ArmChair Imagineering: Station Type

[Datameister]

I haven't noticed any other attractions like that, dizzneeland. Which is a pity, since it looks so freaking cool!

[Uncle Bob]

Originally Posted by dizzneeland

Split track rides are two rides under the same name. I'd count them as two seperate linear/side-by-side stations.


EDIT: Has anyone noticed another ride besides Space that has the slide-to-the-side handicap station?

Matterhorn has the same type of sliding track switch but I'm not sure if they load disabled guests in a simmilar way. I assume they do, thru the exit gate, but I'm sure someone will clarify.

[Eric5675]

The Matterhorn has the capability to slide, but it can't be used for handicapped entrances. Also, the Matterhorn is not a linear station because of the trains stacking in each individual station, but not departing from the station at the same time.

[Mojave]

Originally Posted by Eric5675

The Matterhorn has the capability to slide, but it can't be used for handicapped entrances. Also, the Matterhorn is not a linear station because of the trains stacking in each individual station, but not departing from the station at the same time.

EDIT: OK, so Pirates has a linear station because boats move in unison, but Matterhorn doesn't because the unload and load areas are separate stations and dispatch individually?

This is interesting - is this a standard attraction terminology?

[Datameister]

Wow...Matterhorn totally slipped my mind. Go me!

[dizzneeland]

Originally Posted by Datameister

I haven't noticed any other attractions like that, dizzneeland. Which is a pity, since it looks so freaking cool!

That's exactly why I brought it up, Data. Watching the trackslide certainly does pass the que time.


And can someone post the definition of a linear station? Does it have to do with it's timing of release?

[Uncle Bob]

Originally Posted by dizzneeland

That's exactly why I brought it up, Data. Watching the trackslide certainly does pass the que time.


And can someone post the definition of a linear station? Does it have to do with it's timing of release?

I'm not sure if linear is what they really call it, but we're just talking about attractions that load two vehicles at the same time in a row, rather than on side by side tracks.

[dizzneeland]

Originally Posted by Uncle Bob

I'm not sure if linear is what they really call it, but we're just talking about attractions that load two vehicles at the same time in a row, rather than on side by side tracks.

Thank you, Uncle Bob for your response. I was merely wondering why Matterhorn wouldn't be linear.

I understand what is being discussed, but linear is clearly a 'line' station as opposed to the side by side, and has nothing to do with deviation timing. It's AtoBtoA, not two trains enter, two trains leave at the same time. Disney didn't coin 'linear' so the outside definition still exist when talking about Disney attractions.
This statement by Eric: 'Also, the Matterhorn is not a linear station because of the trains stacking in each individual station, but not departing from the station at the same time.' is why I asked for the 'Linear Station' definition. Or, Eric, can you please reword your statement.

[Weekly-Visitor]

Sorry about my flawed table- it was kinda late and I guess I didn't check it over enough...

And yes, I just used "Linear" I don't know the engineering term- perhaps we should call it "Dual-loading-linear" to avoid confusion with attractions such as Matterhorn and Space Mountain where they only load one train at a time.

And I don't ever recall Space being a dual load- I remember them using the back half of the station as an exit for the attraction- but I don't ever remember them loading at both ends- in fact the queue is not even set up properly for that

But as I was saying, there doesn't seem to be any concrete reasons why Disney would choose one type over the other, other than Space, Aesthetics, and cost. Any factors here that I am missing? (yet cost doesn't really seem concrete either does it)

[nycbhh]

I worked at Pirates in MK when it was a dual-channel operation (how what you call “side by side” was referred to then). Theoretically this system led to higher hourly counts due to the loaders having longer to match the right numbers of visitors together so that each boat was filled to capacity. Unfortunately a lot of this was lost by two technical problems that happened on a regular basis. One was the merge point jams that would happen either when a sensor mis-flag led to two boats being launched by the computer from both channels’ dispatch belts at the same time and got stuck together at the merge point, or when an overloaded boat was so slow it didn’t clear the merge point in time before a boat from the other dispatch channel reached it. The other was with switchgate jams in which the switchgate that sent boats back and forth between the two channels prior to the loading areas would switch before a boat would clear it and the boat would get caught up on the gate.

Eventually, during a rehab in the early to mid-90’s they decided to do away with the merge point and switchgate headaches and reconfigured it into a liner system, but with the front boat being loaded from one channel’s queue while the back boat was loaded from the other channel’s queue. I haven’t visited Pirates in Florida since the mid 90s (last couple of times I have been there it was in rehab) so I don’t know if that is the current configuration.

[DannyB]

Originally Posted by dizzneeland

EDIT: Has anyone noticed another ride besides Space that has the slide-to-the-side handicap station?

Toy Story Midway Mania at California Adventure

[dizzneeland]

Originally Posted by DannyB

Toy Story Midway Mania at California Adventure

Never rode it....But now I have a reason.

[Pipeek]

Originally Posted by dizzneeland

EDIT: Has anyone noticed another ride besides Space that has the slide-to-the-side handicap station?

Toy Story and Grizzly do.

The other factor here is operational time and day of the week.

Look at Big Thunder for this. Due to the technology of the ride and computing for the trains to not run into each other; on an weekday in the off season they only run one side. If the load time takes longer than 20 seconds for them, the next train coming in loads on the empty side of the station. If it was a linear system every train would go out full.

This isn't a problem when they operate both sides other than having the attraction go 101 frequently due to this nowadays, but it does cut the riders per hour down a notch in the station type in some cases.

[Mojave]

Originally Posted by DannyB

Toy Story Midway Mania at California Adventure

TSMM isn't a slide-to-the-side handicap station. It is a spur off the main linear loading system.

[Uncle Bob]

Originally Posted by nycbhh

I worked at Pirates in MK when it was a dual-channel operation (how what you call “side by side” was referred to then). Theoretically this system led to higher hourly counts due to the loaders having longer to match the right numbers of visitors together so that each boat was filled to capacity. Unfortunately a lot of this was lost by two technical problems that happened on a regular basis. One was the merge point jams that would happen either when a sensor mis-flag led to two boats being launched by the computer from both channels’ dispatch belts at the same time and got stuck together at the merge point, or when an overloaded boat was so slow it didn’t clear the merge point in time before a boat from the other dispatch channel reached it. The other was with switchgate jams in which the switchgate that sent boats back and forth between the two channels prior to the loading areas would switch before a boat would clear it and the boat would get caught up on the gate.

Eventually, during a rehab in the early to mid-90’s they decided to do away with the merge point and switchgate headaches and reconfigured it into a liner system, but with the front boat being loaded from one channel’s queue while the back boat was loaded from the other channel’s queue. I haven’t visited Pirates in Florida since the mid 90s (last couple of times I have been there it was in rehab) so I don’t know if that is the current configuration.

Interesting info, thanks for sharing.