Astro-Orbitor and Cosmic Waves behind walls

[Wally]

Yowza! They mean business on whatever they are doing with Cosmic Waves!

[Tomorrowland_1967]

Now .. on to another entirely different note .. which I feel requires it's own post:

>>Logical inaccuracies here ... since when does putting something back the way it was for 30 years constitute a "whole new look"?<<

It's a "whole new look" when it's an entirely differently designed mechanism. I didn't say it should be the same "Apollo Rocket" design of the 1967 version.

History has shown .. that new and different designs have been placed throughout all 5 "magic kingdom" parks. I've seen the concept they had in mind for "TL:2055" ... there's no shortage of "New Looks".

And I see this spinner .. as an essential piece to ANY Tomorrowland. It's been a staple since 1956. It adds necessary kinetics to a land that's suppose to evoke a more "faster paced" environment, anyway.

>>Also, why should they dismantle an attraction before it has to be dismantled? Why reduce the hourly capacity of the park? Why remove ANOTHER - relatively popular - attraction from Tomorrowland when - if you're right - construction on a replacement won't be started until a year from then?<<

It's almost May. 2010 is 8 months away. IF .. they were going to begin "pre" construction .. Now would be about the right time to figure out how they are going to re-route traffic around Tomorrowland. Especially at the main entrance. But who knows. I get the feeling ... the rumored plans are being pushed up.

>>Because it creates a bottleneck during parade times? Please ... that's a couple hours of real concern at best, and the whole parade route area from SM to Town Square is a bottleneck during parades. Why? Because there's a parade! I can take into account there being thematic issues the ride's color scheme or design or general not liking the rocks ... but the whole bottleneck argument has been used so extensively that it's hyperbole at best.<<

It's not just parades. But crowds in general .. and now .. Parking stroller sections. And HUGE strollers to boot. If you want to argue "hyperbole" .. be my guest. But I grew up with the 1967 Tomorrowland .. that wide entrance was great. It had an impact on the immediate surrounding areas .. for crowd control. Since the opening of the 1998 Tomorrowland .. it seems getting in and out in that immediate area is trickier .. and narrower.

>>Anyway, with a new Tomorrowland that's not announced yet and details are not even discussed yet ... you can't logically say what they need to do to "prepare" for it. Not yet, anyway.<<

I'm only trying to figure what's going on by applying some common sense. Since we are getting no answers .. the next best thing is to apply the best Educated Guessing we can. It's all we got. For now.

>>We will hear news when there is news. I wish we would hear it now, too! But even in your other posts you keep begging for their to be news from someone, complaining that all we have received is rumors and hints. Well, sorry ... but that's all there is. <<

As you continue to "cherry pick" everything I say ...... It will be nice when we hear something. I'm sure it's driving you crazy too .. as it is for millions of other internet readers.

>>So while I would love to read what Al has to say about some things, I would never point to Al's column as a source of authority on what undoubtedly will happen.<<

Well .. Al ain't the only one in the entire world who has any "ear" to WDI. There is screamscape.com. Jim Hill .. and a few other internet sources.

So .. it's not like I "heard of this possible new Tomorrowland" ONLY through Al Lutz.

I think you can bet on the fact .. a New Tomorrowland IS on WDI's drawing boards - With Tony Baxter ... the leader in it. That much has been stated as fact. And perhaps, because of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression ...... that rumored "2010" construction start date has been pushed back. I'm almost certain about that.

Unless we all hear something different in the not too distant future.

We'll see.

[Nautilus]

I'm glad it's getting some work done before it's eventually removed in the future. That thing hasn't been touched in more than 10 years! It's kinda like that railing around the sun in DCA that was replaced a while ago even though it's going to get ripped out anyways; bad show is bad show regardless if it'll get changed out in a few years or the next day.

[a_shy_kid]

this morning when my friend + were on the tram to the park we noticed one of medium the orbs/planets/etc. in the back laying on a tarp....there were a few men around it. but that's all we could really see in the brief moment.

even if tomorrowland will have a major refurb in the near future.
i still think it would be ncie to at least fix what they can in between.

i wonder what the possible new color scheme will actually look like when they're all done though.

[MrLiver]

It's not just parades. But crowds in general .. and now .. Parking stroller sections. And HUGE strollers to boot. If you want to argue "hyperbole" .. be my guest.

It's a pretty fantastic notion to think that Disney would spend millions of dollars just to alleviate a traffic problem during three hours of the night. Besides, if they were really up to spending money to eliminate traffic problems, they would be spending money to rip out the Tiki Room since that's the biggest traffic nightmare ever.

I'm only trying to figure what's going on by applying some common sense. Since we are getting no answers .. the next best thing is to apply the best Educated Guessing we can. It's all we got. For now.

Common sense says, that since the attraction is scheduled to reopen in two months, that there is not enough time to be doing anything other than a lengthy refurbishment. If they were moving it, site prep would have already been done somewhere else before the attraction closed.

Since the planets in the mid section have not spun for many years, it's safe to assume that the whole structure must be taken apart to fix that motor. The paint work that needs to be done is also very intricate and as a result very expensive.

