Scrims on Main Street USA

[AgentC]

If Buttercup doesn't remember the site she found, I know one that put up pictures of the scrim evolution this month and I can pm those who are looking for it.

[Ian]

I know this has been mentioned before but, didn't they used to do this sort of thing at night? It seems like scrims have become a way of life at Disney, and it didn't used to be that way...

You're absolutely correct. Many moons ago, they used to do the routine maintenance overnight, every night. Things like painting, changing bulbs, replacing ripped or torn fabric ... that was all done by a huge maintenance crew once the park closed.

Now bear in mind, that was back in the day when they only had Magic Kingdom. It was much smaller and more condensed and easier to do that way.

[Buttercup]

Ransam - I can send you the link in a PM right now.

[wmdaddy]

You're absolutely correct. Many moons ago, they used to do the routine maintenance overnight, every night. Things like painting, changing bulbs, replacing ripped or torn fabric ... that was all done by a huge maintenance crew once the park closed.

Now bear in mind, that was back in the day when they only had Magic Kingdom. It was much smaller and more condensed and easier to do that way.

I always bring this up on another board. It's ridiculous. There are stores and restaurants built and open from the ground up in the real world finished faster than it takes Disney to fix up the outside of a building these days.

[Ian]

I always bring this up on another board. It's ridiculous. There are stores and restaurants built and open from the ground up in the real world finished faster than it takes Disney to fix up the outside of a building these days.

I think that's because they're just so big and bureaucratic now that it just takes them forever to get anything done.

Plus we all know they're stretched very thin and understaffed, so my guess is they move people around from job to job and leave things undone for long stretches of time.

[DisneyAggies]

uhh...the scrims aren't 'painted'--just an image printed onto the material.

They're photos taken of the building and blown up. Check out Main Street where the silhouette artists are...LOOOK at the scrim. It's a photo of the building. You can see reflection from the store across the street--all kinds of off things such as 'floating objects' (from the reflection showing when the photgraph was taken).

We had a CM point out all of the 'boo-boos" in December. She was more than a little disappointed that they even put them up in such a state!

[Melanie]

From our very own News & Rumors forum, comes this Tidbit from Jason:

So it looks like the scrim will be up until end of March time frame.

Thing is, this scrim/canvas/whatever isn't over the Ice Cream Parlor, which is the tidbit from Jason that you quoted. It's the Bakery. Ice Cream Parlor is closed and windows are covered black from the inside (I think I mentioned that in this thread??). Bakery remains open, but with this scaffolding and canvas on the outside.

uhh...the scrims aren't 'painted'--just an image printed onto the material.

I didn't say painted, I said printed.

[Buttercup]

If I said "painted", I meant printed... I know that nobody is sitting there with an artist's paintbrush drawing it out! lol
But somehow I don't know if they're actual photographs printed on there -- they look at bit 'cartoony' to me in some spots, but they're a pretty good representation, I'd say.

[Polynesian Dweller]

I think that's because they're just so big and bureaucratic now that it just takes them forever to get anything done.

Plus we all know they're stretched very thin and understaffed, so my guess is they move people around from job to job and leave things undone for long stretches of time.

Not really. It's been like that since they went to Florida. It amazes me how long it takes for construction on anything in Florida not just at Disney. Maybe the cold weather up here means you have to work faster but nothing takes as long here as there.

[Melanie]

Here's a pic taken just a few hours ago by my father-in-law. Printed scrim is now up on Bakery.

[Buttercup]

Wow! Thanks Melanie's father in law!
That's so huge!!! Wow! There must be a lot of scaffolding behind there.

[Melanie]

That's so huge!!! Wow! There must be a lot of scaffolding behind there.

There is. You can, or at least could last weekend, look up into the scaffolding when you were walking under.

I've been thinking, and will say that if it's a significant upgrade for the Bakery like the Confectionary got last year, I can't complain much. The Confectionary looks grand with it's new popping color scheme.

[Aurora]

My brother and SIL are taking their kids for the first time next week. It does look TONS better with the printed version, but I still don't think I'll tell them...

[Ian]

The printed scrim looks much better!

[braindew]

See, we we were worried for nothing I think the moral of the story is expect this stuff in off season. The downside is that they don't acknowledge March Spring Breaks as important...and seem to schedule these facelifts to be finished by April (in time for Easter I suppose). We walked under the Confectionary scrim last March.

[DisneyAggies]

If I said "painted", I meant printed... I know that nobody is sitting there with an artist's paintbrush drawing it out! lol
But somehow I don't know if they're actual photographs printed on there -- they look at bit 'cartoony' to me in some spots, but they're a pretty good representation, I'd say.

LOL
Phew...I was like, "uhh..."

But yes, if you get a chance to look at the street level ones on Main Street, do check them out!

[ronandjulie]

They still do routine maintenance at night. Some things take more time and the MK has the longest hours of any of the parks. The "Closed" hours have gotten much smaller over the years.

[Polynesian Dweller]

They still do routine maintenance at night. Some things take more time and the MK has the longest hours of any of the parks. The "Closed" hours have gotten much smaller over the years.

And that's the real issue IMO. There just isn't the time now to do maintenance on everything from lighbulbs to monorails. They maybe should look at some compromise so that they can get back to more prompt maintenance.

[Melanie]

Just for reference on the "printed" scrim and how far it juts into the sidewalk, here's a pic from today.

[brad192]

As an engineer, I'm dying to know how they manage to print on such a large piece of scrim/canvas.

On a side note - I'm really into the theater arts, and I can tell you firsthand that a lot of the scrims & backdrops used in live theater are hand painted. A rep from the local supplier of these told me one day that they had a full time staff of 20 artists doing nothing but painting scrims. Maybe Disney has this as well?