Wedn't You Know It?

[Epcot82Guy]

Sorry I didn't get back sooner to respond to your question...they answered it very well though.

Anyone know what causes Deja Vu so much trouble. I think there's one at Six Flags over GA and I never hear of any problems with it.

As for ride types and Disney...Disney purchases rides "out of the box" and then reegineers them to fit their needs, sometimes to the point where they are hardly even recognizable from their "out of the box" state.

It actually had just as many when it opened. The difference is that SF has since added some new systems Vekoma worked out for the ride system, so they operate somewhat more consistently now.

 

[rdour@techminds]

Either way, Disney has been very lucky with the rides they have. Yes, Test Track goes down more than I'm sure they wish, but look at how complicated it is. I just hope the computers aren't using Windows as the OS. I was on an American Airlines flight to Japan and they let us sit for 3 hours waiting for a system check. Turned out Windows registry went currupt on the navigation system they were using on the 777, and required a complete reinstall and testing. We had to wait 6 hours additional for another plane. I'd much rather trust important critical computing to Linux or BSD, Solaris, etc.

About Deja-vu, I've whitnessed one thing go wrong with the ride. The design uses a curled reverse lift. You back out of the station into the lift, and when hauled to the top are released through the station. On the other side is a similar lift hill that performs the same task to send you backwards through the ride. At the end of the ride, your momentum pushes the train up the original lift, and a braking system holds the train in place and slowly allows it to rrun back down the lift into the station for a smooth stop. The issue, the final step failed, and I whitnessed a train run up the lift and once again shoot forward. Numatic brakes kicked in to slow the progress, but too late. The train overshot the station and ran up part of the first loop before rolling back. It then rocked back and forward for about a solid minute until reaching a stop. People were manually released after power was terminated. WHen I asked a ride tech if this was the usual cause for concern, the answer was yes. Even though the action itself is harmless, it still is a mechanical failure. There wouldn't ever be enough momentum to run through the first loop a second time, even without the presence of the brakes.

Ryan

 

[coasterphil]

I actually saw a train get stuck up on the original lift when it was supposed to be going back into the station at rides end (SFGAm version). It made a horrible screeching noise and they ended up stuck there for 30-45 minutes. I'm not even sure how they would evac riders at that point, and I didn't get to find out as the train was ultimately released.

 

[Pirate665]

I actually saw a train get stuck up on the original lift when it was supposed to be going back into the station at rides end (SFGAm version). It made a horrible screeching noise and they ended up stuck there for 30-45 minutes. I'm not even sure how they would evac riders at that point, and I didn't get to find out as the train was ultimately released.

Now, my only real expirence working on a coaster came from SW, but 15-20 minutes was our max before a signal 87x was called. Full evac.

>Steve

 

[yeti]

More stuff:

- Sometime next year, you can expect to see autograph books with pages divided into two sections. Each section will have a watermark of a character with the character's name in bold; this is where the character will autograph the book. There will also be several pages with "Rare Sighting" sections for those characters which are rather rare to see out and about. The "big news" is that handlers are going to be given stamps to put on your book to verify the signature, and then you can take your book to various stations to get a prize based on how many signatures you've gotten.

Now that is JUST what we need.





NOT! :brick:

 

[ToTBellHop]

what's wrong with new, better organized autograph books that allow kids to win prizes? I see no problem with that at all.

 

[Lee]

As for ride types and Disney...Disney purchases rides "out of the box" and then reegineers them to fit their needs, sometimes to the point where they are hardly even recognizable from their "out of the box" state.

True for RnRC and the kiddie coasters. Nothing else, though. Coaster-wise, that is.

 

[gsimpson]

Where's the other one?

I know about the X coaster at SFMM, where is the other Arrow/SS X coaster? It was months late, millions over budget, and drove Arrow into bankruptcy, where and when did they have time to build another one?

The X at SFMM is still down one day a week for maintenance most of the time, it is still not reliable at all. Apparently they have ordered all new trains for it. A couple months ago it was shut down for about a week after a train got very stuck.

It is a great coaster and is a different experience. It would be a challenge to make it fit in to WS from an appearance standpoint, but if anyone could do it...

 

[ag2000]

where did all the poster get this information and why is it so vauge?

 

[ToTBellHop]

True for RnRC and the kiddie coasters. Nothing else, though. Coaster-wise, that is.

lest we forget Primeval Whirl. Crush's Coaster in Paris is also an off-the-shelf design.

 

[DisneyCane]

Turned out Windows registry went currupt on the navigation system they were using on the 777, and required a complete reinstall and testing

I don't know who told you that but I can guarantee you that the navigation system of the 777 (or any other plane for that matter) does not use a windows operating system.

First, when mission critical, highly proprietary, computer systems are designed they will always either use a proprietary application-specific OS or a UNIX based OS.

