What are those things?

[raven]

Ever see something at WDW that you couldn't figure out what it was for?

For a long time when I saw those orange circles in the ground, I thought they were sensors for something (weather, crowds, etc). Turns out they are just the holes for the poles to go into when they need to extend a line. But they are still in weird places.

Another thing is those little attena things on all of the World Showcase buildings. Is it for Illuminations? I could see one or two per building but there are lots of them.

Anyone know? Fantasia Boi? :veryconfu

 

[Talsonic]

Originally posted by raven
Ever see something at WDW that you couldn't figure out what it was for?

For a long time when I saw those orange circles in the ground, I thought they were sensors for something (weather, crowds, etc). Turns out they are just the holes for the poles to go into when they need to extend a line. But they are still in weird places.

Another thing is those little attena things on all of the World Showcase buildings. Is it for Illuminations? I could see one or two per building but there are lots of them.

Anyone know? Fantasia Boi? :veryconfu

Those antenna things to which you refer are lightning rods. Florida gets lots of lightning!

 

[Fievel]

Re: Re: What are those things?

Originally posted by Talsonic


Those antenna things to which you refer are lightning rods. Florida gets lots of lightning!

Yup....if you ever stay in the all-star resorts, you'll see that all the giant statues have lighting rods on top of them. This is glaringly obvious when you stay on the top floor and have to walk by the top of pongo's head every day on your way from and to your room.

 

[MrPromey]

Re: Re: What are those things?

Originally posted by Talsonic


Those antenna things to which you refer are lightning rods. Florida gets lots of lightning!

You know, I’ve always just sort of assumed those things were everywhere. I see them so often around here that I don’t even think about it. Do large buildings in other parts of the country not have these?

 

[Fievel]

Re: Re: Re: What are those things?

Originally posted by MrPromey


You know, I’ve always just sort of assumed those things were everywhere. I see them so often around here that I don’t even think about it. Do large buildings in other parts of the country not have these?

Only tall bulidings (read: skyscrapers) in Minnesota or Wisconsin have any kind of lighting rod on them....probably because the land rolls and most trees are taller than the buildings anyway.

 

[jmarc63]

Re: Re: Re: Re: What are those things?

Originally posted by Fievel


Only tall bulidings (read: skyscrapers) in Minnesota or Wisconsin have any kind of lighting rod on them....probably because the land rolls and most trees are taller than the buildings anyway.

Doesn't have to be a tall building. I have seen some homes in my area that are only two storys, and they have lighting rods on the,

 

[MrPromey]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: What are those things?

Originally posted by jmarc63


Doesn't have to be a tall building. I have seen some homes in my area that are only two storys, and they have lighting rods on the,

Heck, the post office down the street (a small one story building) has them about every 5 feet across the front of it. You don’t see it so much in residential buildings but it must be a code requirement for commercial buildings around here. I’ve never seen lightening strike one but they Call Clearwater the lightning capital of the world and PEOPLE get struck by it around here so as far as I’m concerned, if those spikes do ANYTHING, I’m a-ok with them!

 

[Talsonic]

Lightning Rods.

Lightning is very unpredictable in how it will travel. While most of us know that some lightning strokes travel from the sky to the ground, some strokes also travel from the ground to the sky. The idea behind lightning rods is to direct the bolt to the ground (or from the rod to the sky) without harming the structure. I am sure you have heard about folks on a golf course that have taken shelter under a tree during a rain storm. That is, of course, the worst place to be. If lightning hits the tree it is very likely to "jump" to anything around in its attempt to find ground. I think the best place to see lightning rods at WDW is at the main street station at the WDW railroad. If you look to your left, you'll see a whole bunch of these rods on top of the main entrance. All the rods are connected with copper cable and go to deep ground rods in the earth.

 

[RobFL]

You wanna be in the worst possibly place in a lightning storm, stand somewhere between the UoE reflecting pool sculpture and the Epcot Wand.

Both are essentially giant lightning rods.

-Rob

 

[Invero]

Originally posted by raven
Anyone know? Fantasia Boi? :veryconfu

Uhhh... ummm... yeah... what they said! LOL

 

[raven]

Any other weird things that anyone has seen that can't be explained?

 

[MrPromey]

Originally posted by raven
Any other weird things that anyone has seen that can't be explained?

Oh, I can think of lots of things but most have nothing to do with Disney.

...We have lizards all over Florida. That seems to be something that a lot of people from the north seem to be intrigued by. I've caught a few people taking pictures of them a time or two in Disney.

 

[kevinwyld]

Lightning

Back to the subject of lightning (sorry for the drift - although everything does blow about just before the storm hits :lol: ), but I recently went to Epcot for the last couple of hours for a meal and the fireworks. Anyway, after walking all the way round to the far side of the lagoon, I could see the storm clouds headed our way, and thus walked quickly back to the entrance, arriving under SE as the rain started. By the time I had exited the park, the lightning was striking, and CMs were trying to get people inside, or at least under cover. Many guests, however, were ignoring them and just walking around.
As I was standing under cover, a lightning bolt hit the ground (bad science, I know), just in front of me with a bright red flash, but people just kept on walking past.
Do these people have a death wish?

 

[DMC-12]

Originally posted by MrPromey


Oh, I can think of lots of things but most have nothing to do with Disney.

...We have lizards all over Florida. That seems to be something that a lot of people from the north seem to be intrigued by. I've caught a few people taking pictures of them a time or two in Disney.

lol MrP...My first trip to WDW and Florida...when I was a little boy...we went to Bush Gardens one day...We were sitting down somewhere resting...and I seen a chameleon for the first time ever...it was right by leg....it was really neat and yes....there are pictures of it somewhere around my moms house.

 

[ToWeroFTerRor67]

I once saw a fairly large snake while I was coming from MK going to the monorail to EPCOT.

 

[DisneyCP2000]

Okay imagine a massive thunder storm where you constantly hear thunder and see lightning at the same time... Well add this story to it...there were guests sitting on the Moroccan docks (metal portion of it) while dipping thier feet in the lagoon. All during a massive storm. Now if that's not stupidity (sorry but that's just crazy) I don't know what is! I also heard that a cast member was struck indirectly by lightning too, the same night.

 

[Castle Cake Apologist]

Yeah, what always gets me is when people stop to take pictures of or record rabbits...

Vern: Look Marge! A bunny wunny ribby rabbit!
Marge: Oh, get the camera Vern! We'll HAVE to show this one to the neighbors! They'll absolutely ADORE it!
Me: Yeah, these are rare FLORIDA rabbits, see the unique brown hue?
Marge: I do! I do! Film it honey!