Scooby-Doo Spooky Coaster fire and lighting effects

[Spotty]

Yes, they are all synchronised as well as you can. But the ideal dispatch time is a set of cars every 30 seconds or so, but with larger guests or guests that don't take bags off etc quickly it's very easy for the cars to stack up at the load platform. If cars start to back up around the corner from the unload platform onwards (so 8 cars or more 2x at load, 2x behind load, 2x at unload, 2x behind unload) a "must send" light starts flashing to alert the operator that cars are starting to stack up behind. This is why you may often see the attendants sending a set or 2 of empty cars every now and then to try and clear the backlog of cars as quickly as possible to prevent the ride from shutting down.

Once cars start to back up from the ring of fire scene... that's when the ride really starts to become temperamental. If i'm not mistaken the ride system is set up to actually have two blocks between each car. Where the turntable is for example is actually 3 blocks, there is one on the turntable, one directly in front (or behind it depending how you look at it) and a 3rd one immediately after the drop. So you will also find that a car will not dispatch from the turntable until it is at least 2 sets of hairpin turns in front of it in general operation.

Basically it will allow cars to have block zone gap but if they are starting to get too close to each other the brakes will apply to start to slow them down a little bit to try and keep 2 zones between the cars. However when the ride is backed up cars will stop in each zone 1 after the other so potentially you could have 6 cars just between the lift and turntable (3 on each zone).

In short, with 14 cars on the track you could have cars backed all the way up from the load platform to 1 zone after the turntable within a matter of 2 - 3 minutes if there is a major delay at the load platform. If the delay for some reason is at the unload platform (such as a disabled guest) it is possible to have a backup all the way to the lift. This is why with a disabled guest (in a wheelchair) they send 3 cars in front of it empty (put them in the back car of the 2nd set) and then send another 2 empty behind it to try and prevent a backlog and keep cars moving.

If anyone has any other operational questions please feel free to PM me as I don't wanna clog up the forum any more with operational information so that the thread stays on topic.

Cheers

Edited May 9, 2014 by Spotty

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

If anyone has any other operational questions please feel free to PM me as I don't wanna clog up the forum any more with operational information so that the thread stays on topic.

Considering the thread is about scooby's fire and lighting - and we all know there is no fire - this thread is about as pointless as any other and i'm sure we'd all very much prefer to hear the inner technicalities of the ride than about a mythical gas line, fire eyes and cantilevered roof.

[DWP]

Totally agree Alex as the 'behind the scenes' info is fascinating. Spotty's info combined with that lights on POV Scooby video gives that ride a fresh perspective

[Spotty]

Well... if anyone has any questions they would like answered fire away so to speak and I will do my best to answer them. If you have any questions about Wild West Falls, Batwing, Superman, Scooby Doo or WBK / RoadRunner Roller Coaster as well i'd be happy to answer them as I've had hands on experience with all of those attractions.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Are you now free from the constraints of your contract?

Is the park OK with you discussing it?

(And will the Mods permit it if it's sensitive?)

[Spotty]

I know what I can and can't answer without being in breach of any contracts. If i'm unable to answer any questions that I am asked I will say so Funny thing is, when I was there I never actually signed a non disclosure agreement as part of any contracts etc. However I will still respect Village Roadshow Theme Parks and keep sensitive information to myself. Obviously anything relating to incidents etc that have happened I wouldn't be able to post but general operations stuff is fine.

[themagician]

I know what I can and can't answer without being in breach of any contracts. If i'm unable to answer any questions that I am asked I will say so Funny thing is, when I was there I never actually signed a non disclosure agreement as part of any contracts etc. However I will still respect Village Roadshow Theme Parks and keep sensitive information to myself. Obviously anything relating to incidents etc that have happened I wouldn't be able to post but general operations stuff is fine.

Why have the different coloured lasers and the amount of smoke been minimised on Scooby-Doo?

[Reanimated35]

What's the red button do?

