Big Thunder Mountain Railroad: Refurbishment Watch
Upon viewing the live stream cam-feed of the resort, I noticed that the large yellow crane that was brought in to work on BTMR was still "hanging" around. I am curious if this is quite the eyesore around property or if it is hidden quite well, except around the Big Thunder area.
I heard that BTMR will open again in late Septemeber, however my next DLR trip will be August 12th - 16th (6th - 11th doing other stuff). Now, I am curious if perhaps they may have any slight possibility of re-opening early? Has any attraction in Disneyland's history ever been noted to come back from refurbs earlier than anticipated? I just love Big Thunder Mountain so much and will certainly be bummed to have to miss it (especially considering it will be my friend's first visit).
We all have sparks, imaginations.
That's how our minds, create creations.
For they make, our wildest dreams come true.
Those magic sparks, in me and you. ºoº
The crane is less of an eyesore than the walls that go up to partition off attractions being refurbished, IMO. I was aware of it when I was taking pictures of the new Fantasy Faire area, but really, other than that we didn't even notice it. The fact that BTM is off in its own little corner helps hide the fact that something major is going on.
I wouldn't count on seeing BTMRR open as early as August. It seems that ride reopenings are usually calculated out fairly accurately. Any soft openings are usually going to be within a month of reopening.
Linda aka tinkwest
INTERCOT Staff ~ Disneyland Resort
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I wouldn't count on seeing BTMRR open as early as August. It seems that ride reopenings are usually calculated out fairly accurately. Any soft openings are usually going to be within a month of reopening.
Have attractions coming back from refrubs even been known to have soft openings? In most cases I've heard, only brand new attractions have soft openings. I could be wrong on that notion.
We all have sparks, imaginations.
That's how our minds, create creations.
For they make, our wildest dreams come true.
Those magic sparks, in me and you. ºoº
I remember coming into the area for the first time in January and being very struck by the crane. In fact, we joked and called it "Craneland". But like Linda said, the walls are a bit of an eyesore as well.
I'm sad it won't be open over the Half Marathon weekend, but I'm excited to ride again in November. A trip to Disneyland (or the MK) just isn't truly complete without going on the wildest ride in the wilderness!
Have attractions coming back from refrubs even been known to have soft openings? In most cases I've heard, only brand new attractions have soft openings. I could be wrong on that notion.
Generally, no. They do not come back online early.
They SOMETIMES do soft openings after really long, major refurbishments. However, that is usually only by a day or two ahead of "scheduled" reopen. If they are saying late September, you won't see it open in August. Sorry.
Natalie INTERCOT Staff: Disneyland Resort-California, The Water Cooler
I certainly hope that with the closure of BTMR in place, they do not close any other attractions until Big Thunder is back up and running. It is bad enough to have one E-Ticket closed but all I need is one more closure to have a mini panic-attack!
I'm thinking the majority of the rides will remain open as August is still a Summer month. Also, the D23 Expo will only draw in more crowds around that time too. I guess I just got a bit extra-paranoid about things like when I heard about the OSHA closures of attractions such as Space Mountain, Soarin' Over California, Matterhorn, etc.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad has got to be one of my all-time favorite attractions and has been ever since I was a young boy. I really hate to admit it, but I guess I'll have to prepare myself to accept the fact that my friend simply won't be able to experience one of Disney's greatest Mountain Range attractions.
We all have sparks, imaginations.
That's how our minds, create creations.
For they make, our wildest dreams come true.
Those magic sparks, in me and you. ºoº
I remember coming into the area for the first time in January and being very struck by the crane. In fact, we joked and called it "Craneland".
I could be wrong but it appears as if the crane is gone. I am just deducing this from the web-feed of the park (not actually in-person). Either they have finished with the crane aspect of the refurbishment or it has only been rotated in such a way to hide behind the peak of the Matterhorn mountain from the angle I am viewing it.
The only part of the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad structure I can see from the live-feed I am viewing, is only the very tallest point of the orange rock peaking from the trees of the park. But again, the crane is either gone or hiding. Is anybody able to confirm or deny this? Yeehaw!!
We all have sparks, imaginations.
That's how our minds, create creations.
For they make, our wildest dreams come true.
Those magic sparks, in me and you. ºoº
He got right back to me and said yes, it is still there.
Thanks bunch Melanie! That's really a shame... do you where exactly the crane is visible from throughout the park? Obviously right next to BTMR and probably all throughout Frontierland/New Orleans Square, etc.
But can you see it on Main Street? Does it ruin the view of the castle? Fantasyland? Tomorrowland? I'd imagine you'd see it on Splash Mountain and the Matterhorn too. I think Adventureland might be safe just because you're lower down and there trees and buildings of the bazaar blocking high view.
We all have sparks, imaginations.
That's how our minds, create creations.
For they make, our wildest dreams come true.
Those magic sparks, in me and you. ºoº
Thanks bunch Melanie! That's really a shame... do you where exactly the crane is visible from throughout the park? Obviously right next to BTMR and probably all throughout Frontierland/New Orleans Square, etc.
But can you see it on Main Street? Does it ruin the view of the castle? Fantasyland? Tomorrowland? I'd imagine you'd see it on Splash Mountain and the Matterhorn too. I think Adventureland might be safe just because you're lower down and there trees and buildings of the bazaar blocking high view.
I'm the intercotee Mel was taking about. If u want I can take a few pics tomorrow in DL from a few spots to show where it is and how it shows.
Just let me know where u want to see pics. Facebook, twitter or I can send email. Let me know.
That'd be great if you can! If you can't post them to this thread, then use my hotmail email address which can be found in my profile (it is the same as my MSN instant messenger address).
We all have sparks, imaginations.
That's how our minds, create creations.
For they make, our wildest dreams come true.
Those magic sparks, in me and you. ºoº
Here's how the crane looked last week when approaching Fantasy Faire.
I guess you'd need to basically suction-cup along the sides of buildings and facades to not see the crane. I am mostly curious as to if the crane is obstructing the view of Sleeping Beauty Castle (ie: photographs, fireworks).
We all have sparks, imaginations.
That's how our minds, create creations.
For they make, our wildest dreams come true.
Those magic sparks, in me and you. ºoº
It shouldn't be in any background photos of the Castle. I don't remember that being a problem at all in January. We really didn't notice it at all until we were back in Frontierland. I can see where it would be an issue for the new Fantasy Faire, like Linda posted, because BTMR is behind it. But FF wasn't open in January and we weren't taking pics there.
I think we're gonna just have to grin and bear it if we see it... though it will sting to not be able to ride the wildest ride in the wilderness.
We all have sparks, imaginations.
That's how our minds, create creations.
For they make, our wildest dreams come true.
Those magic sparks, in me and you. ºoº
Sorry I didn't reply yesterday. It is GONE. no more crane
Yes, this is what I suspected. The crane hasn't shown up on the live web-feed in over 2 days now... based on what others had said, I thought it was hiding behind the Matterhorn.
I became suspicious of the crane's existence again after I hadn't seen it for a couple days. This is very good news for me! Thank you for the update Yungbuck!!
We all have sparks, imaginations.
That's how our minds, create creations.
For they make, our wildest dreams come true.
Those magic sparks, in me and you. ºoº
The day Mel asked me was our day off from the parks but it had been there on Monday. Glad it won't be there for you. And that's what we do for each other. Anytime.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad: Refurbishment Watch
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Originally Posted by tinkwest
I am mostly curious as to if the crane is obstructing the view of Sleeping Beauty Castle (ie: photographs, fireworks).
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