WDW uses Splash Mountain 'refurb' to save $$$

[Flamingeaux]

I have no problem believing that Disney plans on working on Splash for say 4 weeks and having the ride down for 6 weeks.

 

[johde]

I think we may have a case of 2+2 = 5.

I would say Disney definitely does this with TL and BB. Keeping one 1 water park open at a time to save money. That being said, last winter the change happened in January 2014. This winter it happened in December. Last year in my January trip I was able to go to both water parks because of timing. I visited TL the day it came out of refurb and you could still see in the parking lot some leftover remnants of the refurb.

What's interesting is both Splash Mountain and Dudley Do Right are in refurb. While both KRR and Popeye are open.

 

[disnut8]

While reading the latest MiceAge Disneyland update regarding the closure of Finding Nemo, there was this entry:

"WDW management is most infamous for doing this with Splash Mountain at the Magic Kingdom Park. For years now, like clockwork, Splash Mountain closes for January and February. Some years the ride remains untouched during the closure, and some years the ride sits untouched for only a month before they go in and spend the last few weeks painting a bit and doing some actual maintenance. But the annual eight to ten week closure during the winter is simply a ruse and a way to save a nice chunk of operating labor on a water ride during the coldest and slowest time of the year."

Mind you take it with a grain of salt, but it saddens me because this is when I go every other year, so I can't ride it at times, but from a financial standpoint of an accountant, I can see it making a little sense.

Your thoughts?

Well, "most infamous" is a term I would like to see backed up with some data. The comment above doesn't have any relative backup to the statement.

I could say "Disney has determined that Splash Mountain will be in refurb mode for January and February because that's the time The People Against Song of the South push their agenda at national conventions". Put that out on a national blog or website and how many people would go overboard?

And what I just said it totally not true in any way. I made it up. Believe what you want.

 

[~Tonga Wingo~]

When I did the Keys to the Kingdom Tour, one of the things they told us was Splash Mountain was considered a pool. Therefore, they were required to drain and clean it annually. Plus it has to be inspected by the county health department before it could reopen. It had to be drained and completely closed for no less than 30 days. People also keep bringing up Kali but Animal Kingdom is in a completely different county and thus subject to different local rules. Splash is in Osceola and Kali in Orange Co.

Splash Mountain's ride area and backup tank hold close to 2 million gallons of water and the ride itself is like 9 acres. A lot to drain and clean. Most of the parts for it to are custom made in Europe so if they encounter something unexpected, a new part could take awhile. From what they told us, a lot goes into getting it refurbished and approved in order to keep it running each year. As much as I would agree Disney tries to save money, I don't think they shut this down every year as a cost cutter. I'm sure more money is put into the ride for refurbishment than it would cost them in labor costs for employees to run it. It's a huge area to clean, repaint etc. They reuse all the water and it is pumped into huge holding tanks behind it when they need to drain it so no money is lost there. I think they simply choose Jan/Feb to refurb because its colder. It's not a money issue, it's county law.

 

[alicemouse]

When I did the Keys to the Kingdom Tour, one of the things they told us was Splash Mountain was considered a pool. Therefore, they were required to drain and clean it annually. Plus it has to be inspected by the county health department before it could reopen. It had to be drained and completely closed for no less than 30 days. People also keep bringing up Kali but Animal Kingdom is in a completely different county and thus subject to different local rules. Splash is in Osceola and Kali in Orange Co.

Splash Mountain's ride area and backup tank hold close to 2 million gallons of water and the ride itself is like 9 acres. A lot to drain and clean. Most of the parts for it to are custom made in Europe so if they encounter something unexpected, a new part could take awhile. From what they told us, a lot goes into getting it refurbished and approved in order to keep it running each year. As much as I would agree Disney tries to save money, I don't think they shut this down every year as a cost cutter. I'm sure more money is put into the ride for refurbishment than it would cost them in labor costs for employees to run it. It's a huge area to clean, repaint etc. They reuse all the water and it is pumped into huge holding tanks behind it when they need to drain it so no money is lost there. I think they simply choose Jan/Feb to refurb because its colder. It's not a money issue, it's county law.

You beat me to it! I'm sure that because it is colder, demand drops for this ride in January (as it surely does for the water parks). It's very practical to take the ride offline in January to do the annual maintenance. Also, it would be very easy for the crew to be working on the part of Splash Mountain the can't be seen from onstage. For folks who haven't already, seriously, take the KTTK tour. It's worth it just to see the back side of Splash Mountain. Fascinating.

