You will see the pack mules and the stage coach return long before you will see the return of Rocket Rods. Anyone that had anything to do with this ride is busy erasing it from their resumes and everyone else is standing around pointing fingers at the innocent. The old Peoplemover track was so damaged in the limited operation of Rocket Rods that all the rumors say it cant be salvaged for anything (including the self-propelled ride Disney thought about buying). The entire track needs to be torn down; but Disney wont spend the money for that. Its cheaper to let it sit there.
Similar issue with the sub pit; its cheaper just to let it sit there. Draining them would require that the rockwork either be removed or otherwise protected (waters cheaper than a lot of tarps). There have been plenty of ideas about what to do in the areas, but nothings ever come close to being approved. Its all about money. If youve seen any of the pictures of the Little Mermaid Lagoon section from DisneySea then youve seen what could really be done with this area.
The reaction to Rocket Rods is part of recent Disney cultures approach to failure. Things arent fixed, theyre ignored. There is a tremendous stigma to being associated with a failure and if you want to survive you have to run away as quickly as possible. It extends from the little things like LuminAria and Rocket Rods, the big things like Pearl Harbor and the really big things like California Adventure. Notice how little youve heard Eisner and the top dogs talk about the place, and how much praise theyre now heaping on DisneySea. A complete turn since last year.
Rocket Rods were popular, if only because it was the only new attraction in the new Tomorrowland. It could have been fixed, it could have been built correctly the first time. The empty buildings could have reopened with other shows. But there are too many career people running away to bother with that.