Interesting article, I've been walking over this bridge for years and I'd never stopped and taken a good look at the theming.  I had no idea that it was based on an actual historical bridge.  Thanks again for drawing our attention to the details.

In terms of the parade, getting the floats along the new route is just one thing.  Managing the crowd flow / cast members during the parade is another massive job that needs considering.  How would they practice this?

My thoughts? You want my thoughts?

My thoughts are .... if WDW management wasn't so disgustingly cheap and would actually (GASP!) MAINTAIN the parks in the manner they deserve to be maintained, we wouldn't have bridges that are a serious safety risk to guests and might have to be shut down.

In fact, I find this entire story disturbing. You mean I've been wheeling my kids over a bridge in DISNEY WORLD that's a safety hazard and could have collapsed out from under us at any time??

Nice ... hope you put aside the extra nickels you saved from skimping on maintenance all these years. You're going to need them to pay off all the people who sue the shorts off you after you dump them in the Castle moat!

Uh, no, Pickstar, that's why the bridge is being inspected every night -- so that guests aren't going to be dumped in the castle moat.

Interesting. They sure are taking their time fixing this. I was there in September 2007, and noticed the temporary supports they had put in place. It looked rather scary considering as many as they had put in there. But, then I didn't even think about it being used by the parade floats.

Makes me wonder, what exactly the issue is with the bridge. It would appear that the main supports are sinking, because they didn't really appear dilapidated.

LtPowers said:

"Uh, no, Pickstar, that's why the bridge is being inspected every night -- so that guests aren't going to be dumped in the castle moat."

Yeah, it is NOW after they discovered the thing was structurally unsound!! That's closing the barn door after the horse is gone.

And I think by now we've all learned that "inspecting" things is no way to ensure people don't get hurt. That bridge that collapsed in Minnesota a few years ago had been "inspected" a bunch of times ... how'd that work out??

How many Hannah Montana make overs will it take to raise the money to fix the bridge?

What does this do for their "security and safety" system?  Remember them "pucks" that  were put in the concrete so that each float can be monitored and all floats stopped if one stops or veers off course?

Pickstar:

Did you get up on the wrong side of the bed this morning? You make some of the Pixar-whiners around here look pretty upbeat.

Priesman said:

"Pickstar:

Did you get up on the wrong side of the bed this morning? You make some of the Pixar-whiners around here look pretty upbeat."

What, exactly, does that mean? What does this have to do with Pixar? I hardly think it's being "whiny" to expect Disney to actually maintain a base level of safety in their parks.

On a non-safety-related front...

I've always thought it was dumb to run these fantasy-based parades through Frontierland/Liberty Square.   They should just reroute these things Fantasyland permanently.

' Bird

http://www.plausible-impossible.com

Why don't they just like, you know, fix the bridge?   lol   Surely it doesn't take that long to close and fix/renovate the bridge?

You're telling me that the corporation that built Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, and the Tower of Terror can't come up with the time, the money, or the manpower to fix a wooden bridge?  A Bridge that doesn't really appear to be that long, or tall, or wide?

This is a task that should take HOURS. Not days, weeks, or months.

Puh - leese. Is this really news?  Is the re-routing of a parade truly information that people other that those actually visting the park that day need to know. Did you all know that sometimes fireworks are canceled due to wind? ...

If its that much of a problem... I say replace it with a steel replica. ... OVERNIGHT. Problem solved.

Oh yeah ... and don't tell me that they need to keep that bridge for some kind of nostagic or historical significance. I'm still wondering when they are going to put "Great Momments with Mr Lincoln" back where it goes in California.

Years of neglect thankfully  in Anaheim Greg emmer did a good job of mantaining attractioins and buildings.. Hopefully orlando will get some sense knocked into them

I was just there last week.  I was confused why we didn't see any float parades go through the park.  They did two "Family celebration parades" that basically involved a marching band and cast members getting guests to participate (it was nice).  Now I understand why they didn't have the float parades.  They must be holding them off until they get this work finished.

Has anyone ever seen "A Bridge Too Far"??? The movie about the failed attempt to leapfrog a huge army into the heart of Germany via bridges through Holland and "win the war by Christmas" back during WWII?

I mean no pun re. the title, only to call attention to a technology that existed back in the 1940's and has only been improved upon since---pre-fabrication of bridge structures. In the war, they called it a "Bailey Bridge" ( I think because of the name of the British engineer who invented it, but I'm not sure about the origin) and what it was was a series of sections of pre-built bridge (in this case pontoon floated) that an army could quickly assemble and shove into place in a few hours to ford a stream whose original bridge had been dynamited by those pesky retreating enemy soldiers. In the movie, Elliot Gould is the US General who's in charge if you remember the scene.

My point? It should NOT take long to completely replace the bridge if Disney sets its engineering minds to it or those of firms in this business. AND it can be done even with the existing bridge in place--you just plan your work, pour the support forms alongside existing piers, and have a mad-dash well-prepared day or three or five of closure to rip out the old bridge and bring in the new one in big pieces pre-assembled off-stage. After all, this bridge isn't dealing with rushing currents or unknown footings or other things that real-world bridges have to put up with. Even the potential loads in terms of pedestrians and parade vehicles are well-known and, in this age of CAD programs and other computer wizardry, easily planned for and engineered into the structure. Throw in the brilliant "cosmetic" abilities of the folks at Disney who make brand new materials LOOK "historic" and this should be a piece of cake.

My question? Why isn't it? Why such a big fuss? The Disney of the old days would have solvedl this without anyone noticing or, better yet, made the REBUILDING an attraction with historic-garbed carpenters of the colonial period "building" the "original" Concord bridge on site! After all, SOMEbody had to build the real one back then, didn't they? I remember when the Columbia was built in its slip in Fowler's Landing at Disneyland and the folks doing it were dressed like period shipwrights to add to the illusion of reality that Disney used to make "part of the magic" but which seems to have given up for reasons that can only be guessed at.

Why the problem? Rebuild the bridge.

Jim Hill brings you the latest news on this Magic Kingdom construction project. Which could result in a pretty intriguing parade route at that theme park for a few weeks this summer