News Round Up 2017

[rteetz]

News

Disney Parks Blog Hosting Great Movie Ride After-Hours Meet-Up at Disney’s Hollywood Studios

 

[wareagle57]

News

Disney Parks Blog Hosting Great Movie Ride After-Hours Meet-Up at Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Aaaaaaaand it's full.

 

[rteetz]

Aaaaaaaand it's full.

These things always go quick.

 

[skier_pete]

I had no idea this was a clone. I thought there was a lot of speculation on what kind of ride this would be. Is the ride popular in California?

I have to say, I haven't been very excited about any of Universal's last few projects. (Kong, Fallon, F&F) I'm not sure the Potter addition in 2019 will be enough for them to keep gaining ground like they have been. We better enjoy all these enhancements leading up to the 50th, because I think it's going to be more than enough for Disney to put it in cruise control again after that. Hopefully Universal will have Super Nintendo World and a 3rd gate announced by then.

I shouldn't call it a clone since I haven't seen it in California, but I'm just assuming...it's also called "Fast and Furious Supercharged" in California, and it's part of the tram tour, so it uses the tram but also uses screens. I suspect it will be similar in Florida, except it's own ride vehicle obviously. (We would need someone that's experienced it in California to really comment.)

 

[mum22girlz]

Looks like Disney Vacation Account is dead. I just received this in an email:

Thank you for your participation in the Disney Vacation Account program. It shows you're a true Disney fan and we're grateful for that. At this time, we are discontinuing the program and no new accounts or contributions are being accepted.

Click here for more information. Thanks again for your participation and for your understanding.

 

[mikeamizzle]

It will be interesting to see how they adapt F&F Supercharged from the Hollywood version. As its a section of the tram tour, it uses a lot of simulation effects to make the tram "feel" as if its moving fast.

Hopefully they will change this one up a bit more from Hollywood's version than they did with Kong 360.

 

[Tigger's ally]

It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye:
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com...1_roller-coasters-wizarding-world-theme-parks

yeah, I had seen many people saying kids were spitting. Hadn't seen the eye thing. Not good at all. I rode them once several years ago with my dad who was around 70 at the time and I was ok, but he didn't fare too well.

 

[skier_pete]

It will be interesting to see how they adapt F&F Supercharged from the Hollywood version. As its a section of the tram tour, it uses a lot of simulation effects to make the tram "feel" as if its moving fast.

Hopefully they will change this one up a bit more from Hollywood's version than they did with Kong 360.

Maybe a better term than clone is "Genetic mutation of the original"

 

[Tigger's ally]

Maybe a better term than clone is "Genetic mutation of the original"

When you put it like that I think---"my poor boys!"

 

[mikepizzo]

Looks like Disney Vacation Account is dead. I just received this in an email:

Thank you for your participation in the Disney Vacation Account program. It shows you're a true Disney fan and we're grateful for that. At this time, we are discontinuing the program and no new accounts or contributions are being accepted.

Click here for more information. Thanks again for your participation and for your understanding.

I remember maybe a year or so ago there was an issue with the Disney Vacation Account automatically transferring money from the participants other account. It was obviously an error but I don't think there was any "closure" to the story from a non-participant perspective. Were you one of the individuals affected by that error? If so, what came from it?

 

[mum22girlz]

I remember maybe a year or so ago there was an issue with the Disney Vacation Account automatically transferring money from the participants other account. It was obviously an error but I don't think there was any "closure" to the story from a non-participant perspective. Were you one of the individuals affected by that error? If so, what came from it?

I never had a problem using the DVA. Most of what I put into it was discounted gift cards from Sam's Club. The account was always available when I tried to log in, and using the funds to pay was flawless both when using a TA and when paying online using MDE. The bonus wasn't great, but it was nice to have for spending money.

