Originally Posted By FerretAfros Perhaps they will try to use something like what they have done for the Main Street train station. Since, technically, the upper level of the station can be reached by train, from Tomorrowland. They might use similar thought, by saying you can get to the upper level by the DTD station. However, the MS station is from the 50's, and the new one will have to be ADA compliant when built.
Originally Posted By Elderp The subs for people with disabilities is going to be an interesting one. One of the ideas I saw was that people in wheelchairs go into this land based sub and the ride is projected via a camera on a real sub. So you go in a sublike structure but you don't go underwater but then again it isn't really a sub is it?
Originally Posted By disneymomof2 "'twas a joke" Obviously, you were making a joke. It just wasn't funny.
Originally Posted By BrigmanMT 2 "Maybe the Fastpass at Autopia will be removed while this area is being rebuilt?" I considered that too, but the area where the fastpass sits could not be used for anything else, and the current queue setup for the Fastpass at Autopia is one of the best in the park. Although the Entrance to Autopia combined with the Hatmosphere/Train Station is another horrible walking area on a moderatly crowded day, I do not think the area would benefit much from a FP removal. I would assume that more than one of these stationary sub pods will be produced. If this is the case, imagine the base of the monorail station. Remove the Autopia shop, but keep the continous pouring of autopia guests. Now add 3 booths each twice the size of one of those big electric wheelchairs. Now, picture a portion of the enclosed area sectioned off for 5 fastpass machines (just like the shaded distribution areas at Buzz and the ToT, where guests often wait out in the sun in ugly switchback queues). Now, picture the loading and unloading sub area, where an open pathway for castmembers and guests must be present at all times. How much space does that leave for a sub queue? If this attraction is a moderate success, and with its innovative (1959) vehicles we can assume that this will be at least a D-Ticket, the lines will be huge, and there will be no place to put them. The lagoon area near the matterhorn already packs them in, when this area was designed, those huge electric wheelchairs hadn't been invented yet. This will add another horrible pinchpoint to the park. Or, they could spread the line out into the walkway between the Matterhorn and Circlevision (unfortunately, they have to station a cast member at a break point for lines like this so people can walk through, this is where cutting often occurs, and annoyances among both guests in line and in the paths are frequent. Next, they could use the space in front of the station, all the way up to the Tomorrowland Terrace for switchbacks, but the currently desinged Autopia exit and the many tables in the area for the Tomorrowland Terrace again come into play. With Fastpass, this will become a major problem area, heck, with a moderately succesful attraction this area will become a mess. The only solution is to go to the second story in the design. The Tomorrowland Terrace should have already been expanded to a second seating story to accomodate a new Nemo queue. The last hope for decent circulation in Tomorrowland lies in the Monorial station redesign. I hope Disney will surprise us, and come through with an innovative 2 story design that houses both the monorial and Nemo lines. Otherwise, all 4 major gateways into Tomorrowland are in for some serious trouble. This summer will surely be the busiest season in a decade, and with that on the horizon Disney really needs to improve the ways it handles circulation, all throughout the park. I am disappointed they haven't stepped it up already, the current park closing times with the fireworks and the crowds is an accident waiting to happen. If Disney continues to avoid these problems, it wont be long before deaths caused by stampeding occur at the Happiest Place on Earth. Bring the summer southern California heat into the equation, and now you are in dangerous territory with brawls and very angry guests. Disney sees them every summer, and with the heightened crowds and tiny walkways, the fights and the danger will be amplified. Disney needs to get moving to change these 50 year old paths into some creative means for controlling the guests of 2005. They have been too lax with recent improvments, many simple adjustments could be made, they just show little interest in doing them. The removal of fastpass is a good start. I just hope it doesn't take a fatality for Disney to see that congested walkways are a growing problem at the resort.
