Evac Plans

[dreamscometrue]

I've been stuck for some time on a few attractions, but have never had to be evacuated. Is there a plan for the evacuation of all rides/attractions. I was trying to imagine how you'd get out of the elevator drop shaft on ToT, down from Soarin', etc.

Also, do all the rides have cameras 'everywhere' so that people can see issues like kids fooling around, medical emergencies, etc.?

 

[kc1296426]

Yes, for many attractions around WDW there are plans set in place if an evacuation has to take place. Even in any land or pavilion there are plans already drawn up if something happens. The rides and shows and all attractions at WDW have some sort of evacuation that are planned or practiced in some way if an event calls for it.

And most places and attractions in WDW have cameras for security, and for the safety of guests, and many other reasons. Some unique places that you wouldn't imagine have cameras are actually in every elevator in the Tower of Terror and in the alleyway and launch tunnel in Rock' N' Coaster, so if they see anything out of the ordinary they can e-stop the ride or delay the launch.

 

[Rob562]

And most places and attractions in WDW have cameras for security, and for the safety of guests, and many other reasons. Some unique places that you wouldn't imagine have cameras are actually in every elevator in the Tower of Terror and in the alleyway and launch tunnel in Rock' N' Coaster, so if they see anything out of the ordinary they can e-stop the ride or delay the launch.

Actually, to get technical the ToT cameras are part of the VVC "cages" that the elevator cars sit in while in the load and drop shafts. There are no cameras within the car itself. There are also a couple cameras along the 5th dimension to monitor the cars as they roll from one shaft to the other.

As for evacuation from Tower, the cars can be evacuated into the show scenes and 5th dimension levels from the Load shafts, and in the Drop shafts a panel in the back wall of the car can open up to evacuate Guests onto catwalks in the shaft. The panel can't be opened from within the car, only from behind it. (The cars on Horizons evacuated in a very similar way) Of course this would only happen in an emergency. The preferred scenario would be to lower the car to the basement slowly and unload like normal.

On Soarin', in a full power loss they have a generator(s) that can provide enough power to lower the carriages down to floor level. In an E-stop situation, it depends on which command button the CM pressed whether the carriages are immediately lowered down (such as a Guest issue where you want them down immediately) or an entire show stop that freezes the carriages in place (such as a problem down on the floor where you wouldn't want the carriages coming down).

-Rob

 

[dreamscometrue]

Thanks guys.

The last time I was visiting WDW, a couple of kids were fooling around in the 'log' ahead of us on Splash Mountain. At the time, I remember thinking that I wish someone could see them and tell them to stop. Then I thought that there must be a way for someone to be watching in case anything happened. I assume that someone could have seen them and perhaps said something to them when they unloaded right?

 

[Nansafan]

There certainly are cameras everywhere. One trip during E-Ride night we were taking our 9th or 10th ride on BTMRR. My brother (40) and niece (17) were riding together in the last seat of the last car. When we pulled back into the station an announcement came on overhead "Let's give a hand to the 2 people in the last seat. They rode the whole ride facing backwards." They weren't sitting backwards, just turned their bodies so they were facing backwards.

As far as being evacuated from a ride, that same year we were walked off of Buzz and also Test Track. We rode the TTA through a lighted Space Mountain and also were stuck on a log on Splash near the exit for almost 20 minutes. Once the full moon passed, the rest of the trip was uneventful.

 

[Iknewagirlnamed]

:lol: So, speaking of cameras on TOT and Rockn Roller Coaster, I have a story for those involving myself. For those of you who know of the comedian Dane Cook, you're probably aware of his signature hand sign called the "SUFI." IMO, it's really not bad or meant to be inappropriate, however how the fingers are placed it can certainly be looked at as such, condering the middle and the ring finger are both raised. Once again, this wasn't me attempting to be inappropriate. One the trip I took in 2005 when I was 17, I decided it would be cool to try to do the SUFI in the pictures for TOT and Rockin Roller Coaster, because Dane Cook likes to have his fans send in pictures of them doing the SUFI in interesting situations. I went on TOT a few times in a row, both times doing the SUFI when the picture was taken. When I went down to look at the pictures, guess what? The picture didn't show up. I thought that was odd and didn't really "get it" yet. I then went to Rockin Roller Coaster and sat up front. Before the took off, I had my SUFI ready to go with a smile on my face waiting to launch. Only, we didn't launch. I was wondering what took so long, and within a couple of minutes a CM finally came up to me and said, "We're not going to start the ride until you stop doing that." Embarrassed, I told him it wasn't meant to be bad and I apologized. Needless to say, I haven't attempted to do the SUFI again in a Disney Park.

