Whenever the PeopleMover has to stop, the ride operators have to wait a certain amount of time and visually check to make sure all vehicles are moving before they start loading again.
If they have to stop it multiple times within a short timeframe, it is highly likely that the spacing of the vehicles will be thrown off and will cause a vehicle collision. This is why you may see Cast Members running the attraction longer than normal without loading new guests.
The train collisions occurs whenever a vehicle has to stop just after areas where the linear induction motors are programmed to increase the vehicle’s speed. Instead of the vehicle traveling at the intended faster speed it will either crawl slowly until it picks up the next grouping of linear induction motors or, worst case scenario, it remains stationary. It can also happen whenever a motor isn’t functioning as the attraction can still operate since the track has so many of them spaced out. Once the vehicles hit, it’s up to the ride operators to stop the attraction. There’s no ride system monitoring how close vehicles are or changing the speed of vehicles. This is 1970s tech.
Running fewer trains can help to prevent this, but it’s not perfect and it will kill the riders per hours.
Oh and the cones are there for two reasons to prevent the operators from loading. Orange means that the car in the train was not show ready (torn up seating) or was not safe to ride (vehicle door not operating, missing safety signage, missing protective flooring.) White cones are custodial related.
Since the ride system is constantly moving and there are no handles/handrails/restraints, the operators do not have a way to add a flag or clip indicating that that car is out of service.
Additionally, since this is 1970s ride with no brake sections, removing or adding a vehicle requires the PeopleMover to be closed. Maintenance Cast Members have to be involved. It’s a time consuming process and not done during operating hours unless it is absolutely necessary.
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