Slinky Dog’s Tail has been Docked/Cropped! (Update Fixed 2/27)

[cgattis]

but are cutting us short on their end.

I see what you did there...

 

[Ben E N]

Yeah they cut things in TSL. But if they had put in a working one some guest works have already broken it. That is likely why there are guys as much as anything. They are getting fed up with people trashing things. Why make it nice when it will get torn up?

That's a really lame excuse with the money they are charging people, though. I thought of it too, which is why I mentioned how much it costs someone to spend one day at the park. If 1% of the people do something damaging enough to possibly break something you've still made $10000 off them and the others. And 1% is a very high percentage compared to reality.
When running a people business, breakage needs to be accounted for.
While I am on a cheapness rant, I'm sick of having the colored panels at the end of the Figment ride not respond to touch. It was broken 6 months ago and was still broken today. My kids paid money to get into the park (well, my money.) They wanted to use the interactive at the end of it, and Disney was too cheap to both fix it and make it less likely to break in the future.
When we come back in March, we will officially be suckers because by returning we are telling them that this subpar work is acceptable.

 

[Ben E N]

Yes, I'm sure TSL will fail because the oversized viewfinder wasn't functional. I'm sure those people trying to spin it weren't even there for the the Alien Saucers, they just wanted to play with that particular piece of set dressing, and now they are going up the chain to voice their concerns. Iger better watch out.

No, but it's a sign of budget cuts. Slinky's tail being removed is getting bad press, and that fell within the same budget. Just as people notice things like Haunted Mansion getting interactive queues, they also notice when corners get cut.
The reviews for Toy Story land were mixed, and with good reason, and many of the issues that plague it can be fixed by just putting a little more money and effort into it.

 

[AngiTN]

I know for a fact that if all I found to say about everything in the parks was negative there's no way in the world I'd be spending money there. I guess I simply don't get it. The day I'm more angry about the parks than I am happy is the day I quit going.

If the crowds I've seen in TSL are the ones as a result of bad press and people disliking it thank goodness. Because heaven help it being more popular with more people.

Add to slinky's tail, just making news isn't bad press. Most think it's funny not a travesty that ruins the ride. I'd say most never noticed

 

[Ben E N]

I know for a fact that if all I found to say about everything in the parks was negative there's no way in the world of be spending money there. I guess I simply don't get it. The day I'm more angry about the parks than I am happy is the day I quit going.

If the crowds I've seen in TSL are the ones as a result of bad pies and people disliking it thank goodness. Because heaven help it being more popular with more people.

Add to slinky's tail, just making news isn't bad press. Most think it's funny but a travesty that ruins the ride. I'd say most never noticed

I just have to add in that in no way did the negative things I noticed in any way ruin my visit. I had a great time at Hollywood Studios yesterday. I did cut my trip to Epcot short due to issues like I mentioned above, but had a blast at the hotel. They know what they are doing, but with each negative thing that is noticed, it is a bit of a chink in their armor. They start to add up.

 

[DVCcurious]

I didn't realize Slinky was a cocker spaniel

 

[RolloTomasi]

Is it really "bad press" to report that the tails were removed? Sure, the tails are pretty cute, but I doubt it ruins anyone's experience. It's still running. Bad press would be if the tail flew off mid-ride and took out a double stroller with sleeping children in it.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

It worries me that a 7 month old ride is deteriorating at this rate. You have to wonder how structurally sound it is. They clearly cut corners during construction and now their mistakes are glaring at us.

 

[rteetz]

Is it really "bad press" to report that the tails were removed? Sure, the tails are pretty cute, but I doubt it ruins anyone's experience. It's still running. Bad press would be if the tail flew off mid-ride and took out a double stroller with sleeping children in it.

Not bad press really but bad show. The slinky trains are really showing big time wear and they ride is not even a year old.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

We did EMM 12/31 so had a bunch of rides on SDD. While I blame guests for this, I was saddened to see a decent amount of damage to the themed elements in the queue - visible nicks, scratches, gouges, etc. It's not in your face noticable, but it's there if you really look around. I thought everything in there was really well done from a look/design perspective, but it doesn't look like it's able to put up with guest abuse/wear/tear. Granted I've seen pics of similar guest abuse on Pandora as well, but still.

Separately, while I agree the ride is smooth... I've always felt it had a pretty decent vibration through the intense parts. Hum or yell and you'll hear the vibration in your voice. To me it's nowhere close to 7DMT smooth. I'm no ride engineer but I'm not surprised some elements of the ride vehicle may need to be looked at over time, as likely happens with any coaster (granted not all are designed as big cartoon dog characters!).

