Earlier this summer on June 17, the Walt Disney World Resort released an advisory informing guests that Primeval Whirl would be closed until further notice due to unspecified technical issues. And though we still don’t know exactly what is happening with this attraction Disney told guests that this attraction could open as soon as July 4, but of course, that never happened. In the weeks and months since, Disney kept moving their reopening target by a week or two at a time, but unfortuantely the attraction still isn’t open as of the first week of September, and guests are unable to make FastPass+ reservations through the end of October.
And while we initially thought that this attraction would reopen in just a few weeks, a change in status on the Walt Disney World website has prompted some speculation that this attraction might not ever open again…
Standing but not operating
Image: Disney
Though Disney has been keeping guests informed about the changing reopening targets for Primeval Whirl, Disney’s official attraction page for this ride has recently been updated with a “Temporarily Closed” notice. This is an important change, as this is the same status that the long-closed Stitch’s Great Escape has on its attraction page as well, and we’re pretty sure that attraction is not going to be opening back up ever again. So could Primeval Whirl be already dead without dying? Possibly.
What’s behind this closure?
Image: Jennifer Lynn, Flickr (license)
So what could be causing this sudden (and possibly fatal) issue at Primeval Whirl? We don’t know for sure, but some have speculated that there is a mechanical failure happening somewhere on the ride, and Disney has been waiting on a part to repair and get this attraction back up and running. However, if this part is not available, that could explain why the refurbishment continued to be extended, and now seems to be closed indefinitely.
Another possibility is that this closure is related to in incident at another theme park with a similar attraction. Earlier this year at Lightwater Valley a young boy fell out of the exact same type of “wild mouse” roller coaster model made by Reverchon, the same manufacturer of Primeval Whirl. An investigation is ongoing into the Lightwater Valley incident and that attraction is also closed until further notice, which could be why Disney’s version of this ride is not open.
Will Disney ever provide an official update on the future this attraction?
Image: Disney
Though the status on Disney’s website is not a good sign about the future of this attraction, technically the most recent “reopening target” of September 29th has not passed yet, so there is some hope for any Primeval Whirl fans out there. However, if this attraction really is going to be closed indefinitely, we’d hope that some kind of announcement or operational update would be shared with guests in the near future.
And though Disney has a history of leaving attractions standing but not operating, we’re hopeful that with this attraction, because it is outside and exposed, Disney won’t be able to just randomly tear it down and not tell anyone, which means we might actually get some news if Disney really isn’t planning to ever reopen this attraction.
Though there were some pre-D23 Expo rumors about new attractions coming to Disney’s Animal Kingdom, no announcements were made at this year’s event last month, but if this attraction is well and truly going extinct perhaps Disney will seriously consider re-theming its worst land ever, and we could get a new attraction in this space.
Though Primeval Whirl isn’t exactly the most popular attraction at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, the mystery surrounding this attraction’s extended refurbishment and possible permanent closure is certainly interesting, and hopefully we’ll get some concrete answers about the future of this ride soon!
