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View Full Version : Anybody else have to duck on Mulholland Madness?



bigrockstar
05-23-2008, 09:21 AM
So on my most recent trip to DCA, I went with one of my friends who is 6'6. He sat in the Left side of the back seat in the ride vehicle. On the first ascent, there was a metal boxy thing that jutted out partially above the track. He actually had to duck to avoid injury! Later, we rode it again, and I was on that side (I'm about 6'2). I was not tall enough for it to hit me, though I could easily reach my fingers out to touch it.

Has anybody else noticed this, or was it just a part of the ride that had moved into this ackward position while I was there? I have never noticed it before, and it was pretty noticeable.

Thinking back on it, we should have just let it injure us, so we could get lots of money:D. j/k of course...

dkthepainter
05-23-2008, 01:00 PM
Being 6'2" myself(with freakishly long arms), I've noticed that if I didn't keep my hands down, I could easely touch parts of certain attractions(whethter they would cuase physical injury, or not, I'm uncertain). This is also the case on BTMR. I'd like to think that it's just an optical illusion, but can't help wondering what would/could happen if I didn't respect rules as much as I do. Kind of disturbing.

Bytebear
05-23-2008, 01:09 PM
I have touched the wood beams on Big Thunder. I am only 6' so I can imagine someone taller hitting them easily. For the most part though, it is illusion. Safety regulations require quite a reach to touch anything.

Drince88
05-23-2008, 01:27 PM
I'm only 5'10" and if I have my hands straight up on Space Mountain, can hit stuff right before the tunnel at the end.

dkthepainter
05-23-2008, 03:09 PM
I'm only 5'10" and if I have my hands straight up on Space Mountain, can hit stuff right before the tunnel at the end.

Yikes!

adrianne
05-23-2008, 03:42 PM
:eek: Wow! -- I'm glad to be short (I'm 5'02"). being tall sounds hazardous!

lofosho
05-23-2008, 03:43 PM
I'm only 5'4, but I still duck on Mulholland Madness. It's just a reflex because of the illusion. I think it makes it fun!

Macro
05-23-2008, 04:45 PM
For the most part though, it is illusion. Safety regulations require quite a reach to touch anything.I thought that too until last Friday. I'm 6' 3.5" tall. A more accurate measure of my height is the "Indy Crush Room Test". I can stand flat footed in any part of the crush room part of the Indy Queue and touch the spikes sticking out of the ceiling even when the ceiling isn't coming down. And for curious not-so-tall folks out there, yes, the spikes are metal. I guessed they'd be rubber with metallic paint or something but they're real spikes.

I go to DL every few weeks and I like dark rides but I also spend some time on the coasters. A few months ago I was looking for some fun on BTMRR. BTMRR has that really effective head chopper (yes, that's the Official Roller Coaster Terminology (http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=39402) for the thing) towards the end of the ride. It's the one where the train dives just before going into a tunnel and then turns left and goes up the last lift hill. If you don't know what I'm talking about, this is a picture (http://www.rcdb.com/ig3757.htm?picture=27) of a particularly "good" head chopper on another coaster. I've always been impressed by the tunnel head chopper on BTMRR. It really looks like you're going to smash into the top of the tunnel entrance. My natural tendency is to duck when going through it. So I thought I'd try sticking my arms up when going into the tunnel. Coaster riders do the arms up thing all the time, after all, so I assumed they had taken that into account when selecting the clearance. It must have taken four or five rides before I could stick my arms up all the way before entering the tunnel. And the best part is that most women behind me in the train will scream their lungs out when I do it. My sense is that I'm not even close to touching the thing despite easily passing the Indy Crush Room Test.

So on to last Friday. There's one other "good" head chopper on BTMRR. It's right after you've done the right turn around the goat and then the train goes up the hill and under a wood structure which has one piece of angled wood on the left which you'd swear you're going to hit. Now and then I put my arms up there too. I must have done it 20 times before. So on my last BTMRR ride of the night I stuck my arms up after the goat and we were zipping past that piece of wood when I felt this solid tick on the middle finger of my left hand. I just grazed it. Ohmygod! Maybe I was on the leftmost part of the seat (I may have done the goat trick - I don't remember) or maybe my arms weren't straight up in the air but I touched the thing. That angled wood head chopper always looked closer to me than the tunnel head chopper but I assumed that Shaquille O'Neal couldn't touch the thing.

