Unseasonal July rain showers brought Disney California Adventure‘s new Radiator Springs Racers E-Ticket to a stop last week, highlighting a major flaw in the attraction’s ride system. Still, Disneyland is set to celebrate its 57th anniversary this week as both theme parks continue to entertain big crowds coming to see the blockbuster line-up of new attractions, restaurants and shows the Resort has added over the last five years. Plus lots of Disneyland news items. Meanwhile, an hour-and-a-half’s drive north of Disneyland, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library is currently hosting a massive exhibit of dazzling artifacts from the Walt Disney Archives. D23′s Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives exhibit chronicles everything from Walt Disney‘s childhood in Marceline, Missouri to Disney’s latest films such as TRON: Legacy and Captain America: The First Avenger.
Get a closer look at today’s update! You can now click on any photo in today’s column for a large, high-resolution version of the image.
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Summer continues to heat up and crowds continue to come. Touring Plans has their weekly crowd forecast for you below:
It’s another week of heavy summer crowds at Disneyland Resort. TouringPlans.com can help you navigate the parks with our per-park Crowd Calendar, Lines – Mobile Wait Times App that gives access to current and estimated wait times for attractions, and Touring Plans detailing the best plan of attack for hitting the attractions. With summer crowds arriving, it’s a good time to subscribe to TouringPlans.com to plan your strategy to avoid the crowds!
Below are the predicted resort-wide crowd numbers for select days generated by the TouringPlans professional statisticians as measured for the upcoming week. For the access to the full year and per-park crowd level predictions, visit our Crowd Calendar.
— Fred Hazelton, Statistician, TouringPlans.com
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Crowd Calendar Prediction |
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| Tues., July 17 | Here are some quick-hit notes that we hope you’ll find helpful as you prepare your visits for the week:
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| Wed., July 18 | ||
| Thu., July 19 | ||
| Fri., July 20 | ||
Get Disneyland wait times on youriPhone, Android, or Smartphone. Do more. Wait less.  |
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Despite high crowd levels, weekend wait times continue to be manageable with full Annual Passholder blackouts in effect.
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Progress continues, albeit slowly, at the new Fantasy Faire princess meet-and-greet area in the former Carnation Plaza Gardens.
Looks like some progress is being made with green backstage walls now exposed.
Back in Big Thunder Ranch, Disney welcomed a new sheep to the Ranch by having guests vote for their favorite name on Friday and Saturday
The sheep wasn’t out when we visited late Saturday afternoon, but voting in Miss Criss’ cabin was still open.
Was there really any other choice besides “Lambert” ?!
Back in Big Thunder Ranch Jamboree, pin trading has been added to help draw in guests.
Bill Hill and the Hillbillies play to smaller crowds here than the packed two-story Golden Horseshoe
Roses are in full bloom along the Rivers of America.
DISNEY CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE |
Over at California Adventure, crowds continue remain high in the new Cars Land area, but wait times elsewhere in the park are rather manageable.
Walls are still up around the former temporary entrance area next to the main entrance turnstiles
Last week’s rare July rain storm put the new Radiator Springs Racers attraction to the test. The attraction uses the infamously problematic ride system from Test Track at Walt Disney World, which completely breaks down during rain.
For an attraction that has a significant outdoor portion, this certainly a design flaw that we had hoped Disney had been able to correct in the newest generation of the ride system. Unfortunately, the rain had Radiator Springs Racers completely down Thursday and Friday, with continuing downtimes on Saturday.
The slow-loading Luigi’s Flying Tires and Mater’s Junkyard Jamborees end up picking up the slack for Radiator Springs Racers
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In Downtown Disney, the Earl of Sandwich construction is starting to show some progress…
Looks like they’re getting ready for signage installation above the entrance
A planter near the new restaurant is getting some work done — possibly getting ready for removal to make space for outdoor seating?
Liquor license application posted
About an hour and a half drive north of Disneyland, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley is now playing host to D23′s Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives exhibit.
Perched on a hill that overlooks Simi Valley, the Reagan Library is a gorgeous location for the new exhibit despite being a bit of an inconvenient drive for those visiting from outside the area.
