natatomic

No problem at all. There's even a sign on the gate that encourages adults to ride.

^I know, I know! But there is a SLIGHT difference between a 1 1/2 hour drive to spend five dollars at a park (not that Robbie would even let me pay for my own, the sweet gentleman that he is), and driving 10 hours to spend a hundred million dollars at a few parks (THAT he might've let me foot the bill for). AND PLEASE BRING THE DVD ON THE WEST COAST TRIP! Let's make everyone else watch it. I probably haven't seen it since I was 5 or 6, but I remember renting it every single time we picked out movies (which was at least once a week).

How on earth do you say that? A Disney bus hit another Disney bus on Disney property... despite my initial suspicions that Shamu cut the brake lines to cause the accident and further tarnish the Disney name, I'm gonna guess that SOMEONE at Disney can be to blame for this one. But unless Disney hired someone without a license, didn't inspect one of the buses properly, or something of that nature it's not exactly the company's fault. People get into fender benders everyday. It's not exactly something you can blame upper-management for.

^^Think of how many auto accidents happen every single day. Disney's record seems to be pretty good considering.

Yes, Deadwood. A small (I think) father & son owned and operated theme park that's only an hour and forty minutes away from me, only I HAD NO IDEA IT EXISTED! I'd never even heard of it before since it wasn't listed on Coaster Fanatics. But one random peek at RCDB not too long ago brought this little-known park to my attention, and since there was a coaster, I HAD TO GO. And go I did. Okay folks...picture Idlewild. Now cut the park in half. Then half it again. And again. And then one more time for good measure. Then subtract another 2.7% just for kicks and giggles. That gives you the perfect visualization for this park in terms of size AND quality, because while it's super tiny, it's absolutely adorable and incredibly well themed for it's size. The only attractions it has are the kiddie coaster, a coin operated 4-seater carousel, mini-golf, a playground, and a train ride (quite possibly the most awesome train ride in the world, and you'll see why). There's also a western-themed dinner show, but they didn't have one going while were where there (the next one isn't until August), but no matter. We actually didn't stay to eat there anyway. On the way to the park though, once we got off the highway and started down some country roads where THERE WAS NOTHING TO BE SEEN ANYWHERE, I said to Robbie, "Um, maybe we should have called first to make sure they still existed." And after traveling miles and miles down these completely empty roads, especially with the GPS saying we were .2 miles away and STILL no park in sight (nor anything else that would hint that humans had even discovered and claimed this section of the earth), we were getting a bit panicky. Luckily, it was there - just tucked around a corner on Ed's Grocery Road (seriously), but it IS in the middle of nowhere. I don't think I can stress that enough. So if you ever decide to visit this quaint little park, don't get discouraged by the endless weed fields around you. You're not lost. Well, you're probably not lost, anyway. Maybe try a bit harder with the Ladies' room. Just a little. I dunno. I don't need anything too extravagant. Maybe start out with a properly sized toilet seat? Women sit down far more than men, you know. OH WAIT! I know I just ended this TR, but I forgot one thing. If I have one complaint about Deadwood it's this: Notice this, the men's room. Fancy, isn't it? Bravo, Deadwood. Props. Job well done. The end! Thanks for an awesome day Deadwood! View from the other side of the road. Just a word of caution. See how those, uh - what are they...pylons? That's what I'm gonna call them - Those things that show you where to park. Yeah, those. See how they're not in front of every spot? Well, I forgot that I was parked behind one. Especially since there wasn't one in the empty spot next to me. So, uh, I may or MAY NOT have ran over the pylon (?) in front of me. All I'm saying is, watch out for those damn things. Especially since we were quite certain that this was his house and the coaster was in his back yard. As we were leaving, we were able to spot the other coaster through an open gate. (Just to be clear, we did not go THROUGH said gate. Just used a bit of camera zooming action. This girl don't trespass, uh-uh.) Coaster in action. HOLY GOSH! HIDDEN MICKEYS!!!!! That is one high-tech AND safe platform those ride ops operate from. A shot from on the coaster itself! Amazing! Look at how nicely themed it is for it's small size! Can you see it? Just a bit? There is indeed a trailer under there. This first drop on the coaster was quite possibly the most...um...unsettling drop I've ever had on any coaster. Ever. I was pretty sure we were gonna die. But that's how I like my kiddie coasters, mmhmm. Ta da! (Wait, did I already say that in another caption? There really should be