It was late and I went on Indy as my last ride. The whole time I was standing in line I kept thinking "Ohmygod! I grazed it!". I was at DL on my own so, fortunately, I didn't have to explain the dazed look on my face to anyone in my group. I thought "I grazed it!, I'm an idiot. I grazed it!, I'm an idiot." on and off during most of the drive back home to San Diego.

Oh, and just for completeness, it's easy to touch things on rides in parts where you're moving slowly. There's plenty of them on BTMRR including some parts of the cement ceiling in the last lift hill. But you're moving at 3 MPH so it's no big deal.

dkthepainter
05-23-2008, 05:01 PM
And the best part is that most women behind me in the train will scream their lungs out when I do it.


Hillarious! I'll have to try that one. I've always ducked because I feel that the "Head chop off" thing applied to my height range more than anyone elses!:)

SCTrojan65
05-25-2008, 10:08 AM
I would think they've tested all heights on these attractions, otherwise you would have heard of injuries taking place on these attraction long before now. Last I checked there isn't a reverse height limitation, meaning I haven't seen any attractions that say you can't be taller than 6'7", or whatever.
Some areas on certain attractions do look a little close though.

Macro
05-25-2008, 02:41 PM
I'll have to try that one. I've always ducked because I feel that the "Head chop off" thing applied to my height range more than anyone elses!:)If your arms really are freakishly long then maybe you should take it slowly. I'm pretty sure I'm not close to touching the tunnel entrance but I don't want anyone to lose any fingers here. :D [Obscure movie reference warning!!!] I still cringe when I remember that scene in Mad Max where some guy tries to catch the boomerang/knife thingie with his hand (imagine fingers flying off and flipping through the air).

dkthepainter
05-25-2008, 03:03 PM
If your arms really are freakishly long then maybe you should take it slowly. I'm pretty sure I'm not close to touching the tunnel entrance but I don't want anyone to lose any fingers here. :D [Obscure movie reference warning!!!] I still cringe when I remember that scene in Mad Max where some guy tries to catch the boomerang/knife thingie with his hand (imagine fingers flying off and flipping through the air).

OK. OK. Maybe "freakishly" was the wrong word to use. I've not seen "Mad Max" (too weird for my taste), but would hate to remind anyone that has, of any gory scenes! I'll just take everbody's word for it, that it's just an illusion, and keep my hands down (not that we don't hear that enough when entering all of the rides and attractions anyway, along with keeping our head, arms, legs, and my personal favorite, feet in the tram/coaster/vehicle/boat at all times!). :)

dznyphreak
05-26-2008, 12:00 AM
I feel like trying this on BTMRR too next time I go. I'm 6'4" and could probably freak people out a good bit.

And a word of advice: Don't put your hands up on Matterhorn. Tried that once. It took one contact to scrape the skin off the tips of my fingers and I haven't tried it since...

meghan1
05-26-2008, 12:47 AM
And a word of advice: Don't put your hands up on Matterhorn. Tried that once. It took one contact to scrape the skin off the tips of my fingers and I haven't tried it since...

Last time we were there my friend stuck her arms up and smacked her hand towards the beginning of the ride. It was weird.

bigrockstar
05-26-2008, 10:42 AM
I feel like trying this on BTMRR too next time I go.
And a word of advice: Don't put your hands up on Matterhorn. Tried that once. It took one contact to scrape the skin off the tips of my fingers and I haven't tried it since...

:eek: Yikes! I'm starting to think that I should keep my hands down on every ride at DL! I like my fingers all too much to have them wounded for the sake of the thrill. By the way, do you still have finger prints? :D

coronado_g
05-26-2008, 12:12 PM
I had no idea that tall people have this inordinate fascination with touching walls in the rides and ceilings in the queues! Being really short myself, it nevers occurrs to me to even try. The whole psychology of the trying sounds very dangerous. No wonder the mantra of keeping arms and legs inside the ride is repeated over and over in the park.

dkthepainter
05-26-2008, 03:56 PM
I had no idea that tall people have this inordinate fascination with touching walls in the rides and ceilings in the queues! Being really short myself, it nevers occurrs to me to even try. The whole psychology of the trying sounds very dangerous. No wonder the mantra of keeping arms and legs inside the ride is repeated over and over in the park.

