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View Full Version : "it's a small world" - refurb - any details?



pdxted50
02-28-2008, 02:20 AM
Heard on the John Tesh show tonite that the attraction is closed because the boats were bottoming out and they are needing to make the boats lighter or the flume deeper. Any CM's know for sure? Re-opening date? Thanks

Duane
02-28-2008, 04:06 AM
Yes, this is accurate. Small World is scheduled to re-open in November for the 2008 Holiday season.

ralfrick
02-28-2008, 06:43 AM
According to another site, some of the characters will be added (Peter Pan in London, etc.) like the one in HKDL. This will/has lead to outrage from many people who have, of course, not even seen any concept art of the changes, much less the results. They will continue to embarrass themselves for the rest of the year, pronouncing opinions of something they haven't seen, until it re-opens. At that point, based on recent changes to the HM and POTC, the overwhelming concensus will be that the ride is even better.

Cheers.

Darkbeer
02-28-2008, 07:45 AM
First off, the return date is now in question, and might take longer than expected.

And as for the "Disney Character" changes, people should have a good idea what they will look like, and how they interact with the traditional dolls, when the Hong Kong Disneyland version opens, which is only a few weeks away.

petesimac
02-28-2008, 09:31 AM
I like the idea and trust Iger/Lassiter et.al to do it right; just wish it was going to be open during our visit in June. Oh well; a great reason to come back again :D.

rokketride
02-28-2008, 10:22 AM
Heard on the John Tesh show tonite that the attraction is closed because the boats were bottoming out and they are needing to make the boats lighter or the flume deeper. Any CM's know for sure? Re-opening date? Thanks

Heh, there's no way they could make the boat light enough. Its a question of exceeding its cargo capacity.

mynameisearl
02-28-2008, 01:51 PM
John Tesh has a show? :confused:

kelli1rose
02-28-2008, 06:29 PM
John Tess has a radio show in the evenings on the local Christian station 95.9FM, the "Fish". He is very informative and easy to listen to while I am putting the kids to bed.

danyoung
02-29-2008, 08:16 AM
...the attraction is closed because the boats were bottoming out and they are needing to make the boats lighter or the flume deeper.

The official word from Disney is that fiberglass has built up in some spots due to repairs over the years, forcing the replacement of the flume and the building of lighter boats. Al Lutz on Miceage.com is adamant that the real reason is due to the larger riders bottoming out the boats. I don't think there's any real credible information as to which of these is correct.

PanFan
02-29-2008, 08:55 AM
I don't know about fiberglass buildup, but as far as larger guests bottoming out the boats, it's a matter of how we load them, not how big the guests are. If there's a group of 6 with four small kids, we give them two rows. If it's a group of six football players, we give them three rows. It's a judgment thing and is dependent on how we group, not necessarily the size of those we group. If a boat is loaded too heavy, it will bottom out; but that is the CM who was grouping's fault, not the guests'. Now consequently the fact that people are larger today does mean that we will have a lower hourly count (because we gave those six football players 3 rows instead of filling that third row with a small family of four).

There are other factors that cause bottom out boats (BOB's) as well. Many of our pumps don't work. It's a good day if half of them are working. Therefore, there's not as much force pushing the boats through the ride, causing them to get stuck around some of the sharper turns. It also makes for a longer ride. Also, since the flume is so old, it's very leaky. A lot of times our water level is low and that causes a lot of BOB's. Perhaps fiberglass has something to do with it as well. All I know for sure is that the flume is 44 years old and is long overdue for a replacement. Blame it on larger guests if you like, but that affects the ride's hourly counts, not the number of BOB's.

danyoung
03-03-2008, 09:00 AM
It's a two way street. If people can't post their opinion about the rumored changes before having seeing the finished product, then proponents of the changes can't post how great they are going to be without having seen the finished product.

Nicely put, Spokker. Hyperbole in either direction is just silly. I'm a big "wait & see" kinda guy, and will continue to do so with iasw.

ralfrick
03-04-2008, 09:55 AM
I do find it funny that you can conclude that the changes, if they happen, will be overwhelmingly accepted by guests and that the ride will be even better, without having seen the changes.

It's a two way street. If people can't post their opinion about the rumored changes before having seeing the finished product, then proponents of the changes can't post how great they are going to be without having seen the finished product.

I haven't drawn any conclusion about how the ride will be. And since, with the exception of the Xmas version, I haven't ridden iasw since 1969, I perhaps never will. It really won't affect me.

But I have been looking at online Disney sites since 1997, and have noticed some patterns. Certainly there will always be some that don't like certain changes. But however many negative opinions there are of, for instance, the POTC changes, they pale in comparison to the negative opinions prior to them. People were talking about leaving flowers at the POTC entrance before those changes (unless I'm remembering something else). The lines certainly were longer afterwards.

