Maybe you ride system experts can give some input

[Kramerica]

So I want to start off by saying that Haunted Mansion is by far and away my favorite ride in all of Disneyworld. The atmosphere, the history, the effects. I love it all. But as time goes on and there are various updates to the ride, I can't help but wonder if they'd ever update, to me, the most glaring issue.

The ride system itself. Nothing takes me more out of the moment on that ride than your Doom Buggy jarring back and fourth to orient itself while going around a corner. I don't know why it's so unsmooth and jerky. I don't know if it's always been this way or if it's just been a degradation of the years that's made it this way. But it's really hard to ignore. And for a ride that's so crucial in keeping you absorbed into the world, it's a real bummer.

You ride the new Little Mermaid ride, I don't remember what it's called, the one in the new Fantasyland. This is essentially identical to the ride system in the haunted mansion. Even the buggies look really similar. But the ride system is smooth as can be. Goes around corners in one smooth motion. Would it ever be possible to update the haunted mansions track so that it behaves more like this?

 

[kap91]

The turn of the buggies is very low tech. There's a rail attached to an arm on the buggy and as the rail moves closer and further from the buggy that causes it to rotate.

I don't know how mermaid works but I suspect given new tech that exists that each car rotates via its own servo and can be precisely controlled. Either that or it's the same system with just much more advanced and precise engineering.

Haunted mansion could be updated but it would require essentially ripping out what's there. So not likely.

 

[danlb_2000]

The turn of the buggies is very low tech. There's a rail attached to an arm on the buggy and as the rail moves closer and further from the buggy that causes it to rotate.

I don't know how mermaid works but I suspect given new tech that exists that each car rotates via its own servo and can be precisely controlled. Either that or it's the same system with just much more advanced and precise engineering.

Haunted mansion could be updated but it would require essentially ripping out what's there. So not likely.

Yes, I believe mermaid has a motor on each car to rotate it instead of it being done mechanically from the track.

 

[DManRightHere]

I would have thought mermaid would still be mechanical, as said before, more precise engineering and bushing or so. Mechanical would be a lot cheaper and I've never seen a broken/malfunctioning clamshell. Unless they can get them off the track...

I'll try to pay more attention next time.

 

[Raineman]

So I want to start off by saying that Haunted Mansion is by far and away my favorite ride in all of Disneyworld. The atmosphere, the history, the effects. I love it all. But as time goes on and there are various updates to the ride, I can't help but wonder if they'd ever update, to me, the most glaring issue.

The ride system itself. Nothing takes me more out of the moment on that ride than your Doom Buggy jarring back and fourth to orient itself while going around a corner. I don't know why it's so unsmooth and jerky. I don't know if it's always been this way or if it's just been a degradation of the years that's made it this way. But it's really hard to ignore. And for a ride that's so crucial in keeping you absorbed into the world, it's a real bummer.

You ride the new Little Mermaid ride, I don't remember what it's called, the one in the new Fantasyland. This is essentially identical to the ride system in the haunted mansion. Even the buggies look really similar. But the ride system is smooth as can be. Goes around corners in one smooth motion. Would it ever be possible to update the haunted mansions track so that it behaves more like this?

I remember mentioning the same idea in a thread a while back, and realistically, replacing the entire Omnimover ride system with the trackless system that they have on VOTLM would require a huge financial investment, as well as closing a signature MK ride for an extended period. Also, the Omnimover system is great for ride capacity, as the ride vehicles do not have to stop to load. Obviously, any abnormal shaking/jarring movements would require a spot repair, but, tbh, it doesn't bother me-it kinda reminds me of the old carnival haunted house rides

 

[Master Yoda]

I remember mentioning the same idea in a thread a while back, and realistically, replacing the entire Omnimover ride system with the trackless system that they have on VOTLM would require a huge financial investment, as well as closing a signature MK ride for an extended period. Also, the Omnimover system is great for ride capacity, as the ride vehicles do not have to stop to load. Obviously, any abnormal shaking/jarring movements would require a spot repair, but, tbh, it doesn't bother me-it kinda reminds me of the old carnival haunted house rides

Trackless also requires a 100% level floor as well. Any change in elevation would require a second mechanism. (eg the elevator in ToT)

 

[lazyboy97o]

@marni1971 has a video where his ride vehicle on The Little Mermaid failed to rotate properly during the descent into the sea. So yes, each vehicle moves independently.