 

[Networth]

I don’t blame them. Disney is a business at the end of the day, I feel like people forget that WAY to often. Mind you right now they are looking at short term revenue vs long term revenue which IMO is not the best course of action. But as for closing Splash for 2 months when its slow and cold to save money, that makes perfect business sense I would say.

 

[Nole95]

You beat me to it! I'm sure that because it is colder, demand drops for this ride in January (as it surely does for the water parks). It's very practical to take the ride offline in January to do the annual maintenance. Also, it would be very easy for the crew to be working on the part of Splash Mountain the can't be seen from onstage. For folks who haven't already, seriously, take the KTTK tour. It's worth it just to see the back side of Splash Mountain. Fascinating.

You get a very good look at the backstage area of Splash Mountain when running the Marathon. I was surprised at just how large the show building is for SM when we ran out the back of Frontier during the marathon this year. It's huge.

 

[amylevan]

When I did the Keys to the Kingdom Tour, one of the things they told us was Splash Mountain was considered a pool. Therefore, they were required to drain and clean it annually. Plus it has to be inspected by the county health department before it could reopen. It had to be drained and completely closed for no less than 30 days. People also keep bringing up Kali but Animal Kingdom is in a completely different county and thus subject to different local rules. Splash is in Osceola and Kali in Orange Co.

Something about this doesn't add up. Do they close and drain every pool on property every year? There are pools at every hotel, and while they are occasionally closed for rehab, it doesn't happen yearly.

 

[2Tiggies]

At WDW now and they already have a huge scaffolding built on the drop of Splash and it was open until midnight on Sunday, so they got that scaffolding up pretty quickly.

So is it closed again? Why is the scaffolding up? Sorry, I can't keep up with these rehabs of late.

Also, going back to the OP's post, is Nemo set to close too and when is this supposed to take place?

 

[JanaDee]

So is it closed again? Why is the scaffolding up? Sorry, I can't keep up with these rehabs of late.

Also, going back to the OP's post, is Nemo set to close too and when is this supposed to take place?

No, the post is from early January. The refurb should be almost done.

 

[sonofanarchy]

Something about this doesn't add up. Do they close and drain every pool on property every year? There are pools at every hotel, and while they are occasionally closed for rehab, it doesn't happen yearly.

Yeah, makes no sense. I get the different county thing, but again, there are a bunch of pools on property. They don't all close for 1-2 months every year. What about Universal's water rides? They don't go down for that amount of time annually.

The saddest thing is, they close Splash down for 2 months, and half of the effects are still always broken.

 

[2Tiggies]

No, the post is from early January. The refurb should be almost done.

That will teach me not to look at dates ....

Thank you

 

[Ryansdad0727]

What doesn't make sense though is that it can be down annually for a month or more and it comes out of the refurb still not working?

When is the last time anyone saw a moving Yeti??????

 

[JoshuaShaw]

Something about this doesn't add up. Do they close and drain every pool on property every year? There are pools at every hotel, and while they are occasionally closed for rehab, it doesn't happen yearly.

I would assume, possibly incorrectly, that it doesn't take as long to drain and clean a conventional swimming pool as it does a multi-million dollar attraction. It seems plausible that every pool does undergo similar maintenance, but it's less noticeable.

 

[JanaDee]

When I did the Keys to the Kingdom Tour, one of the things they told us was Splash Mountain was considered a pool. Therefore, they were required to drain and clean it annually. Plus it has to be inspected by the county health department before it could reopen. It had to be drained and completely closed for no less than 30 days. People also keep bringing up Kali but Animal Kingdom is in a completely different county and thus subject to different local rules. Splash is in Osceola and Kali in Orange Co.

That doesn't even come close to passing the sniff test.

 

[JanaDee]

When is the last time anyone saw a moving Yeti??????

When is the last time EE went down for refurb?

 

[siskaren]

Something about this doesn't add up. Do they close and drain every pool on property every year? There are pools at every hotel, and while they are occasionally closed for rehab, it doesn't happen yearly.

I agree. And how can Splash Mountain be considered a pool when no one swims in it? Plus, there are other water rides that don't get closed down on an annual basis.

 

[moriaw76]

When is the last time anyone saw a moving Yeti??????

It was working in December.

 

[JanaDee]

It was working in December.

The Yeti hasn't worked or moved in years.

 

[FLchick415]

I'm hoping they might be able to finally fix the Yeti when Avatarland opens. Because from what I understand, it's the foundation of the Yeti that is the problem, and would require an EXTENSIVE refurb.