Ride Incident at Disneyland?

Iakona

Iakona

Member
coasterphil said:
I'm guessing that this is similar to an accident that occured on Superman: Ride of Steel back in 2001.

"(Monday, August 6, 2001) - At Six Flags New England theme park in Agawam, Massachusetts, twenty-two people were injured after two roller coaster trains collided on the park's Superman Ride of Steel roller coaster. The accident happened in the loading station as one train was preparing to be dispatched and the other was returning to unload passengers. Reports indicate that the second train failed to stop and struck the stationary train at about 20 miles per hour. Both trains sustained damage in the crash.

Twenty-two passengers were taken to local hospitals, all with minor neck, back and facial injuries. In addition, two or three riders were knocked unconscious in the crash.

The ride has been shut down pending an investigation by state and local authorities. Park officials and representatives from the ride's manufacturer, Intamin AG of Switzerland, are also investigating."

That was a news report from that accident. I believe they found something wrong with the magnetic braking system.[/QUOTe

A couple of points:

1. This incident seems different from the one's at WDW were it seems a ride malfunction is the cause.

2. Superman in NE (as I seem to remember from past reports) has had several problems (some extremely serious). Personally I have more faith in Disney rectifying this than I do Six Flags.

3. That stop at the end is abrupt normally so I can only imagine how bad it is getting hit from behind by another vehicle. If you have never been on it, you come into that area very quickly and get stopped very fast. A car behind you coming in behind you and colliding with you that fast would not be pleasant.
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wdwishes2005

wdwishes2005

New Member
The_CEO said:
I can say now though, I am a true believer that no theme park, not even disney, keeps their rides up to 100% safety.. OBVIOUSLY.. Or this wouldn't of happened.
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ironic, i just read the old BTMRR thread yesterday, you haven't changed a bit.
 
mousermerf

mousermerf

Account Suspended
The_CEO said:
I can say now though, I am a true believer that no theme park, not even disney, keeps their rides up to 100% safety.. OBVIOUSLY.. Or this wouldn't of happened.
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When you involve people, there's bound to be problems. Nothing is 100% safe, never will be.

I am considering that the "mirage" of safety that technology has given society recently is being stripped away by incidents like this, and the shuttle program's recent failures with safety.
 
peter11435

peter11435

Well-Known Member
The_CEO said:
I can say now though, I am a true believer that no theme park, not even disney, keeps their rides up to 100% safety.. OBVIOUSLY.. Or this wouldn't of happened.
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That is once again jumping off base and in some ways foolish. There is no physical way for something to ever be 100% safe. This can be seen perfectly by looking at the space shuttle. The fact is that some parks and by some I do mean Disney keep there attractions (for the most part) as safe as humanly possible. Why? Because accidents like these cost the company millions and are terrible publicity. They try very hard (regardless of what some think) to prevent this type of thing.
 
wdwishes2005

wdwishes2005

New Member
mousermerf said:
When you involve people, there's bound to be problems. Nothing is 100% safe, never will be.

I am considering that the "mirage" of safety that technology has given society recently is being stripped away by incidents like this, and the shuttle program's recent failures with safety.
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hate to be blunt, but all that means to me is shorter lines.
 
imagineer boy

imagineer boy

Well-Known Member
Oh, ________. This is not good at all. This will only add to the list of lousy publicity for Disney. Damn damn damn damn damn damn damn damn damn!!!!!!!!!!!!! Well, hopefully no one was killed, that would make it alot less worse.
 
Iakona

Iakona

Member
TP2000 said:
It was September, 2003 and one person was killed. Not three.

Local Los Angeles newsradio is reporting that in this California Screamin' accident 16 people have been taken to local hospitals complaining of back and neck pain. None of the injuries are "serious" according to local news.

It sure looked bad though.

And for those who haven't been on California Screamin', the trains location is almost at the very end of the ride as the trains turn the last corner at a fairly low rate of speed before going into the station. These trains weren't going very fast, which probably prevented more serious injuries.
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I'm sure you have been on it more times than I have (4 X last week), but I seem to remember coming into that point at a decent rate of speed. Granted much slower than the rest of the ride, but if you figure in the rapid stop and the speed of the vehicle hitting you from behind I have to say the speed is enough to cause some whiplash and possibly more serious injuries.
 
MagliteL13

MagliteL13

Active Member
MrNonacho said:
Oh, Intamin, just keep digging that hole.
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Screamin's an Intamin coaster? That would explain a lot.... ;)

Glad to see that it occured near the station though. That makes EVAC a little easier and the low speed. Things could have been a ton worse. Does anyone know where the location of the brakes are before the station and what the braking speed would have been?
 
C

coasterphil

Well-Known Member
Iakona said:
A couple of points:

1. This incident seems different from the one's at WDW were it seems a ride malfunction is the cause.

2. Superman in NE (as I seem to remember from past reports) has had several problems (some extremely serious). Personally I have more faith in Disney rectifying this than I do Six Flags.

