Astro Orbiter refurbishment extended by a week

Jul 29, 2014 in "Astro Orbiter"

Gallery / 4 Photos
Astro Orbiter refurbishment

Astro Orbiter refurbishment
Astro Orbiter refurbishment
Astro Orbiter refurbishment
Astro Orbiter refurbishment
Posted: Tuesday July 29, 2014 9:22am EDT by WDWMAGIC Staff

The Astro Orbiter refurbishment at the Magic Kingdom has been extended by a week.

Orginally scheduled to take place from June 2 to September 19, the refurbishment will now run until September 27, reopening to guests on September 28 2014.

Astro Orbiter refurbishment
Astro Orbiter refurbishment

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    devoy1701Oct 20, 2014

    I love the new paint scheme. It really brightens the place up and draws your attention. Almost makes it feel more alive. Hope they get those planets moving again soon.

    modnarOct 03, 2014

    Looks great! Agree it's too bad the planets are stationary, but it's good to see a classic being taken care of.

    Horizons1Oct 03, 2014

    This guy.

    Rob562Oct 03, 2014

    I thought the planets *were* frozen... ;) -Rob

    Horizons1Oct 02, 2014

    Guests won't notice and it's not Frozen, so no need to worry.

    Macca250Oct 02, 2014

    Thanks for the replies! Seems strange that they didn't fix the planets if it was just a matter of broken motors. I've seen car washes with spinning advertisements that look more complex. I'm sure the company that literally builds mountains could have fixed it if they wanted to. Unfortunately we all know a broken motor is enough for TDO to justify pulling the effect :hungover:. Not to sound all negative though, the refurb has certainly given Tomorrowland some glamour.

    PhilharMagicianOct 02, 2014

    Weren't they all spinning prior to refurb? Back about 2004 or 2005 the planets were refurbed and many were not spinning then. There were motor repairs and/or replacements at that time for all the planets and I thought were spinning until the recent closure. I hope this temporary.

    rct247Oct 02, 2014

    It was too costly to maintain the spinning planet effect because the motors are at angles and that angled motion causes them to wear out quicker. That's just what has been passed along.

    BrerJonOct 02, 2014

    And still working fine in Hong Kong and Paris.

    Horizons1Oct 02, 2014

    So...technology that was possible in 1994 isn't possible 2014. What a joke.

    note2001Oct 02, 2014

    Someone in this thread mentioned that the motors that are used to spin the planets work best when on the level. The way they are mounted for the planets is not level and it causes too many problems. I'm sure technology has progressed enough since the initial design was created to create a motor that would operate well under these conditions, but it seems whoever was in charge of the refurbishment either did not have the time, the funds in the budget or perhaps didn't care to work to restore their motion. We'll never know.

    ABQOct 02, 2014

    Sad, I was just going to quote @Macca250 and ask that I'd like to know too but was going to add, and please don't make it some smart alec like response of "duh, money of course"

    Mike SOct 02, 2014

    Macca250Oct 02, 2014

    Anyone know why they didn't fix the planets? I'd have thought that was a pretty basic effect?
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