Originally Posted By deadmentellnotales <"'twas a joke" Obviously, you were making a joke. It just wasn't funny.> i thought it was funny but the I have somthing called a sense of H.U.M.O.R.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros "Otherwise, all 4 major gateways into Tomorrowland are in for some serious trouble." There is the main entrance (by the Astro Orbitor, Buzz, and Star Tours) and the entrance from the Matterhorn. There is also taking the train, but I wouldn't consider it a major way to get into Tomorrowland. Is there another way in that I am missing? Also, I really like the idea of a two story queue. Maybe they would add another underground, to keep the Monorail crowd clearly seperated from the Subs, and people wouldn't get confused as to why they are headed towards the monorail. Also with an underground queue, they have virtually limitless space, as it can easily (after being built, but that is another issue all togeather) go under teh main walk way. This would create plenty of room for extra lines, as well as a chance to theme the queue area, which would be inside. The only major drawbacks I see are the underground part. It is expensive to do this, but I think it would be woth it. It would also require that area to be clsoed off for a while (probably several months) so they can dig a hole, and bury a building in it. It wouldn't be very nice to the brand new pavers, but it could happen. It would also help create a connection between the Buzz/Terrace building and the subs, in case it is ever needed (I'm sure there would be plenty of times when it would be nice to have). The final problem could easily be the biggest: leakage. In the final days of the 20K lagoon in WDW, the changing rooms in the utilidor next to the lagoon had severe water damage. They had to basically rebuild them due to the damage. With proper maintenence, this really wouldn't be an issue, but should be considered in the redo, since they are reworking all the rockwork and such anyway.
Originally Posted By iluvdisneyland Disneyland does not have utilidors, BUT there is a long underground tunnel from the America Sings (as the certificate on the wall proclaims) building to just behind Ariel's Grotto and directly underneath Buzz Lightyear. It passes close to the laggoon, but probably not as close as the utilidors at WDW do. Just thought I'd mention that I've never seen water damage down there...
Originally Posted By BrigmanMT 2 "There is the main entrance (by the Astro Orbitor, Buzz, and Star Tours) and the entrance from the Matterhorn. There is also taking the train, but I wouldn't consider it a major way to get into Tomorrowland. Is there another way in that I am missing?" I counted both paths around the matterhorn, since they each could be affected by the Lagoon. Imagine an underground subs queue that gets up close to some glass, where guests can see the subs float up and take off during the load/unload process. The blue light and the shimmering water along the ceiling and walls would get people in the mood for an undersea adventure. The below level space could also be a good way to weed out those who feel the subs are a little too claustrophobic, before they are trapped for an 8-minute journey.
Originally Posted By trekkeruss <<Disney needs to get moving to change these 50 year old paths into some creative means for controlling the guests of 2005.>> The creative answer is "simple"... make DCA a must-see, all-day park too. As it is now, many people cherry pick DCA (as I have done many times myself) , staying there only a few hours, and heading back into DL when they are done with the few things that interest them.
Originally Posted By gadzuux >> Imagine an underground subs queue that gets up close to some glass, << Imagine if this were more than just the sub queue, but actually a complete sinking the entire walkway on the eastern side of the matterhorn, with the other wall (opposite the glass underwater wall) being an extension of the matterhorn itself - kind of a caverns effect, wrapping up and over the roof of this 'submerged walkay'. It would be cool and dark down there with moody blue lighting, even during the brightest part of the day, and their would be 'show fog' sliding down from what appear to be matterhorn-themed versions of a lava tubes up above. This fog pools at your ankles below. This tunnel has three entrances - approximately where the smoking section is now opposite the matterhorn, also where the path splits from the parade route, and finally near TL terrace. And since it's all just a big pipedream anyway, let's throw in a shop down underneath in this subterranean passageway, at the juncture of these three paths, to encourage guests to linger and enjoy the atmosphere. The way I came up with this idea is to address the "look and feel" of what I think is one of the weakest areas of DL - the backside of buzz lightyear showbuilding and TL terrace kitchens - although I seem to remember that the kitchens are barely even being used, or might be gone altoghether by now. It's one part of a re-imagined tommorowland that does away with the autopia and creates a more intensely developed NE corner, opening that area up to foot traffic. But by putting the walkways in themed tunnels underneath, they also free up a lot of usable space above, and hopefully improve traffic flow in a highly congested area that in some places is downright ugly and unpleasant the way it is now.
Originally Posted By BrigmanMT 2 I feel the same way gadzuux, I have also imagined some icy/foggy caverns covering that area. A few well placed waterfalls and the echoing yell of the abominable snowman could be cool too. Much better than some repetive seagulls that will be pure torture on the local attractions cast members.
Originally Posted By scottie I really like that idea, BrigmanMT 2. To be honest, I was never a fan of the subs. But maybe an underground queue (I like the glass wall idea) would help a lot while waiting for such a slow moving line. Gives you something much more interesting to look at.