The new exhibit opened July 6. Below, the Reagan Library has provided a video of the complete grand opening ceremony
Below, D23′s press release detailing the exhibit:
D23 Presents Treasures of The Walt Disney Archives at The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum
D23 Presents Treasures of The Walt Disney Archives, which encompasses more than 500 historic artifacts from nearly nine decades of Disney history, opens at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum on July 6, continuing through April 2013.Presented by D23: The Official Disney Fan Club and The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Library, D23 Presents Treasures of The Walt Disney Archives is the largest exhibition ever curated by the Walt Disney Archives, at 12,000 square feet. From Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and Mickey Mouse to Captain Jack Sparrow and Captain America, the exhibition features more than 500 artifacts, at least half of which have never been seen by the public—including models, props, costumes, set pieces, and artwork from throughout Disney history.
“Ronald Reagan and Walt Disney were longtime friends, two optimists who shared an unwavering belief in the essential goodness of the American way of life,” Bob Iger, chairman and CEO, The Walt Disney Company, says. “We’re proud to partner with the Reagan Library and the National Archives to showcase Disney’s rich entertainment legacy. This extraordinary exhibit will offer visitors an unprecedented look into Disney’s history and celebrate the connection between these two American originals.”
Among the extraordinary items to be featured are:
- The original script, written by Walt Disney, for Mickey Mouse’s film debut in 1928′s Steamboat Willie
- A faithful recreation of Walt’s formal office from the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California, including original furnishings and many of his personal items
- Hand-drawn artwork and hand-sculpted models used in the production of some of the most beloved Disney animated film classics ever created, including Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Fantasia, Bambi, and Sleeping Beauty
- Props from classic Disney live-action productions, including Mary Poppins, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, The Absent-Minded Professor, The Shaggy Dog, Babes in Toyland, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, and more
- Breathtaking props, costumes, and set pieces from recent Disney classics, including the Pirates of the Caribbean films, Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, TRON: Legacy, National Treasure, and Captain America
- Intricately sculptured busts of all 44 U.S. Presidents that were created for Audio-Animatronics® figures seen in the The Hall of Presidents attraction at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort
- A salute to Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, showcasing theme park artwork, Audio-Animatronics® characters, memorabilia, and authentic attraction vehicles
The exhibition also pays tribute to the long personal friendship and professional collaboration between Walt Disney and Ronald Reagan, which began many years before President Reagan’s political career.
On July 17, 1955, Ronald Reagan was one of the co-hosts of ABC Network’s live coverage of the opening of Disneyland, and as governor of California, he frequently visited Disney’s first theme park. After leaving the Oval Office, one of his first public events was a return to Disneyland, where he officiated at the park’s January 1990 35th-anniversary celebration, proclaiming it “one of America’s national treasures.”
“Walt Disney and Ronald Reagan shared a passion for America, a belief in the human spirit, and an innate optimism that, in both men, galvanized the public,” John Heubusch, executive director of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, says. “President Reagan was a great admirer of Walt Disney, and we are tremendously proud to host this wonderful exhibition of Disney treasures, and to honor the bond between Walt and President Reagan.”
For exhibit hours and additional information, visit the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum online. Admission to the exhibition is included with the purchase of admission to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum. Through April 2013, when the exhibition is scheduled to end, members of D23: The Official Disney Fan Club also save $2 on every adult admission.
“At 12,000 square feet, this is the largest special exhibit the Reagan Library has ever put on,” Duke Blackwood, director of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, says. “It is a testament to the relationship between Walt Disney and our nation’s presidents, as well as the story of Disney, itself. The Reagan Library and National Archives are honored to host this extraordinary exhibit.” [ LINK ]
Guests visiting the Library solely for the Disney Archives exhibit will have to put their political viewpoints aside when visiting. Unfortunately, the exhibit is located in the National Treasures Gallery, at the very back of the Library and visitors must walk through a rather lengthy gallery space chronicling Ronald Reagan’s life and political career before seeing anything Disney-related.
I did see queueing space and signs for guests wanting to skip directly to the Disney Archives exhibit, but the Reagan must not be utilizing this unless the crowd levels warrant it, which seems unlikely, especially if you’re visiting on a weekday.
Nevertheless, the Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives exhibit is a large and rather spectacular collection of artifacts from Walt Disney’s life, career and company that stretches from his boyhood in Marceline, Missouri to present-day Disney film and theme park offerings.
