Rocket Rods

[1stStarIC2nite]

Why on EARTH did they get rid of this attraction?!?! I watched a video of it the other night on www.visionsfantastic.com and it looked like so. much. fun! It really did, and I wonder why they got rid of it?

 

[xfkirsten]

I think I'll hazard a wild guess lol and say because they could never keep it up and running properly. It broke down more than the Matterhorn does now...


-Kirsten

 

[DarkMeasures]

It is because of the lack of funding. When the ride was being built, there was no sponsor so the track could not be reinforced and have banked turns added. So as the ride opened, mostof the planned thrill was gone because the cars had to slow down before each turn so the ride did not meet its expectations.

Another problem also arose that there was too much stress on the track which ended up killing the ride...

Too bad because a few years after closure, a solution was found...

 

[paulcmartens]

such as...?

Too many breakdowns + huge wait times + new Space Ranger Spin = no Rocket Rods

 

[cherrynegra]

You can read all the sad and sordid details of Rocket Rods' demise at yesterland.

http://www.yesterland.com/rocketrods.html

As the phrase puts it: Rocket Rods. Long wait. Short ride.

 

[Disney2002]

It was just a lot of poor planning. I think the biggest problem was the lack of banked turns. In order to prevent the cars from flying off the track, they needed to slow so much at corners. As a result, high speeds were never achieved.

I'm still somewhat dumbfounded by how imagineers, who should know better, missed something that is introduced in the 3 week of High School physics!

 

[cherrynegra]

Wouldn't it be funny if there were some secret wall of shame at WDI where they'd post the pic of some imagineer and the sucky attraction he came up with?:lol:

 

[ToTBellHop]

Wasn't GM the sponsor for Rocket Rods, but when Test Track started having all of its problems in 1997, they decided to drop their sponsorship of Rocket Rods a year before opening, and worry about Test Track? I just thought that made sense since the ride opened with kewl ride vehicles but no banked turns (the track would have been modified during the last year of construction) and no theming (which would have also been added during that last year of construction).

 

[StuntDoomBuggy]

The Tracks Couldn't Handle All That Actions, It Always Breaks Down, And They Could Fly Off The Track..

Too Bad I Never Got To Go On It.. I Was About To, But The Monorail Back To The Hotel Was Just About To Come.. Dang..

 

[marni1971]

The track and (original WEDWay) supports were badly stressed, plus the vehicles actually began to flex under the stress, and thus start to crack in places (spot welds galore!). Not to mention the drive system was underpowered.

All in all, OOPS!!! And what was Cynthia Harris quoted in R&D to fix it? Wasn`t it an extra $10m??

BTW - no vehicle every flew of the track.

Great idea, poor execution.

 

[imagineer boy]

If you watch the video, you can hear the metal from the viecles stressing and creaking as it goes into the sharp turns.

 

[Disney2002]

Originally posted by cherrynegra
Wouldn't it be funny if there were some secret wall of shame at WDI where they'd post the pic of some imagineer and the sucky attraction he came up with?:lol:

That's actually a great idea.

The team from Rod Rockets
The team from the New Imagination
The team from.... (your vote here!)

 

[marni1971]

Originally posted by cherrynegra
Wouldn't it be funny if there were some secret wall of shame at WDI where they'd post the pic of some imagineer and the sucky attraction he came up with?:lol:

The Imagineers got it right - they needed $10m more to bank the track, but Pressler and Harris didn`t want to hear of it. In their eyes it was a 20% increase in budget, not what was technically needed to accomplish the design. So the track stayed flat and...

 

[JackSkellington]

Its too bad it was closed down. I miss it.