Is Big Thunder Mountain Jinxed?

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paulcmartens

Account Suspended
not funny but...

Well, I made a 'I survived BTM' t shirt for anyone to buy at cafepress when the ride re-opened, but had no idea it would be back in vogue (the back says in memory of manuel torres -- had to make it more palatable.).

this is appalling. I was just at the park today and the ride was shut down.

maybe I'm venting here, but I'm going to bag a little on the personnel from top to down. I've taken care of the 'top' in other threads, but now to the down.

I've never been fond of the joking at Jungle cruise (and the jokingly rude comments to 'get out'). Sarcasm isn't cool in a theme park setting for some reason...it just doesn't drive.

Now I heard this spiel with blaring loud speakers on the 'pirate ship'. Its not funny. It never was...so can we just drop the 'hip-ness' attitude of that spiel.

I think the disney company is going in the shi$$er.
 
RU42

RU42

New Member
Re: not funny but...

Originally posted by paulcmartens

I've never been fond of the joking at Jungle cruise (and the jokingly rude comments to 'get out'). Sarcasm isn't cool in a theme park setting for some reason...it just doesn't drive.

Now I heard this spiel with blaring loud speakers on the 'pirate ship'. Its not funny. It never was...so can we just drop the 'hip-ness' attitude of that spiel.
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I don't mind it on the JC because the entire ride is a giant sarcasm. But each has their own tastes.

When you say pirate ship I am guessing you mean the Columbia? If so I whole heartedly agree with you on that.

RU
 
ShanenLuvsDsny

ShanenLuvsDsny

New Member
Ok, if I heard this about one of the HUGE rollercoasters at Magic Mountain, I'd definately NOT be taking any chances and going on that ride.:lookaroun
I think I will go on Big Thunder again though, although I will have that scary thought in the back of my head about something happening, which sucks. I can't believe how careless those employees were and don't think they should be able to run any of the rides at the park anymore. I guess they need to hire more responsible people. Hopefully, since the ride is controlled by a computer, this won't happen while guests are on board. I hope.
 
M

Merlin

Account Suspended
Originally posted by ShanenLuvsDsny
Ok, if I heard this about one of the HUGE rollercoasters at Magic Mountain, I'd definately NOT be taking any chances and going on that ride.:lookaroun
I think I will go on Big Thunder again though, although I will have that scary thought in the back of my head about something happening, which sucks. I can't believe how careless those employees were and don't think they should be able to run any of the rides at the park anymore. I guess they need to hire more responsible people. Hopefully, since the ride is controlled by a computer, this won't happen while guests are on board. I hope.
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It's extremely doubtful you'll ever hear of an incident like this on a Magic Mountain coaster. Although Disney has the edge in show quality and in other types of ride technology, Six Flags is vastly superior in coaster design and safety.

Regardless of whether this was a computer glitch or human error, it doesn't make a difference in the grand scheme of things. Bottom line is that clearly there are still problems with this attraction, and that could ultimately increase the likelihood of another accident. Regardless of the cause, it is still unacceptable and is still Disney's responsibility.
 
JackSkellington

JackSkellington

Active Member
Originally posted by Merlin
It's extremely doubtful you'll ever hear of an incident like this on a Magic Mountain coaster. Although Disney has the edge in show quality and in other types of ride technology, Six Flags is vastly superior in coaster design and safety.
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Merlin has a very good point. MM has roller coasters that are someofthe best in the world. And some of the safest. A study showed you aremore likely to die in a car accident, than on MM roller coaster. (No kidding) But if Disney does fail to keep the ride safe, I would hesitate to ride BTMRR.
 
xfkirsten

xfkirsten

New Member
I gotta say, this does not scare me off BTMR in the least. In fact, even after hearing of this inicident, I was still walking by BTM regularly to check the wait time and see if I felt like waiting in line. the biggest annoyance here is the loss of the FastPass for the time being.

-Kirsten
 
cherrynegra

cherrynegra

Well-Known Member
Originally posted by Merlin
It's extremely doubtful you'll ever hear of an incident like this on a Magic Mountain coaster. Although Disney has the edge in show quality and in other types of ride technology, Six Flags is vastly superior in coaster design and safety.

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Unfortunately, something happened that may not make it true. But, the accident didn't really involve the ride itself malfunctioning or anything like that.

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Worker struck and killed by coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain

(04-09) 15:59 PDT SANTA CLARITA, Calif. (AP) --

An employee at Six Flags Magic Mountain was struck and killed by the Scream roller coaster Friday, authorities said.

The employee, who was not immediately identified, walked onto the coaster's tracks in a restricted area shortly after 10 a.m., said Los Angeles County sheriff's Lt. Larry Gump. The worker died at a hospital.

"We do not know why this employee was in this area at this time," park spokeswoman Sue Carpenter said.

Sheriff's investigators along with officials from the state's Division of Occupational Safety and Health were called to the park.

Scream, a floorless roller coaster opened in April 2003. Riders are strapped into chairs with their feet dangling as the attraction goes through a series of twists and turns, reaching speeds up to 65 mph.

Magic Mountain has 18 other roller coasters on its 260-acre playground of rides and attractions.

A 28-year-old woman died of a ruptured aneurysm in June 2001 on the Goliath Roller Coaster at the park. A coroner's report stated the ride may have been a factor in her death.
 
