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coronamouseman
10-28-2001, 07:46 PM
Was at DL today and Space Mountain soundtrack was not working when I went on the ride around 7:00PM. Soundtrack was not working the last time I went on SM which was a couple of months ago .....

Anybody else experience this same situation?
Is it simply broken permanently at this point?
Does anybody know if they are going to fix the soundtrack and keep it as an integral part of the attraction or is it just going to be
one of those things that is a hit or miss feature anytime you go to the park?

Would be a shame if they can't or don't want to fix it - it makes the ride so much better when it does work .......

jake99
10-28-2001, 07:53 PM
my friends went about three weeks ago and it was up

but it hasnt been up consistently for a very long time

MickeyD
10-28-2001, 08:14 PM
Yeah, I was there a week ago and rode twice and both times the soundtrack was working. I was so excited. Before then I couldn't tell you the last time I rode it with the soundtrack working.

awinner
10-28-2001, 10:01 PM
I was at the park today (10/28) and was on SM around 12pm, the soundtrack was working fine...3 weeks ago they said they were not because they were refurbishing the speakers or something...

tinkfreak
10-28-2001, 11:40 PM
As someone who visits the park very often, I can tell you that the SM soundtrak is very hot and cold. It works about 50% of the time. I heard that they need new rockets, and if they ever get them the soundtrak would be funtional 100% of the time.

innerSpaceman
10-29-2001, 07:43 AM
Question:

Ok, let's assume you are fortunate enough to ride with the cool soundtrack actually functioning for a change. What you hear is a rock-out version of the Aquarium segment of Saint-Saens' Carnival of the Animals, which is featured in it's actual orchestral arrangement in Epcot's "Impressions de France."

Well, for a brief time when music was first featured on Space Mountain, there was a different soundtrack for about a month or so. Does anybody know what this piece of music was?

mrlop
10-29-2001, 09:38 AM
here is a little tip i learned.

just look for the rockets with the red light glowing in the back of the first rocket and remmeber that number(s) while you are waiting in line and when you get up to the front either request that number rocket or wait for one that has a light on in the back.

I have never been on a SM rocket with the light off and the music still worked. but i have been on some with the light on and the music not work, or cut out half way through the ride. But you have a better chance of getting music if you get a rocket with a red light on.

the light is behind the first rows of seats on the bottom left.

some are dimm and some are bright, i would believe the brighter the better.

anyone care to dispute?

Hades
10-29-2001, 04:10 PM
I'll take your word for it, Innerspaceman. The person who gives the SM music its "ROCK" is a gentleman named Dick Dale. Most of the younger set will not know of whom I speak, but if you were young in the late 50's and early 60's, he was better known as the king of the surf guitar! If you heard the song "Wipeout", you may see the similarities in the style between it and the SM soundtrack.:D

As far as the name of the music, you have me there. I was under the impression that it was something that Dick Dale put together for the ride.

mrfantasmic
10-29-2001, 07:45 PM
Taken from David Koenig's Catching Up! (6-22-01)
I am referred to in the article as "a reader." Yes, that was me and he really did say that.


In the same edition of the DIG, a reader claimed that he was told by a Space Mountain ride operator that repairs are being deferred because all the rockets are "going to be replaced in about a month."

I'd heard the same rumor, such as from this cast member: "They are supposed to be getting new rockets soon. I do not believe it will be the entire fleet for some time, but they are supposed to get a test rocket with a new sound system 'similar to Rock 'n' Roller Coaster.' The backs are supposed to be lower like the rockets were prior to the sound system installation. They should be getting the new test rocket next month or perhaps August."

With the Facilities budget cut so severely? Sounded very far fetched to me, so I asked a Facilities mechanic.

He agreed, "It IS very far fetched! The new body project at Space got put on indefinite hold (some time ago). Initially, the hold was because the design staff was assigned to Screamin' (truly a sound system designed by a committee!), then fiscal issues were cited as being the reason. There were problems with weight, center of gravity, speaker placement, mounting of the sound system equipment, etc. As these problems were not easily solved without a mass infusion of cash, and DCA was only a year away from opening, the design group was disbanded. Thus, there are NO active plans to alter the Space bodies. In fact, a couple are in the process of being rehabbed for return to the ride -- in the current configuration.

"The main reason the sound system is in the shape it is, even with the old bodies, is (the mechanics') lack of experience with audio equipment. As the equipment needing repair started to pile up, they mangled the repairs, succeeding only in adding to the work load. Eventually, there weren't enough working pieces to keep it running. The ride operators didn't like the system anyway, so they would shut it all off once ANY unit began malfunctioning.




If only there were new rockets...

tabacco
10-29-2001, 08:11 PM
#6 has no music in the last 2 or 3 rows, if that helps anyone :)

Nigel2
10-29-2001, 10:15 PM
If the light is flashing it also won't work, but I am usually lucky with the music, like 85 percent of the time its playing.

Morrigoon
10-29-2001, 10:36 PM
I'm funny about this: I like it both ways. I must admit though, that I like it WITH the sound a tad better. :D

Not Afraid
10-29-2001, 11:16 PM
I've ridden SM so many times and never knew there was music involved until someone at my husband's work made a comment about it. The response - "Music, what music?" We finally asked a CM to put us on a rocket with the music working and got to fully experience the ride as intended. It didn't add much to the overall ride experience - in fact, I found it distracting and out of theme with the ride. Surf music in space???

tabacco
10-29-2001, 11:21 PM
Dick Dale is appropriate in any setting! :p

Marko50
10-29-2001, 11:41 PM
Originally posted by tabacco
Dick Dale is appropriate in any setting! :p

Amen, bro! Except, possibly, a funeral.

