Tow Mater gets padding

[momrek06]

http://www.ocregister.com/entertainment/disney-371861-ride-cars.html

Disney adds padding to Cars Land ride

By SARAH TULLY / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

ANAHEIM – Crews next month will make changes to Mater's Junkyard Jamboree vehicles in Disney California Adventure, the second Cars Land ride to undergo modifications since the area opened in June.

Disney plans to add padding in early October on Mater's Junkyard Jamboree, a ride in which riders in tow trucks based on a character in the "Cars" movies spin about. The ride is expected to remain open.

"We heard from guests that it was uncomfortable," said Mary Niven, vice president of Disney California Adventure in an August interview.

Already, on July 25, crews placed non-skid material on the seats of the vehicles to prevent guests from sliding about. Padding will be added to the back of seats near the shoulder area to increase comfort.

Three visitors have reported injuries or medical problems to a state agency while riding Mater's. Disney began discussing the changes before the problems occurred, said Melissa Britt, a Disneyland Resort spokeswoman.

The reports include a 28-year-old woman who said she suffered whiplash while going on the ride June 17, and a 9-year-old girl hit her mouth and chipped her teeth on the vehicle on June 29. It is unclear how those incidents allegedly occurred. The state found no wrongdoing with Disney on those two; the third report has not been completed.

James Stevenson, an annual passholder from Studio City, said he doesn't think the padding will hurt the ride's thrill.

"The hard plastic on the sides can be painful when you get whipped into it, or the person next to you forces you into the side," said Stevenson of Studio City in an email. "I think it's the sensation of being whipped (and even crunched by your seatmate) that is what makes the ride fun."

Already, Disney, on the Luigi's Flying Tires ride, removed beach balls that guests tossed while floating about, in vehicles that move like a puck in an air-hockey game. The state investigated five cases in which visitors had injuries related to the beach balls. Disney removed the beach balls in August because of the incidents and it was taking so long to retrieve the balls between the loading of guests.



I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS RIDE!!!

 

[bumbershoot]

WOOHOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's my little dude icing his cheek and having a "poor kid" hot chocolate at Starbucks before going home for the night. Icepack provided by the RNs at First Aid, after he smashed his face against the side of the ride vehicle on TowMater's.

It hurt him so much and was right on the cheek, and the nurses needed to check for "crackling" that would indicate a broken facial bone. Thankfully that did NOT happen.


I told two different survey takers (that night on our way back out, after doing just the ONE ride, maybe an hour after hopping over to DCA, and the next day) about the experience. I told the RNs (who were not surprised by the injury, and had seen others from the ride). I told the random CMs who asked him what happened to his face. I told them all that the ride NEEDS padding.

I think that the engineers are all taller adults who just never thought that children would be hitting their faces against it. I smashed my shoulder against the side pretty good the first time I rode it. The very tip of it, just where it hurt the most. Since I'm 5'3" and therefore shorter than average, the odds are that the designers are taller, so they would have just hit the fleshy part of the arm, if they hit the side at all. Even the CMs I mentioned it to had to think about the ride, and how a child would hit their face, but once they thought about it (for approx 2 seconds max) they realized that YES it does need padding.


Yay for padding! Yay for no more "did his break his zygomatic bone?" moments! Yay for no more chipped teeth (that poor 9 year old!)!

Now...it is a very zippy, swingy ride, and I think we're all just going to have to face forward to avoid the whiplash, but for the other injuries, the padding will help.

 

[deanimal]

I love that picture! Not that he got hurt of course, but it's awesome that he could still smile. He looks like a brave kid!

 

[bumbershoot]

I love that picture! Not that he got hurt of course, but it's awesome that he could still smile. He looks like a brave kid!

He's a funny dude. When he was 3 he got burned on his chest (PSA: never let a 3 year old help stir the boiling pasta water! or if you do, make sure he doesn't smack the spatula down on that boiling water), and I was changing his bandages the next day. For some reason I took pictures for posterity (I'm weird like that...I was the injury prone one in my family, and am still annoyed that no one took pictures of my injuries), and one second he's looking so so so sad and in pain, then the next second he realized I was taking a picture and he smiled. I think there's a sadder picture from the cheek-hit, but it was super-blurry so I didn't upload it to photobucket.