 

[TubaGeek]

I heard that there was some trouble evac-ing Kali River Rapids when it was on one of those steep inclines. Apparently the thing slid back while they were trying to unload. I'm assuming that they had to do a little bit of refurbishment just for that.

 

[Rob562]

I heard that there was some trouble evac-ing Kali River Rapids when it was on one of those steep inclines. Apparently the thing slid back while they were trying to unload. I'm assuming that they had to do a little bit of refurbishment just for that.

Yeah, the mobile platform/step that bridges the gap between the raft and the stairway along the edge of the lift hill collapsed during an evacuation. Injuries were mostly bumps, bruises and scrapes to a CM and two guests. (They would have fallen onto either the stairs or the lift conveyor belt, not into the water) There was a re-design of that platform soon after.

-Rob

 

[markjohns1]

Mission: Space E-Stop evacs were an interesting process involving ladders, unless that process has been changed since I was there. Definitely better to Ride Stop than E-Stop if at all possible. Not a very speedy process either, which is not good news for the claustrophobic.

 

[Disneykidder]

I have been stopped quite a few times but never been forced to evacuate. Once I was stuck on SE for 20 minutes in one spot. I just took a nap and waited.

 

[marni1971]

Dinosaur needs ladders to evac too - the EMV is quite high away form load (ladders are kept at regular distances along the trackside)

The UoE can be fun to ride as it is reset (if you arn`t taken from the vehicles where they stop) - as the travelling theatres are driven in full manual mode by an attraction op or manager.

Be thankful you never had to be evacuated from the 20K show building - if the heat didn`t get you the climb out, across a temporary bridge, and along a catwalk hanging from the buildings ceiling may have!

 

[Yensid_Robert9]

Yeah, the mobile platform/step that bridges the gap between the raft and the stairway along the edge of the lift hill collapsed during an evacuation. Injuries were mostly bumps, bruises and scrapes to a CM and two guests. (They would have fallen onto either the stairs or the lift conveyor belt, not into the water) There was a re-design of that platform soon after.

-Rob

Not to sound too correcting or like I know everything, but the incident actually involved two CM's and a few guests with minor injuries. The CM's were actually my friends/co-workers when I worked at Kali. Also there are no stairs on the evac ramp it is in fact a ramp all the way up alongside the lift hill. Again not meaning to sound "all-knowing".

As far as I know after working at Kali and EE both have 16 cameras and I'm guessing that's about the average amount on major attractions. Can any other CM's confirm this? Also the cameras are pretty evenly spaced so you're missing only about 2 seconds of seeing the same vehicle (again talking about Kali and EE).

 

[YQY747]

I actually got stuck on ToT once, right where it changes fro the horizantal shaft to the vertical one, the anticipation of the drop was killing me until we realised we were stuck. We were there for about 10-15 minutes, and I think they turned some lights on for us. They let us ride again without waiting in line.

 

[KaliSplash]

Only time I've been evaced was from Dinosaur, and just as we stopped for the seat belt check, so it wasn't very dramatic, we just got out and head up the steps.

My wife, on the other hand, got evaced from Maelstrom during the official opening back in summer of 88. I had the 3-year-old who wouldn't ride anything inside and she had the baby that couldn't stand the bright lights outside. So she's going down the river backwards and the boat stops. She says people appeared from the walls and escorted her into hallways and out of the ride.

 

[daringstoic]

On Splash, the CM in tower is looking at no less than 24 different camera views at all time. They also have the option of calling up an additional three shots on the mini screens permanently, and one on the big screen that only stays up for one minute at a time. This allows them to follow a particular boat along through almost all of the ride. There are over 60 different cameras to choose from, including exteriors of the building's doors and stairways. So yes, we're always watching (except for one 25-30 second long part, but I won't say where that is...). Anyway, to answer the original question, yes, every attraction has a detailed plan to evacuate guests, including those who are unable to walk. On Splash before an evac is called, the CMs usually try to restart the ride with the guests still on it, which takes 15-20 minutes depending on how bright the CMs working that day are. If that fails, then guests are walked off. Everyone who gets stuck during a break-down gets Re-Ads good for any ride, even if they're able to complete their ride.

 

[hardcard]

5th dimension to monitor the cars as they roll from one shaft to the other.

As for evacuation from Tower, the cars can be evacuated into the show scenes and 5th dimension levels from the Load shafts, and in the Drop shafts a panel in the back wall of the car can open up to evacuate Guests onto catwalks in the shaft. The panel can't be opened from within the car, only from behind it. (The cars on Horizons evacuated in a very similar way) Of course this would only happen in an emergency. The preferred scenario would be to lower the car to the basement slowly and unload like normal.
-Rob

Hatch release on the back of the horizons vehicles for evac:

 

[Rob562]

Not to sound too correcting or like I know everything, but the incident actually involved two CM's and a few guests with minor injuries. The CM's were actually my friends/co-workers when I worked at Kali. Also there are no stairs on the evac ramp it is in fact a ramp all the way up alongside the lift hill. Again not meaning to sound "all-knowing".

