Thunder Mountain Technical Question

[Disneyrsh]

Ok, on our

 

[MomofKatie]

Yikes!!!

 

[Jillpie]

You've GOT to be kidding me. After everything that happened in Ca., you'd think you'd never hear that. Now that must have been very scary.

 

[civileng68]

Thanks for telling me this! NOW I'M VERY SCARED!


I dont know what it meant but i'm sure the ride has the technology that regardless of if someone hits a button to send the train off or not, I'm sure the train has "blocked sections" meaning that it will not allow another train to leave until the other train is far enough along the track, regardless of if they hit the button or not.

I dont know this for sure but I just can't imagine the technology not being there.

 

[WDSearcher]

Most likely it was a new operator, and the red lights he saw were the stop -- or end-of-ride-cycle lights that indicated the ride was finished. When that happens, the safety bars will not disengage until the other buttons are pushed that let the computer know that the ride was successfully completed and is ready to unload. I'm thinking that the new operator just didn't have the sequence down as automatically as he should have, and when he saw the red lights, he naturally thought, "red means stop" and then was unsure of what came next. Kudos to him for asking instead of just assuming something or punching buttons at random. (I'm sure there was a lot more to the communication between the two operators than simply, "Press some more buttons.")

Also, as an FYI -- all ride operators have to be at least 18 years old. So, while he may have looked younger than 16, by law he cannot be.

 

[WDSearcher]

Thanks for telling me this! NOW I'M VERY SCARED!

So I guess that means you'll never ride Thunder Mountain again, eh?

 

[WDSearcher]

Me and all 20 of the people who were watching this comedy of errors were totally freaked out about getting on the train when it rolled back in.

But apparently it didn't keep you off the ride. Which means that you must have had inherent faith that the guys knew what they were doing, so that's a good thing ...

 

[April76]

No need to worry -- the system worked the way it should have.

 

[seashoreCM]

When a train pulls into the station, it always stops short a few feet with a jerk, then advances into position for unloading and then loading.

When the train is let out of the station it will stop in a few feet if the downstream merge is set for the loading track on the other side of the station. I don't remember if there is a red traffic light visible to riders.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

 

[justhat]

Thanks for scaring me too! I'm afraid of roller coasters to begin with, but force myself to ride Thunder Mountain since it's not too bad and I'm trying to overcome the fear. The last time I rode it was in June with my husband and when it got up to the top of that outside hill (towards the end, not sure how else to describe it) it jerked to a sudden stop. I was terrified, especially after all the problems with the ride in DL. We were stuck on the top for what seemed like ages (though it was probably about 5-10 minutes) and then it suddenly started to move. There was nothing said when it stopped or started, which scared me almost as much as the fact that it just stopped. When we got off I picked up my daughter (who was then 3 months and with my mom ) and decided I would never ride it again.

Then we went to DL in August and Thunder Mountain wasn't working when we were there because of a derailment. They had empty trains running the whole week, which confirmed my decision never to ride again. The last day they let people on for a few hours, then more empty trains.

When we got home I thought maybe I was overreacting, then when we went back in December I thought, "Those people all look fine riding it, maybe one day I'll give it another try". So we're going back in April and my BIL is coming, so I figured this is the perfect opportunity to give it another try, since we'll have another person to watch my daughter so I don't have to ride alone, and now I hear this! Maybe I'll skip it again on this trip and wait awhile more...

 

[seashoreCM]

By the way, the best place to have a safety stop, to avoid catching up to the train in front, is on one of the hills it is pulled up via the chain drive. When the train is released, it will coast all the way to the next chain drive hill or the end of the ride.

There are probably emergency stops at other places but if any of these are activated, cast members have to come out, unload everybody, and push the train.

 

[Leota]

Don't worry. Ride systems are pretty idiot proof. There are all kinds of backups & such to keep trains from colliding. Inspection of these systems is pretty rigorous. I don't know the specifics of how each system works, but coming from a quality control standpoint (my field) and having looked into Florida's amusement quality control requirements - I am confident that WDW attractions are perfectly safe.

 

[Chuck S]

The DL coaster is an older version than the WDW system. While they look similar, there are design changes to the ride operating system.

 

[civileng68]

So I guess that means you'll never ride Thunder Mountain again, eh?

Hey now, I said I'm scared now, I never said I wasn't riding. I'll be the next one on!

 

[JCTigger]

On the dispatch podium there are about a dozen "red" lights its to tell the CM where every train on the track is located... until the train is out of the station the next train will just sit on the track unless they open up the second station if is not already opened... the trains will automatically stop on the track in the "brake zones" until all the break zones are full and the ride will "break down" which means the CM's have to go and unload all the trains on the track of guests... that takes about 15 mins.... then they will just cycle everything back up no harm no foul.... the person in the dispatch postion actually does not have total control over the ride but the person in the tower postion holds all the cards... so dont worry about the CM learning the ropes there are other people who are in control...

To me this was the easiest ride in the world to learn....

 

[Angelgirl13202]

ot leota---just wanted to say hi... I went to school in brockport ny for a while Hope thies not to much snow up thier and the winter isnt to bad this year

oh and the ride operators do go thru training it just may have been that he was new

 

[April76]

Just want to mention -- the ride did what it was supposed to do.... WDW and DL versions are different and really shouldn't be compared. I hate when folks refer to the ride as "broken".... it would be much more accurate to say that the built in safety features stopped the ride until it confirmed all was well -- and then the ride resumes. I've never been concerned about riding BTMRR and I ride it often.

 

[eeyore0062]

Hi April76!

 

[lentesta]

Semi-related story.....years ago, my twin sister and I got to be the first two people on Space Mountain one day. So we go through the ride, get to the unload station, and one of the CMs radios back with "They made it." I wondered "Was there some doubt about that?"

Len

 

[Disneyrsh]

(I'm sure there was a lot more to the communication between the two operators than simply, "Press some more buttons.")

Also, as an FYI -- all ride operators have to be at least 18 years old. So, while he may have looked younger than 16, by law he cannot be.

I swear to God that was the extent of the conversation! I do feel better about knowing that the 'brains' of the ride aren't up front there, and it's more of a cattle loading job than an engineering job. Moo!

Yeah, we'll be back on it, my older daughter Isabel, who's now 6, has been riding it like crazy with me since she was within spitting distance of 40 inches (probably late 3's!). She's big enough now that I don't have to have a death grip on her the whole ride. Well, yeah, I still have death grips on her on all the rides but it's nice to know there's more going on than what I can see/hear.