Why the lower water level?

[lookofjoy]

My 1st post...I was there a month ago and noticed POTC had a very high water level one evening so much so that hubby and I and DGD-14 seated in the very back seat got water rushed, at 1st bottom turn. Right boat side at least 2 inches under...lol...then there was at least 4 or 5 inches on floor and behind our hinnies....A very 1st also we weighed a combined weight of 525lbs.....lol.......was also there the 14, 15, and 16 this month and also noticed ver low water levels on Potc and The Rivers Of America on the 15th.......any one notice that? we thought maybe it was the water shortage?........anyhoo I love this board!

[TikiRoomLiz]

Could also be that we are having to watch our water consumption in California due to low water levels overall.

[DisneyIPresume]

I think being able to see the tracks of POTC is easier now because of the brighter lighting inside the warehouse. All of the dark rides have been brightened up now, thanks to the sharks oops I mean lawyers. For example in HM you can in the portrait hallway see all the way down to the end where the busts are. I remember when I was a kid not being able to see literally a couple feet in front of you.

When I was a kid riding POTC I remember not seeing the track underneath the water, but occasionally I would notice the track sticking slightly above the waterline as the boat got near it due to the water displacement. But now like the rest of the dark rides it is a lot brighter in there and so in places it is very easy to see the track underneath the water.

[FantasyWatersDude]

Could also be that we are having to watch our water consumption in California due to low water levels overall.

Its the same water recycled over and over... with occasional filling every few days due to evaporation.

POTC's Water level cant change as stated above. A lot of the effects depend on a constant water level as well as some of the sets that seem to run into the water.

[rurounikengyrl]

They lower the water level with temperature, less water level means less splash, they don't want to freeze people.

AWW how nice of them.. =)

[Professortango]

I've always thought that the lower the water level, the greater the splash. A flume with less water can't support as much weight or force, therefore more water is displaced. That was the way it was described to me before...

[PinBrian]

My 1st post...I was there a month ago and noticed POTC had a very high water level one evening so much so that hubby and I and DGD-14 seated in the very back seat got water rushed, at 1st bottom turn. Right boat side at least 2 inches under...lol...then there was at least 4 or 5 inches on floor and behind our hinnies....A very 1st also we weighed a combined weight of 525lbs.....lol.......was also there the 14, 15, and 16 this month and also noticed ver low water levels on Potc and The Rivers Of America on the 15th.......any one notice that? we thought maybe it was the water shortage?........anyhoo I love this board!

I was there the first week of dec and the water levels all seemed normal to me.

We had 5 big guys in the first two rows (we are all over 200lbs, and one of us is 400) and we got nowhere NEAR 4-5 inches of water on the bottom of the boat. That is a lot of water (easily over my ankles)

They did front load our log on Splash and we got completely drenched on time. I mean head to toe soaked, go back to the hotel and change wet.

[flynnibus]

A flume with less water can't support as much weight or force, therefore more water is displaced. That was the way it was described to me before...

You were misinformed. The boat is going to displace water based on its weight (that's exactly what displacement is!). The heavier the boat.. the more water it must displace to stay buoyant.

Floating happens when the weight of the water you displace equals the weight of the object. You weigh 200lbs.. you must displace 200lbs of water or you sink.

The difference here is in these attractions you aren't always purely floating... you can have a track under you supporting you.

Water level would have effects on the energy put into the water... aka the waves. Where do they go and what they do when they reflect off things.

[cyberworm]

I had read about some problems with It's a Small World, where the boats would get hung up because they were too heavy and couldn't carry their momentum in the water. Perhaps they've lowered the water level so the boats keep relatively consistant contact with the tracks and don't stall halfway, causing a backup?

[flynnibus]

I had read about some problems with It's a Small World, where the boats would get hung up because they were too heavy and couldn't carry their momentum in the water. Perhaps they've lowered the water level so the boats keep relatively consistant contact with the tracks and don't stall halfway, causing a backup?

In the case of IASW - its just a flume... the boats just float and are pushed with water jets creating a current. The reported scenario is they bottom out and get stuck. There lower water level would cause problems if the boat's draft becomes too deep due to weight. More weight = need to displace more water so the boat sink deeper. How deep a boat goes below the water line is called its 'draft'. When draft is equal to water depth you get a stuck boat But you can't just keep increasing the water depth.. without changing the flume, otherwise water and lighter boats find their way out of the flume Al reported that Disney is going to try to address this with the IASW refurb by increasing the water depth (by cleaning up built-up repairs on the flume) and with different boat designs.

POTC is different though in that its not a flume, but boats staying within a guide track on the sides. However, not seeing the track itself or reading about its design, I can't speculate on how much the boats interact with it or depend on it except as side guides. It's my assumption they have guides below the boats as well at the bottom of drops to prevent the boats from bottoming out and stopping instantly (meaning flying guests) or the water is kept deep enough for its physically impossible for the boat to bottom out.

[Steve DeGaetano]

It's my assumption they have guides below the boats as well at the bottom of drops to prevent the boats from bottoming out and stopping instantly (meaning flying guests) or the water is kept deep enough for its physically impossible for the boat to bottom out.

I don't think I'd make that assumption. The rubber mats that lift the batteaux up the ramp at the end of the ride suggest nothing more than a flat bottom.

Of course, there are other flat-bottom boats in the park that don't stop instantly or bottom out at the end of a drop that also don't rely on a center track--the Splash Mountain logs principally.

[flynnibus]

I don't think I'd make that assumption. The rubber mats that lift the batteaux up the ramp at the end of the ride suggest nothing more than a flat bottom.

When I said guides - I meant that the boat and whatever is below it are in direct contact - be it a roller surface, slick surface, integrated wheels, or whatever. Not necessarily a rail or track per say. That way the boat's transition in direction is controlled rather then purely redirected by the boat's buoyancy in the splash down area.

Its quite a bit of energy coming down that hill. The boat's draft can be increased when it has a force pushing down on it (like the vertical kenetic force of falling down the hill) and the worst possible situation is going at high speed and then grounding the leading edge into a static object (the bottom). I would have to assume the ride's design is to ensure that physically can not happen.

Free floating bobbing objects do not stay nice and level like you would like the boat to be after splash down either.

I don't believe the boats actually 'float' down the hills - does anyone actually know? Or do they ride down on a surface/guide like they do in Splash, etc.

[JeffYardDog]

You were misinformed. The boat is going to displace water based on its weight (that's exactly what displacement is!). The heavier the boat.. the more water it must displace to stay buoyant.

Floating happens when the weight of the water you displace equals the weight of the object. You weigh 200lbs.. you must displace 200lbs of water or you sink.

The difference here is in these attractions you aren't always purely floating... you can have a track under you supporting you.

Water level would have effects on the energy put into the water... aka the waves. Where do they go and what they do when they reflect off things.

That rather ignores what happens when when boats come shooting down the inclines where there are a number of factors related to the force they impact with at the bottom which is related to mass and speed.

[mrfantasmic]

There are two rails on the drops, which you can see right before you go down and if you look back after the drop. The boat rests on that as it goes down, but that only serves to keep the chain dog out of the way, and protect the bottom of the boats. As far as during the ride, the boat is truly floating. No track below.

[flynnibus]

That rather ignores what happens when when boats come shooting down the inclines where there are a number of factors related to the force they impact with at the bottom which is related to mass and speed.

Since there are no inclines or hills (except at load/unload) in IASW I think my comments stand just fine as they were.