'Tower Of Terror II' E-Stop

[Jamberoo Fan]

From The Daily Mail (Video which was part of the article can be found by clicking here) :

Quote

'We didn't know if it was going to shoot us back up': Horror at Dreamworld as vertical 'Tower of Terror' rollercoaster malfunctions and passengers are left stuck for 45 minutes

• Theme park-goers spoke of their horror after ride they were on malfunctioned 
• 'Tower of Terror' at Dreamworld on Gold Coast had 'auto-stop' sensor activated  
• Guests said they were 100m away from the end of the ride when they got stuck
• 'A woman was crying - the communication was pretty off,' one of the riders said

By CHARLIE COË and TOM PLACE FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA

Theme park passengers have told of their horror after the rollercoaster they were on suddenly malfunctioned and left them trapped for 45 minutes.

The 'Tower of Terror' at Dreamworld on the Gold Coast had its 'auto-stop' sensor activated on Monday, according to the theme park's management.

Two guests said they were about 100m away from the end of the ride after coming down from its peak when they became stuck at the bottom of its incline.

Theme park-goers have told of their horror after the rollercoaster they were on suddenly malfunctioned and left them suspended mid-air for 45 minutes (pictured)

'We were stuck up there for 45 minutes,' one rider who did not want to be named told Daily Mail Australia.

The stranded guests, who said there were three other couples on board, said they were winched back to the drop-off point on a wire.

'They had to get engineers to walk down to save us - we didn't know what was going on and the communication was pretty off.'

'My partner was distressed and a woman was crying - with everything that's happened there it's pretty distressing,' the guest said.

The Tower of Terror ride sends its riders shooting out of a tunnel and 100m into the air at a speed of about 161km/h before falling back to earth.

A Dreamworld spokesperson said the auto-stop could have occurred for a variety of reasons including guest behaviour, weather or safety sensor alignment.

The 'Tower of Terror' at Dreamworld on the Gold Coast had its 'auto-stop' sensor activated on Monday, according to the theme park's management (pictured guests being winched back to the drop-off point)

'Auto-stops are an essential built-in part of ride systems,' the spokesperson said.

'As per standard operating procedures for auto-stops, the ride was inspected by engineers and retested, before it reopened.'

The theme park also added in a statement guests were not placed in danger by the stop occurring. 

After eventually getting off the ride, the guests who spoke to Daily Mail Australia said they were 'fobbed off' with food vouchers before they were given a full refund.

After eventually getting off the ride (drop-off point pictured top-left), the guests who spoke to Daily Mail Australia said they were 'fobbed off' with food vouchers before they were given a full refund

The malfunction comes after Bree Dedini and Steven Apthorp, who were involved in the Thunder River tragedy at Dreamworld in 2016, announced they would sue the park's owner Ardent Leisure.

The now-separated couple were on board the raft with their two children which collided with another craft that flipped over and killed four people.

Ms Dedini and Mr Apthorp claim the crash's horrific aftermath and 'scenes of traumatic injury' triggered psychiatric illness and post-traumatic stress disorder.

I'm pretty sure the people who filmed the e-stop were ironically breaking safety rules (Quote from Tower Of Terror II's official webpage😞

Quote

Any video or photographic devices such as go-pros, digital cameras, mobile phones etc are not permitted on the Big 9 Thrill Rides. The exception is media and approved filming.

Edited February 18, 2019 by Jamberoo Fan
Added quote etc. at end

[Jdude95]

I see they are still incorrectly reporting that the family from the new lawsuit were in the raft that caused the incident in 2016...
Also, how in sweet fuck were they "fobbed off" if they received food vouchers and a full refund (assuming that was their day ticket?)

[Thrill Seeker]

In the last 3 years I have been stuck on most rides and some multiple times. Amagine if I reported it each time.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Such a fucking horror story.

that happened to me a few years ago and i didn't get a damn meal voucher. I guess I should sue.

7 hours ago, Jamberoo Fan said:

The now-separated couple

this interests me. I don't want to suggest that legitimate mental illness doesn't need support - they should get every possible support we can give to help people get healthy again - but its interesting that a husband and wife, who are now separated, have only now decided its time to sue the park.

And they're not suing for support. They're suing for money.

[T-bone]

And to think there are people who would pay for that experience!

[New display name]

9 hours ago, Jamberoo Fan said:

'Auto-stops are an essential built-in part of ride systems,' the spokesperson said. 

Dreamworld!  This kind of thinking would've be good 3 years ago.

 

[Slick]

8 hours ago, Jdude95 said:

I see they are still incorrectly reporting that the family from the new lawsuit were in the raft that caused the incident in 2016...

Came here to say the same thing, glad you're on it too. It's pretty classic Daily Mail really - i'm not surprised they ripped off other journos' work as they're known for it in the industry - what's amusing is that what they ripped off is factually wrong.

TLDR; Daily Mail sensationalist garbage article, please don't click the link and give them ad revenue.

[-nick.white.1543]

15 hours ago, Jamberoo Fan said:

stuck at the bottom

15 hours ago, Jamberoo Fan said:

stuck up there

Love a bit of contradiction within the one article 🙃

[Bussy]

So the ride did what it was supposed to do? I'm guessing the" lack of communication" would've been they weren't happy being told they were stuck and they couldn't tell them how long it would be. What did they want, someone telling them every five minutes that they were still stuck and they would be off soon? Or a full technical explanation of how the ride works and how the safety systems may be activated?

 

Given the price of food at DW food vouchers would be sufficient compensation.

 

"The Bus is now leaving for Stopping Well, South Australia"

[Aimsley81]

On 19/02/2019 at 12:00 AM, Jamberoo Fan said:

'We were stuck up there for 45 minutes,' one rider who did not want to be named told Daily Mail Australia

Stuck up where exactly??? This makes it sounds like they were stuck up the vertical part of the track. 

On 19/02/2019 at 12:00 AM, Jamberoo Fan said:

Two guests said they were about 100m away from the end of the ride after coming down from its peak when they became stuck at the bottom of its incline.

Right. So at the beginning of the tunnel. Been there, done that. One of the best experiences of my life - I even posted about it back in the day when it happened. 

I am surprised to read that they didn’t get any communication from the ride ops though. When it happened to me it took quite some time for the ride vehicle to come to a complete stop at the tunnel entrance. The entire time I heard a staff member over speakers saying that ‘there was no cause for alarm,’ ‘our harnesses were still locked,’ ‘the ride wouldn’t launch again’ and that ‘maintenance were on the way’. 

On 19/02/2019 at 7:58 AM, AlexB said:

that happened to me a few years ago and i didn't get a damn meal voucher. I guess I should sue.

Me neither. Maybe I should sue too. 

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

21 hours ago, Aimsley81 said:

I am surprised to read that they didn’t get any communication from the ride ops though.

To be fair, the spieling comes down to the individual operator, and while they all should, some are not as good at it as others...