SOFT OPENING WATCH - Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Coaster

Tom

Tom

Beta Return
GrumpyFan said:
As good as they are, there's still no way to completely account for the real-world in even the best CAD/CAM tools. Sometimes it's just one of those things that has to be tested once built to accommodate for things that may shift once built or perhaps adjust for the builder's slight mis-calculation.
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Moreso on the part of the builder, which was the case with Dumbo, if I recall. The drawings allowed plenty of space between the ride vehicles and the pit, but I believe the spinner itself was installed off-center.
 
GoofGoof

GoofGoof

Premium Member
unkadug said:
People didn't ride this thing...actors did.
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Unless they were robots, the actors are still people. If I hire someone to do something (like be an extra in a commercial) and I put them into a known dangerous situation I am negligent. If the ride vehicles were slamming into the station that could have caused a serious injury. Seems like a really crazy risk to take to me.
 
wm49rs

wm49rs

A naughty bit o' crumpet
Premium Member
unkadug said:
*playing devils advocate here*

That land was the plot of 20K lagoon. The land had to be built UP to standard park elevation using backfill from lord knows where. So in reality this is virgin land and very unpredictable.
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True, but the principles remain the same....
 
jt04

jt04

Well-Known Member
Tom said:
The engineers and architects, who place their stamp on the final set of plans, will ensure every tolerance, safety factor and margin of error has been taken into account.

If it gets built in a manner that's not compliant with the plans, that's on the contractor, and so is any issue resulting from the construction.

And in modern day construction, "settling" isn't acceptable. There's no tolerance even accounted for. The plans and specs require that the subgrade be prepared, and the foundations be placed, in such a manner that there is no movement. A coaster track can't settle - period.
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The foundation under it can. Not saying that is definitely what happened, just saying settling of the foundation is possible.

Also, while in theory the track can't settle per se, it can react differently depending on different factors. Weight distribution in the RV's, temperature etc. If coaster tracks were built completely rigid they would crack in fairly short order.

Just like buildings sway due to wind loading, coaster tracks also have some flexibility.

They just started to test with the cars on the tracks very recently. That they almost soft opened this quickly is nothing short of amazing. They have come along way since Test Track.
 
Clamman73

Clamman73

Well-Known Member
GoofGoof said:
Wow. I thought the tests and adjustments were just to increase clearance if someone reached an arm out. This sounds a whole lot worse. How did they let people ride this thing if the ride vehicles were actually hitting things? That seems almost negligent on the part of Disney. I don't care what kind of waiver people sign if there is something that blatant wrong and god forbid someone is hurt its a pretty slam dunk lawsuit to win. Waivers don't get you out of gross negligence. Luckily nobody was hurt. Thanks for the updates @marni1971 and @Scoutn757
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Looks like in any of the "actor" video that they had their hands on the bars - they probably told them to keep their hands on the bar for the whole ride.
 
unkadug

unkadug

Follower of "Saget"The Cult
GoofGoof said:
Unless they were robots, the actors are still people. If I hire someone to do something (like be an extra in a commercial) and I put them into a known dangerous situation I am negligent. If the ride vehicles were slamming into the station that could have caused a serious injury. Seems like a really crazy risk to take to me.
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BTW...it was a joke, but I'm pretty sure that the Disney lawyers wrote the contract in favor of Disney. I'm pretty sure that if anyone had gotten hurt that Disney would be found not negligent, especially since it hasn't been turned over to the parks yet anyway.
 
landauh

landauh

Active Member
GoofGoof said:
Unless they were robots, the actors are still people. If I hire someone to do something (like be an extra in a commercial) and I put them into a known dangerous situation I am negligent. If the ride vehicles were slamming into the station that could have caused a serious injury. Seems like a really crazy risk to take to me.
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Maybe the situation wasn't known until they had the actors ride. I don't work in construction but do work in IT and it is amazing how many times a product is tested for all the issues that users might do to cause an error and once someone who had nothing to do with the development finds a way do do so. Sometimes designers are too close to the system to do someone they would consider stupid. Again this issue might not have been thought of until the actors rode.
 
Tom

Tom

Beta Return
marni1971 said:
This quickly? It's been 33 months!

Digging deeper I've found there are indeed measurement and tolerance issues. They will be fixed. But not cheaply. And the errors will need to be accounted for.
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And they started testing with weights at least as far back as late February, if not sooner. I saw them in person on our Feb/Mar trip.
 
englanddg

englanddg

One Little Spark...
unkadug said:
People didn't ride this thing...actors did.
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I caught a picture of one of them taking a "refreshing break" over at EPCOT after riding.

6938001696_fb0ca87969.jpg
 
GoofGoof

GoofGoof

Premium Member
Clamman73 said:
Looks like in any of the "actor" video that they had their hands on the bars - they probably told them to keep their hands on the bar for the whole ride.
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unkadug said:
BTW...it was a joke, but I'm pretty sure that the Disney lawyers wrote the contract in favor of Disney. I'm pretty sure that if anyone had gotten hurt that Disney would be found not negligent, especially since it hasn't been turned over to the parks yet anyway.
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Even if they were told to keep their hands on the bars in writing and in the contract a good lawyer would easily get around that if the problems as described occurred.
landauh said:
Maybe the situation wasn't known until they had the actors ride. I don't work in construction but do work in IT and it is amazing how many times a product is tested for all the issues that users might do to cause an error and once someone who had nothing to do with the development finds a way do do so. Sometimes designers are too close to the system to do someone they would consider stupid. Again this issue might not have been thought of until the actors rode.
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I would think they knew about these problems since they have been testing with both weights and some live people before the shoot.
 
Magenta Panther

Magenta Panther

Well-Known Member
I'm no ride expert in any way whatsoever. Physics are a mystery to me. Clearance taking into account weight and velocity...the heck do I know?

BUT FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!!! What's wrong with WDI these days??? They build a new Dumbo spinner, and the elephant's bellies drag on the ground!!! (The old one is just fine, apparently, built back in the late 1960's...guess the fellas who built that still had the Fear of Walt in them, eh?) And of course the much-mentioned broken Yeti, that TDO hasn't made the slightest gesture towards fixing, and now this Mine Train embarrassment. Does Disney think it can forever get away with this stuff? Does it not understand the internet? This is lame!!!! People should get fired over this. What's the issue here? Iger-era nickel-and-dime-ing? What????
 
cw1982

cw1982

Well-Known Member
marni1971 said:
This quickly? It's been 33 months!

Digging deeper I've found there are indeed measurement and tolerance issues. They will be fixed. But not cheaply. And the errors will need to be accounted for.
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From your research, are these things that will take a long time to fix?
 

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