually happen. But two E-tickets down at the same time is common in off-season.

 

[Jazzheffa]

So as now, its rumored to fantasy fair, storybook ride and now big thunder railroad, is this correct..

I'm not bad, I was drawn this way!

 

[lurpee]

Well, to be fair, I'm 33, and need some major rehab work as well, so I can't blame BTMRR too much, I guess, but our family will definitely miss it for the year!

Ha! Me too. Sadly I'm 34 "and a half" ;-)

Bummer if this is true!

 

[Mitzicat]

Well, to be fair, I'm 33, and need some major rehab work as well, so I can't blame BTMRR too much, I guess, but our family will definitely miss it for the year!

I about fell out of my chair when I realized that BTMRR was 33! And then your comment! Thanks for the good laugh this afternoon.

 

[auntiegem]

FWIW, last September DLR had not two, not three, but four major rides down at the same time - HM, POTC, Calif Screamin, Space Mtn. After HalloweenTime started HM and Space Mtn came back up and they operated with just POTC and Screamin down for a lengthy period.

I was there last September when all of these were down, and we still managed to have a great time. We were also there in in 2003 when Space, Splash and BTMRR were closed (and remember, this was before DCA was barely worth visiting IMO), and again, we still had a great time.

I do appreciate the disappointment factor, but I've come to the conclusion at this point that I can't expect my favorite rides will always be open--even during the "on" season, let alone the off.

 

[NLD]

Sheesh. We have the worst timing. No matter which coast we choose, Big Thunder's down.


Tentatively planning a DLR trip for June 2013. If it happens, it'll be an add-on to our Yosemite/Monterey trip. I just have to convince Dh.

Of course, this would then mean two Disney trips in a row with no Big Thunder. January 2012--dd's birthday trip to WDW--down for refurb.

Now: June 2013--trip to DLR (probably our one and only)--down for refurb.

 

[DarthMole]

If this rumor turns out to be true and BTMRR undergoes a refurb, I doubt the lines will be long for years. Remember the revamped Star Tours? Lines were long for months. You can now get FPs well into the evening and the standby line was very reasonable last week.

OK, maybe not years. I guess we were just spoiled with many days of 5-10 minute standby lines and FP return times of only 40 minutes later pretty much all day.

Not sure what very reasonable for Star Tours is but every time we went by it was 30-50 minutes standby except one morning we were in the area and waited about 17 minutes in a posted 10 minute standby line. A 30+ standby line for Thunder would have certainly altered our game plan each day.

 

[Mr Snappy]

Sheesh. We have the worst timing. No matter which coast we choose, Big Thunder's down.


Tentatively planning a DLR trip for June 2013. If it happens, it'll be an add-on to our Yosemite/Monterey trip. I just have to convince Dh.

Of course, this would then mean two Disney trips in a row with no Big Thunder. January 2012--dd's birthday trip to WDW--down for refurb.

Now: June 2013--trip to DLR (probably our one and only)--down for refurb.

You don't have bad timing, there is almost no time when every attraction is up and going at the same time. The one closure that almost killed us was when they closed the DLRR (train) down. We spend alot of time on the train and it just did not feel like Disneyland without it going.

 

[NLD]

You don't have bad timing, there is almost no time when every attraction is up and going at the same time. The one closure that almost killed us was when they closed the DLRR (train) down. We spend alot of time on the train and it just did not feel like Disneyland without it going.

Oh I know. There is always SOMETHING down, usually more than one "something" for us (at WDW) because we've always gone in the off season there.

It's just that it's Big Thunder twice in a row (on two different coasts)! LOL. Couldn't have planned that if we tried.

I guess I'd rather that than Indy or something unique to DLR.

 

[kristie73]

My timing is bad too. We were just at WDW in March of this year and BTMR was down. Then in 2010 my youngest wasn't quite tall enough. We got right to the front and got turned away. So I was truely hoping this trip (this October) he'd finally get to ride it.

It's frustrating that they make a refurbishment decision this close to Fall. Wouldn't it already be in the schedule months ago? I know refurbishments happen and I really don't make travel decisions on what rides are down, but I might have considered moving our trip. That ride has been a must for us lately. I hope it's only rumor.

 

[HydroGuy]

My timing is bad too. We were just at WDW in March of this year and BTMR was down. Then in 2010 my youngest wasn't quite tall enough. We got right to the front and got turned away. So I was truely hoping this trip (this October) he'd finally get to ride it.

