Luigi says "Arrivederci" to the beach balls

[Pesky]

59 days? Even we lasted longer.

Sincerely,

 

[mybestieismickey]

First of all, thank you ValpoCory. I laughed out loud. Then I took a second look and laughed again.

Second, I'm not sad to see the balls go either. When we were there last month we chose not to ride cause it was just DH and I and we couldn't bear to throw balls at total strangers. And we didn't relish the idea of having them thrown at us much either. We may ride in november...or maybe not. We'll see.

We did watch the ride a few times and I noticed that the balls really were the problem with loading time. The CM's we saw made sure everyone had a ball before they cleared the ride to start. So these being gone will definitely help!

 

[*NikkiBell*]

59 days? Even we lasted longer.

Sincerely,

I rode Luigi's about two weeks ago. Personally, it doesn't phase me that the balls are gone. I guess I still have nightmarish dodge ball memories from grade school in my subconscious.

 

[Ride Junkie]

Honestly, I hardly noticed them when we rode last week. I think they were mostly on the ground rather then in the air. None of them came our way.

If they want to improve the ride, what they SHOULD do is remove about 2 or 3 of the ride vehicles. They're big, and there seem to be too many. It's hard to get going when you're always in a cluster of tires. More freedom to move would make the ride a lot more fun.

 

[AndyR]

Fast Forward to the 3:50 min mark for one of this past weekends final appearances of the Beach Balls.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNmnBGg730c

Andy

 

[Sweettears]

Never understood the concept from the beginning.

 

[DisneytheKid]

Good to know! I just hope it quickens the loading/unloading process

We rode it yesterday without the balls. My DD and I thought it was better. We really "leaned" ourselves into a rather quick cruise across the "floor". My DD felt that more people are "getting" how to lean together because she said more of the cars seem to be moving quickly around the area. Really didn't miss the balls, they were colorful but not necessary.

The key to moving the tires is to lean in the same direction as your fellow passenger. My DD and I just reached for the bars in front of us or leaned back together. A lot of hysterical laughter in the tires around us.

 

[cgh]

So interesting. We rode Sunday with the balls. If we only knew they were saying arrivederci, maybe I would have paid them more mind. (I swatted one away once). I do know it was kind of hard to get going fast as there were clusters of tires.

 

[Disneyland 1951]

Good to know! I just hope it quickens the loading/unloading process

It has greatly reduced the load time.
With the Balls it would take from 4:20 to over 6:00 minutes. This was because kids getting off would chase the balls rather than exit, the cast had problems directing them to the exits with all the balls in the way, and the cast would spend time handing the balls to the riders.

Today I time three loading cycles: 2:45, 3:40. and 3:10. A great improvement,
This increases the ride capacity from about 500/hour to about 640/hour.

A 25% + increase in capacity.....

 

[brenda1966]

This increases the ride capacity from about 500/hour to about 640/hour.

A 25% + increase in capacity.....

Good news indeed! Were they using that disabled rider tire during those 3 rides you timed? It seems to me that took a ton of time because they'd have to go find the tire each time and put it back, unload it and load it back up. When we waited to ride this, that tired was used every single time.

 

[Disneyland 1951]

Good news indeed! Were they using that disabled rider tire during those 3 rides you timed? It seems to me that took a ton of time because they'd have to go find the tire each time and put it back, unload it and load it back up. When we waited to ride this, that tired was used every single time.

Not when I was there for three rides.

However, what they normally do for the Handicapped section is move one tire to the Handicapped area. Let the ride run while loading, and then open the gate with the next cycle. This doesn't delay the load time by more than about a minute, if they are fully staffed.

 

[Chim Chiminy]

I fully admit to having doubts about the fun level of this ride, but my group rode it twice during our trip and everyone enjoyed it.
We did remark that it would be quicker if people ignored the beach balls instead of chasing after them, but even those in my group of seven who said this wound up trying to get the darn things.
Loading was extremely slow and we did keep seeing kids chase after balls instead of parents corralling them onto the ride. And twice, yes twice, we saw kids actually hop off the tires while they were in motion to run around on the floor chasing the balls!

It did also take quite a bit of time to find the HC tire and push it through the other tires to the loading area.

 

[disneyobsessed808]

i thought the ride was really boring even with the beach balls.

 

[SeanCLV]

Yeah that ride looks pretty lame. My 6 & 7 year olds had no interest in waiting 50 minutes for it.

 

[ultimate_ed]

We did that one just once while we were there last week. I can't say we were overwhelmed by it, even with the balls.

 

[SuzanneSLO]

We rode it 5 times over the last few days. 2 with the balls and 3 times without. I really like the ride and thought it worked better for more people without the balls. A young girl in line in front of us had ridden with the beach balls and was disappointed that they had bees removed. However, after she got off the ride, she admitted that they had more fun without them. -- Suzanne

 

[Sherry E]

I merged together the two threads on this subject. Sometimes it's okay to leave multiple threads on (sort of) the same subjects as they are if they each have a bit of a different 'angle' to them and there is something slightly different being discussed. In this case, it was pretty much the same exact topic/discussion in two different threads.

 

[ludari]

That's fine I think the beach balls distracted people from working on their tire skills.

 

[brenda1966]

Not when I was there for three rides.

However, what they normally do for the Handicapped section is move one tire to the Handicapped area. Let the ride run while loading, and then open the gate with the next cycle. This doesn't delay the load time by more than about a minute, if they are fully staffed.

When we were there, late July, they were running the disabled tire for _every_ ride and it really slowed the loading process down. It sounds like they are trying things to get the line moving faster. Running that tire every other time would certainly help.

When we rode the line was just out the door to the tire shop. Sign said 60 minutes. We stood in line for 75 before it was our turn to get in the tires.

 

[AddictedtoDoleWhip]

I avoided that ride because of the beach balls, but now that they are gone.. I think I will attempt this ride. And especially if there is a faster loading time.