Big Thunder Mountain Refurb?

[wdwjenn]

Why oh why would they close my favorite ride the week I will be in the world ?
My family and I will be in the world Oct 17 - 24 ( the day BTMRR is going to re open).

What are the chances they will open a few days early? Do they ever open it for a few hours a day for test runs, kind of like they do when they are opening a new ride
Any input would be great!!

[beksy]

I know how you feel. It's been almost 10 YEARS since I rode this and I've been looking forward to it for months . I even convinced my sister to go on it! It's one of my favorites and I just can't believe that first it was SSE and now this. At least HM will be open again.

[disneydeb]

I'm pouting! But I know it needs a little work, so I'll try to see it another time.... probably in 2 years.

[Lorraine444]

What are the closing dates for this?

[disneydeb]

What are the closing dates for this?

October 1 - 24 so you should be OK with your August trip! Ride once for me, OK?

[llamaface]

I'm a little angry over this as well. Why would they choose a time period when there are special ticket events going on (that many of us have paid good $$ for)? To me, it is poor judgement. I understand that rides need to be refurbished, but an "e-ticket" ride such as BTMRR should be closed during a slower time.

[DrumTastik]

Agreed. Of course Disney only has a small window each year that can now be considered "off-season", especially with all the hard ticket special events offered. But man, nearly the entire month of October? I usually am there that month for F&W Fest and MNSSHP, this would be a huge let down for us too.

[mainemajor]

I'm a little angry over this as well. Why would they choose a time period when there are special ticket events going on (that many of us have paid good $$ for)? To me, it is poor judgement. I understand that rides need to be refurbished, but an "e-ticket" ride such as BTMRR should be closed during a slower time.

October is considered one of the slower months. There is never a good time, but work has to be done at some point. I'm going to be missing SSE and HM when we go next month. Two of our favorites, but we know they will be better than ever next time we go.

[Mickey91]

Well, seems we are all disappointed at the refurbs this year. We will be missing SSE and possibly RnR. Hopefully HM will be up on time as that is the week we will arrive. We all feel your pain. Sometimes (cross you fingers) they open ahead of schedule, but don't hold your breath.

[llamaface]

October is considered one of the slower months.

I don't consider a month that has MNSSHP and F&W festival going on a "slow" month. I also think that more advance notice could be given. For people like us, we can live w/ it. We've been there many times, so is it a pain - yes, but life will go on. I feel bad for people who have been waiting for their once in a lifetime trip, and then find this out. If ADR's can be made 180 days out, the refurbishment schedule can be posted 180 days out. (Obviously, emergency repairs are an exception)

[Speedy1998]

I don't consider a month that has MNSSHP and F&W festival going on a "slow" month.

The reason Disney started doing these special events was as a way to attract people during one of it's slower months.

The only way that Disney would be able to avoid closing rides like this, is if they operated seasonally and did all the maintenace well the parks were closed. (Now do any of us really want to see that?)

[Dsnygirl]

I, too, am so sad... BTMRR is one of our favorites, and I was so looking forward to riding it in October. Guess it's just one more reason to start planning that next trip...

[SgtTigger]

For the last few years it has gone down in November.......... So this is not unheard of... But it does stink for the people that are down at that time of year.......

It sure does seem that a lot of things are down at the same time........

[snifflesmcg]

If ADR's can be made 180 days out, the refurbishment schedule can be posted 180 days out. (Obviously, emergency repairs are an exception)

The reason Disney started doing these special events was as a way to attract people during one of it's slower months.

I understand why they chose months like Sept and October which are considered the "off season" and are traditionally the slowest time of the year to do refirbs. I just wish they would let us know (180 days or so) in advance so we can plan around our favorites. Let's face it, we don't all have the same favorites. You would just have to pick and chose which you wanted to ride more. It's a bit unfair to close them (scheduled) when vacation plans are already in order.

[S-A-M]

Just my luck after 11 years and 16 visits under our belts, DH FINALLY agreed to go on it our next trip (Oct)... Oh well, guess he won't have any choice but to do SM now

[julieunruly]

I'm pouting with the rest of you. When I saw that BTMRR was closing during our trip Oct. 3-9-I yelled "Oh no" so loud my husband said, gosh I thought something was seriously wrong. I told him there WAS something seriously wrong, my favorite ride was closing for refurb during our stay!!!!!

[countrycharmer]

After years of trying my kids got me on this in Dec & April....I was glad to hear that it will still be running on our Sept & Dec trips!!

[LoriMistress]

I've been in your shoes. On our first trip to WDW in 2003 MK closed BTTMR because of the accident that killed a guest on the DLR version. I love this ride and it was closed when we were there.

[Spaceship Tigger]

I realize that WDW is a year-round operation and that rides have to have periodic refurbs. But this business of announcing the refurbs 2-3 months in advance needs to stop. Disney knows that pretty much everyone plans their trips much further in advance than that, and many people go specifically for their favorites. If I had known months ago that both SE and RnRC would be closed in September, I definitely would not have picked that month. I feel for those who are losing BTMRR in October. I'm just waiting for the next major September refurb to be announced that will make me cancel our trip entirely...

[Magic Smiles]

I would imagine that is why Disney offers free dining during a good portion of the months when most of the refurbs are happening. How many of you would actually give up free dining had you known ahead of time that one or maybe two of your favorite exhibits would be closed for refurbishment?