Guy climbs out of Space Mountain car during ride

Darkbeer1

Well-Known Member
Just say no to OTSR, you would bump your head all over the place. I’m not sure how the current trains could be modified and not get too heavy, remember the sound system was already a retrofit. This could be a very serious problem. It’s not like a seat belt could be added either, that will slow dispatch times considerably, what I fear is that there will be a new maximum position to the lap bars that prevent larger people from riding, that is typically what happens after incidents like this.

CalOSHA doesn't care about loading times, their focus is on safety.

I can think of many coasters here in California with both a seatbelt and a lap bar. It is the mostly likely outcome from the inspection, even if it is a recommendation. To the park's lawyers and insurance companies, a recommendation by the state agency is an edict, as if an incident happens after the report is issued, the lawsuit could demand much higher demands, using the report as proof that the park failed to provide a safe outcome without the seatbelts. Disney might get a small window to retrofit the vehicles while still operating the ride at reduced capacity.
 

Darkbeer1

Well-Known Member
Personally, I feel that the answer here is a seatbelt without a lap bar ala Tower of Terror, Indy/DINOSAUR, Star Tours, Matterhorn, etc. Something like this allows for a range of upper Body Movement with a more conforming restriction on the lower body.

I think CalOSHA might accept that, the self locking seatbelts as a replacement, as it is a good, secure system.

But it would reduce capacity per hour. But it beats the zero persons per hour currently being offered at the attraction.
 
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Darkbeer1

Well-Known Member
No World of Color, no Paint the Night, no Castle, no DL night parade, no Splash Mountain, no Grizzly River Run, no Fantasmic, now no Space Mountain. Oh, and no QS at the Disneyland Hotel.

I picked the wrong month to make my first (and probably only) trip to DL.

I agree, things happen, but still plenty to enjoy, and you can always leave the resort and visit places like Knott's easily, even without a car.
 

Magic Feather

Well-Known Member
I think CalOSHA might accept that, the self locking seatbelts as a replacement, as it is a good, secure system.

But it would reduce capacity per hour. But it beats the zero persons per hour currently being offered at the attraction.
I doubt that it would severely hurt ops at Space. Like Matterhorn, there are two positions between load and dispatch for safety checks, elongating the amount of time for seat belt checks.
Do they have security cameras throughout the ride? I'm guessing not.
They do. They have a lot. Mostly Infrared due to the dark nature of the attraction.
 

Rbonnett

New Member
I initially saw this on Twitter and was told at first that it was a hoax, but The O.C. Register is now reporting on it: https://www.ocregister.com/2019/01/...osed-after-visitor-climbs-off-ride-in-motion/

Disneyland’s Space Mountain remains closed after visitor climbs off ride in motion

A Southern California man in his 20s climbed off Disneyland’s Space Mountain roller coaster while it was moving on Tuesday afternoon and had to be guided to safety by employees, according to police and theme park officials.

The uninjured man walked under his own power to the Disneyland first aid station and was later taken to the hospital for a precautionary examination, according to Disney officials.

Anaheim police responded to a medical aid call at the park. Initial reports indicated that the man had fallen out of the ride, but that turned out to not be the case, said Anaheim police Sgt. Daron Wyatt.

“He didn’t fall out,” Wyatt said. “He had to maneuver himself around the safety mechanism.”

The man, who has cognitive disabilities, climbed out of the moving train in the dark during a slower portion of the ride as the coaster was making its initial climb, Wyatt said. Disneyland attraction operators stopped the coaster once they realized the man was not on the ride and located him, Wyatt said.

Anaheim police did not have the man’s name or age because there was no injury and no police report was filed, Wyatt said.

Disneyland officials said they immediately contacted the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, the state agency that inspects amusement park rides. Space Mountain remains closed while DOSH investigators inspect the ride, Disneyland officials said.

Disneyland officials said the ride vehicle’s lap bar restraint remained engaged and that the man “used force to maneuver his way out of the vehicle.”
 

Rbonnett

New Member
I was in line with my son for this ride. I saw the group come out telling their friend was gone. First, the crew did not catch this until the came out from going threw the whole ride. That is when the group started yelling their friend was gone. At first the cast mates were confused on whether to believe them. They finally started unloading the cars however there had to have been at least one more set of rockets that went thru for them to finish the whole ride. It was terrifying. Also everyone kept posting it was a hoax saying the people had cognitive disabilities, which they did (as does my son) so it must be a hoax. They were not alone on this ride there was at least a group of 6. The one man was crying. It was horrible to see. I am thankful that this man made it out. This could have been tragic.
 

Darkbeer1

Well-Known Member
I was in line with my son for this ride. I saw the group come out telling their friend was gone. First, the crew did not catch this until the came out from going threw the whole ride. That is when the group started yelling their friend was gone. At first the cast mates were confused on whether to believe them. They finally started unloading the cars however there had to have been at least one more set of rockets that went thru for them to finish the whole ride. It was terrifying. Also everyone kept posting it was a hoax saying the people had cognitive disabilities, which they did (as does my son) so it must be a hoax. They were not alone on this ride there was at least a group of 6. The one man was crying. It was horrible to see. I am thankful that this man made it out. This could have been tragic.

First off, Welcome and thanks for sharing the information.

Let me assure you that Disney Management did report the situation as quickly as possible to the state and shut down the attraction.

The state agency, DOSH will now do a complete investigation and determine what corrected action should be taken, and if the corrected action has to be done immediately or by a certain date.

Having a knowledgeable independent third party look into what happened is a very good response to what happened.

Nobody wants anyone to get hurt on an amusement ride.

It is an unfortunate happening, and very glad the gentleman was found OK.

Some folks do make jokes, which is one reaction to scary news

Once again thanks, and welcome.
 

180º

Well-Known Member
Personally, I feel that the answer here is a seatbelt without a lap bar ala Tower of Terror, Indy/DINOSAUR, Star Tours, Matterhorn, etc. Something like this allows for a range of upper Body Movement with a more conforming restriction on the lower body.
You may be right. Complicating things a bit, Disneyland’s Space Mountain is famously prone to cascades. Loading guests fast enough to keep up with the ride circulation is challenging even with the simple lap bars. If seat belts are introduced, they would almost certainly need to rethink the entire load area. I would almost suggest punching a hole in the side of the mountain and extending the re-entry tunnel and return to unload stretches, increasing the parking spots available post-ride. Then it might be realistic to re-implement the tandem, one-behind-the-other load zones which the ride had before 2005, dispatching rocket trains two at a time (with one holding at the dispatch area to even out the intervals, similar to Pirates).
 

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