Getting Stuck at Magic Springs

[Harpo]

Wow, what a bad place for the power to cut out:

http://www.todaysthv.com/assetpool/images/07610133331_coaster2.jpg

Apparently, riders on X-Coaster at Magic Springs were stuck in an upside-down position for about 30 minutes due to a power failure. I generally would be OK with getting stuck on most rides (although not delighted about it), but I'd have a problem with being upside-down for that long.

[. Style .]

.. And to add even more excitement, the point where the train got stuck is 50 metres high!

These things are just not supposed to happen.

[Small Print]

You'd have a bad headache after that.

Couldn't that seriously damage your health?

[-NGS-]

I'd imagine all of that blood rushing to the riders heads could cause them serious trauma.

[nickdaegg]

Didn't the park think of this and, y'know, make it so that that couldn't happen?

[. Style .]

Mauer Söhne should take the blame. I hope this prevents parks from buying these really horrible rides, with horrible restaints.

Whoever invedted this upside/down lift hill is also to blame.

;D

[nickdaegg]

I'm presuming it's not balanced there, as it looks as though it's resting on rollbacks. Surely Maurererer shouldn't have put them there? I mean, if it was possible and I was a mechanic/designer, I'd have simply put reverse trim brakes there - so that if there was a loss of power, the train would slowly return to the vertical position (more comfortable) safely.

[Harpo]

I would have thought some form of uninterruptable power supply to the lift hill would have been a good idea, allowing for perhaps about 30 seconds of power (or whatever it would take to completely go up the lift hill). The vehicle would then safely stop at the first block brakes.

Another option would be a manual crank, allowing maintenance to manually move the train to get it out of the upside down position. With sufficient gear ratios and counterweights, a single person would be able to crank the train over the top of the hill. It might be slow, but it would keep people from hanging upside down.

However, neither of those solutions really helps if the chain should break, or some other lift hill malfunction occurs. For those situations, there should be a reasonably quick evacuation method. If a good solution could not be devised, then the lift hill should not be built as it is.

[nickdaegg]

Both of those are options, but if the ride computer was unhappy, there's the chance that neither would work.

[Harpo]

Actually, if it was a manual crank, the ride computer wouldn't have a choice -- the crank would be outside of the control loop. All the computer could do would be to hit the brakes at the first possible stopping point, which is something I expect it would do. (Actually, on a loss of power, all brakes should be automatically closed -- they should require power in order to be held open.)

Of course, to use the manual crank, the first brake run would have to be empty, otherwise an accident would occur. It would be the responsibility of the person turning the crank to ensure that the first brake run was not occupied.

[Garfield 06]

Ouch. Well, a similar thing happened on the Bat (Boomerang) at PCW. Got stuck in the loop. How? I have no idea, with no lift, breaks, etc. You will guess that Magic Springs will have a lawsuit on thier hands.

G-06

[Waldo13]

I almost went there this weekend (I'm a season ticket holder)...

As for the ride, I'm not too sure a vertical postition would be comfortable as the seats are reclined, but certainly that would be better than this...

It's a fun, but short ride if the restraints are perfect. For me there's a happy medium. One notch too tight is painful right below the bottom rib, while one notch too loose... While these restraints are comfortable in that perfect position, I can't imagine what 30 min would feel like. Without hanging on during that part of the ride, all the strain goes to the thigh muscles. I can't think of what it would be like after getting off after this...

[nickdaegg]

Presumably they were compensated - if you get stuck on a ride at Alton Towers for an extended period of time, you get Shortcut tickets, or something similar. Well, I hope they were, and medically inspected.

[Waldo13]

Presumably they were compensated - if you get stuck on a ride at Alton Towers for an extended period of time, you get Shortcut tickets, or something similar. Well, I hope they were, and medically inspected.
I don't know about compensation...

On the weekends, typically 20 min is the longest I've ever waited for a ride. This year, they started offering free soda to all guests (You have to go back near the entrance to get it though), so I'm not sure what else they could offer. It really isn't worth a second days admission (though a season pass is just a little bit more than a regular admission- which is why I bought one). The first time I went last year, it was a Tuesday. I rode everything I wanted to twice and left by 3:00 in the afternoon (it opened at 11:00).

Having said that, it is nice after a stressful day at work to go ride a ride or two and then come home...