a 1 Ta Da Only limit in PTRs. I'll have to work on that. ) But let's get on to what you all REALLY want to see: the coaster! Yep, here it is in the dinosaur era of the Old West. Of course. Duh. And here's their everyday dinning facility. Oh yeah, this is what it looks like inside the Dinner Theater portion of the restaurant. Yay! We survived! What's not shown is the pyre with half a skeleton roasting over it. And that's the train ride! Now let's end with a monster. I mean, why the hell not, you know? Some random sign letting you know that Isaac Brown was the Sheriff of these here HalloXmasSpaceEyeball world. More aliens... Now I'm sure you all saw this coming, but onto the Aliens. (On a side note, anyone ever see "Spaced Invaders?") Onto the Land of Random Eyeballs. Seriously, there were DOZENS of them just hanging in the trees. They were covered in nets, which I didn't get. But I do suspect that they light up at night. Next, there's the Old-School Capital Punishment zone. Then we head on over to the Halloween area. (Trust me, it gets better) First official area on the train ride is the Christmas portion. These people are apparently with the family reunion judging by their shirts. I suppose that means they have these giant grills for guests to cook their own food on? TRAIN POV ZOMG! I don't know if this is just general theming next to the train or if they sometimes do a skit here. Looks like it could be either. The driver was actually one of the owners. He came up and talked to Robbie and me after our ride, asking us what brought us there and the like. When he found out we were enthusiasts, he told us all kinds of little tidbits about his park and the coasters he owned. That's right - coasterS. He's also got another one behind Deadwood. He just can't install it due to it not fitting properly on the land. Also, the lift hill of the coaster that IS installed (which we'll get to in a minute) is still attached to the trailer it was towed on. He just sprayed some fake rock stuff and BAM! Instatheming! On to the train... But guess who got a hole in one on this hole? THIS GIRL. You read that right. This hole is a PAR 4. Robbie was so excited to get a hole in one on it too. Until he went to retrieve his ball, and saw that it was gone. It had traveled down a tube to the second half of the hole which you can only KINDA see about 8 miles away in the background there. He eventually got a hole in 9 or 10 I think. (*sigh* So did I.) A bit of theming along the way. There were some pretty wonky holes. Robbie and I started off with some mini golf. I like his style. *sigh* No, I'm not actually riding it. I don't think either of us had coins on us. Honestly, who carries actual physical money around with them anymore these days? I don't know why, but it really cracked me up. Wait, what does that sign say? But in here is where you get ice cream and attraction tickets, which is really all anyone EVER needs. I can't seem to remember what was in the General Store. Come to think of it, I don't know if we even went in or not. Really now. Ain't it just darlin'? These people were actually having their family reunion here. Now into the heart of the park. Psst...Hey, Six Flags! Cedar Point! You two could take some pointers from these guys on theming. This looked like it was in the process of being built, but I can't quite tell what it is. Why is there no thread on TPR for this coming attraction? Oooo KD's getting a giga blah blah blah. I think THIS is clearly more deserving and rumor-worthy. There was also one of these kiddie rides, but I can't tell if it's coming or going. Smurf Milk Lake! I think that's what Robbie called it. Anyway, those ducks are indeed fake. But they had little pellets to feed whatever actually lurked beneath those murky waters. I later saw some people feeding *something* in there (I heard them say something about fish, but really - I don't want to meet the supernatural species of fish that can survive that water...or whatever it is. Blue Pepto, maybe?) Nice little walkway into the park, where I think that one woman is in the middle of saying "Kiss my a$$!" all Whitney Houston style (youtube it if you don't know what I'm talking about). But the REAL story here is that mysterious blue liquid to the right... Some major park chains don't even have entrances this nice. Ta da! It DOES exist! We came in on the road you see back there. But really, it looks just like all the other roads in the area. This could be a road three miles away for all you know.

I had my consultation this morning - just as I thought, all four teeth are impacted. Ew. Less than 24 hours, and the teeth will be out!

So how's these past few days or so gone for you dandaman? All healed up yet, or still a bit sore? Three days to go for me!

"Phallic." I think the word you are looking for is "phallic." (Especially if the drop gets anywhere NEAR vertical too)

^Oh, I didn't even think anything of it, so no worries! It's just such a shame this sweet young man had to lose his life in such a tragic accident. He seemed to be the ideal Cast member.