A collection of early Mickey Mouse memorabilia
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit art
Walt’s sketchbooks
A look at an early animator’s desk from the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank
Multi-plane camera model
The storybooks from the title sequences of Snow White and Cinderella
Fantasia character maquettes
On public display for the first time in years since it was removed from Disneyland’s Main Street Opera House is Walt Disney’s Formal Office
It’s really a treat to see this again and we hope that Disney can find a permanent place to publicly display this after the end of this exhibit.
Great models, props and costumes from classic Disney films are on display
A display case of character maquettes from the 80s/90s animation renaissance
From here, guests are directed down a flight of stairs into a large open space full of costumes, props, set pieces, Audio-Animatronics and other artifacts from Disney’s films and theme parks.
A large display showcases props and costumes from the 1996 live-action remake of “101 Dalmatians” starring Glenn Close
A path surrounds visitors in costumes from the recent “Disney Dreams” photo series by photographer Annie Leibovitz, 2007′s live-action film “Enchanted,” Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland” and more
Props and costumes from TRON and TRON: Legacy
Some great props and costumes from recent Marvel films are on display
Theme park ride vehicles, Audio-Animatronics and props on display
The head of Disneyland’s original “Fantasmic!” dragon
Slue Foot Sue’s dress from Disneyland’s Golden Horseshoe Revue
Great Haunted Mansion animatronics and merchandise
Pirates!
Black Pearl filming model from the films
Back upstairs, you reach the end of the exhibit by passing through a hallway lined with characters from Disney’s more recent animated hits
The exhibit ends in a room celebrating Walt Disney World’s Hall of Presidents attraction and documenting Walt Disney’s relationship with Ronald Reagan as well as Reagan’s appreciation for Disney and Disney theme parks.
Ronald Reagan wrote the letter to the Postmaster General that got the Walt Disney commemorative stamp made
The Reagan Library gift shop offers a large selection of Walt Disney Archives and exhibit-branded merchandise including books, pins, apparel and more.
Exhibit catalog
Overall the Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives exhibit is a fantastic day trip for Disney fans in the Southern California region. For out-of-state visitors, the exhibit would be a great addition to a Disneyland vacation. For Disney fans who attended the D23 Expo in 2009 or 2011, there is some overlap of items on display here, but there’s plenty of new things to see to warrant a trip to Simi Valley. The exhibit really is a must-see for fans of Disney, offering something for every Disney fan. While the exhibit was never particularly busy when I visited, attendance did pick up around early afternoon. I’d recommend arriving early to avoid crowds and for easier parking. Tickets to the exhibit can be purchased in advance online at the Reagan Library web site. Admission is $21 for adults, $6 for children 10 and under, Child (10 and under), $15 for youth ages 11-17 and $18 for seniors. D23 members get $2 off per ticket. The Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives at the Reagan Library runs through April 2013.
 Dateline Disneyland is sponsored by our good friends at the Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel & Water Playground. A short walk from the park, HoJo Anaheim is conveniently located next to Matterhorn Mountain at Disneyland with nearby dining, freeway access, FREE parking and FREE Wi-Fi. For more information on HoJo Anaheim, room rates, or to book your stay today, visit HoJoAnaheim.com/MiceChat Available Every Day! The HoJo Anaheim is now offering deeper discounts for Disneyland Resort Annual Passholders! On select nights, Disneyland Resort Annual Passholders can get rooms for as low as $59 per night, plus tax. For more information visit the HoJo Anaheim Innsider Boards which features an up-to-date listing of available nights, or call (714) 776-6120 and ask for In-House Reservations to book. If your date isn’t listed, the HoJo Anaheim still offers rooms for 20% off their best available rate if you call (714) 776-6120. |
July 16 – 22, 2012 |
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8 am – 12 midnight |
8 am – 11 pm |
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visit the Disneyland.com Theme Park Calendar |
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8.2—9.1 out of 10 |
9.9—10 out of 10 |
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with 1 being the least crowded conditions and 10 being most crowded. For crowd predictions for the next 365 days, visit |
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| Disneyland’s Tinker Bell half-marathon sells outFrom the OC Regsiter’s Around Disney blog: | ||
| Disneyland’s Tinker Bell Half Marathon full | ||
| Registration for a women-focused Disneyland race is already full less than one month after sign-ups began.Tinker Bell Half Marathon sign-ups closed Wednesday after about 14,000 people registered for the Jan. 20 event. Registration started June 12.While regular spaces are gone, potential runners can sign up through charity teams and tour groups on runDisney.com.
