Very, Very, Very, Very, Very Slow Dumbo

[popsynic]

Anyone know why it's taking them sooooooooo long to get the second Dumbo up and running. Or are they purposely dragging their feet?

The traveling fairground that comes to our town gets those basic spinner type rides up in about an hour it seems - why is it taking Disney months, and months and months.

 

[stargazertechie]

The traveling fairground that comes to our town gets those basic spinner type rides up in about an hour it seems - why is it taking Disney months, and months and months.

Because the one at Disney DOESN'T come to town on the back of a semi-

They've got building permits, safety needs, construction of the rest of fantasyland forest and storybook circus, stockholders, unions, weather, and a myriad of other considerations to deal with. They're also still working out kinks with the nextgen/xpass which will be necessary with the new interactive queue, as Dumbo is the first ride to be built around the next-gen idea... I'm sure they want to make sure they have everything figured out on the tech side before they get the ride live.

 

[mousermerf]

Or they could just run both Dumbos from the exterior queues while they finish the interior queue like they are doing with half of it already.. that's entirely reasonable..

No, they're dragging their feet getting the second Dumbo up and running.

That spinner should hve taken all of a few days to transplant across the park. Millions of circuses, carnivals, etc.. do the same thing with literally the same exact ride system hundreds of times a year and do it faster and just as "safely" - Disney just doesn't see the need to have the second Dumbo open yet and so it isn't.

It wont open until they want it to be, and that's probably when their NextGen queue and Casey Jr and Humphreys and etc.. are ready too.

 

[Raenstoirm]

They also need to MAKE the Dumbos. Unlike carnival rides where the seats are already in existence and with the spinner, Disney needs to create more of there seats. And with all the refurbs going on, it is possible the creation shop hasnt even started on them yet.

 

[jennyjinx3]

Because the one at Disney DOESN'T come to town on the back of a semi-

They've got building permits, safety needs, construction of the rest of fantasyland forest and storybook circus, stockholders, unions, weather, and a myriad of other considerations to deal with. They're also still working out kinks with the nextgen/xpass which will be necessary with the new interactive queue, as Dumbo is the first ride to be built around the next-gen idea... I'm sure they want to make sure they have everything figured out on the tech side before they get the ride live.

 

[Jennasis]

I see people have no idea what it takes to plan a theme park on the scale of Disney, compared to the gypsy fairs who blow through over the weekend in the Walmart parking lot.

 

[OKW Lover]

They aren't simply moving the ride mechanism from one spot to another. They are spending the time to refurbish the mechanics and the cosmetics. Disney has standards.

 

[Disco]

The new Dumbo spinner was created from scratch and it takes a while to build it. Carni spinners have to be made too and were not manufactured in a day, relocating a mobile spinner is not the same as making a new one.
The old Dumbo spinner is being refurbed to new condition. It is also being rethemed to match the new one. I'm betting it takes longer to refurb than to build a new one. With a new spinner they just assemble and paint and it's ready to go. The old one you have to strip down, remove the paint and replace parts (and maybe even create custom parts for) before putting together again. Not to mention the craftsmanship and attention to detail far outmatch any carni ride out there.
I agree, if they were just relocating the old spinner to the new spot it would be a matter of weeks and not months. However, I'd rather they take their time with it and make it look new.

 

[disprincessatheart]

Another factor that takes more time is that a Disney ride needs to be built to run 12+ hours a day, 365 days a year for many years. A traveling carnival ride can be serviced in between locations if something breaks or needs replacing or servicing often.

 

[mousermerf]

Again.. point being missed...

If you knew you were moving it - you could pre-fabricate the Dumbos like they did with the first one. Second, they have the dumbos because they, well, moved it and have the Dumbos. The old Dumbos weren't exactly "past their prime."

And if you want to argue they're rehabilitating the attraction, ok.. that accounts for maybe a month or so. When has a Dumbo-style attraction ever been closed for multiple months in a row for refurbishment? Did they just care less during the previous rennovations they did? Did they put less care into the work or were the systems less fully restored to working order?

This second Dumbo is NOT a new build. This is definitely the old Dumbo that used to be in the middle of Fantasyland repositioned. It's just taking forever.

 

[WDSearcher]

The simplest answer to "why isnt' the second Dumbo operational yet" is "Disney doesn't want it to be." We can speculate forever as to WHY Disney doesn't want it to be, but for whatever reason, they've decided that it's not time yet. Their park ... their call.