I wouldn't say that I have an inordinate fascination with touching anything on the rides, but was merely pointing out that it could easily it could be done. I do however like to raise my hands from time to time while enjoying a rollercoaster of sorts (it is a favorite pastime of many, is't it?).
They do have reason to repeat safety instuctions for a reason, but please don't assume that I am one of those statistical reasons. I do my best to follow the rules.

pixar
05-26-2008, 05:40 PM
from what I've heard, rides built back then did not have certain codes to meet. they didn't have to have a certain clearance between the walls/ceilings and the rider. that's why rides like the matterhorn is so tight. since they were built before new codes, they were grandfathered into the old code. if disney were to tear down the matterhorn and rebuilt it, they wouldn't be able to build it exactly as it is now. much like the gone but not forgotten people mover. it was tight through some areas, and for disney to put the people mover back up, they'd have to carve out more room between the vehicle and the walls.

as for mulholland madness, I'm not too sure about that one, as that was built not too long ago (2001?).

dkthepainter
05-26-2008, 10:34 PM
Yikes! Please forgive all of the grammatical errors on my last post to this thread. I wrote it in a hurry. :)

Here is how it should read:

" I wouldn't say that I have an inordinate fascination with touching anything on the rides, but was merely pointing out that it could easily be done. I do however like to raise my hands from time to time while enjoying a roller coaster of sorts (a favorite pastime of many, is it not?).
They do have reason to repeat safety instructions, but please don't assume I am one of those statistical reasons. I do my best to follow the rules."

jazzysmom
05-27-2008, 09:54 AM
Very interesting post. My DH always says he feels like he is going to hit his head and has to duck. We just always chalked it up to illusion...very interesting!!

Macro
05-27-2008, 01:17 PM
I had no idea that tall people have this inordinate fascination with touching walls in the rides and ceilings in the queues! Being really short myself, it nevers occurrs to me to even try. The whole psychology of the trying sounds very dangerous. No wonder the mantra of keeping arms and legs inside the ride is repeated over and over in the park.Sticking your hands straight up while riding a coaster makes the ride much more thrilling especially when you're dealing with a relatively tame one like BTMRR. Not hanging onto the bar makes it a lot more fun. They've clearly designed their newer coasters taking that into account and have provided sufficient clearances. I've seen people stick their hands outside the boat in Pirates and get scolded over the speakers by a CM. If they really had a problem with the hands up over coasters stuff then they would add it to the safety instructions and try to stop people from doing it. I can't do it very well on California Screamin' because of the over-the-shoulder restraints and I'm often the only person on board who isn't doing it. Coaster riders consider it part of riding a coaster as do the designers.

dznyphreak
05-27-2008, 01:57 PM
:eek: Yikes! I'm starting to think that I should keep my hands down on every ride at DL! I like my fingers all too much to have them wounded for the sake of the thrill. By the way, do you still have finger prints? :D
Yes, I do still have my fingerprints :)

It just burned and kinda caught me by surprise. Not to mention I was in 8th grade at the time (and am now a first-year at UCLA), so I'm sure I could do a lot more damage trying it now.

sleepyjeff
05-30-2008, 02:53 PM
I am 6'1" and have held my hands up as high as they will go on every single Disneyland Resort roller coaster type attraction....not once have I touched anything:)

ScottC4746
09-05-2008, 06:36 AM
I have touched the wood beams on Big Thunder. I am only 6' so I can imagine someone taller hitting them easily. For the most part though, it is illusion. Safety regulations require quite a reach to touch anything.
I agree with this...just seeing something low coming towards you makes you flentch or duck naturally and I am only 5'9.

Jim Dear and Darling
09-05-2008, 09:51 AM
My solution: I don't ride MM. For me, it's the scariest ride at either park.

That said, I do duck during BTMRR and Space Mountain. And I'm only 5'7