^So you're not curled up in the fetal position and sobbing from all the pain and blood gushing out of your mouth? That's good, then. Gives me hope.

I'm neither a monorail pilot nor am I a physics major, so this could be completely untrue, but I've heard that the cabs are meant to collapse like that in the event of a crash so as to protect the guests in the other cars. Anyone know if that sounds right? EastCoastn07 can probably either confirm that or completely rip that theory to shreds for us.

I hope it's okay that I'm posting yet another thing from another site that was written by someone else, but this seems to be a plausible explanation from a legit source: From the wdwmagic forums: "I am a Seasonal CM and was a CP, and I would like to shed some light on the process for removing trains from the Epcot Beam. Monorail Pink would be "deadheaded" at Concourse, meaning the Pilot announces that the train is going out of service and must be fully unloaded. The pilot walks through the train to ensure this, then closes the doors and goes back to Cab 1 (normal driving cab for Epcot.) At this point the conversation goes similar to this: "Central, Monorail Pink is deadheaded at Concourse." "10-4, Normal Visual to Pylon 30, hold at notify Central" Pink then continues out in forward to Pylon 30, which places the end of his train (Cab 6) just past the switch point to take trains from Epcot to Express. Once Pink gets to 30 and notifies Central, Central radios shop to move "Switches 8 and 9 to the Spur Line, with power." This is where something went wrong last night. Either Shop didnt comply, Central didn't call, or something malfunctioned. Either way, something went wrong at this point last night. Central will also call Purple and say "Monorail Purple you are Normal Visual [if you have a green MAPO and no visual obstructions ahead, go ahead] to Pylon 379, hold and notify." Pylon 379 is the primary holdpoint for Concourse, meaning if a train is at the station, the train behind will stop at Pylon 379. Pylon 379 is right over the handicapped parking, by the way. Last night, from what I have been told by people who had radios on them (and switching is really the only interesting thing going on at 2am) that Pink was "Clear to use MAPO Override, in reverse, through 9, through 8, THROUGH BASE, through Poly, through Grand Flo to the Magic Kingdom, switch ends" meaning, had the switches been aligned properly, Pink would have been expecting to reverse COMPLETELY through Base on Express and all the way to the MK. "CLEAR" from Central means you GO. Even if you get an MBS, you MAPO override. Clear is as good as gold, when given from Central. By this point, Purple has reached 379 and notified so. Central will then say "Purple you are normal visual to pylon 385 [directly above the tram station] then MAPO Override to reach Concourse, hold and notify." Purple has to MAPO Override because, had the switches been aligned to the spur, there would have been a gap ahead of Purple, which would have given an RED MBS, even though Purple only needed to reach Concourse. So IN MY OPINION, last night Pink was coming in Reverse in MAPO Override (as required to pass over a switch) but instead of being on the Spur Line, was in fact still on Epcot beam. I do not know why the Pilot did not realize this, but that is not for me to debate. At the same time, Purple was MAPO Overriding from pylon 385. The pilots did not realize their RED MBS was not from a switch being open, but in fact due to the other train. So Pink came through Concourse at 15mph in reverse (as restricted by computers) as Purple was approaching Concourse in forward, in MAPO Override, just past pylon 385 (as indicated by the photos showing it past the tram loading area) and this is where the collision I believe occurred. I have tried to be as factual about the switching process as I can without being too confusing, and the last paragraph was pure speculation, although I feel I have some credence as I took trains to shop nearly every night. Either way, it is a tragedy that a Cast Member was killed, and I can't imagine what the other driver must be feeling, as well as everyone else involved."

^^I think he was telling the guy with the camera to get away mostly. But also - if a guest got injured/killed while trying to help out in a situation like that, it'd only hurt the company even more because then people would ask, "Why did the employees let a guest anywhere near the accident?!"

^^OHHH. I thought you were talking about the CMs and parents. I wasn't even thinking about the cameraman. No, I agree with you wholeheartedly there. However, I wonder if he walked away from the scene because the CM kept telling him to "get out," rather than just to turn the camera off. Not that that excuses him from not trying to help or at least do SOMETHING other than get an exclusive youtube video out of it.

