Dumbo and Tomorrowland Speedway...a rant...

[alan68]

Are we sure that the slow down on Speedway hasn’t been caused by CMs now collecting parking fees from guests as they get out of their cars and exit the ride? Those fees currently seem to be a thing in other parts of WDW .....

Touche'!

 

[fbarker]

We've never waited for Dumbo for more than 5 minutes and we refuse to ride Speedway because of the fumes.

So many people like you that say they refuse to ride the Speedway but the lines continue to be long. I know we have not been on it for over 15 years and we are amazed at how long the lines are. Just to walk by the ride is a health risk!!

 

[Klayfish]

Just to walk by the ride is a health risk!!

I think that's a bit of a stretch...

 

[fbarker]

I think that's a bit of a stretch...

tongue in cheek....

 

[msb578]

My DS loves Dumbo and Speedway. I’m will be sad when they replace Speedway for the Tron ride. My son always looks forward to riding Speedway.

I thought the Tron ride was going in behind there, in its own new space (going past the current border of the park).

 

[tlmadden73]

Every ride (especially kid's rides) should have a Dumbo-like queue . (or a Jimmy Fallon-like queue) .. not actually "just" waiting in a line helps pass the time.

 

[ELLH]

I agree that the posted wait times vs actual wait time can occasionally be drastically off, so I get the OP's rant there.


Since everyone is sharing their personal opinions I'll join in.


Dumbo: I can't really recall the last time we waited in a queue there with a wait time of longer than 10 minutes. We typically FP that ride with one of the later FPs (the ones after our initial 3). During our last trip a few weeks ago the crowds were heavy and the standby line was quite long but we FP’d it so we weren’t really affected, though we did go back once to let our DD7 get some time in the play area. OP, I don’t know how old your kids are but IME their age has as much to do with how ‘manic’ we perceive the play area to be as the crowds do. We hadn't done the play area in a couple years but previous experiences - when DD was younger - entailed just following her around to keep an eye on her. (Yes, it’s a small area so maybe we are a bit of “helicopter” parents but I'm fine with that.) Even when the area was only moderately busy it was somewhat unnerving because we needed to keep an eye on our kid. Now that DD is older we can 'relax' and let her run around the play around without following her around or being concerned. That makes the whole scene feel less chaotic to me and I know my wife feels the same way. Maybe that ‘hovering’ over their kids contributes to others’ perceived level of chaos in the queue, aside from the actual number of people in the play area.



Tomorrowland Speedway: Others have mentioned it but I’ll agree: converting all of those cars to electric would be a lot more of an undertaking than some here seem to realize. Aside from the operating costs of electric vs gas - which is a topic someone with real knowledge would have to discuss and it’s not really as pertinent here ATM - there’s the aspect of space. The constant need to charge the cars would either mean Disney cuts the number of carts on the track at a time or purchases a significant amount more and would need room at TS to store them. Let’s just say – and I have no scientific information to back this – a gas kart can last practically an entire day thanks to simple fuel refills. If Disney uses an electric kart which has a range/duration of 30 minutes and a charge time of 30 minutes, in an 8 hour day you’re going to need at 2x the karts… obviously that number changes as the duration vs charge time changes. Suffice it to say, you’ll have a higher turnover of electric which means more inventory. Maybe the numbers would work out… I’m just thinking about it from a simple man’s POV.

On a more personal note, I dislike the TS not for the fumes (which are atrocious, I agree) but for the ride experience. The karts don’t steer well and the throttle is practically digital… it’s off until it’s on. There’s no real in-between in acceleration. You’re either barely putting along or you’re zooming. Those two factors annoy the ever living crap out of me. Luckily even my DD feels the same way so she doesn’t really care to ride it. I let her drive the riding lawnmower at home as a trade.

 

[disneygirlsng]

My DS loves Dumbo and Speedway. I’m will be sad when they replace Speedway for the Tron ride. My son always looks forward to riding Speedway.

The speedway is not being replaced by Tron, it's going behind it. It will probably have to close for a little bit during construction, but it will be opened back up.

 

[sponica]

Honestly I've never understood the appeal of the speedway, are the go karts that different than what's at my local minigolf course? I'm totally pulling the "we didn't fly 1000 miles for you to ride in a go kart" line when there's go karts 5 minutes from my house.

 

[JETSDAD]

Honestly I've never understood the appeal of the speedway, are the go karts that different than what's at my local minigolf course? I'm totally pulling the "we didn't fly 1000 miles for you to ride in a go kart" line when there's go karts 5 minutes from my house.