It’s one of the fastest sell-outs of a California Disney race so far: The upcoming Disneyland Half Marathon spots filled up in one month and one day. “When they become available, people gobble them up pretty quick,” said Tony Morreale, a spokesman for Disney sports. The January race will be the second Tinker Bell Half Marathon, which is aimed at females, but open to males. This year’s Tinker Bell race drew about 900 males. Spots are still available for a Family Fun Run 5K and kids’ races, including a Diaper Dash for babies. |
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| Full story: OC Regsiter: Disneyland’s Tinker Bell Half Marathon full | ||
 Alright, that wraps up this week’s edition of Dateline Disneyland and our look at the Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives exhibit at the Reagan Library. Thanks for reading!Don’t forget to visit our great sponsors over at Touring Planswhen planning your next visit to Disneyland!We’re only here because of your continued support. If you’ve enjoy Dateline Disneyland over the last five years, please consider helping us out by donating a buck or two so we can pay the bills and keep the updates coming! You can donate with a click of a button via PayPal — click here!
Don’t forget that MiceChat has lots of new content throughout the week! Our new MiceChat.com homepage has all of our content organized by category for your browsing convenience. So be sure to check out all of our great weekly content including In the Parks, Weekend Update and our sister column covering Walt Disney World in Florida, Dateline Disney World. - Andy |
FTC-Mandated Disclosure: Admission the the Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives at the Reagan Library was provided by D23: The Official Disney Fan Club. |
July 16, 2012 at 6:01 am
Great update Andy. thank you!
Does it seem like Earl of Sandwich is taking forever?
July 16, 2012 at 8:08 am
What it seems like are a bunch of people for some unknown reason getting all excited about what looks to be just another sandwich shop serving (by the pictures on their web site) sandwiches filled with “chopped and formed” fake turkey and roast beef! Maybe it’s becuase I’m from the Bay Area and was raised on great REAL deli snadwiches and hofbraus where they actually carve turkey, etc. from – wow — a real turkey! I am so tied of the crap you get at Subway, Jersey Mike’s, etc.! I’ve lived in OC for more than halp my life, but I still can’t understand how people down here don’t get great food! Maybe this will be a tiny bit better, but I doubt it. (Even their “sides” look awful!) Maybe Kenin Yee can comment on this since he’s been to the one in WDW..because I honestly don’t get it!
July 16, 2012 at 1:45 pm
They claim to make the world’s greatest hot sandwich. That may be a bit of a stretch, but they make a most excellent one. They are not a deli or hofbrau, but what they do exceptionally well, is serve up a unique, hearty, and delicious sandwich at a very fair price. We’ve had them dozens of times in Orlando on our trips from So.Cal. Always the same quality and service. Every side and dessert we have had was excellent. If I didn’t know better, I would suspect they stole my late Aunt Ruth’s potato salad recipe!
There are now two locations in Las Vegas, and we just ate there last week at the Planet Hollywood Hotel. Identical product, even the same price of $5.99.
As to the ingredients used, on their web site, they say “The Angus beef is slow roasted in-house and freshly carved”. They don’t make such claims for the other meats, so that would be anybody’s guess, but even though they don’t cure or slice their own bacon, my “Best BLT” sandwich last week, was hands down the best BLT I’ve ever had!
July 16, 2012 at 2:08 pm
I’m not sure why we would have to check with Kevin Yee. There are many, many of us who travel to Orlando once or twice per year. The overwhelming consensus among my MiceChat friends is that the Earl of Sandwich should be on the “must do” list for a trip to Orlando. I may not have the cultured palate of a former Bay Area resident, but the Earl of Sandwich menu tastes absolutely great to this Southern California native and I can’t wait to visit the new location in Anaheim.
July 16, 2012 at 3:37 pm
Hey, Rick, I resemble that remark!
Anyhow, KENfromOC, I have been to Earl of Sandwich in Orlando once because many have spoken so highly of it. My first impressions were (1) it was incredibly busy, (2) the prices for the sandwiches were low, but the sides/addons were inflated, (3) they toast a lot of their sandwiches (sorta like Quiznos?), (4) the sides looked scary processed etc, and being so expensive, I didn’t try one myself. (5) Finally, I was satisfied with my sandwich. There was no “oh-my” moment like I would expect from a Michelin starred restaurant, but what do you want from a $5 sandwich? I still have many more things to try there, and I will be visiting the one at DLR for sure to make sure I have formed a proper opinion.