My guess is that they wanted to get the first one up and operational ASAP so that there was little to no "Dumbo down-time". It's up and running, so they're now holding the second one (and all other elements of that area) until the entire circus-themed area can be opened. This means entertainment, foods, merchandise, costuming, horticulture, decorating, signage, operations, and on and on. If it was just about opening a ride -- and the rest of the area was already fully operational -- they'd have likely opened it by now. But the goal, I think, was to get Dumbo and Barnstormer opened to help ease spring break / summer capacity issues, while the rest of the circus opened together.

 

[Hannathy]

Disney is going to do it the most economical way possible, plain and simple. If it made sense to the accountants to have Dumbo up and running quickly once it was shut down they would have planned to have everything ready to go and would work on it 24/7. They have decided it wasn't cost effective to do this so are doing it the way they are. If they wanted to move quickly they could have had everything ready to go once it shut down and ready to go in the new location. They evidently have decided not to pay to have things done before a "need" to be done time frame.

It is all money folks in how fast they want to move on a project. It isn't that big of a project. Or that earth shattering of new technology.

Using technology at Disney is no different than in a plant that also runs 24/7, it is simply engineered for that.

 

[mousermerf]

The simplest answer to "why isnt' the second Dumbo operational yet" is "Disney doesn't want it to be." We can speculate forever as to WHY Disney doesn't want it to be, but for whatever reason, they've decided that it's not time yet. Their park ... their call.

My guess is that they wanted to get the first one up and operational ASAP so that there was little to no "Dumbo down-time". It's up and running, so they're now holding the second one (and all other elements of that area) until the entire circus-themed area can be opened. This means entertainment, foods, merchandise, costuming, horticulture, decorating, signage, operations, and on and on. If it was just about opening a ride -- and the rest of the area was already fully operational -- they'd have likely opened it by now. But the goal, I think, was to get Dumbo and Barnstormer opened to help ease spring break / summer capacity issues, while the rest of the circus opened together.

Disney is going to do it the most economical way possible, plain and simple. If it made sense to the accountants to have Dumbo up and running quickly once it was shut down they would have planned to have everything ready to go and would work on it 24/7. They have decided it wasn't cost effective to do this so are doing it the way they are. If they wanted to move quickly they could have had everything ready to go once it shut down and ready to go in the new location. They evidently have decided not to pay to have things done before a "need" to be done time frame.

It is all money folks in how fast they want to move on a project. It isn't that big of a project. Or that earth shattering of new technology.

Using technology at Disney is no different than in a plant that also runs 24/7, it is simply engineered for that.

I concur. I do not see why people feel the need to explain away what is essentially Disney's decision to try and save money. Yeah, it's not "magical" but it's the truth.

 

[Reddog1134]

According to this BLOG they have just resumed construction on the 2nd spinner.

No reason for delay or description of the work was given. Just a picture and a small blurb.

 

[mesaboy2]

I concur. I do not see why people feel the need to explain away what is essentially Disney's decision to try and save money. Yeah, it's not "magical" but it's the truth.

Saving money is a bad idea why? What is the rush to get this up and running? It doesn't have any less capacity than it did before. I'd rather they do it right than do a fly-by-night carnival rush job.

 

[I Love Pluto]

Elephants can't run. They walk slowly. So- that is why WDW is taking so long. The elephants didn't get there yet!

 

[bball15fan]

They aren't simply moving the ride mechanism from one spot to another. They are spending the time to refurbish the mechanics and the cosmetics. Disney has standards.

Correct...When I was there, about a month ago, they said they were painting it. (It is the old one.)

 

[pmaurer74]

When is the carnival stuff set to open? Is there any chance that it will be open by mid June?

 

[mousermerf]

Saving money is a bad idea why? What is the rush to get this up and running? It doesn't have any less capacity than it did before. I'd rather they do it right than do a fly-by-night carnival rush job.

Because they have plenty of money and the park is actually way down on capacity since they closed the Skyway and 20K Leagues Under the Sea years ago.. and attendance is way way up since then...? Not to mention losing all the Toon Town areas that haven't reopened yet plus Big Thunder being down still and the loss of the river watercraft and other smaller capacity attractions over the years?

This is of course based on statements made by the CFO about the finances of the parks and resorts division and attendance statements from the annual reports. So, no real misunderstanding to be had there.

 

[chartle]

Saving money is a bad idea why? What is the rush to get this up and running? It doesn't have any less capacity than it did before. I'd rather they do it right than do a fly-by-night carnival rush job.

Not change the subject.

I asked this in another Dumbo thread and it got lost. Does the new Dumbo have more cars than the old one therefore greater ride capacity?