Haunted Mansion and Tom Sawyer Island Rumors

[All Aboard]

In speaking with a Cast Member, I heard some interesting information about the Haunted Mansion. Since I didn't take notes, I hope I get this right.

As you may know, the load belt on HM broke some time ago. The Mansion went down about 10 days ago so that a new belt could be installed. Yesterday at about 10am, the Mansion came back up. There were a host of problems throughout the attraction (including down audio). But, then something major happened.

Shortly before 9pm the new load belt engine started shaking quite violently and the engine snapped off and is now out of service. Aparently, there is no backup engine, as only one was ordered. As told to me, there is a chance that they will reinstall the old motor that may have been a contributing factor in the original load belt breaking. If not, and they need to order a new one to be built - the Mansion could be down for quite some time.

On to Tom Sawyer Island. The rumor is that the Liberty Belle may be so badly damaged (including a whopper of a hole in the hull) that it might not ever be returned to service. If that's the case, the need to shuttle guests back and forth to the Island via the rafts goes away. Which frees the way for Disney to install a bridge from Frontierland to TSI (which is a strong possibility, it seems). That's the story as I know it.

 

[Horizons16]

Not really much to say about the HM. Dont really know where to go with that.

As far as the Liberty Belle, I would be suprised if they dry-dock the ship for good. Yes a hole in the hull is serious, given the fact that water would obviouslly come in. There is however patching techniques that work very well.

At any rate,
Thanks
~Steve

 

[2Xited4Disney]

I have NEVER been to tom sawyer's... I never really got the point of it...


Is it just an island with a fort or something?... It seems like an awful large amount of land

 

[raidermatt]

I think the Liberty Belle contributes greatly to the atmosphere and kinetic energy of the area. The idea of removing that element and instead building a bridge truly bothers me. Getting rid of the rafts would only compound the problem.

I have NEVER been to tom sawyer's... I never really got the point of it...


Is it just an island with a fort or something?... It seems like an awful large amount of land

I've only been to DL's, but the fort is actually closed now, which does take a lot away. But there are also caves, barrel bridges, streams, a treehouse, etc. Plus you can get some very nice views of (at DL) New Orleans Square, Frontierland, etc. Basically, its a large kids playground with a lot of nice quiet touches for everybody.

 

[raidermatt]

Another neat thing is that at DL, you can actually stand on the Fantasmic stage and pretend you are Sorcerer Mickey.

 

[cristen]

OK, hold on All Aboard,

Are you trying to tell me that they may get rid of (I will talk in DL terms, I am more familiar) the equal to the Mark Twain? And the rafts that go to TSI?

THE MARK TWAIN?! The big white riverboat that goes around the Rivers of America?! They might get rid of that?! I just want to make sure that I read that correctly. They may get rid of it forever?

I mean, I know a lot of things were falling apart at DL (Carousel and SM), but they didn't just take them away. They completely rebuilt them from ground up. Seems to me a hole is something that is easily fixed. Not enough to do away with such a classic.

That would leave what? The canoes? Do you guys still have them over on the wrong side of the country? What a kill to the whole atmosphere over there.

Wow.

 

[Horizons16]

No more canoes over here...

but I agree with your shock.

 

[Bradtotherescue]

I'm not sure if the Right coast park ever had canoes. We used to have Mike Finks Keel boats, but they are gone now. I liked them, but they were slow loaders.

I would be very disappointed if the L.B. went away. It's a classic that needs to be restored. If they do restore it, I hope they add benches to it. After walking the parks all day, leaning on the rail isn't the most comfortable thing to do.

 

[Horizons16]

I was never around for it, but im almost positive that they were in WDW. They must have only been around for a little bit. I remember a photo with the Belle a Canoe and a Mike Fink....

ill try to get my hands on it. Will be difficult that was before digital.

 

[Planogirl]

I seem to remember canoes at WDW way back in the beginning. I remember that there was basically a traffic jam on the Rivers of America back then.

I missed whatever happened to the Liberty Belle so I keep picturing a manager sneaking out and somehow poking a hole in the ship. We rode the Liberty Belle last year and it was practically deserted. Of course, this is a very bad thing at WDW.

 

[basas]

There were originally canoes, two riverboats, and keelboats. (not to mention TSI rafts)

 

[Chuck S]

As long as the load belt is in place and stopped, can't they run the attraction on slow to give folks time to board? They removed the unload belt from the old Imagination pavilion and still ran the ride...folks just stepped out of the cars when it was running slowly.

 

[CDSTapisRouge]

I'm not sure if the Right coast park ever had canoes.

The Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes opened with the park on October 1, 1971. They were apart of the Rivers of America fleet until 1994. (At one point the Rivers of America serviced 2 Riverboats, 4 Tom Sawyer Island Rafts, 2 Keelboats and 8 Canoes...talk about congestion.) The canoes are still on property and are used every year for "Canoe Races of the World" which is a cast member canoe race on the Rivers of America...

 

[basas]

The Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes opened with the park on October 1, 1971. They were apart of the Rivers of America fleet until 1994. (At one point the Rivers of America serviced 2 Riverboats, 4 Tom Sawyer Island Rafts, 2 Keelboats and 8 Canoes...talk about congestion.) The canoes are still on property and are used every year to "Canoe Races of the World" which is a cast member canoe race on the Rivers of America...

Yes...it's too bad we don't have this kind of traffic anymore! Nice to see DL with the Twain, the Columbia, and the canoes!

 

[raidermatt]

DL also has the rafts, as All Aboard mentioned. They do a remarkably good job of keeping the traffic flowing well, and it really does provide a wonderful energy to the area. Makes if feel alive and vibrant.

Taking this stuff away would be a HUGE mistake.

We rode the Liberty Belle last year and it was practically deserted.

Purely anecdotal of course, but I've never had that experience on either the Twain, Belle or Columbia, though I'm sure there are times when it happens. But like I said, their value comes from more than just their ridership.

As long as the load belt is in place and stopped, can't they run the attraction on slow to give folks time to board?

I think they tried this when they had issues a few months ago. I don't remember all of the detail, but I think the problem was it wasn't designed to run like that for long periods of time, and a lot of the audio and effects got badly out of synch.

 

[YoHo]

That's exactly what happened with the load belt. running the ride slow screws everything up.



Hey All Aboard can you or anyone else tell us what happened with the Liberty Belle?

 

[tmt martins]

I heard they took away the canoes' at wdw because of the Croc that hangs around the peir.

 

[manning]

I heard they determined it would be too costly to repair the Liberty Belle, but they did come up with a solution. There will be special fast pass tickets issued for each trip that will enhance their experience. They will be assigned the task of bailing.

 

[mitros]

I don't want to appear ignorant, so I will blame it on old age..... Did I miss the part of this thread that says which HM is having the problem? Is it at DL or WDW? We go to WDW regularly, but do not go to MK very often because of the crowds, so I would have missed any problems at the HM. Also, is the riverboat problem at DL or WDW?

 

[YoHo]

Both of these are WDW problems. the Riverboat at DL is called the Mark Twain, the Riverboat in Florida is the Liberty Belle.

The Haunted Mansion broke down over the summer. And had been running on slow speed for some time which was messing up the attraction.