July 16, 2012 at 9:02 pm
I’ve eaten at the WDW location as well as the one in Tampa (at the international Plaza mall) many times and it’s one of my favorite sandwich places. Good food that’s made to order and a good value. They also have good salads. At the Tampa location, after 5pm, you get a free baked potato with your sandwich or salad to make it a “proper” dinner. Wish they’d do that at the WDW location too.
July 16, 2012 at 6:11 am
Thanks andy
July 16, 2012 at 6:43 am
Great Update!!!!
July 16, 2012 at 6:50 am
Thanks for the update. The Regan exhibit makes me wish D23 had brought that display to the last Expo…
July 16, 2012 at 9:49 am
There is some cool merchandise in the gift shop at the Reagan Library for this D23 Disney Archives event.
July 16, 2012 at 7:14 am
Great update!
July 16, 2012 at 7:29 am
Hope they bring all the materials from the Regan Exhibit to One Man’s Dream at Hollywood Studios.
July 16, 2012 at 9:05 pm
That would be nice. I got a little teary seeing the Mickey AA from the Mickey Mouse Revue. I’m fortunate to have seen that show before it was sent to Tokyo Disneyland.
July 16, 2012 at 8:29 am
What a great update today…Thank You Andy, I look forward to each Monday when I get off work & can catch up on all that has happened in the past week. I hope to be able to make it down to the exhibit at the Regan Library. It looks amazing. Have a great week!
July 16, 2012 at 9:36 am
The Disney Archive looks really interesting.
I noticed that Peter Pan has as long a wait time as Indiana Jones. You can tell by the list of wait times that the more the rides have been tampered with and moved away from Walt Disney’s original vision, the shorter the wait times have become. The Nemo go-underwater-to-watch-a-bad-cartoon subs are only a 30 minute wait—and they load slow. And the Johnny Depp Pirates, with the out-of-place projection against the mist, is only a five minute wait. At that rate, I guess they’ll be replacing it with Whoopi Goldberg’s Super-Star Canal Boats Through Hollywood, in due time.
I wonder if people even notice the railings installed on the Matterhorn, and the redone rockwork; not to mention the railings on Alice in Wonderland? Don’t they realize they don’t have to pay $87 for that? They can see all the carnival railings they want at the OC Fair, for only $8.
July 16, 2012 at 10:28 am
Pirates is always a short wait and almost always has been. It has one of the highest capacities that is why the short wait. Peter Pan also has a very low capacity. Just because Pirates has a lower wait time does not necessarily mean less people are going on it then say Peter Pan.
July 16, 2012 at 1:40 pm
Pirates of the Caribbean eats people almost as quickly as the Haunted Mansion hence the short line. The rockwork on the Matterhorn is gorgeous. The railings are an unfortunate necessity, thanks to our overly litigious society. Peter Pan has a dismal capacity, that’s why it has a long line. Also, it’s not that good a ride, honestly. It’s boring and short.
July 16, 2012 at 9:45 am
Andy, excellent update, with one error: those who want to see just the Disney exhibit can bypass the museum. My seven-year-old and I spent Saturday, July 14, at the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley because of this “Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives” exhibit.
Here are a few notes:
1. I recommend a trip to Simi Valley for this and the rest of this presidential library!
2. We were in the Disney exhibit for just about one hour. My daughter surprised me by liking the Reagan museum much more than the Disney displays. The “permanent” Reagan museum has been re-done and seems more energetic and far more interactive than it was before. We spent over five hours at the Reagan part of the Reagan Library and my seven-year-old and I were never bored.
2. There are two places for lunch, the “pub” near Air Force One, and Reagan’s Country Cafe. We ate at the latter and the turkey reuben sandwich I had there may have been my favorite sandwich of all time. Make sure to take a lunch break.
3. I ordered our tickets before we got there, and these same Disney tickets included admission to the Reagan museum. The lines were not bad at all, and the times we signed up for to enter the Disney exhibit were not enforced. The Disney displays are in the back of the Reagan museum, but you may bypass the presidential displays and go there directly. But don’t miss the presidential displays. My pre-second grader enjoyed filming herself in a scene with Reagan, moving a metal ball through a labyrinth past holes that represented things that could go wrong when planning a presidential visit, crawling through an escape “tunnel” from East Berlin, and playing video games projected from above about how a middle-class family could prosper in the 1980s.
