OTS restraints on Splash Mountain?

So, I was just reading MousePlanet, and I must admit, I'm really upset:

http://www.mouseplanet.com/al/docs/update.htm

I guess the Burbank lawyers want Disney to re-do the boats on Splash Mountain, putting in Over-The-Shoulder restraints a la California Screamin'.  Can you imagine going through Splash Mountain with huge OTS's around your head?  How pathetic.  I can't believe these lawyers believe that this is the ONLY acceptable form of restraint!  Wow.

That's just odd as hell.  I wonder what their source is, because this just doesn't make any sense to me. 
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If the shoe fits, find another one.

This is a joke! Didn't Rideman say that lapbars are safer anyway?
Edit: There were no restrainst before. Since when does a ride go from no restraints straight to shoulder bars? Give lapbars instead! No major accidents. Sounds like a good record to me.

*** This post was edited by bigkirby on 2/15/2002. ***

I wouldn't take that as the gospel.

Putting restraints in the ride would be a rehab unlike any ever performed on a flume, and I doubt it'll happen. You'd add too much weight to the boats for one, and have to devise some kind of restraint release system in the station.

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com, Sillynonsense.com
"As far as I can tell it doesn't matter who you are. If you can believe, there's something worth fighting for..." - Garbage, "Parade"

What disney park going to put the new restraints on splash mountain?

Well, there WAS a (fatal?) accident on one of the Splash Mountains recently not caused by a rider being tossed from the ride, but caused by a rider intentionally exiting the ride and getting crushed between two boats. I noticed that MousePlanet didn't mention that.

I suspect that the real truth is that somebody has asked why riders are unsecured on that ride (ummm...because of fire code requirements for dark rides, because it's not necessary for the forces on that ride, because there are dangers of mixing water and restrained riders as we saw at Six Flags over Texas...) and the challenge is to come up with something that doesn't screw up the ride. If it's true that they're planning to put rider restraints in, I'd watch for fairly simple lap bars. Remember, not only are there safety issues to consider with any rider restraint on that thing, but also, it's about 90% dark-ride show. Anything that reduces visibility for the passengers will be seen by the show people as destroying the ride.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

I would not be to troubled by a restraint system of some sort, but OTSR would be TERRIBLE.  The ride is so visual that the experience would likely be ruined.  The DL version is 1-abreast....can you imagine a little kid trying to see from anyplace but the front row?  Even then it wouldn't be great.

If this is true, I will be terribly dissappointed, and I bet the public will be none too happy either.

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- Peabody

RideMan said:
"I suspect that the real truth is that somebody has asked why riders are unsecured on that ride (ummm...because of fire code requirements for dark rides

What's so special about dark rides? Just the fact that they are enclosed? Why are enclosed coasters exempt?

, because it's not necessary for the forces on that ride

I can certainly agree with that!

, because there are dangers of mixing water and restrained riders as we saw at Six Flags over Texas...)

Yes, but the big honking boat rides take all this into consideration. Seeing as though Jurrasic Park has all the same or extraordinarily similar ride elements (enclosed show, not *hugely* forceful, water-based) yet has some restraint system, I dont think that would be such a "flip" question to ask.

Granted, I would think that adding OTSRs to a log flume would be overkill akin to using a shotgun to kill cockroaches, but it's not wholely obscene for someone to inquire about 'some form' of restraint.
lata,
jeremy
--who cannot remember if the bars on the 'big honkin boats' actually locked or not...

LOL~!  A "shotgun to kill cockroaches"?
No wonder I look foward to your spin on things 2Hostyl.
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Have you ever considered that maybe it's not the park that's the problem, but YOU?

*** This post was edited by DWeaver on 2/15/2002. ***

Mouse Planet is the National Enquirer of Disney sites. Belive what you will.

This is, perhaps, the most unbelievable thing I have read.  I know of no other log ride in America that has any restraints, let alone over the shoulder restraints.  These must be the same lawyers who decided you must put "Please unwrap before eating" on candy bar labels.

And lawyers wonder why people don't like them.

This will never happen.

If you don't KNOW to unwrap your candy bar before consumption, perhaps the Planet is better off for your choking on the plastic wrapper...

jeremy, the "flip" question thing, now THAT is what I call "over the top"...but yes, the restraints on JPRA do indeed lock!

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Florida needs an Intamin and/or CCI soon...PLEASE!
Son of Drop Zone - PKI CoasterCamp I Champions!!!

Well wahoo, Typhoon SeaCoaster @ SFA has seat belts...

What a joke... 

Putting OTSR's on a Log Ride??  Honestly, it doesn't need restraints at all.  The ride has never had any accident with someone flying out of the log! 

I think that the idea here is that the lawyers are seeing the illusion of danger with that tall and steep final drop.  Unfortunetely, its not dangerous at all, it just looks like it is.

I can tell you that I won't be rescinding this later on, when Splash Mountain opens normally with NO restraints. 

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Xcelerator-
0-82 in 2.3 seconds! =Wow!

If you've ever seen some of the roaches in Alabama, a shotgun might not be such a bad ides.  The pine roaches are the size of large mice.

Add OTSRs and not only would you ruin the ride, you would probably get sued for cranial injuries from the head banging.  This is an example of the more is better school of non-thought.

Dark rides do have fire code issues on escape in the event of fire that would at least require some interesting releases for any restraints other than seat belts.  Remember that the worst ride disaster of the last 50 years was a dark ride.

Fire codes are usually very specific about making certain that there are adequate exits, and there's always that bit about what is supposed to happen when the fire alarm goes off: that the ride action should stop, all confusing noises and effects stop, and the means to the exit is to be illuminated with a minimum of 1 ft-candle. Clark County, NV and the State of New Jersey both have particularly stringent codes in this regard. Dark rides have different standards from coasters because with a roller coaster, the ride will run until it reaches a block brake or the end of the ride, at which point evacuation is an issue just as on the dark rides. A dark ride will stop at any point in the ride, so access to exits becomes more important. Also, with a dark ride, you have a much larger number of people inside who may need to get out in a hurry, compared with a trainload of coaster riders. How many boats can be inside the building at once on Splash Mountain?

--Dave Althoff, Jr
Who, by the way, will be gone for a week starting Saturday.

I really hope this isnt true, its fine the way it is.
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"Yeah, they did it in Superman 3"

Wouldn't seat belts make the most sense?

...you could TRY using a fly-swatter against one of our Palmetto bugs (enormous flying roaches with ATTITUDE)...but that would be the opposite end of the spectrum...
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Florida needs an Intamin and/or CCI soon...PLEASE!
Son of Drop Zone - PKI CoasterCamp I Champions!!!