Originally Posted By oc_dean I have a feeling it's much more than 9/11. If that was the case .. then why is this still open? http://images.mouseplanet.com/wdw/compressed/Magic_Kingdom/Fantasyland/cinderellas_royal_table_banquet_hall.jpg
Originally Posted By oc_dean silly thing with Mouseplanet .. Al Lutz isn't even there anymore .... lets try a link that works.......... <a href="http://www.intercot.com/infocentral/dining/menus/magickingdom/cindys_dinner.asp" target="_blank">http://www.intercot.com/infoce ntral/dining/menus/magickingdom/cindys_dinner.asp</a>
Originally Posted By oc_dean What sad ... one by one ... MK park castle interiors/attractions are vanashing. DL's walk-through TDL's "Mystery Tour" closed for good HKDL's nothing more than a facade Is it a matter of time DLP's and WDW's follow suit?
Originally Posted By seanyoda << The problem arose when it went down for a refurbishment about 5 years ago. >> The walkthrough did not go down for a refurbishment 5 years ago. The walkthrough was shuttered 5 years ago a little after September 11, 2001.
Originally Posted By cstephens ImNotAllThereMyself wrote: > The walk through was not ADA (American with Disabilities Act) compatible. Despite this fact it was "grandfathered in" for a long time. The problem arose when it went down for a refurbishment about 5 years ago. When a ride, structure, or building undergoes any kind of change the result has to meet with ADA requirements. Ummm, no. As I said, lots of people like to blame the ADA for the demise of the castle walkthrough, but that's totally wrong, and it's really unforgivable if a tour CM is giving out that wrong information. It depends on what kind of refurb - if it's a total structural change, then yeah, there could be a problem. But simple refurb or even change - no. Tarzan's Treehouse has already been pointed out as a prime example of a change that was made to an attraction that remains non-ADA compliant to this day - because there's no way to do it and it was grandfathered. Same would have applied to the castle walkthrough. /cs
Originally Posted By FerretAfros But the play area at the base of the treehouse is ADA compliant. There is a long series of ramps along the side of the POTC building/queue to allow wheelchair access to the area. Although the entire attraction is not accessable, there is still a part that is. I've never been through the walk through (that I can remember), but I suspect that there wasn't anything before or after the stairs. The subs are currently undergoing huge changes, yet they are able to survive with the little video booth, so I'm sure there is something that could have been done to help with wheelchair access.
Originally Posted By cstephens FerretAfros wrote: > But the play area at the base of the treehouse is ADA compliant. There is a long series of ramps along the side of the POTC building/queue to allow wheelchair access to the area. Although the entire attraction is not accessable, there is still a part that is. I don't know if that was done that way because they were required to or because they just decided to, but that was also a significant change from how that part of the attraction was before. However, the rest of the attraction only had cosmetic/thematic changes made to it, and there's no way to make it wheelchair accessible, so the attraction is able to continue without being fully ADA-compliant. Same with the castle. There is no way to make a walkthrough compliant without tearing down the castle and re-building a bigger version of it. You mentioned that you'd never been through the walkthrough - it was a very small space, with stairs going up at the beginning and stairs going down at the end. I don't believe the inside space was even really big enough to maneuever a wheelchair through it even if you could somehow have gotten one up there. Any refurb would have involved painting and maybe making some repairs, but no significant change, so it wouldn't have triggered ADA requirements. /cs
Originally Posted By FerretAfros I don't know what the exact guidelines of when something has to be upgraded, but I would think that the addition of the second tree (the one that blocks all the traffic) would be considered a pretty major change. That may have been why they had to add teh ramps to the play area at the tree's base.
Originally Posted By Kayoss The walkthrough being closed has nothing to do with the ADA stuff. The castle is most certainly grandfathered, and was closed due to the threats. A couple years afterwards, the dioramas were completely removed (I've seen this with my own eyes) although the lovely stonework in the walls and stars remains (as well as some of the lighting fixtures). It is not reopening... at least not as it was... since it's literally gone. Could they make new dioramas? Sure... and hopefully in time they will.
