So, yes, this is a boring question about the way Space Mountain operates, so bear with me. :)
How does Space Mountain load a rocket every 12-15 seconds, but in the ride they are spaced (no pun intended) 30 seconds apart?
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So, yes, this is a boring question about the way Space Mountain operates, so bear with me. :)
How does Space Mountain load a rocket every 12-15 seconds, but in the ride they are spaced (no pun intended) 30 seconds apart?
well i would imagine its that short wait after the loading where you are stopped in front of the control station. From what ive seen, one car goes straight into the ride, the next waits. while the second is waiting, they are loading the next two and the cycle starts over.
That's just what ive noticed, but id wait for the pros to answer this one.
Not sure...unfortunately, ride capacities and loading procedures and whatnot aren't really my specialty. (Certainly something I'd like to get some hands-on experience with, though...)
From what I know, it appears that it's based on when the rocket that is already dispatched is clear of the first block break or is already going up the second lift.
From what I noticed on Sunday, My rocket was waiting to get dispatched and I saw the rocket in front of me going in. I timed my dispatch to the rocket in front of me. It appears that the system waits for the rocket in the ride to be going up to the second lift. Probably to allow time for the hyper tunnel to reset. In rollercoaster terms, it's waiting for that rocket to clear the first block breaks or zone in the ride.
It's usually around 20-25 seconds between dispatches. Believe it or not, that is how far apart the rockets are inside the ride itself.
Interesting. Look at this video. Start watching at 4:47.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-b8XB8SbB9Q"]YouTube - Space Mountain 2006![/ame]
At first I thought there had to be a thirty second space between rockets in order for the strobe tunnel to be properly hidden, but our rocket departs too early for that to happen. It looks like the first turn in the strobe tunnel turns off just when the rocket rounds the corner. Look closely and you can see the reflection as you make your way to the first lift room.
If you listen to the sound effects for the rocket ahead, you can tell that the earliest the rocket can leave is just after the one ahead clears the first turn in the strobe tunnel.
Hmm, interesting. I remebered severl occasions that I would look back when I'm in the 6th row. As I'm looking back and i'm already at the top of the 2nd lift I can see the strobe tunnel on again and can catch a glimpse of the rocket in there.Quote:
Originally Posted by WDITrent
The loading process is so short because the rocket must also be unloaded simultaneously, giving you only half of those 22 seconds to get in. Add in the time to advance the rocket from each position and park before loading and that reduces the time even more. Finally, loading the rockets in as short a time possible allows for the occasional person to take some extra time during boarding and hopefully not breakdown the ride. Hope that answers your question!
I don't understand why they can't unload the train behind the one being loaded. There is plenty of space for people to unload and if I am remembering correctly, they used to do that before the major redo of the attraction. Wouldn't that help with the loading?
Rockets are occasionally unloaded behind the loading rocket, however if a guest is unable to exit in the allotted time, rockets will continue to return and fill the two remaining "parking" spaces. Once those are full, the ride breaks down when the next rocket returns, so unloading rockets behind the loading one can be very risky and increases the chances of a breakdown significantly (and makes lots of people unhappy when/if that happens).
Is it based on time, or when the train ahead clears the block section?Quote:
Originally Posted by mrfantasmic
So it sounds like they load faster than the ride can dispatch so that these backups and 101's?Quote:
Originally Posted by revol yensid
I've seen them unload guests sometimes in the other part of the station the last couple times I've been on there this past month. I guess it they do that when guests in the load area are taking a little longer.
As for the OP's original question, I would think that the "blocks" within the attraction are placed farther apart than in the load and lift areas. The spacing of the blocks (the brakes that stop a train if the train before them hasn't cleared the next block) is what allows them to dispatch trains so often. They are farther apart within the attraction than in the load and lift areas but roughly the same amount amount of time it takes for the train to travel block to block is the same. That's my guess, based on my experience with Madness.
The goal is to prevent backups and 101s, so loading faster than they dispatch is best to build a buffer for anytime some extra seconds would be useful to resolve a situation while loading etc. Spacing of the rockets depends on many factors, including number of rockets online, weight of each vehicle, most efficient spacing for capacity, and how long each rocket has been online. It's surprisingly more complicated than most would imagine.
I wanna say a long time they use to.Quote:
Originally Posted by Executioner
But then again
that's my memory trying to go back a long time ago
(the floor looks like it even has lanes to due such a procedure)
So if you get stuck on Space and it doesnt seem right, count to 25 and brace? hahaQuote:
Originally Posted by mrfantasmic
It always looked like it should be that way to me too. I notice it every time I ride.Quote:
Originally Posted by DLFreak71