The most common sense logical solution is that they are spending money to fix up the attraction that they have, and that means they will be less likely to spend MORE money to build a new one later.

Furthermore, since the much needed rehab had been postponed for so long, it's entirely possible that WDI was waiting to get the greenlight for redoing tomorrowland before DL committed the funds to repairing the astro orbitor. Now that they are repairing it, it probably means that whatever plans WDI have are shelved indefinitely.

I think you can bet on the fact .. a New Tomorrowland IS on WDI's drawing boards - With Tony Baxter ... the leader in it. That much has been stated as fact.

Fact? From whom? Tony? Unless it came from Baxter himself in a public forum, I doubt it can be considered a fact.

And 90% of the stuff that WDI has on the drawing boards, never comes to be. Ever.

[DisneyMickey]

I saw it this afternoon and the thing has been practically peeled apart. The entire bottom portion has been detached and all that is left is the steel structure.

[mrfantasmic]

It's a pretty fantastic notion to think that Disney would spend millions of dollars just to alleviate a traffic problem during three hours of the night. Besides, if they were really up to spending money to eliminate traffic problems, they would be spending money to rip out the Tiki Room since that's the biggest traffic nightmare ever.

There's actually been a lot of money spent to make traffic during fireworks better. Not to the extent of removing entire attractions, of course.

The Tiki Room is actually not a traffic nightmare at all during fireworks. The Astro Orbiter and green "Coke Corner" structure, as well as the coffee cart in the Hub take that prize.

[WJNM]

Let's, for argument's sake, say that the rocks and AO are taken out for the sake of crowds. While this is highly unlikely, let's say it for a moment. Whenever mention of a possible removal is brought up, people usually accompany that with the idea of brining back the lush open plaza entrance TL had between 67-97. But then, people usually say that there should be a fountain there instead ... and/or planters. While the old TL entrance was more visually open, a good portion of that area was still covered by planters with those built-in benches.

Removing the AO and rocks to replace with planters and fountains really doesn't help control the crowd issue; you're just replacing one thing that people can't stand on with another thing that people can't stand on. How's that helping?

The visual aesthetics of the rocks aside, I don't see them really encroaching on the Plaza's "space" any more than the Tiki room does, or that stream that runs in front of the Frontierland Stockade. We have a highly compact park already, and the plaza itself doesn't lend much to standing room, either. The most open standing spaces in the entire Plaza are from the Main Street and Fantasyland sides ... why are we critcizing the TL side for being just as compact as the Adventureland/Frontierland side?

Assuming they remove AO and the rocks ... they have to put something there, at least planters and benches as before. So I can see there doing this would add to standing capacity for parades and fireworks, but would the end result really yield THAT much more standing room? Enough to warrant the removal of an attraction?

[MrLiver]

The Tiki Room is actually not a traffic nightmare at all during fireworks. The Astro Orbiter and green "Coke Corner" structure, as well as the coffee cart in the Hub take that prize.

Have you ever been in Adventureland trying to get out when all of a sudden the Tiki Room lets out? That area really is a bottleneck (think of the width from Jungle Cruise to the shops, and then think of the distance between the exit of Tiki and the Bazaar - much smaller). It's a pretty bad spot to be in late at night when the crowds are trying to get out.

[WDITrent]

Mint Crocodile went today and has pics of the Astro-Orbitor dismantling and work on the Cosmic Waves...

I've never been so pleased with the look of Astro Orbitor, simply because this probably means the planets will work again!

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwBpBMmx1fY"]YouTube - Astro Orbitor (Disneyland)[/ame]

^This video makes me drool.

[2DieFR]

Both of these Tomorrowland projects are moving incredibly quickly, I'm very impressed.

[flynnibus]

Actually, lots do. But even for those who don't, linking from a high traffic forum to another forum can hammer the other guy's server with traffic and degrade performance for his members -- or shut them out. Netwise, not neighborly.

If we were talking hotlinking.. sure. But the enforcement includes simple links and is biased against competing Disney sites. Simply put.. the rule is to protect MC's own readership from going to other Disney sites. It's a defensive posture that hurts the discussion IMO - but that's how they want to roll.. and try to maintain some illusion that other places don't exist.

What about Florida's Star Jets? They opened only 7 years after Anaheim's (1974), and Disney modified them in 1994. Just like the Observatron, the structure is identical, and they just added a bunch of new plastic things. Shouldn't the same idea apply to Anaheim's, or was there a giant leap in construction standards between 1967 and 1974?

Well.. First.. Cali has much stricter building codes due to the earthquakes compared to FL, and even compared to the 60s. Second, Cali also has a much more controlling entity that oversees amusements compared to FL. And lastly, FL's was not really changing the attraction itself.. where as a change like people are discussing here would be opening a new attraction. Any concepts of grandfathering would be long history compared to a simple refurbishment. So, while the attractions were similar, I think the governing environment is vastly different, especially today vs 30 years ago.

[2DieFR]

Andy Castro posted a new picture on his Dateline Disney Twitter of the Astro Orbitor being disassembled. This is what it looks like this Saturday afternoon:

[2DieFR]

[double post]

[flynnibus]

wow - this thing is coming down FAST