WDRR to be closed during 50th?

Discussion about the Walt Disney World Railroad
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CP173
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WDRR to be closed during 50th?

Post by CP173 »

https://insidethemagic.net/2021/08/disn ... newsletter

I'm surprised they wouldn't have the railroad reopened for the start of the 50th anniversary.
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Cannonball7
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Re: WDRR to be closed during 50th?

Post by Cannonball7 »

From what I have gathered, the suspension of work that occurred on Tron due to COVID park closure and the impact on company finances because of the pandemic has caused the whole project to run behind schedule. As you will remember, initial press had Tron opening this year for the 50th.

I am still optimistic that the WDWRR will open during the 50th...but "when" in the year-long celebration remains a mystery.
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Re: WDRR to be closed during 50th?

Post by Locoboy5150 »

I can't say that I'm really surprised. I've been keeping an eye on Tron's construction and it has been progressing at a glacial pace. Usually clone roller coasters go together pretty quickly but the Tron construction shut down due to the covid-19 pandemic really slowed everything to a halt.

As I've said before, all this disruption of the WDWRR just for a cloned Vekoma Booster Bike coaster that really isn't all that great in my book. I rode the original at Shanghai Disneyland a few times and it was fun but not nearly worthy of the hype in my opinion. I don't think that I'd wait more than about 30 minutes for it and thankfully it was only about a five minute wait each time when I rode it. WDW fans are super excited about it coming to the Magic Kingdom and I hope that they're not disappointed like I kind of was after my first ride at Shanghai Disneyland.
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CP173
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Re: WDRR to be closed during 50th?

Post by CP173 »

I've ridden the TRON ride at Shanghai a couple of times. It's nice, but essentially Space Mountain with the guests going face-first instead of sitting. The queue was nice, but clearly designed to hold a 1-2 hour wait... and it was walk-on both times I was there.

Still, any investments in the Magic Kingdom are nice to see happen.
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Re: WDRR to be closed during 50th?

Post by BillPatrain »

I was at the Magic kingdom Nov. 13, 2021 and took a video clearly showing the tunnel is under construction. Blog Mickey on Facebook has a slightly more recent picture. Maybe about 15 feet more concrete base and rebar for the walls. I would guess another 30-45 feet needs compIeted. can't figure out how to attach my picture

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Re: WDRR to be closed during 50th?

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Re: WDRR to be closed during 50th?

Post by Steve »

Here is a video (not mine, someone else's) of WDWRR testing. The Lilly Belle pulls into Fantasyland Station before backing up. It isn't much, but it is nice to see the railroad in action.

WDWRR testing on YouTube
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Re: WDRR to be closed during 50th?

Post by Locoboy5150 »

Thanks for the link Steve. It is great to see actual motion on the WDWRR again even if it is just testing over a short distance.

One thing that I thought was weird in the video was the Lilly Belle reversing without three short toots of the whistle...strange. :?
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Re: WDRR to be closed during 50th?

Post by Bruce R Pier »

They probably were told to not draw too much attention, and seeing as it was probably the only thing on the line it really wasn't necessary. Note that they stopped short of the platform as well.
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Re: WDRR to be closed during 50th?

Post by Locoboy5150 »

You're probably right Bruce. The interesting thing is that if a steam locomotive is reversing, bringing everyone's attention to it for safety reasons is exactly what you want to do. It's not like it can stop on a dime if something or someone is behind it. Plus, this is a steam locomotive. It's not a top secret military vehicle. If it attracts attention when being tested in a theme park, so what? What's the big deal?

But then again this is the Walt Disney Company that we're talking about here. Most of their decisions when it comes to simple things like this make absolutely zero sense whatsoever when us non-Disney employees think about them. At least that's the case with me. Maybe if I were a fellow member of Disney's suit and tie wearing brigade, then I'd completely understand. (For the record, I am not a suit and tie guy so their decisions down there in Burbank often do not make much sense to me.)

The good news is that despite the park's best efforts to remain as stealthy as possible, some people did see actual activity on the rails and us fans from far away can be happy about that.
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