I've long said that I fully support changes being made IF the creative people are being given proper time, budget and other resources. Even if it alters or removes one of my personal favorites. And even if it's a failure for that matter. I see enough live jazz and improvisational music to understand that creative people need to create, and that the possibility of a clunker is offset by the possibility of a peak moment. There are many failures in the story of Walt Disney.

My favorite quiet spot on TSI was altered by the pirate additions, some might even say destroyed. But that island was done well. It wasn't just stuff slapped together. The finished product is of high quality, regardless of whether pirates belong there, or whether I like it more or less, etc. Frankly, I was much more bothered by changes made, not by creative types, but lawyers and insurance types (merry-go-round rock, teeter-totter rock, covering the natural [sic] stairs on Castle rock). TSI meets the criteria of creative people being allowed to do their jobs properly. An example of a change that didn't meet that criteria would be Pooh (either the ride for the bears in DL, or the playground for 20K in WDW). In fact, Pooh was probably the last big change that didn't meet it; can't think of another offhand. I like new things. When we visit DL every year or so, it's the stuff that's new or different that I really want to see. I even rode iasw in Paris just to compare, and, who knows, maybe that'll happen here (as long as my CD player works and the batteries are fresh).

So, no, I make no prediction of how the changes to iasw will play out. But I am making a prediction, based upon logic and past experience, of the general reaction to hearing of the changes, and then the changes themselves, by those that will share their opinions online.

Cheers.

witneys7
03-04-2008, 03:55 PM
So-they're thinking that now it won't be opened by Nov? That is when we are going and I haven't taken a ride on iasw since I was six. I missed my chance last time due to a sleeping baby and was actually looking forward to riding it come Nov. But I suppose if there has to be closures during my trip iasw is a good one to have closed:)

kaybee2
03-14-2008, 05:19 PM
I don't care what changes they make to the ride. Our family saying will still be the same - if you misbehave at Disneyland, they staple you to IASW and make you ride it again and again and again.....

and yes, we still ride it once on each visit. :)

Foodie
03-15-2008, 02:09 PM
Has anybody else read about the blog that talks about some of the changes on the ride? I can't recall where I saw it, but they were talking about taking out the rainforest room and replacing it with a "Hooray for USA!" display. Does anybody else know if these are just rumors or the actual plans? I can't say I was pleased with that idea...

-Foodie :confused:

Darkbeer
03-15-2008, 03:33 PM
Al Lutz over at MiceAge discussed it back in Late February...

http://www.miceage.com/allutz/al022608a.htm

Re-Imagineering also discussses the reported changes coming to iasw

http://imagineerebirth.blogspot.com/

Those are the 2 main ones I know about

Foodie
03-15-2008, 04:24 PM
Darkbeer, that second link is what I read. It sounds pretty official to me, though I can't see where they found that information from. They don't site any sources, so it could be completely made up for all I know. I just don't like the idea of the "Hooray for USA" sequence...But who knows, maybe they'll do a good job with it...

-Foodie

Bytebear
03-15-2008, 05:15 PM
I agree with the second link article. I think it is inappropriate to add Disney characters and to remove the rain forest with a USA section. This is a classic attraction, and it has withstood the test of time. It is as popular as ever, and I think the changes will really change the mood and theme of the ride.

Darkbeer
03-15-2008, 05:35 PM
I agree with the second link article. I think it is inappropriate to add Disney characters and to remove the rain forest with a USA section. This is a classic attraction, and it has withstood the test of time. It is as popular as ever, and I think the changes will really change the mood and theme of the ride.

Note the timing of the articles, Al Lutz wrote his info on February 29th, and Re-Imagineering's article was March 5th, so I presume it was based on Al Lutz's article, and then the Re-Imagineering folks contacted their friends at WDI (some of the RI folks are former WDI imagineers).

As mentioned earlier, seems the WDI folks are split on the changes, some like it, some really do not like it, and "leaked" the info to the general public to see if they could get the fans to help stop, or at least lessen the makeover.

Bytebear
03-15-2008, 06:12 PM
Note the timing of the articles, Al Lutz wrote his info on February 29th, and Re-Imagineering's article was March 5th, so I presume it was based on Al Lutz's article, and then the Re-Imagineering folks contacted their friends at WDI (some of the RI folks are former WDI imagineers).

As mentioned earlier, seems the WDI folks are split on the changes, some like it, some really do not like it, and "leaked" the info to the general public to see if they could get the fans to help stop, or at least lessen the makeover.

Yes, I do believe that was the as well, and I am just making sure my voice is heard. :cool: