Disney seat belts

MattyMitch

Active Member
Original Poster
Anybody know how the seat belts lock? I am talking about the belts on rides such as Test Track and ToT.
How do they lock?
How do they stop the red 'release' button being pressed?
I think they lock the length of the seatbelt as well as I have heard stories about people being on ToT and if you leave slack it will lock and you will have extra room although it is unsafe. How do they lock the length of the belt?
 

21stamps

Well-Known Member
I didn't pay attention to that, so can't answer. I think you could ask for extra slack if you wanted it though.
 

Rob562

Well-Known Member
Seatbelts on attractions in Disney have a "fail safe" design, meaning that it requires power to be applied to *unlock* the seatbelt. In its resting state, there is a physical latch inside the buckle that prevents the button from being pressed down. To unlock, power must be applied to this latch to move it out of the way and allow the button to unlock the belt when the Guest presses it.

That's the design for the buckles on rides like Star Tours and Tower of Terror. I presume the latches that are built into the ride vehicles (Soarin, Test Track) are of similar design.

I don't know for sure, but they may also have physically designed in an extra safety feature where the power to release the seatbelts can only be applied when the ride vehicle is in a safe position in the station. Coasters and other thrill rides by major manufacturers have been doing this for years. Power used to lock/unlock a lapbar is applied through electrical contacts on the side of the ride vehicle. When the coaster train leaves the station there is no physical connection. The only way to unlock the lapbars would be to return to the station, or the ride operators can carry out a battery pack of some kind that connects to the train to power the latches. I could easily see Soarin designed in such a way that the carriages have to be in the down position to be connected to the circuit to unlock. (Don't know for sure, just speculating)

As for the seatbelts themselves that trip a safety sensor if they're cut or too much slack is reeled in during the ride (like if the rider pulled out too much seatbelt on Tower and hid it from the CM to leave a lot of slack), I've heard talk about such sensors second- and third-hand but I have no direct knowledge of such sensors.

-Rob
 

21stamps

Well-Known Member
Seatbelts on attractions in Disney have a "fail safe" design, meaning that it requires power to be applied to *unlock* the seatbelt. In its resting state, there is a physical latch inside the buckle that prevents the button from being pressed down. To unlock, power must be applied to this latch to move it out of the way and allow the button to unlock the belt when the Guest presses it.

That's the design for the buckles on rides like Star Tours and Tower of Terror. I presume the latches that are built into the ride vehicles (Soarin, Test Track) are of similar design.

I don't know for sure, but they may also have physically designed in an extra safety feature where the power to release the seatbelts can only be applied when the ride vehicle is in a safe position in the station. Coasters and other thrill rides by major manufacturers have been doing this for years. Power used to lock/unlock a lapbar is applied through electrical contacts on the side of the ride vehicle. When the coaster train leaves the station there is no physical connection. The only way to unlock the lapbars would be to return to the station, or the ride operators can carry out a battery pack of some kind that connects to the train to power the latches. I could easily see Soarin designed in such a way that the carriages have to be in the down position to be connected to the circuit to unlock. (Don't know for sure, just speculating)

As for the seatbelts themselves that trip a safety sensor if they're cut or too much slack is reeled in during the ride (like if the rider pulled out too much seatbelt on Tower and hid it from the CM to leave a lot of slack), I've heard talk about such sensors second- and third-hand but I have no direct knowledge of such sensors.

-Rob
Don't quote me, but I think all or most rollercoasters have some kind of sensor. I think the computer displays any issues that could take place.
 

Tom

Beta Return
I didn't pay attention to that, so can't answer. I think you could ask for extra slack if you wanted it though.

You cannot request extra slack. That would be a gross safety violation. Seatbelts on rides need to hug the body.

Some of the reasons they have you tug on the yellow strap (and put hands up on ToT) is to help prevent you from holding slack, and to make sure you actually latched the belt.

Tower even has a grid of LEDs on a panel on the front of the vehicle to show the operator which belts are latched. I'm not sure if Test Track or Dinosaur vehicles have indicators onboard or at the panel.
 

21stamps

Well-Known Member
You cannot request extra slack. That would be a gross safety violation. Seatbelts on rides need to hug the body.

Some of the reasons they have you tug on the yellow strap (and put hands up on ToT) is to help prevent you from holding slack, and to make sure you actually latched the belt.

Tower even has a grid of LEDs on a panel on the front of the vehicle to show the operator which belts are latched. I'm not sure if Test Track or Dinosaur vehicles have indicators onboard or at the panel.
Well, you most definitely can request it. You just might not get the answer that you wanted ;)
 

bingie

Well-Known Member
On Soarin, there's a "seat belt air release" button behind each carriage. Look for it as you walk in to board. The green lights are unlit until the seatbelt is fastened, then it flashes.

On test track, there's 6 green LEDs on the back fin of the car to indicate if the belts are fastened or not. There's also a white button to lock the belts prior to dispatch.
 

HRJunior

New Member
For the tower of terror, it was normally air controlled seatbelts (air controlled seat belt lock if you want)
I've seen many of tower of terror OG, and blueprints (wich are availlable on the net) and the elevator does have a air tank wich is fulled when at dock. (there is a tank to open the seatbelts if the elevator is stick in the shaft)

It was the same now on Disney Star Tour ride, because the air pressure is less dangerous than electric shock, and because in case of lack of electricity in the park, it allow to do not have people falling from their seat as the star tour cabin is in hyperspace mode for example
 

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