Ride changed due to fear?

[terri01p]

Well , I do know that there are some rides where they do watch you on a screen, when my dd was younger she really wanted to ride Star Tours and she has spina bifida so they were a little afraid for her to ride, but she really wanted to and I knew she would be fine, the CM that hooked her into her sit told me that if we needed to stop the ride at all just lift my arm straight up and the ride would be stopped. He showed me the screen to look into and wave.

She was fine, but we have never rode it again it was to rough for her ( and me).

 

[Robo]

Well , I do know that there are some rides where they do watch you on a screen, when my dd was younger she really wanted to ride Star Tours and she has spina bifida so they were a little afraid for her to ride...
She was fine, but we have never rode it again it was to rough for her ( and me).

You should ask to ride it without the MOTION.

This will be more likely in the mornings.

 

[SueM in MN]

You should ask to ride it without the MOTION.

This will be more likely in the mornings.

It's not always possible for them to do because of the lines or how many spaceships are running,but it doesn't hurt to ask. I have heard of situations where the CMs said they couldn't do it right then, but told them a time to come back later in the day.

Also, the seat that is used for guests with wheelchairs does have a 4 point harness available. You have to ask for it and it may not have helped in the situation of the girl with spina bifida since it would do nothing to hold her legs down. we have used the harness for our DD since it does help her upper body/torso to not be thrown around as much.

AND, thanks to CMs like SyracuseWolvrine. CMs sometimes have a very short opportunity to make very hard safety decisions.

 

[disnut8]

If you are crying the will ask if your ok and ask if you want off. My sister did this at Test Track. She was crying even though we told her it wasnt a real rollercoaster (not hysterically, just tears from nerves). The took her off the ride as the were checking our seat belts.

My mom said that she is just nervous and she'll be fine once she sees what the ride really is. The woman just said "Mama, please let me hear what she wants" and wouldnt even listen. I was a bit surprised that she would be so rude.

She went on it the next week and it turned into her favorite ride in EPCOT. Goes to show the sometimes mothers know their kids better than strangers, who knew?

If there is anyone crying before the ride (any ride) is launched, the ride operator will ask if they want off. And the person who is doing the crying needs to answer, NOT a parent. The Cast Member was not being rude. Yes, maybe a parent sometimes knows what is better for a child but sometimes they don't. Disney World has to look out for the welfare of every single guest. They can't let a hysterical person of any age go through an attraction. Could you imagine the lawsuits due to "emotional trauma" that could be filed against Disney World?

We've had the start of Twilight Zone delayed because a child was crying. SHE told the Cast Member (who only talked to her) that she would be OK if she could sit next to her mother. All our safety things were released the she moved next to her mother. Then the Cast Member made sure the girl was OK and said "we can't let anyone ride who is crying so I need to make sure".

Disney errs on the side of caution. And the only person who trying knows if they are OK to ride is that person themselves.

 

[Disneycrazy!!]

I have a question regarding the safety issue. Wasn't there a few people killed a few years back on Big Thunder Railroad and Mission Space? If that is true than it makes sense to me that Disney castmembers would use extra caution.....after all, they are doing their job to protect our lives.

 

[HawkeyeThad]

Well, you hit right on it by saying it depends on where the brake runs are. If there is a sufficient brake run to stop the coaster on the tracks, then it can be. But I said most cannot be, as most do not have sufficient runs to stop them - many brake runs are there only to slow the train before a particular track section. Longer coasters that run multiple trains out on the course at one time do have the ability to stop them on the course. Most coasters, however, are not that long. If there are multiple trains, one will be loading while one is on the course, while maybe a third has stopped just outside the station and is waiting to enter and unload.

I don't think RNR has more than one train actually out on the course at one time - probably one loaded and ready, one unloading and one out on the course. I don't know for sure though, so someone will no doubt set me straight!

You're both correct. Russell is talking about trim brakes, which are used certain points of a ride to just slow the coaster down. inkkognito is talking about block brakes, which help break the coaster into virtual sections. That way, you can run multiple trains without having to worry about a collision. Until the coaster ahead of yours clears that section, your train won't leave the "Block", which may mean that you're held in the block brake.

If I remember correctly, RnR has 1 block break on the ride. It's right before the corkscrew. I think it can run at least 4, and maybe 5 trains, but I'm not sure about this.

Here's a good Wikipedia article about the brakes...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brake_run

 

[edcrbnsoul]

AND, thanks to CMs like SyracuseWolvrine. CMs sometimes have a very short opportunity to make very hard safety decisions.

Ya SW is too cool and he does a mean Singin' in the Rain imatation!

 

[terri01p]

You should ask to ride it without the MOTION.

This will be more likely in the mornings.

This is very interesting, I never knew this. I probably will never ask, but this was good to know, my dd can no longer even sit up without alot of assistance, her upper body strength has gone to poo-poo and it's not worth the trouble, but this was a good tip. Thanks for sharing.

 

[snickerboo]

Interesting. From Eric's post, I'd have to say they do watch for that. We know from experience what a huge pain in the butt it is when a kid gets out of a ride because they're scared. Disney probably figures the CM can stop it at an appropriate point that won't require the ride to be shut down, just delayed. When it happened to us on Splash, the ride was closed down for over two hours as they got everyone off, then ran the ride on some sort of test run before it resumed normal operation.

 

[roxmic]

I am an engineering student! A ride like RnR has periodic braking areas along the track in case of an extreme emergency. Don't worry they are all in a place that unloading would be possible (not in a loop or exreme incline)! They cannot adjust the speed of the train to ease a terrified rider. once the ride begins at the countdown, they will just have to hang on! RnR frequently has syncing problems with the audio. with the newer technologies, problems are inevitable. Please be assured, your saftey was never in any danger! all of the saftey systems have back-up systems!

