Tower of Terror and a dime

[MGMBoy]

Originally posted by disneyisbest
First of all there is really no need to TEST this. If the force is great enough that WE have to be strapped down then it is pretty obvious that a anything that weighs less than is will get up in the air.

Weight isn't relevant though...Gravity still acts on it the same. Wind resistance is what IS important.

 

[Kwit35]

Ok, here is a stupid question. With all this up and down, sudden stops and starts; what keeps the ride from just breaking and plummeting to the ground? There are very few rides I have not been one, this is one of them.
It just seems like there would be a lot of stress put on the ride with the weight of the ride/riders...

 

[MGMBoy]

Originally posted by Kwit35
Ok, here is a stupid question. With all this up and down, sudden stops and starts; what keeps the ride from just breaking and plummeting to the ground? There are very few rides I have not been one, this is one of them.
It just seems like there would be a lot of stress put on the ride with the weight of the ride/riders...

I'm sure someone else knows the ride system far better then me but, in short, about a dozen seperate safety systems. Bear in mind the car is secured in a seperate chamber for the drop. Many hish speed/high usage/high floor elevators have a piston beneath the car. Not sure if ToT does though. There are also emergency breaks. Roughly the equivalent of steel beams that lock the car if anything is detected wrong. Someone else know the system better?

 

[Tom]

Originally posted by MGMBoy
I'm sure someone else knows the ride system far better then me but, in short, about a dozen seperate safety systems. Bear in mind the car is secured in a seperate chamber for the drop. Many hish speed/high usage/high floor elevators have a piston beneath the car. Not sure if ToT does though. There are also emergency breaks. Roughly the equivalent of steel beams that lock the car if anything is detected wrong. Someone else know the system better?

You're pretty much right. They implemented all of the typpical safety systems you'd find on a typical passenger elevator.

There are several cables on each car, and they're all capable of carrying the entire car, plus load, by themselves. Also, the emergency brake system will clamp onto the guide rails if it were to go into emergency mode, and they also have the springs and pistons at the bottom of the shaft (I'm sure) as a last resort.

Knowing Disney, I'm positive that there are more failsafes than these, but I know those are the typical elevator safety systems.

 

[Kwit35]

I am sure you are right, it just seems like a lot of stress to put on the mechanism, ride after ride, day after day...

 

[MGMBoy]

There's probably a big hydraulic piston beneath the car too is my guess.

 

[Nansafan]

Remember that it is not a "drop" you are being pulled down and pushed up as well.

 

[Tom]

Originally posted by MGMBoy
There's probably a big hydraulic piston beneath the car too is my guess.

Yes, but most likely pneumatic, so that there isn't a fluid explosion it it crashes too hard. The springs are the last resort.