Iger says Star Wars theme park plans to be announced late in 2015

Which ride was scheduled for re-do, and then "sanded"? How come I do not know this?

wdw1974 on wdwmagic. He posts from time to time updates about Disney, Universal and the entertainment world in general.

As for the ride in question, it is Space Mountain at WDW. That botched up refurb was done in 2009 from April to November versus the original 12 to 18 months schedule. It would appear Phil Holmes, the Magic Kingdom VP cut up the rehab time, just like he did with Big Thunder Mountain later.

Space Mountain now is in such poor shape they added magnetic brakes over a year ago before the large drop on each side. It slows down the rockets so much to preserve the track at the bottom of the ride.

My guess is he's referring to Space Mountain, MK, that was scheduled for a major rehab, including new track, rumored trains, etc. I seem to recall nothing was officially announced, detail-wise, except the lengthy closure for a major rehab. The popular thought that it was going to get a new system more like what operates in California.
So, fearing that outcome (and I was in Orlando anyway) I made a special trip to MK just to spend one last morning on one of my favorite rides. It wasn't busy and I rode it probably fifteen times so it would be burned into my memory forever.

Then, lo and behold, the rehab was cut short, the "new" ride opened ahead of schedule and all that changed was the queue, both in and out, the addition of interactive games, and a redecorated station where you could no longer look up and see the ride overhead. The track, although I believe it had work (maybe sanded?), was virtually the same and the trains might've gotten a new look but remained tandem style.

And that's just a guess, our Absimillard seems to be keeping his posts shrouded in mystery. And in mentioning "he" I'm wondering if he didn't get ahead of himself and leave out an important detail.

But no matter. Large corporations make long term plans and goals and change them all the time. We as enthusiasts tend to look at theme and amusement parks and say "But you PROMISED!" like what is once announced is set in stone forever. There are countless stories from Disney that involve rides, attractions, and lands that might've been, even should've been, but aren't. I think they are probably one of the worst 'offenders' in that regard. It's what comes from having a massive creative team on hand while keeping their finger on the pulse of what the economy will bear and what they think their customers want.

Maybe it seems foolish but I guess they can afford to change stuff up.

Edit to add: oopsy, we were typing at the same time. Thanks.

Absimilliard said:

wdw1974 on wdwmagic. He posts from time to time updates about Disney, Universal and the entertainment world in general.

As for the ride in question, it is Space Mountain at WDW. That botched up refurb was done in 2009 from April to November versus the original 12 to 18 months schedule. It would appear Phil Holmes, the Magic Kingdom VP cut up the rehab time, just like he did with Big Thunder Mountain later.

Space Mountain now is in such poor shape they added magnetic brakes over a year ago before the large drop on each side. It slows down the rockets so much to preserve the track at the bottom of the ride.

"The Spirit" is an attention whore who has some good connections, but milks them a lot farther than he should, and has an agenda (to put it mildly).

That said, he might or might not have been right about the MK Space refurb. I think he only got part of it right. As I understand it, the original plans would have called for speakers in the trains (a la Disneyland) but that also would have required replacing the track, because the change in center-of-gravity of the trains puts unplanned stresses on the existing track. Rather than do that, they placed speakers alongside the run so that they could keep the existing track. Not a terrible decision, all things considered.

I think most anyone who posts in enthusiast circles about what they know and what they "think" the intentions were is full of crap. They don't have any real context. I've read plenty of crap about NGE that people swear up and down is the truth and it's not even remotely true. I know this because you can't run in IT circles here without knowing all kinds of people who actually did the work.