[Spotty]

Why have the different coloured lasers and the amount of smoke been minimised on Scooby-Doo?

To put it simply, when things break down they either aren't reported by staff or they are and they are not fixed. I know from doing many track walk's before park opening all the smoke machines are turned on and checked for fog juice. However if they have not been filled up by AV or they aren't working they simply aren't. The supervisors that I worked with would always get on the 2 way straight away to inform AV that they need filling... but the sad reality is, they are not essential to the attraction operating and once 10am (well 9:45am when they start doing test cycles once the ride has been handed over to operations) AV are unable to enter the ride envelope without a full ride shutdown.

The lasers, I honestly couldn't give you an answer as to why they don't run anywhere near as good as they do anymore because I don't know. I do know that they do sometimes freeze up and produce a straight line instead of moving. Generally the supervisor in the Control Room can't see this as they are watching out for other things. However if you have someone who is in the lift room / high zone who is paying attention they would call the supervisor who could then reset the show control to get it to kick in again or call AV who can work wonders. Hope this answers your question.

As for the red button, Scooby actually has multiple red buttons... the obvious emergency stop... the red flashing "fault" light / button which is my personal favourite. And on the main control panel in the control room (not on the load platform) there is a few "area stop" buttons that isolate the lift and turntable. There is also one at the top and the bottom of the lift and at the turntable which is used in evacuations to prevent those parts of the ride being accidentally started up again in the control room.

[Santa07]

Does Superman use an auto launch or do you have to manually do everything (ie retracting the break fins, resetting the launch dog etc)?

[bladex]

Why have the different coloured lasers and the amount of smoke been minimised on Scooby-Doo?

they usually only turn everything on for the holidays any other time they can't be assed

the last time i went on (wasn't in the holidays) there was absolutely nothing on just a boring dark room...

Edited May 15, 2014 by bladex

[rappa]

Hmmm... Just hold your breath for a little while longer... I rode 2 weeks ago and there were tons of full colour lasers everywhere in the coaster part. They're not their now... What could that mean?

As for superman. Once the train leaves the station the ride does everything on its own.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Hmmm... Just hold your breath for a little while longer... I rode 2 weeks ago and there were tons of full colour lasers everywhere in the coaster part. They're not their now... What could that mean?

What could it mean? It's scooby's disco room - it could mean A LOT of different things...

Could have been a trial with the equipment on loan from a supplier hoping to sell some to the park... could have stolen them to mount on the carnivale floats... might not be able to see them now because the foggers are empty and therefore no beam? blew a fuse in show control? Dr Evil hatched another plan for world domination requiring another

[Reanimated35]

They should all be replaced with 1W lasers so people stop complaining they can't see them

[DWP]

Completely understand that you can't talk about incidents that have happened at MW Spotty but have there being incidents where the media didn't pick up on/find out about that would have had management saying "whew! we dodged a bullet there"

And back to things you can talk about in regards to Superman Escape are there differing speed levels that the ride can be launched at or is it always the same set speed everytime?

[Reanimated35]

^ I thought Superman had a range of speeds for launch based on weather/weight etc?

[Spotty]

The ride does weigh each train before dispatch automatically along with wind speed to determine just how fast to actually launch the train. It ranges really from around 98kph to 103 - 104kph depending on various factors. Batwing also weigh's the gondola during the countdown to determine just how much air pressure is required to launch it for the optimum ride experience. The ride can not be launched at a speed set by the operator and i'm not 100% weather or not it can be changed in maintenance mode.

There have been incidents that have happened, that the media have not got a hold of. But in saying that they would be reasonably minor incidents... I remember a boat load of asian tourists freaking the hell out on the turntable of Wild West Falls when I was in the lift room as they had a cane toad hopping about in their boat. One of them jumped out before it reversed haha... I've never hit a ride stop button that quickly in my life...

