KarlaKoaster

Space Mountain and Tomorrowland Being Rebuilt in 2027 at Tokyo Disneyland Space Mountain at Tokyo Disneyland to close in 2024 and reopen in 2027 to be 'more thrilling and have better effects' with the surrounding area having a huge upgrade too. This looks amazing, really great to see Tokyo Disneyland being bold and ambitious. I always feel the the Tomorrowlands end up being a discombobulated mess, so to go nuclear and basically rebuild everything is a great way to avoid this problem. Source: TDRExplorer Image: Disney, via TDRExplorer

Good job it wasn't an adult, otherwise the height limit could have been raised to 6ft Hopefully the park have a longer-term solution seeing that the lower height limit was a big selling point for the coaster. I assume the B&M Surf Coaster will come along and fill this void though so I guess it's not a huge issue for anyone but Seaworld.

I've only ever done Phantasialand as a one day park and I regret it every time. I always manage to do most things but normally don't get to reride much (if anything) and/or have to miss something like Maus au Chocolat.

If true it is absolutely incredible that Slingshot would make aftermarket adjustments to a specifically designed safety feature, but I guess it answers one of my main questions which was how can a brand new ride can operate with restraints in an unsafe position. Here's the current accident investigation report which goes into pretty granular detail: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/7oss0c7w8d2i3h1/AAAeOaAs6_wBQgp_jZO34ilha?dl=0&preview=Quest+Engineering+and+Failure+Analysis+Field+Investigation+Report.pdf

Wow, so many updates going on around the park! My theory about the blue hoodie is that someone dropped it without noticing, and someone else hung it on the fence so it doesn't get trampled on. I often see this with gloves and kids' toys that are found, often people will pick them up and perch on a wall out of the way.

I loved Disney Village when it first opened, but it dated fast. This looks quite bland and generic, but as a result will probably age a lot better so it makes sense.

Oh wow, Gröna Lund! Amazing!

I read yesterday that Hansa Park have retrofitted their drop tower (which is almost identical to Icon Park's, including the tilting seats) with seatbelts now.

Picture from Vekoma's Instagram of the tilt track sections. Interesting that the caption mentions four tilt coasters. We know of this, Energylandia's and Six Flags Qiddiya, but not sure yet where the fourth is going. Maybe China? Or maybe Energylandia's getting two, just because it's Energylandia and that's the kind of thing they do.

Yep, our very own MrRC has been posting pictures in this thread here of a tilt prototype at the Vekoma facility, largely assumed to have been the one going to Energylandia (as they'd already announced one), but it would appear now that with the red track/blue supports, it is actually the COTA one.

An update about the accident reports that the ride manual specified a maximum weight restriction of 287lbs, but Sampson's weight was 340lbs. https://www.newsweek.com/tyre-sampson-14-year-old-300-pounds-weight-limit-manuel-falls-death-icon-park-1692763 I guess I still can't understand why a brand new ride is able to dispatch with restraints in an unsafe position (whether the accident happened or not, I think it's clear from that screenshot it's not safe). I do wonder whether it was his height (6ft 5in) or weight stopping the restraints from coming down - maybe we'll end up with a maximum height restriction on this in future.

I read in a report that the Slingshot Group rides (Freefall, Slingshot and Star Flyer) were closed, but I guess the rest of the park was open - do they own/operate all of it?

I know, and I think DougMJr knows that too, but what I mean is that when you're perched on a little hump/ledge because of the tilt and the restraint being in that position, you're more likely to slide down and under the restraint when you're slowing because of the g-forces pulling you down.

Yes, exactly my thoughts too. The seats and restraints are actually Gerstlauer and designed for their coasters. It seems unlike most drop towers, when it hits the brakes most of the vertical force will pull the rider towards the gap between the seat and the restraint. (sorry for the terrible diagram)

Thanks for clarifying, and also will we're making things clear, I wasn't blaming the operators at all (just in case anyone thought I was). As usual this accident appears to have been caused by a tragic sequence of events. A feel desperately sad for everyone involved.