Which Refurb Was The Most Painful?

[hiroMYhero]

Edited to change back to the original thread: Which Refurb was the Most Painful?

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

With Splash slated to be down for a few months later this year, it got me to thinking about past trips during which favorite attractions have been down and it really kind of made me and my family sad.

The most painful for me was when Haunted Mansion was down all summer several years ago. I think this was back when they added the Escher steps. We usually ride HM multiple times a day when we are in MK. I remember standing at the gates of HM and staring wistfully at the shuttered attraction.

There is ALWAYS something being refurbed (typically much needed) when we are on our WDW trips, but some cut a little deeper.

 

[SpaceMtnGirl]

The worst for me was Big Thunder being down on our last trip (October).

 

[mdelano4]

I don't remember what year it was, but we went to MK our first day there. It was before FP+ and BTMRR line was too long. We thought no problem because we would be back in a couple of days. The next day it was closed for rehab, so we missed it that trip.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

For us it was easily the refurb of Soarin while Maelstrom was being transformed into the current attraction. With both down at the same time, Epcot patronage dropped and most of the excess traffic went to MK because DHS was also under construction, making MK into an absolute nightmare for months until Epcot had these two rides open again.

It was another example of WDW management not considering the impact of their refurb schedule (or not caring about their customers?). I get the need to do this work, but doing it all at once made WDW into a nightmare for months. Only AK seemed to be unaffected.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

For us it was easily the refurb of Soarin while Maelstrom was being transformed into the current attraction. With both down at the same time, Epcot patronage dropped to almost nothing and most of the traffic went to MK, making MK into an absolute nightmare for months until Epcot had these two rides open again.

It was another example of WDW management not considering the impact of their refurb schedule (or not caring about their customers?).

People still go to Epcot?

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Big Thunder last October. Wow HM is one of my favorites. I would have been very upset if that was down!

 

[Hoopfamily]

Pirates was down our last trip and that was brutal.

 

[lovethattink]

People still go to Epcot?

Home of the festivals! Yes! Love them.

For attractions, not so much.

 

[ImagineerJack]

I always dislike how Disney puts the scrims around Main Street buildings. Those always ruin the magic of MK for me whenever one of the buildings is being refurbished.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

For me, it was the PotC refurb. I like Cap't Jack well enough, but the photo flashes drive me nuts! And once folks start (at the first Cap't Jack), they just keep flashing away all through the ride...And everyone within 3 boats of the flasher is disturbed...which in turn gives more idiots the idea to whip out their flashes. Before the rehab it wasn't much of an issue, at least not during the day. (After midnight, there was kind of an unspoken allowance for some craziness, though most the folks then were savvy enough to not avoid flashes.)

Ooh, the 20,000 Leagues refurb is also a contender! R.I.P 20,000 Leagues! (The sting is finally starting to wear off as the memory fades....)

Can I list an attraction that is so desperately in need of a rehab that it is painful? (even though it had one long ago) If so, I'll CoP tops my list. The last scene just hurts.

Another rehab that gives me mixed feelings is the Frozen/Malestrom rehab. Having a Frozen ride is great, but Maelstrom was an old favorite. We wish they'd budgeted to add an all-new Frozen ride instead of taking Maelstrom away. It would have been great fun it they'd added a whole Frozen-land to HS. It could have been a tiny bit like Universal's HP area perhaps....

 

[Oswin]

The worst for me was the PotC and the People Mover back in 2014 or 2015. Staying at the Poly during the giant refurb there was pretty painful too. I don't care about the loss of the fountain in the lobby but having construction right outside your patio door right after 9:00 am and not being able to get a nap in the afternoon because it's too loud made for a very grumpy Me during the entire trip. The scrims around HM this last summer were pretty upsetting too, from a picture aesthetic standpoint.

 

[Mickey's Best Girl]

Our trip last October/November was by far the worst for rehabs.

BTMR was announced in advance - bummed us out but we were expecting something to be down during our trip.

Then, as our dates grew closer it was announced that Dinosaur and RNRC would be undergoing refurbs as well. So Not Cool! Three headliners - RNRC being our absolute favourite ride anywhere - down during our 12 night stay.

One or even two attractions not operational during our stay is acceptable. Even three or four if it's a headliner and two or three minor attractions but three headliners at one time did not thrill me.

And yes, we still had a good time. But we really did miss our favourites.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

The scrims around HM this last summer were pretty upsetting too, from a picture aesthetic standpoint.

I actually got some pretty neat photos of that HM scrim backlit at night.

We often enjoy oddball/unusual opportunities like that.

I'm not saying you have to like it, just that we found the funky look kind of neat.