Written by Kevin Baxter
Published: July 30, 2005 at 2:24 PM
Still, that doesn't exactly get Disney out of the frying pan, does it? Unlike the recent hospital visit after a Matterhorn rider got sick - featured here - this one is actually Disney's fault. AGAIN. And, even worse, it is highly reminiscent of that fatal Big Thunder accident (which the LA Times is now calling a derailment, for some odd reason). Also reminiscent? The "reason" being floated for this accident: operator error!
Allegedly, the ride was on manual operation, meaning the brakes weren't being run via computer. If this is true, the company was just BEGGING for an accident. Supposedly the second Big Thunder accident - the one without passengers - was due to an operator doing something incorrectly. Even though TPI has questioned the training and experience you get using so many low-wage employees. Not to mention our questioning everything from Disney's horrendous history regarding mechanical upkeep to the computer systems Disney uses. After all, Disney has had three coaster CRASHES in one year. How many trains have crashed into each other in that time frame at the other major theme park operators - Universal, Busch, Six Flags, Cedar Fair and Paramount? How many crashes have they had COMBINED? There is something wrong at Disney.
Yes, we've mentioned pay, experience, age, computer systems, what have you. But maybe the main problem lies in Disney's refusal to close down rides that need to be closed down. If the computer systems at the other parks were down, they'd probably just shut down those coasters. But because Disney did such a poor job building DCA, maybe the feeling is that they need to keep the few big rides running so guests don't go away any madder than after entering the park and realizing how little they were getting for their money.
Think about it... DCA has only three rides that rate a 9 on TPI, and of the three, California Screamin' is the only coaster. Compare that to Disneyland. There are three coasters over there (not counting the Goofy thing) and Big Thunder isn't the most popular one of the three. Furthermore, there are tons of other things to do, most of which are extremely popular. So closing a ride down over there may cause a lot of complaints, but people are still going to have a good day. How do you spend your day at DCA if one of the biggies is down?
So, the obvious solutions to Disney's problems would be to fix their programs, fix their people, fix their damn coasters! But I think one of the big problems here is that Disney isn't fixing DCA. If the park was a complete park, the coaster may have been shut down instead of relying on an underpaid ride operator to stop the coasters. Naturally, there will be lawsuits, and those lawsuits won't cost the park hundreds of millions, which would be the pricetag of completing the park. But how much would it have cost them had someone been seriously injured? Or died? Being cheap will cost Disneyland MILLIONS when the Big Thunder lawsuits get settled, and being cheap could cost them big if they don't get to serious work on DCA.
My two pennies... gimme yours!
When you don't have enough rides to fill even half a day, you need to get as many guests as possible on the ones you have. This leads to mistreatment of employees who have no clue what they're doing. The above poster is right. The ride is put on manual to get more riders through. Now we know what happens when you put a ride on manual with a bunch of mistreated employees who Disney doesn't feel deserve the proper training that goes with running a ride.
So Disney, what should you do? How about put some money into DCA. Maybe a few more shows to pass time. Maybe a new restaurant. Or maybe, ANOTHER FRIGGIN' RIDE! Find the room and put in another E-ticket. That would solve some problems.
Second, take time to sit down with your employees and train them. There's been so many accidents at Disneyland and Disney World that I can't even keep them straight. Some have been what they're called, accidents. But what about Thunder Mountain. That was operator error. Disney, you have to do something.
Third, work harder to keep guests happy and entertained. Be nicer to them, don't be forceful when putting them on rides, a problem I've encounter many times at DCA and Disneyland. Maybe throw some scenery in and clean up the park. That always help with guest's impressions.
So Disney, how about throwing the millions of people who visit your parks a year a bone. You have the money, you just don't want to spend it. And that's not the right thing to do Disney. It just isn't.
I understand that California Screamin is one of their most popular rides (It is a coaster after all)...however, it should never have been in manual mode. Operating a coaster that way only invites trouble, especially when running more than one train, and with the kind of money Disney rakes in, all of their rides should be in top condition all the time. Regardless of how good or bad DCA is, their rides should at least be safe. If they didn't want to close one of their most popular rides to fix it for fear of losing customers and lets face it....money, than I guess we know what's more important to them. Customer safety comes first, at any and all cost.
One advantage that seasonal parks have over Disney is this, they have 6 months out of the year to do all of the maintenance in the world on their rides because they are closed. Most of hese places take the time to take apart, XRay, and put back together all of their trains every year, update all computer systems every year, and even retrack or paint if necessary. If a ride is on the fritz, than it's closed until it's fixed (although some parks are better and faster at fixing than others) Disney and others are open pretty much all year in some capacity. That sure doesn't excuse Disney from maintenance, because Universal and Busch haven't had to deal with this, and if a ride is not running as built for any reason whatsoever, than it should be closed until fixed period no questions asked. They should be thankful that the trains merely bumped each other, because things could have been a lot worse.
As I said before, DCA may be a less than stellar park, and yes it does need a lot of attention. The state of the park and it's lack of attractions may have been reasons why Disney chose to keep the ride open, but it surely isn't a good excuse. Now instead of just taking a little time and money to fix it in the first place, they now are forced to close the ride for probably longer than they want to, fix it, and pay for some lawsuits and probably some lost customers. There is no earthly reason why Disney should be cheapskates. They make quadruple or even more times the money most other companies make, yet the little guys seem to have their head on straight.
Not only do Disney attractions have to run at high capacity, but they also have to run year-round. Many other parks have months to perform annual maintenance on their attractions, while Disney has to pick and choose a week or two every year or so to pull attractions off-line for maintenance. The costs of a vacation to a Disney park are so high, that Disney cannot disappoint guests with half of the park down. I personally understand that there are going to be attractions down, but those who are less-informed will expect every attraction to be running when they're visiting, or are going to expect some sort of refund. Disney perhaps has taxed their attractions to their limit, and their lack of an off-season and extended operating hours is starting to catch up with their equipment.
Let's also consider the ride manufacturer, who hasn't had the greatest safety record. Chalk up yet another accident on an Intamin coaster. This is yet another Intamin coaster to have braking problems. Maybe we can lay off Disney, and point the finger at a popular scapegoat, Intamin.
So maybe Disney should throw in another E-ticket to DCA to keep people happy when they take down a major ride. Although that probably won't happen for a while.
Then Intamin should look into the braking problem on their coasters and see what causes it and why it happens. There, both problems solved. At least until another accident.
Ooops.
My thoughts exactly man.