Originally Posted By CuriousConstance I'm potentially planning a trip to DW (our families first) for early next year. Trying to plan a time when as much of the Fantasyland update will be done as possible. I'm sure this info has been posted time and time again, so I apologize, but does anyone have a time frame for when the Fantasyland update will be complete? Thanks!
Originally Posted By FerretAfros My guess is that they want the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train open no later than the summer. Looking at the construction at the moment, and how quickly everything else has moved on that project, it's plausible that it might be open at the beginning of the year, though I wouldn't count on it. I belive the official word is still that they're planning to open it in 2014, with nothing more specific given.
Originally Posted By Indigo The princess hall should open later this year... might get a date later this month, but I understand they want it open by end of May. Mine Train is still on track for mid-2014. All the track in on site and all the vertical construction is finished.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "Mine Train is still on track for mid-2014." You could build a NASA rocket, take a trip to Mars, and return to Earth in less time than it takes Disney to design and build one theme park ride.
Originally Posted By Witches of Morva ORWEN: Us cauldron girls were just asking Pest Relations, recently, why the new Princess Royal Hall hasn't opened yet. They told us they were experiencing some delays with that project and that it might open closer to the end of the year instead of when they originally planned. But we still have hopes it will open in May.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros >>lol Hans time slows down in the Magical Kingdom.<< Actually, construction tends to move much faster out there than at DLR, where they have additional California building codes and safety regulations to deal with. Considering that the Mine Train wasn't even in the original Fantasyland expansion announcement in 2009 (remember all those extra meet and greets we were supposed to get instead?), and wasn't publically announced until well after ground had broken on other parts of the project, I think it's impressive that they're on track to deliver it within a year of everything else.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt You're right Ferret. I'd completely forgotten about the revamped plans that gave birth to the 7 Dwarfs' MT at the 11th hour. Still, there's no denying that Disney takes forever to almost everything. Take the new Ratatouille at DSP, for example.
Originally Posted By TP2000 "Insiders" on other boards are saying the Mine Train is supposed to be in soft opening by this Christmas, with a formal opening just after the new year in 2014. Constance would get to ride the Mine Train on her Winter '14 visit with that timetable.
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper <<You're right Ferret. I'd completely forgotten about the revamped plans that gave birth to the 7 Dwarfs' MT at the 11th hour. Still, there's no denying that Disney takes forever to almost everything. Take the new Ratatouille at DSP, for example.>> Yes, it was changed in the 11th hour, but it was still changed by 2010, I believe. Given that it's taken Universal to build Transformers, a Simpson's miniland, and 1/4-1/2 of a Harry Potter expansion in a year, it's insane how long this has taken.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros A lot of the Universal construction also has the benefit of backing up to the backstage areas. Once the majority of Fantasyland opened last year, the Mine Train was left as an island (or penninsula, depending on the day) in the middle of an operating theme park. This makes it a whole lot more difficult to do any sort of construction, and increases the schedule dramatically. Additionally, there are a limited number of construction workers in central Florida with the skills required for themed environments, and Disney and Universal have to pull from the same pool. Yes, a lot of the work is relatively standard (the way Universal did the original Harry Potter stuff, with essentially snap-on facades, required very little specialized work), and the overall demand for construction workers is nothing compared to 5-10 years ago, but it's still something to be considered. But at the end of the day, yes, it does take Disney a lot longer to build anything. They tend to design their projects in such a way that it's a lot more complicated that just tossing up a giant rectangular warehouse, and gluing a facade on the side. Some times it creates a much better end product (it would be tough to build a 'mountain' that way), and some times it really doesn't make that big of a difference (the Tangled restrooms come to mind). They're building for long-term structures, where the Universal approach has a much more temporary feeling, even if their buildings last just as long.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt I don't know. I see buildings that are much larger than anything in a Disney park in major cities like NY, LA and SF go up in less than two years. In most instances these projects are in the middle of central business districts with an enormous amount of activity going on around the perimeters of the construction sites. For the Mine Train we're talking about a half acre landscaped building with a coaster going through it and some small show scenes. Something like that shouldn't take 4 years to build and open.
Originally Posted By TP2000 True Hans, but... WDW's Magic Kingdom also shouldn't be running a 20 year old budget-cut day parade and a 40 year old hokey night parade, but they are.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt But it isn't just WDW TP. Look how long it's taking DLP to build Ratatouille. At the rate they're going it'll be Another couple of years before that thing opens.
Originally Posted By TP2000 Disney just doesn't move fast. At least they haven't since about the 1990's. It's been said that this is a budget trick they play, stretching things out over several fiscal years. Seems to me that would cost more money in the long run, but what do I know?