 

[jsbowl16]

If they had just put in an Al's Toy Barn, Al could have called in The Cleaner aka Geri that fixed Woody and Slinky would have looked good as new overnight.

 

[mesaboy2]

Bad press is also raising ticket prices, raising resort prices, adding resort parking fees, removing parades and other entertainment...I could go on. A new ride vehicle missing it’s cosmetic tail is a pretty small blip on the “bad press” radar. People still pour in.

 

[anomamatt]

The tails on some trains were rattling (badly) when I was there over Christmas. I assume they removed them all before one fell off.

 

[toonaspie]

I wasnt even aware of the plastic fencing. I always thought that was metal painted to look like plastic. Oh lord!

 

[AngiTN]

If they had just put in an Al's Toy Barn, Al could have called in The Cleaner aka Geri that fixed Woody and Slinky would have looked good as new overnight.

Problem is Al's Toy Barn isn't in Andy's back yard

 

[TiggerBouncy]

Not bad press really but bad show. The slinky trains are really showing big time wear and they ride is not even a year old.

From an engineering point of view, you have to expect that something is going to go wrong on a ride as complicated as Slinky within 6 months. If you don't expect it, you're not an engineer.

The fact that it's cosmetic and they were able to largely keep the ride open while they work on the problem is a bonus.

Some people on this board look at this news and go "Slinky is having problems already!". I look at this news and go "all of that complicated engineering, and all that broke so far is a tail and some nicks and scratches! How can I get my team to be that effective?".

 

[rteetz]

From an engineering point of view, you have to expect that something is going to go wrong on a ride as complicated as Slinky within 6 months. If you don't expect it, you're not an engineer.

The fact that it's cosmetic and they were able to largely keep the ride open while they work on the problem is a bonus.

Some people on this board look at this news and go "Slinky is having problems already!". I look at this news and go "all of that complicated engineering, and all that broke so far is a tail and some nicks and scratches! How can I get my team to be that effective?".

Very true however this wear and tear is all over the land. Disney is usually the best there is at this type of stuff. I don't think there was this much wear and tear on the vehicles at Mine Train when it first opened. That ride is probably the best comparison to this ride.

 

[TiggerBouncy]

Very true however this wear and tear is all over the land. Disney is usually the best there is at this type of stuff. I don't think there was this much wear and tear on the vehicles at Mine Train when it first opened. That ride is probably the best comparison to this ride.

You make a great point. However, it wasn't all smooth sailing for that ride either.

7DMT opened in May 2014.
For about 4 months it was hit and miss if Snow White was dancing at the end of the ride (more often not).
The camera system didn't work right for almost a year - missing video or images or putting them on the wrong bands.
In November - 5 months after opening, the building caught fire from the fireworks (oops! How did we miss that flammable material near the firework launchers was a bad recipe?)

I am not sure how many other issues there were. I do know that last time we were there we caught EMMH and 7DMT was closed for about half of it due to "technical problems" - pretty sure with the belts, however I never understood why they didn't move that train off the track for another working one.

And while we are on the subject, I can give you another great example in a 4 letter word. It starts with a Y and ends with an I. Need I say more?

We often tend to see something broken now and think "in the old days...." when we forget how messed up the old days were!

 

[rteetz]

You make a great point. However, it wasn't all smooth sailing for that ride either.

7DMT opened in May 2014.
For about 4 months it was hit and miss if Snow White was dancing at the end of the ride (more often not).
The camera system didn't work right for almost a year - missing video or images or putting them on the wrong bands.
In November - 5 months after opening, the building caught fire from the fireworks (oops! How did we miss that flammable material near the firework launchers was a bad recipe?)

I am not sure how many other issues there were. I do know that last time we were there we caught EMMH and 7DMT was closed for about half of it due to "technical problems" - pretty sure with the belts, however I never understood why they didn't move that train off the track for another working one.

And while we are on the subject, I can give you another great example in a 4 letter word. It starts with a Y and ends with an I. Need I say more?

We often tend to see something broken now and think "in the old days...." when we forget how messed up the old days were!

I agree but I am more referring to the wear and tear which mine train really didn't have a lot of like this and especially so quickly. The issues you mentioned are not wear and tear type issues.

 

[NeuroCindy]

The wear and tear described makes me apprehensive for Galaxies Edge and the wear and tear that may be seen there with the crowds that will inundate it.