 

[jlundeen]

I never had a problem using the DVA. Most of what I put into it was discounted gift cards from Sam's Club. The account was always available when I tried to log in, and using the funds to pay was flawless both when using a TA and when paying online using MDE. The bonus wasn't great, but it was nice to have for spending money.

I've had both good and bad experiences using the vacation club account. I enjoyed having a place to put gift cards and slowly accumulate funds towards a trip. The bonus was nice also for a little extra spending money.

Let's hope that closing this will not turn into a nightmare, as a lot of people have money tied up in that account. I requested gift cards over an hour ago, and so far, have not seen anything in my email. Getting a little worried.

 

[ucfknight]

People will complain that that ride is short, but shorter coasters make for more throughput of people, so it's a tough balance.

Those 2 things really aren't correlated. A shorter ride doesn't necessarily mean higher throughput. Shorter just means shorter. You could have a 15 second long coaster than only has 1 car on the track which fits 2 people in it and takes 1 minute to load. That wouldn't have a very good hourly throughput despite the ride only being 15 seconds long. Or you could have a 5 minute long coaster which can accommodate 15 trains on the track at once which each hold 32 guests and can be dispatched in 30 seconds. Which one will have higher throughput?

The real key to throughput for a coaster are:

1. How many trains can be on the track at the same time?
i.e. how many blocks is the track split up into. Each track block can only have a single train in it. No other train can enter the same block of track until the block is fully cleared by the previous train. This is how collisions are prevented. Longer coasters often have multiple mid-course brake runs where a train can be stopped, which means the track is broken into more blocks, which allows more trains to be on the track at the same time. This is why longer coasters don't mean lower throughput. Looking at the track layout of Slinky Dog and that there is only one place mid-course to stop the train, I'm going to guess they will run 3 trains on this track simultaneously. Possibly 4 depending on the length of the final brake run (tough to tell from the overheads if it can fit 2 trains there).

2. How many guests fit on each train?
If the animation released by Disney is accurate, it looks like there will be 10 rows on each train, with 2 guests per row. That's only 20 guests per train. So not very many as far as coasters go.

3. How quickly can trains be unloaded, loaded, and dispatched and how long will the load station be empty between trains?
This part will be crucial. From the overheads it looks like there will possibly be a separate unload zone and load zone as on 7DMT, Everest, and Rock 'n Roller Coaster. This will help keep the trains moving, so that's a good sign if I'm seeing it correctly. Until the ride is in operation we won't know how efficient they will be. With only 10 rows to check and Disney's penchant for cutting labor costs, how many cast members will be on restraint check duty? If only 2 that may cause them to not be incredibly efficient with the dispatches.

So there are many factors in guest throughput, but the ride itself being shorter isn't really one of them. Example:

Expedition Everest is a much longer coaster than Slinky Dog, but I guarantee its hourly guest throughput is way higher than Slinky Dog will be. Everest fits 32 guests per train, has separate unload and load stations, has enough track blocks to operate 5 trains at a time, and has an efficient dispatch process. That's why it has a nice high hourly throughput of probably 2000 guests per hour.

The Barnstormer is a much shorter coaster than Everest but it's hourly throughput is likely only 25% that of Everest's. It has trains that only fit 16 guests, it has a shared unload/load zone, it can only have 2 trains on the track, and has less cast members checking restraints. That's why it has a very low hourly throughput of maybe 500 guests per hour (likely lower).

 

[skier_pete]

@ucfknight - I agree with what you are saying, and I did oversimplify things. I guess what I meant to say is more this "If you want to run a coaster with only TWO cars, there is an optimal length of the coaster, and typically that length is about 2-3 minutes long. This gives you just enough time to unload and load the second car while the first car is on the tracks. A bit longer coaster (4-5 minutes) can run 3 cars at a time as long as they have two loading / unloading areas to increase capacity - see BTMRR as an example of this. Everest is another example of this, where they have a car loading, another car unloading, and a third on the track. Again, longer ride (4-5 minutes long) with 3 cars at a time, so optimized capacity.