Second, the 777 program was given the go ahead on 10/29/90. At this point, Windows 3.1 was still 1.5 years from release and the professionally-tailored Windows NT 3.1 was over 2 years from release.

 

[sanctumsolitude]

lest we forget Primeval Whirl.

I've been trying to forget it since it opened.

 

[Lee]

lest we forget Primeval Whirl. Crush's Coaster in Paris is also an off-the-shelf design.

Yeah...I lumped them and Mulholland Madness in with the kiddies...probably shouldn't have. My bad.

 

[Lee]

I know about the X coaster at SFMM, where is the other Arrow/SS X coaster?

It's called Eejanaika at Fuji-Q Highland in Japan.
Different layout from X. Been open about a year now.

 

[coasterphil]

Now, my only real expirence working on a coaster came from SW, but 15-20 minutes was our max before a signal 87x was called. Full evac.

>Steve

I actually went back to try and find a story on it, and apparently my memory isn't as good as I thought it was; they were stuck for much longer.

Roller coaster strands riders at Six Flags Great America

(Sunday, May 5, 2002) - A "power interruption" left 32 people locked in their seats for up to three hours on a roller coaster at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois, says a park spokeswoman. None of the passengers was injured. The ride, a new boomerang-type coaster called Deja Vu, has been closed pending an investigation of what led to the problem.

 

[Pirate665]

I actually went back to try and find a story on it, and apparently my memory isn't as good as I thought it was; they were stuck for much longer.

Roller coaster strands riders at Six Flags Great America

(Sunday, May 5, 2002) - A "power interruption" left 32 people locked in their seats for up to three hours on a roller coaster at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois, says a park spokeswoman. None of the passengers was injured. The ride, a new boomerang-type coaster called Deja Vu, has been closed pending an investigation of what led to the problem.

My managers at Disney and SeaWorld would've been freaking out if guests' had been up there that long. Honestly though, SW maintance and Disney maintance are the fastest I've seen. The longest JTA was down after an 87x from a maintance problem was an hour and a half. They had a new brake installed and ran a test and gave us an all clear. Amazing. On Dinosaur, they unstuck a "car" and got the ride up in 20 minutes. And never evac-ed ToT when I was working it.

>Steve

 

[MythBuster]

Either way, Disney has been very lucky with the rides they have. Yes, Test Track goes down more than I'm sure they wish, but look at how complicated it is. I just hope the computers aren't using Windows as the OS. I was on an American Airlines flight to Japan and they let us sit for 3 hours waiting for a system check. Turned out Windows registry went currupt on the navigation system they were using on the 777, and required a complete reinstall and testing. We had to wait 6 hours additional for another plane. I'd much rather trust important critical computing to Linux or BSD, Solaris, etc.


Ryan

If they used Windows based pc's to run the rides, the rides would be down at least half the time. Then people could get on the Disney Network and take control of the rides.

 

[Pirate665]

If they used Windows based pc's to run the rides, the rides would be down at least half the time. Then people could get on the Disney Network and take control of the rides.

That would certainly make M:S cooler...

>Steve

 

[tirian]

If they used Windows based pc's to run the rides, the rides would be down at least half the time. Then people could get on the Disney Network and take control of the rides.

...Or any of the new Macs with Intel processors.

 

[Rob562]

About Deja-vu, I've whitnessed one thing go wrong with the ride. The design uses a curled reverse lift. You back out of the station into the lift, and when hauled to the top are released through the station. On the other side is a similar lift hill that performs the same task to send you backwards through the ride. At the end of the ride, your momentum pushes the train up the original lift, and a braking system holds the train in place and slowly allows it to rrun back down the lift into the station for a smooth stop. The issue, the final step failed, and I whitnessed a train run up the lift and once again shoot forward. Numatic brakes kicked in to slow the progress, but too late. The train overshot the station and ran up part of the first loop before rolling back. It then rocked back and forward for about a solid minute until reaching a stop. People were manually released after power was terminated. WHen I asked a ride tech if this was the usual cause for concern, the answer was yes. Even though the action itself is harmless, it still is a mechanical failure. There wouldn't ever be enough momentum to run through the first loop a second time, even without the presence of the brakes.

Actually, I wouldn't be too sure about that last statement. Boomerang coasters are notorious for getting stuck in the middle of the boomerang element. On the return trip, a sensor doesn't read the presence of the train and doesn't apply the brakes in the station. The train coasts backward through the station, forward through the station, and has just enough energy to make it halfway through the boomerang element before running out of energy. It then setlles there, up in the air. Almost all Boomerang coasters have installed evac platforms at this point on the track because it happens at least once every year or two to the Boomerangs.
Deja Vu is essentially an oversized Boomerang, so my guess is that without any brakes within the station, it would also be able to stall in this place. And if you look at photos of the coasters, there are platforms there (I think some even built the platform after-the-fact)

-Rob