MK-skyride

[laceemouse]

For those of you who miss the sky buckets ride.....we were in Busch Gardens Williamsburg last June. They still have this attraction. It has a triangular course with 3 different stops. We loved it! My kids made us ride it several times. We were there 2 seperate days, one which was a little rainy and windy, and we never saw the ride down. It is a beautiful park so the scenery was superb! I recommend it to anyone who visits the area, it is a great place to vacation.

 

[Geoff_M]

This question was brought up several months ago and I did some googling on the topic. Basically, the Skyway was already headed for closure before the CM accident. The details of the accident are that a CM was cleaning litter in the area were the cars exited the station. Ride CMs started up the ride as part of the pre-opening checklist, unaware of the other CM's presense. The CM, instead of letting the car "run him over", hopped onto the outside of the car and held on. Reports are that he tried to climb into the car but wasn't strong enough to do so. As this went one the car climbed higher in the air. Exhuasted and apparently realizing that he couldn't hang on much longer, the CM decided to let go and fall into an area with plants and greenery in hopes of a softer landing. Unfortunatley the fall proved fatal. OHSA later fined Disney for unsafe operating procedure for the ride.

Another reason cited for the rides closure what was there was no good way to bring the ride into compliance with the Americans With Disabilites Act without a complete redesign of the attraction. The continous fast loading of the ride made it impractical to load and unload persons with physical disabilities without shutdown down the ride each time.

 

[SueM in MN]

Originally posted by Geoff_M

Another reason cited for the rides closure what was there was no good way to bring the ride into compliance with the Americans With Disabilites Act without a complete redesign of the attraction. The continous fast loading of the ride made it impractical to load and unload persons with physical disabilities without shutdown down the ride each time.

This has been cited by people on bulletin boards, but it's not true.
There is no ADA requirement to make existing rides accessible. The ADA only comes in for new rides or complete renovations (And it takes a lot for a complete renovation; under the ADA, the renovation of Alien Encounter would be considered a re-decoration or changing of story boards rather than a renovation.)
And, even if it was significantly altered, they would have been subject to the "technical infeasibility" provisions of the law that says if it's not possible to comply with the ADA, you just have to comply to the extent that is feasible.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quote from ADA law posted at http://www.access-board.gov/recreation/final.htm
Where an existing amusement ride is modified in a way that does not change the ride’s structural or operational characteristics to the extent that the ride’s performance differs from that specified by the manufacturer’s or original design criteria, the amusement ride is not required to comply with 15.1.1. Routine maintenance, painting, and changing of story boards are examples of activities that do not constitute an alteration.

As with other elements or facilities subject to the alterations provisions in ADAAG, "technical infeasibility" applies to alterations of amusement rides. In this case, compliance with the technical provisions is required except where the nature of the existing ride makes it virtually impossible to comply fully. In these circumstances, the alteration should provide the maximum accessibility feasible.

There are rides at WDW that will probably never be ADA accessible and will probably never close. Peter Pan is one example.

 

[NotTooGoofy]

I also miss this ride at MK. The only ride close to the skyride in WDW is Blizzard Beach's Chairlift up to Mount Gushmore.

 

[Dznefreek]

It did not hit and kill the CM. He was bumped by the car and grabbed on to it. Instead of letting go right away and only falling 6-10 feet he held on for an unknown reason and finally let go and fell 30 feet.

 

[HollyJoy]

DH and I rode it on our honeymoon back in 1996.. so sad that it's gone. It gave you such a great view of the Magic Kingdom.

 

[SueM in MN]

Originally posted by Dznefreek
It did not hit and kill the CM. He was bumped by the car and grabbed on to it. Instead of letting go right away and only falling 6-10 feet he held on for an unknown reason and finally let go and fell 30 feet.

The bumping him was more what I meant when I posted it hit him. The hitting didn't kill him. I do remember reading that if he had not tried to grab onto it, he probably would have just been bumped.
Here's a link to what snopes (Urban Legends) has to say about the skyway story.
And a link to a news story about the death.

 

[flyinglizard]

When the Skyway was closed at Disneyland, a close friend of mine, and also an executive at DL, told me that recent local laws (Orange County) required equal access for handicapped guests whenever an attraction underwent a major rehab. Sorry but I don't remember all the legal details.

He also explained that stopping the transport to pick up guests was not an option. Also, there did not seem to be much interest in re-engineering the attraction to comply with the new laws.

 

[Chuck S]

I'm pretty sure that modifying the ride would not have been the main reason for the shutdown. Cost of operation and liability costs would have been the culprit.

An elevator could have been added to the Torrowland stations at both WDW and DL. a couple of modifed gondolas with wide doors and tie downs for a wheelchair could have been made, somewhat inexpensively compared to other Disney ride construction costs.

I don't think the loading area for a w/c would have been too compicated, either. Simply have an inline switch to pull the car into the gondola storage area (which would not have involved a full stop of the ride). They could have added a ramp to the storage area to load/unload the w/c passenger. But, it would have required one, maybe two, additional CMs to be on duty. It would have meant having the w/c guest do a round trip (since the Fantasyland stations at both parks would have been a little more difficult to modify). But a gondola could have been built to safely accomodate a w/c guest.