It's frustrating that they make a refurbishment decision this close to Fall. Wouldn't it already be in the schedule months ago? I know refurbishments happen and I really don't make travel decisions on what rides are down, but I might have considered moving our trip. That ride has been a must for us lately. I hope it's only rumor.

It is only a rumor. Read the OP and look at the thread title. No "decision" has been made at this point.

Is Al Lutz generally correct on these types of rumors? More often than not he is. But this has not been announced. And Al is wrong sometimes. Or sometimes he is right but Disney changes their minds so his prediction does not become reality.

 

[Crazy4Disney06]

So here's my thought (I am keeping in mind that this is possibly just a rumor)...This is the second MAJOR attraction rumored to be closing for an extended period of time as Indy is also rumored to be closed for up to 3 months (again, so far a rumor). BUT if these rumors do turn out to be true, I am deeply disappointed in Disney. I understand that rides do need refurbishments, don't get me wrong, but with the increase in ticket prices that Disneyland has implemented this year I do feel that to have TWO major attractions down has not been thought out out very well. Again, I know these are just rumors, but when you are coming from a distance and need to book rather early its tough not to be disappointed. So let's spruce this up with a little pixie dust and hope for the best!!

If INDY is down in December I'm going to be very bummed Our last trip to DL was in 2009 and it was closed then also. Mh ds10 had never gotten to ride it because it is either down or we visited WDW instead


Found this on another website.....not sure which is more accurate as far as timing of ride closure.

2013 - Big Thunder Rehab - Rumor - (5/10/12) According to one Screamscape source, salaried members of management at Disneyland were informed of the rumored plan to take Big Thunder Mountain down for an extensive rehab from January 2013 and reopen it in Summer 2013. Or at least that was the plan… have to wait and see if the timetable of work that needs to be done will agree or not.

 

[PinkBudgie]

Well, I hope they do. I'm willing to do without rides for a while if it means they will be improved when they come back. It's like getting a shot- it hurts but you have to do it. I think they need to do the same with Indy. That ride seems to be down all the time anyway. BTMRR was getting to be secondary ride for us anyway. When we didn't know what other FP to get, we could always pick one up there. The best time to ride it is at night! The bats are awake in the cave and the town music is lively.

 

[JadeDarkstar]

where is the list of rumored rides being down in the next 3 months? im trying to deiced what ones we may miss

 

[disneyismyheart247]

Bring on the rehabs.

 

[disneymom0104]

Aww- that would make me sad if BTMRR is down in December. (and I would be even more sad if Indy is down). One of the reasons we changed our trip from Oct. to Dec. was to hopefully avoid some of the rehabs. When we went last Oct. we missed California Screamin', and Pirates. I was devastated that Pirates was down as I wanted my family to experience the DL version SO BAD. At that time we didn't know if or when we would be returning to DL. None of us have ridden CS, so that will be exciting, too. However, I would be super sad to miss Indy since we loved that ride so much last time.

(and as a side note, IASW was down the last time we were at WDW in 2010. That was probably the hardest for me. I had a 6 month old baby that would have loved it at that age, I was looking forward to the time out of the heat with him, etc. But, we survived )

I'm not sure I would cancel a trip due to rehabs, but it was a major consideration for us switching from Oct. to Dec. this year.

 

[sonjaandsue]

We have chosen to go in the off season for our trips so I have become philosophical about rehabs & closures. We missed Star Tours at WDW, and POC at DL. Both times we found things to appreciate about other rides that we may have never experienced if we had been spending our time on the closed rides.

Big Thunder is my favorite so I am the only one in my family who will be disappointed but I will give Matterhorn another try. Now, if GRR were closed, I'd be dealing with a sad 6 yr old - however, if it is closed in Oct. maybe I can talk him into trying Splash!

 

[KCmike]

I think the ride does need some plussing. I would rather see them demolish Innoventions though with the money they are using for the refurb. Tomorrowland needs work the most. Oh yeah, bring back the peoplemover for goodness sake!

 

[Virgoinab]

Man that would suck it it is closed during our Oct trip. It is the one fast coaster in the park that both my DH and I can agree on going on, and we looooveee it at night.

Matterhorn is now out for me since the new sleds, I am too tall, and the bumps are just too much for my back now, June was the last time I will ride it. DH does not like space, it gives him a headache.

I will get over it, and just have an excuse to come back when it is done.