This is exactly what I thought too. It's a good thing this happened early in the morning when no guests were around. And not just because the crash could have resulted in more injuries, but because the reaction of people in a full station would have been chaotic and probably caused more potential danger than the crash itself! Watching that human behavior unfold on film IMO was almost just as shocking as the actual crash. --Robb I dunno. Honestly, I just don't think anyone was thinking straight (the parents or the Cast members - everyone looks pretty darn stunned to me). I mean, this wasn't a routine evacuation or ride malfunction. Plus, I'm sure the CM's main concern was for the pilot who was clearly in danger (probably dead at impact, but without visual confirmation, one hopes for the best and acts as though there is a life to be saved), rather than taking a few minutes to clear away the dozen or so uninjured passengers off of the platform. I think it's just one of those situations that you never know what you'd do or how you'd react in until you're actually in it.

The more I think about it, the more surprised I am that there's no e-stop button in the stations. At least, I ASSUME there aren't any. After all, there had to have been at least two CMs working the platform at the time - they must have seen monorail pink about to collide with monorail purple, so surely they would have reached for some sort of all-ride braking system button if it were available to them.

This was posted at micechat.com "Hi guys, I'm a former Mark VI railie, and I stay in touch with a fair number of folks in the department. Here's what I've heard. I'm going to stress that it's what I've heard, and I can't represent this as absolute fact. Take that for what it's worth. The short, short version is that Monorail Central cleared Monorail Pink in reverse into the Concourse (the Epcot side of the TTC) station without being aware that Monorail Purple was still in the station. Pink was cleared with MAPO override, meaning that the driver would have disabled the anti-collision system (there are a variety of legitimate reasons for doing this), and would have been acting on faith that Central wouldn't have cleared him into a dangerous situation because it sometimes is difficult to see everything you'd want to in the cab mirrors, particularly at night on a curve such as the one he was backing along. For whatever reason, Purple just sat in the station without attempting to avoid the accident, and was struck by Pink moving at the full 15 mph allowed during MAPO override. From what I understand, the driver of Purple was a new transfer from another department. Why Central would not have made sure the station was clear before moving any trains is a bit of a mystery, but I've heard that no one was actually in the control console (the control tower-looking place at Concourse) at the time. To my knowledge, there were no electrical or mechanical problems in play here. Again, I have to stress that I'm relating what I've heard, and I was not there. This is a second-hand account from others more familiar with the situation. Okay, speculation time. Why would Purple have just sat in the station and let himself get hit? Well, it was a new driver from what I understand, and when Pink got close enough to trigger Purple's MAPO system, it's quite possible that the driver of Purple freaked a little bit (any time a driver gets an unexpected red MAPO light, it gets their attention), and was so intent on looking at his console trying to figure out what was going on that he simply did not see Pink barreling down on him. I suppose it's also possible that the Concourse station didn't have power at the time, preventing Purple from leaving, but I rather doubt that was the case. Why would Central clear a train into an occupied station? Inattention, most likely. As I said, I'd heard that Central was not at the console at the time of the accident. IMO, if this is the case, it's the root cause of the accident and whoever was Central should be strung up. Also, here's a little primer on how the anti-collision system on the WDW trains works, since there seems to be some confusion as to how the system works: The system at Disney is called the MAPO system, or more precisely the Moving Blocklight System (MBS). It consists of a number of transmitters along the beam every 7-10 pylons or so that place RF signals of three different frequencies onto the positive buss bar (power rail), and a corresponding receiver in each train. The trains are wired with a capacitor that shorts the MAPO signals to ground, preventing any signals generated ahead of the train from getting past it. The transmitters are arranged sequentially around the beam- if any given transmitter is putting out frequency #1, then the next one will be emitting frequency #2, and the next one after that will have frequency #3. The one after that will be transmitting frequency #1 again, and the cycle continues all the way around the beam. The upshot of this is that in normal operation, the following distance should be such that there will be three or more transmitters between a given train and the train ahead of him, thus the following train will "see" all three frequencies, and the driver will have a green MBS light on his console. As he begins to get close to the leading train, there will only be two transmitters separating the trains, and the leading train will be shorting out the third MAPO frequency being generated by the next transmitter ahead of it. The following train will then see only two frequencies, and the yellow MBS light illuminates on the driver's console. This signals the driver that he needs to stop at the next designated holdpoint until his MBS indicator turns green again (i.e., the leading train has gone far enough away that there are now again three or more transmitters between the two trains). If the driver ignores the yellow MBS light and continues on, then the following train will only have one transmitter between it and the leading train. This triggers an emergency stop on the following train, with a big ol' blinking red light (a "red MAPO") to let the driver know he screwed up, and a corresponding entry is made in the train's daily event log. It's a reasonably fail-safe system, meaning that if there are problems with the system itself, it will result in a train being stopped instead of being allowed to continue into a dangerous situation. It's not rocket science, and is similar to moving blocklight systems used on subways and other similar systems. Being so simple, the system is pretty reliable, although it rarely can get a bit flaky during thunderstorms, resulting in the occasional yellow MBS light even though there may be a mile or more between trains. However, there are a number of situations where the MAPO system needs to be turned off, and for that, there's a "MAPO override" button on the console, which allows the driver to do just that. When MAPO override is active, the train is limited to 15 mph, and the driver has to continue to hold the button down to keep the system overridden. Some examples of when the system needs to be overridden are when trains are on any of the spurlines (since they have no MAPO transmitters), or when trains are being switched between beams. Anyway, regardless of what actually did happen, my thoughts go out to the family of the driver that died, and also to the driver of Pink, who I'm sure is living with his own awful grief. No one should have to deal with this kind of stuff for a crappy hourly position, and I hope that this sad event brings some (IMO) much-needed change in the Transportation Department management."