Possibly.

tabacco
10-30-2001, 08:53 AM
Originally posted by Marko50


Amen, bro! Except, possibly, a funeral.

Possibly.

Hmm... "Funeral dirge scored for surf guitar"...

Ghoulish Delight
10-30-2001, 11:54 AM
I have a running theory on the music. It is entirely based on my personal observation and if you would like to dispute it, go right ahead.

It starts with the observation that the music is marginally timed to the ride. On the sudden drops during the ride, the music also 'drops.' That kind of thing. Now, it's not exact. It can't be. But it's pretty darn close. Now, we all know that coasters vary greatly in speed with the temperature of the track, use of brakes, etc. I have noticed that every time I've been on SM and the music was down, it felt like it was running at its fastest. So my theory is that when the track speeds up, the timing on the music is thrown outta whack, so they turn it off.

Of course, it could also be that the music makes it feel slower to me. But hey, whether it be because it is actually running faster or if it's a psychological thing, I'm always happy when I don't hear that music coming around the first turn. Never really liked it to begin with, and if it's on it means the ride will be/feel slower. Good ridance, I say.

awinner
10-30-2001, 12:02 PM
actually...sorry to say, your wrong...i believe and somebody back me up...that the ride can change depending on the weight of the car by up to 20 seconds....If you listen to the soundtrack...there is a point...i think in the middle of the ride...where the soundtrack actually self edits itself to either catch up or slow down w/ the ride. There was a couple years ago an article i read on that. There is actually the same thing over at DCA...although California Screamin does not edit itself...you will notice that sometimes the song ends as your arriving to get off the ride or has stopped in the cue line (you know what I mean).

innerSpaceman
10-30-2001, 12:02 PM
Interesting theory there, Ms. Delight.

I believe that the music is not played back in its entirety from the starting point, but is radio transmitted and updated throughout the ride so that faster rides later in the day actually lose a few seconds of the music as it is updated at various points along the track. Usually this is not noticeable, but it does keep the cars in synch with the music so that the music drops on the tiny track drop every time, etc. Or at least, that's how it was designed to work.

As for the psychological effect of the music on your experience of speed, that is a personal matter. I myself have never found the music to make the ride seem slower, and those fast rides at the end of the day seem just as fast to me as they did before the music. Of course, I always ride Space Mountain with rainbow, light-refracting glasses on - so I am a bit distracted and cannot properly perform scientific experiments while riding (although I do sometimes add chemical experiments to the mix)

awinner
10-30-2001, 01:04 PM
QUOTE {I always ride Space Mountain with rainbow, light-refracting glasses on - so I am a bit distracted and cannot properly perform scientific experiments while riding (although I do sometimes add chemical experiments to the mix)}

light refracting glasses? care to go into further detail. I always thought the ride seemed quicker at the end...why is that?

MickeyD
10-30-2001, 01:25 PM
Originally posted by innerSpaceman
Interesting theory there, Ms. Delight.


Lol. Are you the one who called Cadaverous Pallor Mr. Pallor too? Ms. Pallor is engaged to Mr. Delight, you know. Maybe you should just stick to usernames and leave gender out of it. :D

innerSpaceman
10-30-2001, 01:26 PM
Well, awinner, light-refracting glasses (or "Rainbow" glasses) are available from most toy stores. They break down every light source into a prism so that every point of light you look at (such as the stars inside Space Mountain) becomes a series of rainbow colored streaks of light radiating from that central point that is the actual light source.

As you might imagine, this does nothing but enhance the experience of Space Mountain. Like the music, it somewhat negates the feeling of being in "normal" outer space, but improves the overall experience, IMHO.

As to why the ride seems faster at the end, it might just be the the conglomerate centifical force effect of so many sharp right turns (followed by that last left turn). Of course, that's just a guess. Anyone with physics know-how out there care to tackle this one?

innerSpaceman
10-30-2001, 01:39 PM
And my apologies to MISTER Delight.

In future, if I feel compelled to address someone with a partial moniker, I will use the non-specific "M."

But there goes my vision of two single girls who groove on Haunted Mansion with dark imaginations.

(no offense intended. I wish M. Pallour and M. Delight much happiness in their lives together.)

Ghoulish Delight
10-30-2001, 02:24 PM
Anyone with physics know-how out there care to tackle this one?

The simple answer....gravity and momentum. Through most of the ride, you'll notice lots of ups and downs. You go down a while, picking up speed/kinetic energy. Then you go up a short ways (but not back up to the starting height). That slows you down a little until the next drop. Or you go flat for a while which theoretically keeps you at the same speed but in actuality slows you down a bit due to friction. However, the last portion of the ride is ALL down. So you are constantly accelerating.

MS. innerSpaceman's :p interpretation also comes into play. While we coaster riders are all fairly used to normal vertical g-forces of drops and such, the lateral g's in these tight turns at the end are less familiar. Therefore it feels a little faster and more out of control than it actually is.

coronamouseman
10-30-2001, 04:00 PM
Ok - so it sounds like the only safe bet is to ask a cast member if they know of any rocket where the sound is working (if it is working at all anywhere on the ride). Personally, I find the ride much better with the sound on, so I'll add the querying of a Space Mountain cast member regarding the soundtrack to the little list of other ride requests like riding in the back car on BTM (faster) or sitting in the front of the log on Splash Mountain (wetter).

Still seems like a shame that quality control is taking such a beating .......