What in the world are they thinking / doing?

[cinderella73]

I saw on another WDW news site ( Am I allowed to post the sites link?) that MK is under a LOT of refurbishment.

A couple things strike me as odd. WHY on earth start at the beginning of summer?

Second why so much at one time???

It looks terrible!!! I can understand a few things but there is a TON of stuff covered up by ugly old tarps.

They usually do the refurbs during slow times and even then not everything at one time. Its really really odd to me.

Anyone wanna guess what they are thinking?

And in one photo I saw a bubble machine propped on a trash can (with something like a cloth under it). Like the kind you buy in Party City. Really tacky looking.

 

[MarkinNM]

NO time better then the present!!!!

 

[catne]

Besides Space Mountain -- which is a long-term refurb crossing several "seasons" - what else is being refurbed? And Space Mountain really, really needs a major overhaul, so it's not like they could just get it done during a slow time. It was so bad last May we vowed not to ride it again until they did some serious maintenance. I know that had to close the TTA during the SM refurb, but that's because the one goes through the other, so it makes sense.

Well, guess the Hall of Presidents is also closed, but that kind of has to be done since we have a new president.

We were just there in May, besides that, I guess I really didn't notice anything else major under refurb in the parks...?

 

[chrisisbuckwild]

post link please so i can see pics

 

[cinderella73]

Well lets see there is the Penny Arcade facade , Hall of Champions , a area closed off while they build a stage for the pirates tutorial , also the front of the Diamond Horseshoe , a small tarp over Trail Creek Traders , a huge one over the Hall of Presidents , the Christmas Shoppe , Small World
(u have to walk around to the back ) , Pinocchios Village Haus , Space Mountain of course , the old skyway area in TL , Frontierland railroad station, Tomorrowland Transit Authority, and a few things not located in the MK so I wont list them...

It looks horrible. And I have never known WDW to do so much at one time.. And again the timing is just odd...

I dont know what the rules are about posting links. I would guess you could if its not to promote something but intil someone says I can or does themselves I will play it safe .

Google WDW news today . And its under the celebrate today pictures blog. Click on the picture to go to the post and scroll down a bit to see all the pictures.

Mods are we allowed to post site links?

 

[nappingbeauty]

I believe original poster is referring to scaffolding and tarps covering alot of the buildings due to exterier refurbs of buildings/rides. I also saw pictures and was horrified!

 

[lfwhipp]

yeah it doesnt look too pretty....

 

[cinderella73]

I believe original poster is referring to scaffolding and tarps covering alot of the buildings due to exterier refurbs of buildings/rides. I also saw pictures and was horrified!

Exactly. It kind of looks like kids tents . They did try to blend them in but... meh

Ok I read the rules. I think it ok. Here ya go.

http://www.wdwnewstoday.com/archives/3784

Dont miss the bubble machine on a trash can pic! lol I know they are tightening the budget but thats not to bright... I just see that thing falling.

 

[DisGirl819]

I do think its cool that the tarps look like the buildings to reduce the horribleness of the look.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

Exactly. It kind of looks like kids tents . They did try to blend them in but... meh

Ok I read the rules. I think it ok. Here ya go.

http://www.wdwnewstoday.com/archives/3784

Dont miss the bubble machine on a trash can pic! lol I know they are tightening the budget but thats not to bright... I just see that thing falling.

OK... that's hideous! I wonder how long this will all go on for... ... I've never seen that much external refurb being done at once...

 

[chirogrrl]

The boards covering up It's a Small World nearly gave us a heart attack last week! I thought for a moment that it was closed and my dd would have been devastated! We also thought it odd to see so many areas "under construction". I wonder what's going on?

 

[Mcbruns]

Just got back Monday night and MK did not look horrible. Curious as to how they schedule refurbs though.

 

[catne]

gosh, I just really did not think that it looked that bad in person...and I agree with the poster that said the printed tents are kind of cool. They do kind of camouflage the work.

And a lot of those areas may look closed, but they're open for business as usual. For example, I don't know what they're doing to the front of It's a Small World, it looks like major work because of the construction wall, but the ride is actually open & operating just fine. You just walk in a regular door-size opening but then you're into the regular snake line area. No biggie at all. They have to do the work sometime, what the heck -- especially since the ride is open, didn't bother me.

 

[HallGirl]

It is amazing that they'd do this much at one time. I'm sure a lot of it is painting, but I seem to remember a lot of these places having the tarps in March and May too. I do agree with what others have said in that it doesn't look that bad in person. The images on the tarps are cool and better than having nothing on them.

The bubble thing is weird. I know that when the park opens they usually have CMs blowing bubbles, but maybe the CMs got tired of it and management still wanted bubbles?

 

[Traveliz]

I was just there last week - Space Mountain and TTA closed but looked fine from the outside -

Hall of Presidents has the tarp over it that recreates what the building looks like and will reopen in a couple of weeks - this is standard after a new President is elected.

There is a store on Main Street with a tarp on the building that also recreates its looks - better than looking at scaffolding and doesn't affect the store -- its still open.

It's a Small World is walled up on the outside but is still open - I was wondering if they were going to give it the "pretty' look that the one in DL had (years ago when I saw it there). It makes for a more narrow passageway through there but the ride is still operational and work has to be done.

I don't remember anything else offhand.

Liz

 

[jayandstacey]

This is another case of me wondering what Disney's strategy is.

Here's what I think:
1. In an economic slowdown, attendance takes a dip. When that happens, not as many CMs are needed, and as we saw a few months ago, Disney trims the staff a bit.

2. Yet Disney also knows that it has to provide some degree of new things to create buzz and attract people.

3. The economy makes it tough to justify an entire new attraction. So for less than 1 new attraction, Disney can probably do one major rehab (Space Mountain) two medium rehabs (HoP and TTA) and a bunch of smaller improvements to other elements of the park. So the timing isn't about today's crowds, rather about tomorrow's - to beef up the coming fall and Jan/Feb shoulder seasons.

4. So Disney is investing in preparation of an economic recovery, chose not to add major new rides now, but it creating some 'buzz' to get people back in during normally slower times. Once they come back, the additional attendance will justify beefing up the staff again.

That's my guess. But it is JUST a guess. I am certain, however, that Disney knows what it is doing as part of some bigger plan.

 

[Lizziejane]

I was expecting a sea of bright blue or yellow tarps. I'm actually impressed with how disney "pretty's" them up - I don't think they look that bad at all.

And personally, as someone who always visits in January and usually experiences more than our fair share of refurbs, I couldn't be happier that it's all happening now!

 

[disneygirlinnj]

construction prices are at a nice low so maybe they're taking advantage of contracting out the work? who knows?

 

[jayandstacey]

I was expecting a sea of bright blue or yellow tarps. I'm actually impressed with how disney "pretty's" them up - I don't think they look that bad at all.

And personally, as someone who always visits in January and usually experiences more than our fair share of refurbs, I couldn't be happier that it's all happening now!

This could just be some "catch up" where prior scheduled rehabs were put on hold for a few quarters while Disney tightened its belt. Now it has a leaner staff and is starting to re-invest, so all the little things on the "honey-do" list are getting done quickly.

 

[conandrob240]

Oh, come one- it really doesn't look terrible. They have done everything they can to make it look nice. The building covers replicate the building underneath- from far away you can't even tell they are tarps!

Maybe they are getting good pricing on construction costs rigjt now because contractors are slow and hurting for business. maybe they get a good tax write off for doing it all at once. maybe they are taking advantage of low attendance to get some work done that would be more difficult in normal, moe busy times.

Who knows? I think it is great they are always making things nicer and better for guests.