From what I've heard, it occurred outside the station, and I believe they were towed in so that they could get the guests and the driver off. I don't know for sure though. EDIT: Never mind. New info counters that.

Name and age of the driver released He was 21 years old & working the late shift...more than likely that means he was part of the College Program. My prayers go out to him and his family.

Here's some information about how the monorail operate from wikipedia: "Attempting to drive the train too quickly in a given speed zone will result in an "overspeed stop", often subjecting the driver to good-natured ridicule by his co-workers. Train spacing is maintained by the Moving Blocklight System (MBS), also known as the MAPO (for "Mary Poppins") system, which establishes a number of "holdpoints" throughout the system. At any given time, there must be at least two holdpoints between a given train and the train ahead of it. When the train detects that there are fewer than two holdpoints between itself and the preceding train, the emergency brakes are immediately applied and cannot be released until sufficient spacing becomes available or the operator explicitly overrides the system. Failure to maintain adequate spacing is known as an "overrun", and is treated as an extremely serious offense. For safety, trains must be kept at least two blocks apart during normal operation. A red MAPO indicates that train spacing has become unsafe. When a red MAPO occurs, the train's on-board computer locks out the pilot's propulsion control and applies emergency brakes. The pilot cannot resume control of the train until either the MAPO clears or the pilot presses and holds the MAPO override button. [...] It is the pilot's responsibility to avoid a red MAPO during normal operation. When the MAPO switches from green to amber, this indicates that the monorail is approaching the train ahead. The pilot must stop the train before crossing into the next block of beam way and hence before the MAPO switches to red. Should a pilot cross the hold point and receive a red MAPO, this counts as a safety demerit against the pilot. If the pilot ever has three demerits on their record, then they will be transferred out of the monorails department and into a different role at Walt Disney World." My best guest would be a MAPO system failed (which is crazy, but I guess it could happen) or the pilot was somehow in override. Either way, I wonder if he might have passed out at the controls before the crash. There are headlights on the trains...how could he NOT have seen the monorail ahead of him?

^Mine's the 17th, but I have the West Coast trip about 2 1/2 weeks after that, so I have that to look forward to. But I also have to get a couple of fillings repaired and one cavity filled three days after I get back. Blegh. Why do I even bother brushing and flossing? Obviously I just have really sucky teeth. Let me know how it goes for you!

Just keep talking Erik. You're making me feel sooooo much better with every word you type.

^I heard just don't smoke, don't suck through straws, and don't spray the cleaning solution they give you so hard that you flush out the clot. Did any of those cause your dry sockets?

I have to get my wisdom teeth (which are still under the gums) taken out here in a couple of weeks. I'm pretty much pissing my pants in anxiety thinking about it. Does anyone know how it compare to root canals? I've had two of those before, but the procedure was sheer BLISS compared to the pain I was in before they numbed me up - though I was a bit sore for a few days afterward.

^Um...you win.