Luigi's FLying Tires testing video

[wdwmagic]

Looks awesome!

[youtube]rDNT-UmvuLA[/youtube]

 

[unkadug]

Isn't this just a rehash of the old flying saucers attraction at DL?

If the original was closed for poor guest throughput, what makes this any different?

 

[sponono88]

It's based on a similar concept as the flying saucers but the ride system has been re-engineered and the system is all new. It's been decades since the saucers closed at Disneyland so i'm sure they had plenty of time to work out all the bugs.

 

[unkadug]

It's based on a similar concept as the flying saucers but the ride system has been re-engineered and the system is all new. It's been decades since the saucers closed at Disneyland so i'm sure they had plenty of time to work out all the bugs.

Yes, they HAVE had plenty of time, but something tells me that they didn't spend that time wisely !

I think they had bigger fish to fry that to worry about getting more people on the flying saucer attraction. :lol:

 

[sponono88]

Hehe, well for starters the new ride vehicles fit two people and not just one like the original ride.. that alone increases the ride capacity.

 

[unkadug]

Hehe, well for starters the new ride vehicles fit two people and not just one like the original ride.. that alone increases the ride capacity.

Cool....so how big is the area that this will be in? Is there enough room to fit enough of these tires to accommodate enough people per hour? The tires look a LOT bigger than the saucer ever were.

 

[maxairmike]

Cool....so how big is the area that this will be in? Is there enough room to fit enough of these tires to accommodate enough people per hour? The tires look a LOT bigger than the saucer ever were.

On Google Maps, it looks to be about 100ft. long, or about the length of a basketball court (probably a bit longer). Width looks to be approx. 60-70ft. So this is a pretty large surface area. Definitely much larger than a typical bumper car pad.

 

[TP2000]

If the original was closed for poor guest throughput, what makes this any different?

That's the first time I've ever heard the Flying Saucers at Disneyland were closed for low ride capacity.

According to the books I've read where Bob Gurr was interviewed, they were a maintenance nightmare and they didn't have the proper computer controls back then to really operate it correctly; there were a lot of downtimes and rehabs needed. They also had a tendency to create "sonic booms" that would scare a lot of people when the system inevitably broke down every few days.

Bob has been interviewed at long length by many sources on the famous Flying Saucers of the 1960's, but this short statement (with paragraphs of more info available from Bob via Google) sums it up...

Question: Could you tell us a little about the Flying Saucers and what eventually caused them to be removed?

Bob Gurr: What killed the Flying Saucers was that they were very difficult to get that system so it would work every hour of every day. It was primarily because the control system was before computers had been invented. We now know—looking backwards—that if there had been a way to monitor the air pressure in the underground plenums underneath the deck in such a manner that these great big damper valves that control the air flow and the localized pressure in each one of the plenum chambers…had that had computer sensor inputs to a processor and really high speed servo-operated damper valves, we probably could have made it work.

When the New Tomorrowland began construction in September, 1966 the Flying Saucers were closed along with all other attractions in Tomorrowland. They didn't return when the new land opened in the summer of '67, and their old location is now the spot for Space Mountain's queue and Captain EO's theater.

 

[unkadug]

That's the first time I've ever heard the Flying Saucers at Disneyland were closed for low ride capacity.

According to the books I've read where Bob Gurr was interviewed, they were a maintenance nightmare and they didn't have the proper computer controls back then to really operate it correctly; there were a lot of downtimes and rehabs needed. They also had a tendency to create "sonic booms" that would scare a lot of people when the system inevitably broke down every few days.

Bob has been interviewed at long length by many sources on the famous Flying Saucers of the 1960's, but this short statement (with paragraphs of more info available from Bob via Google) sums it up...



When the New Tomorrowland began construction in September, 1966 the Flying Saucers were closed along with all other attractions in Tomorrowland. They didn't return when the new land opened in the summer of '67, and their old location is now the spot for Space Mountain's queue and Captain EO's theater.

16 people per cycle while 16 more loaded. I guess it's just me, but that's a pretty low capacity. But I guess it all depends upon the ride duration. :shrug:

Sonic boom? I didn't realize they went THAT fast!

 

[TP2000]

16 people per cycle while 16 more loaded. I guess it's just me, but that's a pretty low capacity. But I guess it all depends upon the ride duration. :shrug:

According to Al Lutz in his last Miceage update, Luigi's Flying Tires will have an hourly capacity of around 550 people per hour, which is about the same as Disneyland's Peter Pan's Flight, or a bit more than Dumbo.

I'm sure the lines will be very long when Luigi's opens, probably longer than the 45+ minutes that Peter Pan usually runs with.

Sonic boom? I didn't realize they went THAT fast!

No, they don't go that fast. :lol:

Bob Gurr, in one of his many interviews on the Flying Saucer subject, said this about the "sonic booms" it could create.

"That whole thing was a wonderful idea, but it was subject to the vehicles—as they would pass over the ports—and the combination of vehicles on the deck and the different chambers underneath, you could have surges in the air pressure going back and forth in the plenum chambers. That was almost like little tiny sonic booms going back and forth and the valves would become slightly unstable and all of a sudden the saucers would start to dance and then all the valves—thousands of valves—all opened at once. All the air escapes out of the plenums while the blowers are going at full speed and the blower dampers suddenly go wide open. All of the debris in that area of the Park blew straight up and it made such a sonic boom that it almost was going to knock the windows out of the Wardrobe building next door. Everybody in the Park knew whenever the Saucers went down because you had this humongous "whoom!" that went off. It took like a whole hour to get it reset.

They never did get that control system ever figured out. It aggravated everybody, but it was one of the slickest, neatest, mystery rides because…you go down there for the first time to ride it, and you’ve got to ride it two or three times before you catch on to how it really works, then you’ve got to keep going back to the end of the line."

For those unfamiliar with Disneyland history, the Flying Saucers of 1961-66 have a truly mythic reputation. It's no wonder the old ride was brought back in updated form for Cars Land, as John Lasseter as a former Disneyland Cast Member and rabid Disneyland fan knows very well the myth and legend of Disneyland's great Flying Saucers. John Lasseter is the King of Disneyland Fans. :lol:

 

[JLW11Hi]

Yes, they HAVE had plenty of time, but something tells me that they didn't spend that time wisely !

I think they had bigger fish to fry that to worry about getting more people on the flying saucer attraction. :lol:

I think it looks fun and unique!

Luckily, there are plenty of other small attractions in the area, both in Cars Land and in a Bugs Land. Shouldn't that help even out the loads of people, especially
considering the biggest E-Ticket in the park is right next door?

 

[Disneyfanman]

Its going to be a capacity and thru-put nightmare, there is nothing like it anywhere in the world that I know of. That said, I am really excited about the ride. Only Disney could pull this off, and the unique experience will eventually settle down to more reasonable waits. I betcha there are 3 hour waits when it opens.