 

[marni1971]

Indeed. Mansion is mechanical. Mermaid uses electric motors for each car. So they are very different.

Mansion has gotten rougher in places over past years. Leaving the endless corridor in particular.

 

[ABQ]

I'm just impressed that the audio is holding together. For a while the ghost host was barely audible. I do wonder how that is queued and played back. Is it self contained within each doom buggy?

 

[marni1971]

I'm just impressed that the audio is holding together. For a while the ghost host was barely audible. I do wonder how that is queued and played back. Is it self contained within each doom buggy?

Every pair of doom buggies. It used to be wirelessly transmitted to every other vehicle but I'm not sure if that's still the case.

 

[Bairstow]

Every pair of doom buggies. It used to be wirelessly transmitted to every other vehicle but I'm not sure if that's still the case.

Anyone know the mechanics of how the original audio system worked?

 

[ShoalFox]

I always thought the jerky rotation was intentional to create a deeper feeling of haunting.

 

[marni1971]

Anyone know the mechanics of how the original audio system worked?

The audio was transmitted from trackside transmitters to every other doom buggy. I know some systems used low power radio, others used infra red. Spaceship a Earth originally used the same type of system. The doom buggy audio was then sent via hardwire to the adjacent buggy. That way only half the vehicles needed receiving equipment.

An audio fault was easily discernible if two adjacent buggies were out of use.

 

[Sandurz]

The audio was transmitted from trackside transmitters to every other doom buggy. I know some systems used low power radio, others used infra red. Spaceship a Earth originally used the same type of system. The doom buggy audio was then sent via hardwire to the adjacent buggy. That way only half the vehicles needed receiving equipment.

An audio fault was easily discernible if two adjacent buggies were out of use.

One complete loop of audio for the whole ride? Or more granular divisions to help with sync?

 

[marni1971]

One complete loop of audio for the whole ride? Or more granular divisions to help with sync?

Enough sentences to play until the next transmission. That way yes, everything would be in sync in the event of a ride creep or stop. In the days before cheap large capacity solid state it was also the most reliable and cost effective way to have audio that could be changed. Only one source would need replacing as opposed to every (or every other) cars recording.

 

[Bairstow]

Enough sentences to play until the next transmission. That way yes, everything would be in sync in the event of a ride creep or stop. In the days before cheap large capacity solid state it was also the most reliable and cost effective way to have audio that could be changed. Only one source would need replacing as opposed to every (or every other) cars recording.

I found some good information here: http://kingdomofmemories.com/read-h...doombuggies-com-postings-wdw-maintenance-man/
You have to scroll down a bit to get to the relevant section. Try searching for "audio system".

It's unclear how much of the system was in place during the '60s when the ride system would have been developed. I assume a similar system would have been used for Adventures Thru Inner Space. I would imagine the IR sensors to trigger the "chopper" might have been mechanical switches at one point.

 

[Bairstow]

So I've been thinking- before they went to the DACS system (if not after), presumably all ride audio had to have been stored on reel-to-reel tape players. Because most of the speils were longer than the time it takes for a pair of omnimovers to clear the relevant areas, does that mean that multiple ranks of duplicate tape players for each section of spiel had to be kept and utilized in sequence? That way there's always a tape wound to the beginning of its recording when a pair of vehicles needs it.

 

[danlb_2000]

So I've been thinking- before they went to the DACS system (if not after), presumably all ride audio had to have been stored on reel-to-reel tape players. Because most of the speils were longer than the time it takes for a pair of omnimovers to clear the relevant areas, does that mean that multiple ranks of duplicate tape players for each section of spiel had to be kept and utilized in sequence? That way there's always a tape wound to the beginning of its recording when a pair of vehicles needs it.

Maybe they used some form of continuous loop tape.

 

[Bairstow]

Maybe they used some form of continuous loop tape.

Clearly, but I'm wondering if more than one tape for each recording would have been necessary because the length of each recording exceeded the time it would take a pair of vehicles to travel through the associated section of track.

 

[marni1971]

Clearly, but I'm wondering if more than one tape for each recording would have been necessary because the length of each recording exceeded the time it would take a pair of vehicles to travel through the associated section of track.

Good question. Unless there were multiple reading heads, spaced to read the same spiel off the tape a few seconds apart.