As far as I know after working at Kali and EE both have 16 cameras and I'm guessing that's about the average amount on major attractions. Can any other CM's confirm this? Also the cameras are pretty evenly spaced so you're missing only about 2 seconds of seeing the same vehicle (again talking about Kali and EE).

No problem at all. I've only been on Kali once or twice, so I don't recall what the sides of the lifthill looked like, just assumed it was steps.

I got a tour of the Test Track control booth once during a downtime due to a downpour with severe lightning. (I'd started chatting with the CM at the pre-show podium because the hometown on his nametag was near mine, then it turned out his roommate and I went to the same high school)
I was able to get a couple of quick pics of the tower before they asked me to put the camera away (they hadn't said "no pictures" beforehand). The one showing camera monitors shows 12, but there are many more than that. The monitors in the pic you can see them following the ride path from the curve into the tractor trailer tunnel through the heat vision ramp. So I assume there's probably an additional 12 for the first part of the ride. (Also saw the monitor in the tower showing the doppler radar display for Central Florida)

During that tour we were also brought out to where the CM stands to do the seatbelt check. They couldn't show us any more because the attraction was still powered up.

Mission: Space E-Stop evacs were an interesting process involving ladders, unless that process has been changed since I was there. Definitely better to Ride Stop than E-Stop if at all possible. Not a very speedy process either, which is not good news for the claustrophobic.

I guess it depends on whether they can bring the floor back up during the E-stop or not. If they can, it's just a matter of opening the cabin up (using the manual release for the front panel, if necessary). Otherwise, it's a bit of a drop to step out the door with the floor lowered.
Back on the first day of previews for Mission: Space, I remember that the manual release handles were just secured in place with clear tape.
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b84/steerr/Mission Space/100_0645.jpg
When I was able to ride again a few months later, the permanent covers had been installed.

-Rob

 

[disneydata]

...
As for evacuation from Tower, the cars can be evacuated into the show scenes and 5th dimension levels from the Load shafts, and in the Drop shafts a panel in the back wall of the car can open up to evacuate Guests onto catwalks in the shaft. The panel can't be opened from within the car, only from behind it. (The cars on Horizons evacuated in a very similar way) Of course this would only happen in an emergency. The preferred scenario would be to lower the car to the basement slowly and unload like normal.
...
-Rob

There's no panel in the back of any AGV (vehicle). In fact, there is no wall behind or in front of any vehicle in the VVC (car the vehicle site in). Think of the VVC as a box with the front and back sides removed. The only panel in the drop shafts is located on the side closest to the middle of the building. Each AGV has a panel on both sides that can be removed along with the panel in the VVC.

And yes, you can be watched during your whole ride on ToT from when you sit down to when you stand up.

 

[dreamscometrue]

There's no panel in the back of any AGV (vehicle). In fact, there is no wall behind or in front of any vehicle in the VVC (car the vehicle site in). Think of the VVC as a box with the front and back sides removed. The only panel in the drop shafts is located on the side closest to the middle of the building. Each AGV has a panel on both sides that can be removed along with the panel in the VVC.

And yes, you can be watched during your whole ride on ToT from when you sit down to when you stand up.

That's interesting, but I'm trying to visualize "no wall behind or in front". Are you actually in an elevator 'shaft' like a regular elevator, or is the car on kind of a vertical track with no walls around it?

Can you be evacuated if the ride stopped anytime during a drop sequence or does it have to be lowered to the ground.?

 

[disneydata]

That's interesting, but I'm trying to visualize "no wall behind or in front". Are you actually in an elevator 'shaft' like a regular elevator, or is the car on kind of a vertical track with no walls around it?

Can you be evacuated if the ride stopped anytime during a drop sequence or does it have to be lowered to the ground.?

The shaft is a full shaft with the only openings being the Horton doors you can see from the park and the doors for entering the shaft from behind. The VVC (vertical vehicle conveyance) is what actually gets pulled in the drop shaft. It has to be open on the front and back so the AGV can enter/exit and the guests can see out of it. The AGV (what you sit in) only has the open front to enter/exit.

The easiest way to evacuate is to call the lift to the bottom floor and pull it out of the shaft. Rarely, this can't be done and as long as the vehicle is parked at one of the evac floor platforms, the panels talked about above can be used on the side. If the vehicle isn't parked at one of the platforms, a panel in the top can be removed and guests can be hoisted up out of the vehicle to the floor above. Obviously these are not the preferred method as they take far too long and the lift call is always tried first.