This problem had reared its ugly head when I first got the game, on launch day. If I let the game sit in the system overnight, no disk would appear on the Disk Channel the next day. I had to manually eject the disk, then re-insert it (sometimes many times) in order to get the system to recognize the disk. A minor irritation, sure, but nothing I wasn't willing to live with. Never did I think that something was horribly wrong. Well, Mario Kart Wii came out, and I virtually abandoned Smash Bros. in favor of that Blue Shell-ridden game for weeks. Then, I started playing Odin Sphere (you should, too). Now, about a month later, I tried popping Smash Bros. in for the singular purpose of checking my friends list for shits 'n' giggles.
The system never once read the disk. After about ten tries, I actually clicked on the Disk Channel, only to find the error message you see in the screenshot above. I flipped through the Wii Operations Manual to no avail--it basically said "visit the website!" And that I did. The support website had a big link which listed all problems relating to Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Well, how encouraging is THAT? I clicked it, and quickly found my problem. I encourage you all to go to support.nintendo.com and look at the stack of problems associated with that game, as it's really unbelievable.
Anyway, I soon discovered that there was a problem with my Wii's optical...reading...mechanism and that I'd have to send it to a repair center in Washington, free of charge. Apparently, a small percentage of Wii's cannot read multi-layered disks, which Smash Bros. is. I filled out an online form, printed out a special FedEx label, and sent both my Wii (and Smash Bros.) off to Washington today. I wrapped the system in bubble wrap, then stuffed the box full of crumpled-up newspaper. There is no WAY that system is getting damaged. Turnaround (once they recieve the system) is about a week according to the website, and I'll have Metal Gear Solid 4 to keep me busy in the meantime.
However, without Wii Fit, my gut size will increase, and the little Balance Board character will scold me upon the system's return. My hope is that, in addition to fixing the optical thingamabob, the repair people will also clean out any remaining Dr. Pepper. So what about you readers out there? Has this happened to any of you? If so, what was the turnaround time? And seriously, check out the Brawl support link. There are a lot of things wrong with that game.