 

[Robo]

I have a question regarding the safety issue. Wasn't there a few people killed a few years back on Big Thunder Railroad and Mission Space?

There was a fatality on BTM in Disneyland.
It did not involve guest's fears of riding.

Nobody has ever been killed on Mission: SPACE.

 

[dtauer]

There was a fatality on BTM in Disneyland.
It did not involve guest's fears of riding.

Nobody has ever been killed on Mission: SPACE.

There have been deaths on Mission: SPACE, however they weren't related to a malfunction in the ride as the Disneyland death was, but rather due to medical conditions the riders had.

 

[jlatina32]

When my DD10 first rode RnRC with me in our November trip '07, I was pretty sure she was going to change her mind on riding. She is such a girly girl, I honestly didn't think she would be interested in getting on a looping coaster. She insisted she wanted to try. I watched her face as she stared at the limo as it was about to launch. In the back of my mind, I was ready to take the chicken exit because I thought she was going to freak out and decide not to ride at all. She watched the countdown and the launch and started jumping up and down with excitement saying, "that is sooo cool!!"

Ultimately, she loved the ride and can't wait to ride again. She threw me for a loop! So it really depends on the kid and the parents should listen to their children. I thought I had my DD all figured out because of the girly girl she is and boy was I wrong.

Oh, and that time when I boarded the limo with my DD, the limo was stopped as it made that bend to launch because they wanted me to secure my cell phone. Which i had no problem doing. Hey man!!! I am all for safety!!!!

 

[inkkognito]

I am an engineering student! A ride like RnR has periodic braking areas along the track in case of an extreme emergency. Don't worry they are all in a place that unloading would be possible (not in a loop or exreme incline)!

Of course, coasters have been known to get stuck upside down in loops (not due to braking but rather to breaking!).

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/276778/power_outage_strands_arkansas_coaster.html?cat=16

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Demon_(Six_Flags_Great_America) (Scroll down to accident section).

But even in cases like these you are safe...you just might get a massive head rush, but the safety harness will hold you in until help arrives.

 

[krys&cory]

This actually happened to me last month on RNR. We waited for an hour in line and got on, the ride had no music and it felt like it was slowing down... i was actually afraid. We would come to a loop and it would feel like they were breakng. When we got off, we told the people working and they actually let us get back on the ride. We complained because it was my friends first time riding and she didn't get to experience it with the music. The second time we rode, we had music but it was very slow again... it definitly freaked me out! Not my best experience on one of my favorite rides.

 

[DisneyMagicMommy]

There have been deaths on Mission: SPACE, however they weren't related to a malfunction in the ride as the Disneyland death was, but rather due to medical conditions the riders had.

If I remember correctly the death on Mission: SPACE was of a young boy (i think he was 4...way to young for that ride in my opinion). Anyways, I believe the mother talked her young son into going on it and it was too much for him to handle. I could be mistaken...this is just what I remember hearing. And this could be the reason the CM's are so diligent on making sure a child (or any other rider for that matter)...is doing ok. They wouldn't want another tragedy like that to happen again.

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

I am an engineering student! A ride like RnR has periodic braking areas along the track in case of an extreme emergency. Don't worry they are all in a place that unloading would be possible (not in a loop or exreme incline)! They cannot adjust the speed of the train to ease a terrified rider. once the ride begins at the countdown, they will just have to hang on! RnR frequently has syncing problems with the audio. with the newer technologies, problems are inevitable. Please be assured, your saftey was never in any danger! all of the saftey systems have back-up systems!

This is a little off topic, but maybe you can answer a question that I've had for almost 30 years.

When I was 10 -- I rode my first and last coaster with an inversion. I was riding the Wabash Cannonball at Opryland in Nashville. I got in, put the safety harness over head, and then tried to get the attention of the attendant to tell them that my harness DID NOT LOCK INTO PLACE. Then we took off. I dug my feet into the seat ahead of me, and my fingernails deep into the harnass. I felt my butt come out of the seat a little, and have never been on an inverted coaster since.

So...do roller coaster harnasses "click" into place, or did I mis-understand the locking mechanism? Secondly, others have told me that the inertia or force or something would have kept me in the seat and that I didn't have to hold on for dear life. Is that true? I was a chubby kid, and am now a chubby adult, and at the time felt like at the time that it didn't fasten because I filled the seat up too well. I now think that there was no click.

I'm not one to be afraid of any kind of ride. (If others can do it, so can I.) I'd like to ride RnR, but it goes upside down, and I have an irrational fear of falling out on my head. I think I could overcome my fear if I had more information.

I'm really glad to know that the attendants make sure that everybody is ok. I really wish that would have happened back when I was 10.

 

[Robo]

...do roller coaster harnasses "click" into place

Yes.

... others have told me that the inertia or force or something would have kept me in the seat and that I didn't have to hold on for dear life. Is that true?

Yes.

 

[Jedi_Galvatron]

Yes.




Yes.

To second that you can actually test it yourself at home. Basically it's the principal of centrifugal force. All you need is a bucket or something similar tied to a string you can swing in a 360 degree motion. Fill the bucket with water and spin the bucket at full speed through a 360 degree loop and no water will spill as the force will keep it in the bucket. Slow the rotation though and the bucket won't make it through the 360 degree loop, instead the bucket and it's load will fall at the apex of the loop and you'll have a wet floor. So had the coaster ever stopped when you were at the top of a loop and you hadn't been secured you'd have fallen but as long as the coaster makes the run as it's supposed to you have no danger of falling out.

 

[kate&sarahsdad]

It can be a scary ride if parents force kids on something they don't want to ride.