However, if you have a coaster that is says 2 minutes and 30 seconds long, and a coaster that is 3 minutes and 30 seconds long, that extra minute does NOT give you enough time to load a third car, so there are optimal lengths of roller coasters for maximizing patron throughput. (Example: People want 7DMT to be longer, but if they made it 30 seconds longer, it would have reduced capacity by about 20%.)

Looking at the Slinky coaster, I have a hard time believing they are running 3 cars at a time, the track doesn't look long enough. It's undoubtably a 2 car track.

 

[Fantasia79]

The new Marriott is "EPCOT Area?" I can see calling it, 'Near Disney," or " the closest thing between I-4 and Disney"

1/2 the views could be amazing though.

 

[ucfknight]

@ucfknight - I agree with what you are saying, and I did oversimplify things. I guess what I meant to say is more this "If you want to run a coaster with only TWO cars, there is an optimal length of the coaster, and typically that length is about 2-3 minutes long. This gives you just enough time to unload and load the second car while the first car is on the tracks. A bit longer coaster (4-5 minutes) can run 3 cars at a time as long as they have two loading / unloading areas to increase capacity - see BTMRR as an example of this. Everest is another example of this, where they have a car loading, another car unloading, and a third on the track. Again, longer ride (4-5 minutes long) with 3 cars at a time, so optimized capacity.

However, if you have a coaster that is says 2 minutes and 30 seconds long, and a coaster that is 3 minutes and 30 seconds long, that extra minute does NOT give you enough time to load a third car, so there are optimal lengths of roller coasters for maximizing patron throughput. (Example: People want 7DMT to be longer, but if they made it 30 seconds longer, it would have reduced capacity by about 20%.)

Looking at the Slinky coaster, I have a hard time believing they are running 3 cars at a time, the track doesn't look long enough. It's undoubtably a 2 car track.

As I noted earlier, Everest can have 5 trains running. That's why it has a big hourly throughput.

As for Slinky Dog, if there are separate load and unload zones as it looks like, plus the brake run outside, they could easily run 3 trains on the track. They could even run 4 with the 2 launch points:
Train 1 is running through first part of course. Train 2 is at load zone. Train 3 is at unload zone. Train 4 is at brake run waiting to enter the station. Train 1 is clear at this point to the mid-course launch point. If it arrives there before train 4 clears the brake run it is held at mid-course.
Train 2 can now be dispatched from load zone and waiting at first launch point.
Train 3 moves up from unload zone to load zone.
Train 4 moves from outside brake run to unload zone.
Train 1 can then be launched from mid-course launch point to run through 2nd half of track.
Train 2 is launched as it is now clear to mid-course.
Lather, rinse, repeat.

In practice, though, I really think they'll have 3 trains on the track as long as there is a separate load zone and unload zone. It will be trivial to do that as long as there are those 3 spots at the station (load, unload, and brake run).

 

[ucfknight]

The new Marriott is "EPCOT Area?" I can see calling it, 'Near Disney," or " the closest thing between I-4 and Disney"

1/2 the views could be amazing though.

The JW Marriott's "view" rooms will mainly have a great view of Hilton's Bonnet Creek Resort complex. Although I guess you'll be able to see Illuminations 1.5 miles away off in the distance.
It wouldn't even qualify as "the closest thing between I-4 and Disney" because that, again, would be Bonnet Creek.

 

[Irish_Mike]

News

Permits were filed today for the rockwork in Star Wars Land

http://blogmickey.com/2017/07/permi...-wars-galaxys-edge-disneys-hollywood-studios/

 

[rteetz]

News

Permits were filed today for the rockwork in Star Wars Land

http://blogmickey.com/2017/07/permi...-wars-galaxys-edge-disneys-hollywood-studios/

Yep the direct permit is posted in the DHS construction thread.

 

[rteetz]