IASW Closed for a Year

[MegaDisney]

Not sure if this information has been posted yet but this Holiday season will be your last chance to enjoy IASW till the next Holiday season.

Apparently the ride will be going through an extensive rehab which will have it down for a full year.

They are replacing the flume and boats.

This has not been confirmed so it may just be a rumor.

[DoomBuggyDude]

Welcome back, Bryant!

I'll watch CROC for that in two weeks.

[MegaDisney]

Thanks DBD!! Good to be back.

[mickeys_princess_mom]

Get me oxygen! John Tesh just said on the radio that Disney is closing IASW for 10 months to "dig out the waterways to make them deeper to support today's bigger people"...Is this true?! Did I miss something? Please tell me it's not starting soon...:sob:

[PlutoLover]

From what I read it is supposed to happen in Jan-Nov of 2008 but in Disneyland CA not FL

:mickey:

[lindique]

Yes, it's absolutely in Disneyland in California. This ride was built for the 1964 World's Fair and, evidently, people were much lighter then. Boats have been getting stuck due to the additional weight that they now carry, and so they need to do a major modification to the ride. (Please don't blame the messenger - this is what I read!)

[mickey&missy]

WOW!

I wonder if some of it has to do with the age of the ride and not the size of the riders.

[WDWFanatic]

Okay, you know someone had to say it...

I guess it's not "A Small World After All" ;):D

[BronxTigger]

WOW!

I wonder if some of it has to do with the age of the ride and not the size of the riders.

No, it has to do with the ride design and the weight of the riders. I was reading about this on another site and it said that the canal is quite shallow; the boats are designed to free float a couple of inches above the bottom. However, when the load gets too heavy, the boats will hit the bottom in the shallower parts of the ride. So....they need to make the water a bit deeper and change out the boats.

I guess CMs have had to go help some guests exit the boats mid-ride to lighten the load. And, the problem was made worse from the no cameras inside the ride. The CMs would not know the ride was backed up until it was very backed up, so it was quite embarrassing for anyone who had to be removed from the boats.

[RockChalkKimball]

Great... my DH hates IASW and never wants to go on it. This will be his excuse not to lose weight!!!

[wedway76]

Yes, it's absolutely in Disneyland in California. This ride was built for the 1964 World's Fair and, evidently, people were much lighter then.

I can believe it. I rode it at the 1964 World's Fair and I'm about 180 lbs heavier now.

(I was 5 years old then)

[mickeys_princess_mom]

Yes, it's absolutely in Disneyland in California. This ride was built for the 1964 World's Fair and, evidently, people were much lighter then. Boats have been getting stuck due to the additional weight that they now carry, and so they need to do a major modification to the ride. (Please don't blame the messenger - this is what I read!)
This is what was said, but I missed the part about it being DisneyLAND...not sure he said that...Thank goodness! Was having a meltdown!:drama:

[pink]

Wow! I haven't heard this yet. Why are they doing in CA and not FL too?

:mickey:

[BronxTigger]

Wow! I haven't heard this yet. Why are they doing in CA and not FL too?

:mickey:

From what I read, the ride system is different at FL than at CA so it's not necessary at FL.

[GoinGoofyPlanninThisTrip]

From what I read, the ride system is different at FL than at CA so it's not necessary at FL.And also, IASW in Disney World recently had its major refurb. One would think they would have fixed that at that time if they needed to.

[teamblackwell]

hi all,
I just happen to have a story about this subject. On our last trip to DL(sept) we went on IASW. I noticed that our boat was going a little slow, when we got to the indoor section, our boat almost came to a stand still. We could feel the boat grinding on the bottom of the canal. The boat ahead of us was gone, so I looked back and there was a 400+ guy in the back of the boat (he looked Hawiian or Samoan). The ride took a couple extra minutes to complete. it was funny though when the boat started struggling to get around a bend in the river.

[Melanie]

I'm going to move this over to the Disneyland forum for more discussion. :balloon:

[NotaGeek]

There is already a post going about this closing, so I merged them. I say GREAT! They are going to do a full refurb, fix the flumes, repaint and fix and repaint all the dolls, it will be a wonderful fix! Of course it will open again next year in full HOLIDAY overlay ... so we won't see the original version for over a year, but it's a really good and much needed refurb! :clappy:

[wedway76]

There is already a post going about this closing, so I merged them. I say GREAT! They are going to do a full refurb, fix the flumes, repaint and fix and repaint all the dolls, it will be a wonderful fix! Of course it will open again next year in full HOLIDAY overlay ... so we won't see the original version for over a year, but it's a really good and much needed refurb! :clappy:

Wasn't IASW in WDW closed for rehab just a few years back?