It had also been about an hour (when you come in with a kid whose cheek has just been hit hard, they don't assume you are telling the truth, and they give you the 3rd degree just like the ER will) or more since it happened. And the ice helped. They make the best ice packs there.


Earlier, I told Eamon that they were padding the seats, and we did a little "they're padding the ride" dance. He's pretty happy. He probably wouldn't have ridden again without the padding. Which would have been a bummer, since it's a good ride.

 

[sas_mk]

This is great news!

I sat in the middle on this ride with my two children (ages 6 and 4) on either side of me.

As much as I tried to prepare myself and control myself from "whipping" back and forth, I still managed to slide into both of them during the ride. When I hit into them, they both smacked their heads on the side of the ride. They had a nice little conversation with each other after the ride about how I had made both of them hit their cheeks on the wall.

I felt terrible that it was my fault -- even when I was trying to be super careful. The ride is super fun, but this upgrade will also make it less painful for the pint-sized guests!

 

[TheZue]

We are going next week, I assume before they address padding. Would it be better to let my kids ride together in one car instead of putting my forty pound four year old with either dad or his not entirely slender mom? I'd like to avoid any trips to the first aid station/crushing my kid.

 

[JadeDarkstar]

if padding isnt on by first week oct we may skip this ride

 

[pixiewings71]

So glad E didn't get hurt! I'm 5'4" and rode with my DD who is 5"2-3" (not sure if she's 2 or 3" over now lol) and we didn't have any problems stabilizing ourselves while swinging around, but I imagine it's worse with smaller kids. Definitely one of the funnest rides I've done in a while. I haven't laughed so much on ride in ages.

 

[momrek06]

if padding isnt on by first week oct we may skip this ride

Oh don't skip it.

It is so much fun!!!

I live here, I am on it all.of.the.time!!!

Sorry about your DS, bumber.

So glad E didn't get hurt! I'm 5'4" and rode with my DD who is 5"2-3" (not sure if she's 2 or 3" over now lol) and we didn't have any problems stabilizing ourselves while swinging around, but I imagine it's worse with smaller kids. Definitely one of the funnest rides I've done in a while. I haven't laughed so much on ride in ages.

ME TOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[bumbershoot]

In E's case it wasn't because he was being smooshed. He was just sliding across the seat and braced one way then it swung the other way and he didn't brace enough in time. DH was making heroic efforts to not squash him, but there's quite a size difference between them so maybe that's why he was so slidey.

The time he did NOT get hurt was when I *was* squishing him!


If I had two kids I might let them ride together instead of with me. In fact, since I just noticed that they won't be doing this until NEXT month, I might let E ride alone while DH and I squish each other in our own tractor. If E will ride it, that is.




Again, I must say it's a really good ride. Just face forward, be prepared to laugh, and for now maybe put packing peanuts on the face of anyone shorter than 5'?


Oh, and you can see fireworks from the ride if you go at the right time. Kinda neat!

 

[pixiewings71]

I meant to say "didn't get hurt worse".....sorry, I should have proofread.

 

[bumbershoot]

I meant to say "didn't get hurt worse".....sorry, I should have proofread.

Oh it's OK. He didn't have a lasting injury, after all. He was in pain that night, but it faded quite a bit the next day and by the following day it was gone. It was the "what could have happened" part that was scary.

 

[mrswh]

I think it's great that they are adding padding to the sides. My DS (6) whacked his head on the side when we were there last - nothing to visit the First Aid station over, but it ruined the rest of the ride for him since he was lying in my lap crying. That said, he went on it again the next day without hesitation. I just made sure to put my hand between his face and the side, and I think that he paid more attention to keeping his head rigid, which is what I think most adults know to do as soon as they get on. I do not understand how a grown woman could get whiplash, though, if she was riding it as intended.

We have had the same issue with TSMM - when my son was smaller he would bonk his head on the back of the seat around some of those jerky turns. I wonder if kids just don't yet know that they have to brace themselves to avoid bonking into something. I think they had the same issue with CS - people banging their heads when the rides takes off from a stop. Not sure if they have done something about it or just added a warning bc I don't ride that vomit inducer!