They're worse than a local go kart track because you can't actually drive them around anywhere...you're stuck on a rail/track.

 

[walker0829]

Dumbo setup was a nightmare the first time we went. Either it wasn't done right or it wasn't properly explained to us. We went to the play area because they said we could stay there and it would buzz us when ready. So we played and played and played and it never went off so we took it up there and they said that it didn't actually hold our place in line. It was just a place to play and we would now rejoin the line again.

 

[davale4]

I thought the Tron ride was going in behind there, in its own new space (going past the current border of the park).

Oh! I didn’t realize that. I was told they were taking out Speedway. It seems like many don’t like the ride but it’s one of my son’s favorite. That’s all he’s been talking about for our August trip.

 

[davale4]

The speedway is not being replaced by Tron, it's going behind it. It will probably have to close for a little bit during construction, but it will be opened back up.

Maybe that’s what they told me and I misunderstood it for being replaced instead. Good news for my DD!

 

[TXAKDisneyFan]

I never liked the speedway - I don’t like driving in everyday life as it is, I have severe asthma and the fumes are terrible, etc. But last Nov, DD and I got off Space and she *really* wanted to ride the Speedway. Since DH had our boys, it was about an hour before closing so no hot sun beating down, and there was almost no line, I reluctantly said ok. It turned out to be probably the most memorable ride of the trip. We couldn’t stop laughing the whole time. Every time DD hit that guide rail (very frequently), we’d laugh. It was seriously hilarious.
Well def go again, but only at night when the lines are nil, and only if I can ride with a hilariously inexperienced driver

 

[cgattis]

Apples and oranges. These electric cars you speak of that travel highways use battery packs weighing 650-1200+ lbs and are physically larger than the cars used at WDW. And that's just the battery, never mind the electric motor and the associated running gear. Even then, the smaller ones...such as the Nissan Leaf, can only go around 100 miles. Keep in mind the type of abuse the Tomorrowland Speeday cars are subjected to, daily. I don't know the specific details of the miles put on a Tomorrowland car, but I'd wager that it's just not realistic to have an all electric fleet that would have the capacity to move as many guests as the current set up can. My boys love to race electric go-karts. I just took them there yesterday...those carts are plugged back into a quick charger after each and every 6-10 minute race. Yes, they use more electricity than the WDW cars going 8mph or whatever they go, but still I just don't know they'd be able to do it to full scale. WDW would need hundreds and hundreds of them and have to constantly rotate them out, because they couldn't take a chance on having one run out of battery halfway around the track. They're also temperature sensitive, lose capacity over time, can be sensitive if not cycled properly, etc...they're just not as easy to maintain as a simple gas lawnmower engine.

So while it would certainly be nice if they were electric, not sure that's plausible right now. The technology may not be quite what it needs to be yet. Getting newer, more efficient gas engines, sure.

Seriously....golf carts. We can drive a cart all day on a charge. Worst case if they can't run a full park day, they design the compartment with two batteries and it switches over. This really is not a huge engineering challenge.

 

[SeeDisney]

The new queque setup for Dumbo is EXCELLENT.... never had a problem with it. Kids get entertained while parents get to sit and chill. Great idea by imagineering department.

 

[THEDISNEYTHREE]

.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

They're worse than a local go kart track because you can't actually drive them around anywhere...you're stuck on a rail/track.

Which is why it is great for kids who are too young for go-karts. My kiddos love it, especially the boy. The ride has a very limited shelf life though. As soon as he can drive a go-kart, I'm sure we'll be done with it. For now we really enjoy it.

 

[KateP85]

I love the Dumbo line, I will take anything over actually having to stand in line with my kids. My 5-year old adores that play area, I think he prefers it to the majority of the rides at MK! He loves running around and making new friends.

Trying to watch my toddler in that area, however, is a different story. He wants to do what his big brother is doing but when it's busy, I don't like letting him climb on the bigger equipment with all the kids running around - so he's confined to the toddler area. The toddler area is like watching a very small wrestling match, with lots of pushing and shrieking (or maybe that was just my child?!) Every now and then a smell would emerge and all parents would be up checking the backs of diapers, it was pretty funny. It was a long 30 minutes though.

 

[J'aime Paris]

I can deal with the fumes from Speedway.

It's getting rammed into from behind when my car is at a standstill that I hate
So glad when DD "aged out" of that ride...