[mickeys_princess_mom]

And also, IASW in Disney World recently had its major refurb. One would think they would have fixed that at that time if they needed to.
That's what I was thinking!I have JUST recovered from that!!!:faint:

[Disney Babe]

It kind of makes you wonder if one of the differences in weight is that perhaps in the past it was expected the ride would hold mostly children. The expected ratio of adults to children riding IASW in the 60's would probably have been smaller than it has become.

[NotaGeek]

It kind of makes you wonder if one of the differences in weight is that perhaps in the past it was expected the ride would hold mostly children. The expected ratio of adults to children riding IASW in the 60's would probably have been smaller than it has become.

It's probably more the fact that the average American is almost twice the weight as they were in the 60's. Ever notice how the CMs will leave lots of empty seats/rows for boats with bigger guests? They know that the boats will bottom out in the turn ... bigger americans (and tourists) mean heavier boats. Let's serve up those Corn Dogs are Churros! :mickey:

[Marla]

I have actually asked and Babe and my long lost friend Geek are right.., the average body weight has changed, so maybe you want to wait and ride with the over-seas crowd..lol.:tink:

[Carol]

It will be closed until November 28, 2008.

I'll be missing it on both trips in 2008. :unsure:

[BronxTigger]

They are talking about this rehab on the Today show this morning. So far, all they have done is those teaser things the news do, as in:

"It's a Small World will be closed for almost a YEAR. Wait until you find out the reason WHY. The internet is BUZZING about the reason. Coming up soon...." (That was about an hour ago, and 30 minutes ago, and 15 minutes ago, etc)

[*tinker_belle*]

Needless to say, i don't think i'll be too dissapointed that this is closing for a year....

[NotaGeek]

Needless to say, i don't think i'll be too dissapointed that this is closing for a year....

Why needless to say? Do you hate this attraction?

[*tinker_belle*]

LOL no i can only take it in small doses. I'll go on the holiday version because its so pretty but thats about it. I unfortunately DO get that song stuck in my head all the live long day when i ride it. Not a bad attraction, i just won't miss it since i never really ride it.

[Chescat]

So what are the evil dolls going to do for a year. This could be scary. :funny::funny:

[ChipDale]

I'm going to miss it. I love the Holiday version, and I really love the regular, original Disneyland version. It will seem weird not being able to ride it for a year.

[EPCOT84]

So what are the evil dolls going to do for a year. This could be scary. :funny::funny:

Oh no, the dolls go on a leave of absence. They plan to ...


(...next person...?)

[BronxTigger]

Oh no, the dolls go on a leave of absence. They plan to ...


(...next person...?)

...move into the White House....

[Mrs Bus Driver]

I don't check in as much as I used to and I just caught this thread. Okay they want to make the water deeper, will they also try to bring the dolls back to what they used to be. What I mean is when the ride opened it seemed like most or all of the dolls sang with mouths moving. These days most of the dolls seem to have shut their mouths. Many of them seem a little worse for wear as well. This may sound silly but even though it is a kids ride I find it relaxing and enjoyable, and kind of sad:crying:. I have thought for a long time that it needed a major rehab. It would be nice to see it returned to its original quality. So has anyone heard about fixing the dolls?:mickey:

[NotaGeek]

I don't check in as much as I used to and I just caught this thread. Okay they want to make the water deeper, will they also try to bring the dolls back to what they used to be. What I mean is when the ride opened it seemed like most or all of the dolls sang with mouths moving. These days most of the dolls seem to have shut their mouths. Many of them seem a little worse for wear as well. This may sound silly but even though it is a kids ride I find it relaxing and enjoyable, and kind of sad:crying:. I have thought for a long time that it needed a major rehab. It would be nice to see it returned to its original quality. So has anyone heard about fixing the dolls?:mickey:

This is a major 9 month refurb, so odds are WDI will be fixing everything, especially the dolls... I can't wait to see it after it's all fixed, cleaned, painted and shined up real pretty!

[MegaDisney]

I am glad I got to experience the Holiday version NUMEROUS times this last trip!