JackSkellington

JackSkellington

Active Member
If the employee walked onto the track, or even near them it is HER fault. I go to MM all the time. And there are boxes in yellow and red striped boxes painted on the ground. The ride personel are NOT supposed to leave them at all. So if you do, it is at your own personal risk. And the 28 year old probably was taking some sort of medication at the time. Goliath is a Awesome ride, and the 80 MPH. drop is very intense, but not too bad. It does not have enough force or power to rupture anything. Unless you are
A: taking medication
B: not in good physical health
C: frightened so much the nerves are extremely tense
She was probably so tense that she helped to rupture her own aneurysm, along with the speed, and G-force combined.
 
RU42

RU42

New Member
Jack - that is a totally cold and uncalled for response. Get the facts before speaking - which to my knowledge, at the time of this writing, have not been determined or released. (I just checked.)

To make some sort of drug judgment or blaming her without facts is improper. It is sad when someone has to mock a tragedy for their own purposes.

Now - trying to get back on-topic:

It is interesting that MM post would be brought to light so soon after posting. I think it goes to show that anything can happen to any ride at any park.

Could the MM accident happen to anyone at the park - no it couldn't. It was a pre-open procedure of some sort (still waiting for facts here.) But the fact is the ride was not open to the public. No one seems to be blaming the ride as 'unsafe.'

However, the recent accident on BTMRR was also something that could not happen to the public. Yet people seem to be blaming BTMRR as unsafe to ride.

I am still ready to ride BTMRR as soon as I can. (And I would also ride Scream too, assuming the facts don't take a sudden weird turn.)

RU
 
M

Merlin

Account Suspended
Originally posted by RU42
[BIt is interesting that MM post would be brought to light so soon after posting. I think it goes to show that anything can happen to any ride at any park.

Could the MM accident happen to anyone at the park - no it couldn't. It was a pre-open procedure of some sort (still waiting for facts here.) But the fact is the ride was not open to the public. No one seems to be blaming the ride as 'unsafe.'

However, the recent accident on BTMRR was also something that could not happen to the public. Yet people seem to be blaming BTMRR as unsafe to ride.

I am still ready to ride BTMRR as soon as I can. (And I would also ride Scream too, assuming the facts don't take a sudden weird turn.)

RU [/B]
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There is a major difference, though, between the two incidents. The MM incident was not caused by mechanical malfunction OR a ride operator error. It was someone wandering onto the tracks. No one would rationally say, "I'm afraid of that ride because something bad might happen.", unless they were also planning to wander onto the tracks. In the BTMRR incident, however, it is perfectly rational to be hesitant about wanting to ride. Even though the error happened during a procedure that guests would never experience, it is the CAUSE of the error that matters. In this case, the cause was due to some CMs not properly trained. It is reasonable to have doubts as to how extensively they, and other, CMs have been trained on the procedures that DO impact guest safety.

Additionally, Disney rides unfortunately have a poor track record as of late, due to ride malfunction. When accidents have occured at MM and other Six Flags parks, it's typically been due to rider error causing injuries to themselves.

Bottom line, when you go to a theme park, you're putting your safety into their hands. I'm never going to be afraid of riding if someone got hurt because of something THEY brought on themselves. I AM going to be hesitant, though, if the problem is caused by something outside of the riders' control. That's been the case at DL more often than at MM and other Six Flags parks.
 
JackSkellington

JackSkellington

Active Member
Originally posted by RU42
Jack - that is a totally cold and uncalled for response. Get the facts before speaking - which to my knowledge, at the time of this writing, have not been determined or released. (I just checked.)

To make some sort of drug judgment or blaming her without facts is improper. It is sad when someone has to mock a tragedy for their own purposes.
RU
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Actually in my post I did not blame her. I simply stated the common possible factors. We really don't know. However I have a very science oriented family. DNA analists and all that kind of stuff. And those are just some of the most likely reasons of death. I am not taking it lightly, nor am I blaming anyone. But it is quite very possible one or more or none of those reasons explain how she died. K?
 
RU42

RU42

New Member
Originally posted by Merlin
Even though the error happened during a procedure that guests would never experience, it is the CAUSE of the error that matters. In this case, the cause was due to some CMs not properly trained.

Additionally, Disney rides unfortunately have a poor track record as of late, due to ride malfunction. When accidents have occured at MM and other Six Flags parks, it's typically been due to rider error causing injuries to themselves.

I AM going to be hesitant, though, if the problem is caused by something outside of the riders' control. That's been the case at DL more often than at MM and other Six Flags parks.
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I get what you are saying but this is how I am looking at it. The cause of the second crash at DL is not within the realm of possibiity of happening to guests. I say this because as far as I understand it, the ride cannot be moved to manual mode while people are on it.

But I am left with the question I don't think anyone here can answer - can a CM due to poor training or lack of attention cause a crash to happen like the second crash? Can they hit an override button? Can the ride be easily put into manual mode? Just curious mainly.

And your other 2 paragraphs I left I agree. I wish Disney had the same track record.

RU
 
CHAPPS

CHAPPS

Account Suspended
I won't ride any of the DL coasters anymore until they get their act together. It's sad that I feel safer at Six Flags than I do at DL.:(
 
RU42

RU42

New Member
Accidents happen, they don't detour me. I am happy to ride any ride at any time.

But while at DL Monday, there are people leary of BTMRR. I heard one mom tell her family - I'm not going on it, it's dangerous. I don't mind, less people in line to slow me down.

RU
 
xfkirsten

xfkirsten

New Member
Originally posted by JackSkellington
Yes I agree. But there is also a very real chance of danger when riding at this point in time. I now have some second thoughts.:(
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Statistically, you're WAY safer on the ride than you are just getting to the park! I'm with RU on this one - not deterred at all. If people are scared off of it, by all means, go ride something else, it leaves a shorter line for me.

-Kirsten
 

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