3. That stop at the end is abrupt normally so I can only imagine how bad it is getting hit from behind by another vehicle. If you have never been on it, you come into that area very quickly and get stopped very fast. A car behind you coming in behind you and colliding with you that fast would not be pleasant.
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1. That incident was also a malfunction. The brakes did not operate properly.

2. That is silly, as both companies do their best to keep safe. The other problem you may remember is a mentally handicapped man falling from the ride because he took off his seat belt and was too large for the restraint.

3. The train was traveling approximately 20mph when it hit the other, which isn't terribly fast. From what I gather in other posts, this probably occured at 10mph as their is a longer brake section and the ride is never as fast.
 
Iakona

Iakona

Member
imagineer boy said:
Oh, ________. This is not good at all. This will only add to the list of lousy publicity for Disney. Damn damn damn damn damn damn damn damn damn!!!!!!!!!!!!! Well, hopefully no one was killed, that would make it alot less worse.
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Ditto. Since I was in Disneyland and DCA for the 1st time last week and ALL my relatives know I was there because we were in CA for a family wedding, and 7/23 was the first time my son made the height requirement for 48 inches (and we rode 3X in row because he love it so much) I anticipate the phone ringing very soon.
My view: Disney does a good job of providing safe rides. I do not have the naive expectation of 100% safety. It is not realistic, it is not life. If that was what I was looking for then my son would not do Karate, or baseball or soccer. Each of these could result in injury.
I will be interested to see Disney's reaction to this incident versus the insident's at WDW.
I would surmose that California Screamin (which we both loved) will be closed for a period of time to evaluate and rectify what went wrong.
My concern is that Rep. Markey (from my home state, and unfortunately my HS) will use this to further agenda to insert the federal gov. into the amusement parks. I think Disney needs to demonstrate a sincere and agressive.
This is not a political statement, Rep. Markey and I are of the same party and I am an active member, but not a blind follower.

If I think Disney has taken the proper steps I will have no problem enjoying this ride next year when my son and I take my wife (his mom) to Disneyland.

Sorry for the long speech!
 
Testtrack321

Testtrack321

Well-Known Member
wdwishes2005 said:
imho it looks like a flipped train. NOT GOOD
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It's ok, you don't know the layout of the ride. Right before the train station there is a downwards helix, part of the train is on the helix, thus, tilting it. It's not flipped over or derailed, it's just on the helix.

It's a slow-impact collision. I'd say it'll be closed for about a week, with Matt giving a press conference, and then a reopening. Watch miceage.com, Al will probably have something about this tomorrow or Monday...
 
Madison

Madison

New Member
wdwishes2005 said:
o.k. dumb question, according to the rollercoaster database http://www.rcdb.com/qs.htm?quicksearch=california+screamin' there are 24 riders per train, if two trains collided, and did not hit anyone on the ground or in the station, how can there be 60 injuries? last time i checked, 24+24= 48. btw i look forward to riding this the next time i go to disneyland, ive never been on it before.
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Gasp -- you mean, the news doesn't report the facts? Say it ain't so!

The news, 9 times out of 10, doesn't know a thing about what it's reporting. In TV news, there are two options a station can choose from -- be first or be right. Guess how many choose to be right?
 
wdwishes2005

wdwishes2005

New Member
Testtrack321 said:
It's ok, you don't know the layout of the ride. Right before the train station there is a downwards helix, part of the train is on the helix, thus, tilting it. It's not flipped over or derailed, it's just on the helix.

It's a slow-impact collision. I'd say it'll be closed for about a week, with Matt giving a press conference, and then a reopening. Watch miceage.com, Al will probably have something about this tomorrow or Monday...
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i realized this later, i have not been on it, but the first pic posted made it look as though the trains derailed.
 
Iakona

Iakona

Member
coasterphil said:
1. That incident was also a malfunction. The brakes did not operate properly.

2. That is silly, as both companies do their best to keep safe. The other problem you may remember is a mentally handicapped man falling from the ride because he took off his seat belt and was too large for the restraint.

3. The train was traveling approximately 20mph when it hit the other, which isn't terribly fast. From what I gather in other posts, this probably occured at 10mph as their is a longer brake section and the ride is never as fast.
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1. Sorry, let me clarify I was specifically referring to MS and TOT at WDW. These were not, at his point, determined to be ride malfunctions.

2. No, it's not silly. While both companies may do their "best" I and many others have read of other malfunctions at 6 Flags NE. They may have only made the local news because of no injuries, but there have been other incidents at this park. If the rider took his seatbelt off that is one issue, if he was TOO large for the seatbelt, then why was he on the ride? My son was checked for hieght everytime he rode CA Screamin. He legitimately made the height. I was suprised because he was too short for RNC in early June. However, he must have had a growth spurt because different CMs checked his height each time so it was not a matter of a lenient CM.
I will base my families safety on my information; regardles of whether or not I am accused of being silly.


3. As I said, I would defer to those that ride CA Screamin regularly, but even at 20MPH a collision would result in the injuries they are talking about.
 

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