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mohavewolfpup
08-04-2008, 12:06 PM
first section of the new track/tub/flume/whatever you desire to call it was laid march 31st of this year, and appears to be complete right now according to a video I saw. probably getting leak tested amongest other stuff.

probably fully on track (no pun intended!) for the time it's supposed to come out of refurb again :)

PanFan
08-04-2008, 08:09 PM
It's my understanding as well that the inside flume is complete.

Tan Da Man
08-05-2008, 03:15 PM
Seems to be on time..I was riding the train around the park last thursday and while we passed behind IASW the CM said it would be open November 29th

HauntedKid
08-06-2008, 02:08 PM
I`m waiting for my december trip to the park and ride IASW, to see what`s new...do you think it will be too crowded in the first ten days of december?

MickeyM00C0w
08-06-2008, 03:41 PM
I`m waiting for my december trip to the park and ride IASW, to see what`s new...do you think it will be too crowded in the first ten days of december?

The lines for the normal holiday IASW are always pretty intense (60 minutes is what I usually see it at), so it's safe to bet it will be even longer with people eager to see the new additions. If I were you, I'd make that the first ride of the day upon entering the park.

HauntedKid
08-06-2008, 09:30 PM
ThanK You Very Much....im Sure Doing That!!!...

Smorri
09-14-2008, 11:14 PM
The water is back and the animals seem well groomed. I keep telling my daughter two and a half months is not that long :)

Photos here (http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/album.php?albumid=161&pictureid=1107), here (http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/album.php?albumid=161&pictureid=1106), here (http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/album.php?albumid=161&pictureid=1105), here (http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/album.php?albumid=161&pictureid=1104), here (http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/album.php?albumid=161&pictureid=1103), here (http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/album.php?albumid=161&pictureid=1102) and here (http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/album.php?albumid=161&pictureid=1101).

stan4d_steph
09-15-2008, 06:50 AM
Cool! Looks good. Thanks for sharing those.

houseofmouse
09-15-2008, 07:17 AM
Nice. Looks like new paint colors??

PanFan
09-15-2008, 09:31 AM
The paths next to the flume in the entrance and exit horseshoes as well as the station itself has been redone in a beautiful mix of blues. It's the same material as the Monorail platform, so it will be a bit safer (less slippery) to walk on. The south side has also been expanded to make for easier wheelchair staging.

racccoon
09-15-2008, 10:36 AM
I was wondering, they are referbishing Small World because the boats were getting too heavy due to more larger guests, couldn't they just have pumped more water into the track and save the attraction from closing down for 9 months?

dznyphreak
09-15-2008, 10:46 AM
Although I heard that was one reason, the major part of this refurb was to add Disney characters throughout the ride. It caused quite a stir a few months back. Looking forward to seeing the changes though.

stan4d_steph
09-15-2008, 10:48 AM
I was wondering, they are referbishing Small World because the boats were getting too heavy due to more larger guests, couldn't they just have pumped more water into the track and save the attraction from closing down for 9 months?They can't put more water in than the flume can hold.

PanFan
09-15-2008, 09:45 PM
I was wondering, they are referbishing Small World because the boats were getting too heavy due to more larger guests, couldn't they just have pumped more water into the track and save the attraction from closing down for 9 months?

Contrary to popular belief, IASW did NOT go down for refurbishment because Americans are getting bigger. No, I'm not touting some given company line--that is simply not the reason for the extended downtime. The plain and simple fact is that the ride is over 40 years old. It's been using the same flume and the same boats since the NY World's Fair in 1964--it's OLD!

There were three major problems that I dealt with as an IASW CM (besides the fiberglass buildup that Disney gave as the reason):

1) Many of the pumps did not work. No matter how heavy the boats are, they can only move forward if given enough force by the pumps. If they aren't working, boats tend to get stuck in corners.

2) The boats were simply old and many of them were leaky. I don't know much about boat mechanics, but I know that when water starts coming up through the floor of the boat, that's not a good thing. It seemed most days we would have at least one flooded boat by the end (and not always the same one, either). Over the last 4 decades, they have lost a lot of bouyancy and sit lower in the water, also contributing to the bottom-out-boat problem.

3) The flume itself was old and leaky. It was especially evident in Scandinavia--there were big puddles on the floor. And underneath the flume near Africa got really wet sometimes as well. When the boats don't have as much water to float in as they should, they sit lower and are more likely to bottom out.

In short, old, leaky boats trying to move through an old, leaky flume pushed by old, partially working pumps is a recipe for bottom outs. Besides, bigger people affects how many we can put in a boat, not whether the boat bottoms out or not. The boats (especially the old ones in the old flume) can only hold so much weight; it's the job of the grouper to determine what one boatload is. They have to look at the group of 6 coming up and determine if that's a 6 who needs two rows or three rows. If they give them two when they should have had three and the boat bottoms out, that's the grouper's fault--not the guests.

dznyphreak
09-15-2008, 11:02 PM
So I take it those boats were old then? ;)

racccoon
09-16-2008, 07:22 AM
In short, old, leaky boats trying to move through an old, leaky flume pushed by old, partially working pumps is a recipe for bottom outs.Good explination. Thank you very much.

tHeDiSnEyKiD
09-16-2008, 09:24 AM
Let's hope they put security cameras in finally. I don't condone this and I never participated in any Small World craziness, but there was a day back then, when IASW was THEE place to tear stuff up. Kids walking around on the sets, moving characters around, pissing in the water, rocking the boats so much that water overflows on the side. Insane stuff. I miss those days, but not that kind of wild behavior. I haven't been on the ride since I was maybe 14-15, so I'm not certain if cameras were installed prior to the rehab... but after what I've seen, they better put cameras in.

Bytebear
09-16-2008, 12:06 PM
I can't wait until a full boat load of bears can make it through the ride without being evacuated.

nursechrissy32
09-16-2008, 09:12 PM
Hi guys :)

How much do they stick to re open dates? Darkbeer...what do ya think....open earlier than expected?

Anyone else excited to see the new things? (and praying that 99.95% of the old stuff remains? heheh)

CV12Pirate
09-16-2008, 09:17 PM
Have they ever opened anything early?

HisKid
09-16-2008, 09:23 PM
Have they ever opened anything early?

They have done at least soft openings on lots of things before the expected official opening date. I don't know if they have bumped up the official opening dates, but I THOUGHT I had read this. Totally unconfirmed, though.

Darkbeer
09-16-2008, 09:34 PM
Disney is trying to get "it's a small world holiday" ready to open on Friday, November 21st for a week of "soft openings" before the official opening date that is advertised (November 29th). This puts the opening to match up with the start of the Christmas season.

But by having soft openings, in case there are issues with the attraction that were not found during testing, (And no matter how many CM previews you have, guests just react differently to things) they can close the attraction for maintenance.

So no promises (either from me or Disney), but there is a good chance of getting to ride "small world holiday" Thanksgiving week, but since it will be in Holiday mode, not much earlier than the 21st.

CV12Pirate
09-17-2008, 01:18 AM
Soft openings... what a krock! It is either open or it is not open. In my old fart mind.

kingqueen 3princesses
09-17-2008, 05:42 AM
Oh, I so hope it's open on the 21st. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

ssturgeo
09-17-2008, 05:54 AM
I hope it opens on the 21st too!! Keep us posted!!