4. Outstanding staff!
5. There is a small art exhibit of art by a former Soviet Union citizen who had been held in a USSR gulag. This was an interesting exhibit to balance the Disney displays.
6. The enormous room that holds an Air Force One used by Reagan has amazing views! (Any plane a current president flies in is defined as “Air Force One.”)
7. We read a short biography for children, “Who is Ronald Reagan?” from Barnes & Noble over the three days before we went, which increased my daughter’s interest. (Next up: “Who is Barack Obama?”)
8. The Disney exhibit was as much about the company as about Walt Disney himself, and a display of costumes from recent films seemed out of place, but it was well-done & interesting so I didn’t care. (My kid, however, objected.) A Hall of Presidents display and some letters from Presidents to Walt were right at home.
9. There is some nice gardening surrounding the buildings. What a beautiful place!
July 16, 2012 at 9:54 am
Visited the Reagan Library this weekend and it’s a beautiful place. Talk about REMOTE! Ugh! It’s not even on the east end of Simi but far, far to the west. Regardless, it was nice to see the place at least once despite the glazed over, Stepford-like employees. The merchandise is quite nice and the salespeople are helpful.
KenfromOC – Earl isn’t anything we haven’t seen before, it’s just exciting to many because it represents good-tasting food on Disney property at an affordable price. I, for one, am disappointed that they went with a concept already in use at WDW as I would have preferred a CA original..but this will do well, even in it’s oft-overlooked location.
July 16, 2012 at 10:07 am
Here’s hoping D23 will bring this exibit to the Smithsonian after April 2013. I remember the there was a fantastic ,yet much smaller, Jim Henson exibit that came thru a few years ago. Great stuff.
July 16, 2012 at 12:12 pm
The Walt Disney Archives exhibit looks great and I have had food there before at the Reagan Library, and it was pretty good. I hope I can get back there to snag the exhibit catalog.
Timekeeper
July 16, 2012 at 12:27 pm
“You can tell by the list of wait times that the more the rides have been tampered with and moved away from Walt Disney’s original vision, the shorter the wait times have become.”
You can tell all that from a wait time bulletin board?? Wow. And here I thought it was just telling guests how long you have to wait in the “stand by” line to ride an attraction.
July 16, 2012 at 1:20 pm
Someone is incredibly mistaken about the “rain flaw” at Test Track and RSR. There is absolutely no rain flaw, aside from the following:
1. It’s beneficial to not get the vehicles soaked. To some degree they are water resistant, but they do not seal out water. When vehicles move at high speeds through rain or rain pours down in sheets at angles, water can seep into very expensive and custom electronics and damage them. Obviously something they’d like to avoid and it’s impossible to design the cars to be completely water proof.
2. Even at 45MPH, riding Test Track or RSR in the rain can be quite painful. Guests complain. They claim it hurts and that they had no idea they were going to get wet, despite the obvious connection that the ride has an outdoors portion, and Disney can’t control Mother Nature.
2b. One of the “hold zones” is right outside the entrance to the show portion of the ride at RSR. When I rode once, we were stopped there for 3 minutes, completely exposed to the elements. Luckily, our weather that day was beautiful. But if it’s pouring, guests could be stuck in that area for long amounts of time, drenching them.
Aside from those items, there is no “rain flaw”. The ride is still new and water could inappropriately flag prox sensors, possibly disturb turn tables, or wreak other general havoc, but nothing specific about the system itself is prone to “breaking down” automatically during any sort of rain. It’s 95% guest service and safety, and 5% new [outdoor-exposed] ride and not unique to RSR.
July 16, 2012 at 4:08 pm
I rode Test Track in the rain the last time I was at Epcot. A downburst had started while we were on the inside portion of the ride, and we were very surprised to find the pouring rain as the doors opened for the high-speed loop. As we were pulling into the station, we could hear the ride operator saying to those in line, “As you can see, Test Track has now become a water ride!” Since my young niece and nephew were still screaming with delight, and the station was emptying as most of the crowd was opting for FastPass return tickets after the storm passed, the ride operator asked if we wanted to go around again — so we did. The ride continued to operate during the 30 minute rain.
July 16, 2012 at 1:22 pm
Uhhhh. Racers were down because of a blown generator.
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