Barack Obama is our New President!

[hhsrat]

If somebody dies before being sworn in, Imagineering gets stuck with an unusable face.

Nonsense. They'll just use the face elsewhere. (As evidenced by the sleeping monk in Spaceship Earth, who I believe (but am not 100% sure) bears a strong resemblance to Woodrow Wilson ... I think President Taft also makes an appearance somewhere in that attraction)

[Shorty82]

Actually, Z, according to this, they'd already done some preliminary work, creating busts of both Obama and McCain, to shorten the time the attraction is down for refit.

Read on in the brief article about the changes being made -- looks like The Hall of Presidents is getting a iasw-level overhaul, with new projectors, lighting, sound, etc. And George Washington might get a line or two! To me, it's all welcome attention being given to an often under-appreciated attraction

Sounds like that the place is getting a much needed overhaul. Bringing the show into the 21st century which will be nice.

There's some other interesting information in that article. Looks like work is being planned on the stairs in the old Tomorrowland Skyway building. Interesting that work like that is going to be done in an all but abandoned building. Maybe a sign that Disney will actually do something with that place?

That's from the "Construction Update" section. Also interesting, at least to me, is that all this information is being filed with Orange County. I never realized Disney had to file that kind of paperwork with the county.

[BRWombat]

That's from the "Construction Update" section. Also interesting, at least to me, is that all this information is being filed with Orange County. I never realized Disney had to file that kind of paperwork with the county.

Oh, yeah. I know MousePlanet, and probably others, routinely watch for permit filings by Disney to get info on building projects and rehabs that haven't been officially announced.

[Shorty82]

Oh, yeah. I know MousePlanet, and probably others, routinely watch for permit filings by Disney to get info on building projects and rehabs that haven't been officially announced.

The thing I didn't realize is that Disney had to file with Orange County. I thought being part of the Reedy Creek Improvement District all permit filings went through there, not the county.

[Notatourist]

The thing I didn't realize is that Disney had to file with Orange County. I thought being part of the Reedy Creek Improvement District all permit filings went through there, not the county.

Nope, all construction goes through the county...yay permitting..

[Shorty82]

Nope, all construction goes through the county...yay permitting..

Weird. I thought part of the reason the RCID was formed was because there were things that the counties would never approve to be built and forming the district got around that.

[hobie16]

Weird. I thought part of the reason the RCID was formed was because there were things that the counties would never approve to be built and forming the district got around that.

It's a tax dodge. When Disney was trying to build Mineral King north of Lake Tahoe the locals researched RCID. They determined if a RCID like deal was set up in Cali the local governments would be screwed. The voters spoke and Mineral King went poof.

[Zazu]

Weird. I thought part of the reason the RCID was formed was because there were things that the counties would never approve to be built and forming the district got around that.

The problem was never the permit process, it was the building code. The Southern Building Code that Orange County follows doesn't permit construction of, say, steel-reinforced fiberglass castles. RCID wrote the EPCOT Building Code to govern construction in the District both to permit such atypical constructions and to set higher standards for wind resistance, fire protection, and evacuation means.

Every time there's a big hurricane that WDW endures, State officials come to visit and see what else they want to steal from the EPCOT code.

Besides, why would RCID want to do all that paperwork? RCID *does* provide the inspectors though, as County inspectors don't have the needed familiarity with the EPCOT code to do the work. Surprisingly, they are *tough*, having required redos on a number of projects in just my short time with Show Quality.

[Shorty82]

That's why I thought RCID handled the permits. Orange County's codes didn't allow for some of the things Disney wanted to build and therefore wouldn't approve the permits to build them. I guess it all boils down to technicalities in the end.

I knew the EPCOT codes are very strict and always have been. In the beginning they required things that no other code did, such as fire sprinklers in every building and most every structure (look around WDW, there are sprinklers EVERYWHERE). My understanding is that the EPCOT codes are the model for the rest of the country because of how strict they are.

One of the good things with the strict codes Disney follows when building anything it means the buildings will be very safe and hold up to most anything Mother Nature can throw at them. I can't think of anywhere else I'd rather ride out a hurricane than somewhere at Disney. That's why I signed up to be on the ride-out crew the moment the list was posted (that and I figure I might as well get paid to ride out a storm).

[glendalais]

I can't think of anywhere else I'd rather ride out a hurricane than somewhere at Disney. That's why I signed up to be on the ride-out crew the moment the list was posted (that and I figure I might as well get paid to ride out a storm).

Just out of curiosity, what does the ride-out crew at WDW do, anyway?

At the resorts, I imagine they just ensure that all the guests are able to ride out the storm and keep them fed and whatnot. However, I can't imagine what they would do at the parks.

Forgive me if this seems a little obvious, lol. It's not really something we worry about at the DLR - we generally only hear about Hurricanes if there's a collection underway to benefit WDW CMs effected by one, and I personally have never lived in a region prone to Hurricanes, so I'm not familiar with it, lol.