... and then there was the time I accidentally hit an emergency stop button when a giant huntsman dropped on my head in the lift of West as well. The supervisors said they had never seen anyone run that fast... I screamed, tried to swat it away and hit the e-stop accidentally... and then ran out my door and out of the mountain... I didn't work on Wild West Falls for a month or 2 after that one... needless to say, I don't like spiders...

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

THAT is the kind of info we need.

Tell you what I am interested in - is a 'mud map' of West and Scoob's 'dark' areas - eg: you talk about seeing the asians whilst in the lift room inside the mountain before the reverse (so the first lift room) - are you physically in line of sight or just watching cameras? If it's just cameras, why can't the load station do the same job? is there another person watching the top hill?

i'm keen to see a rough layout of the mountain scooby including observation points, exitevac points etc.

I'd also be interested to get an idea of what the operator can see on the various 'camera views' - eg: it's unlikely you're going to have each car boat in sight 100% of the time, so where can you where can't you see? A lot of the cams 'outdoors' on West are easily identifiable, but obviously Scooby is less obvious...

(but only if that information cannot be used to break rules or do unsafe things in blindspots etc...)

[rappa]

Yeah I would discourage any posting of where the 'blind spots' are on ride cameras just due to the fact people may be stupid and try to use that info act up.

[MaxxTheMonster]

Just look for the small red leds that are around the end of each camera. We frequently, with younger relatives, point them out and they wave at each one.

[Brad2912]

I know there is a attendant station before the final drop on WWF. Depending on the lighting you can see straight through the double sided mirror and see them

Edited May 16, 2014 by Brad2912

[bladex]

The ride does weigh each train before dispatch automatically along with wind speed to determine just how fast to actually launch the train. It ranges really from around 98kph to 103 - 104kph depending on various factors. Batwing also weigh's the gondola during the countdown to determine just how much air pressure is required to launch it for the optimum ride experience. The ride can not be launched at a speed set by the operator and i'm not 100% weather or not it can be changed in maintenance mode.

There have been incidents that have happened, that the media have not got a hold of. But in saying that they would be reasonably minor incidents... I remember a boat load of asian tourists freaking the hell out on the turntable of Wild West Falls when I was in the lift room as they had a cane toad hopping about in their boat. One of them jumped out before it reversed haha... I've never hit a ride stop button that quickly in my life...

i would have loved to been in that boat i would have been ROFL

[Spotty]

There is not an attendant upstairs at the final drop on Wild West Falls, but on the smaller drop. When you get into the mountain first look to your left and they are in a room. For obvious reasons I will not be posting about camera blind spots. The lift attendant has a camera facing the bottom of lift 1 and 2, turntable 2 and the reversing element after the drop. They also have to hold down a button as a boat comes into turntable 1 and hold it down until it goes down the reverse drop. If they let go it makes an obnoxiously loud beeping noise that will wake anyone up haha...not to mention alerting the supervisors...

There is also a ride stop and emergency stop. Ride stop is used in a mechanical issue such as someone jumping out on a turntable as the ride can normally be restarted once the situation is resolved. An emergency stop drains the water straight away causing an instant evacuation.

[Brad2912]

I Must have been confused with which drop it was

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

(but only if that information cannot be used to break rules or do unsafe things in blindspots etc...)

Yeah I would discourage any posting of where the 'blind spots' are on ride cameras just due to the fact people may be stupid and try to use that info act up.

For obvious reasons I will not be posting about camera blind spots. .

Yeah I kinda had that in mind - i guess to rephrase - without discussing ALL the cameras you have - what are some of the more 'interesting' angles (without being super specific) that catch people unawares? Or doing things they shouldn't? Does each lift cabin have one in Scooby? or are they fixed at the top and bottom only?

With West - an E-stop causes water to drain in two places - the lake at splashdown, and the upper level behind the mountain - What is the water differential? As in - how high does it rise at both points?

I recall hearing a story a while back about Pirates at Disneyland, where the ride was switched off for the night, before all boats had been cleared, and it resulted in some loaded gondolas floating outside their track...