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SteveK
07-08-2004, 05:06 PM
According to the 6pm KNBC news in Los Angeles, there was another accident on Thunder Mountain at approximately 5:30 pm tonight. According to Disney, two cars "bumped" into each other and an 11 year old boy suffered neck injuries. No other details at this time.
-Steve

nightdesigns
07-08-2004, 05:17 PM
LOS ANGELES -- Two trains have reportedly collided on the Thunder Mountain ride at Disneyland.

A Disneyland representative told NBC4 that two of the trains on that ride have bumped into each other, and that the attraction is closed.

An 11-year-old boy complained of neck injury, but has not yet been transported to a hospital.

Disneyland said it hopes the repopen the ride later this evening.

NBC4 will provide updates as they become available.

http://www.nbc4.tv/news/3509037/detail.html

AVP
07-08-2004, 05:30 PM
Disneyland spokesperson Bob Tucker told MousePlanet "Late this afternoon two cars bumped into one another. In an abundance of caution, the attraction is closed. DOSH (the Department of Occupational Safety and Health) has been notified."

Tucker said that Disney is working with DOSH to investigate the incident, and does not know when the ride would reopen.

AVP

Alex S.
07-08-2004, 06:43 PM
We've updated the MousePlanet home page with a link to what information we have at this time.

Alf
07-08-2004, 06:44 PM
Sounds like that ride needs to be re-imagineered.... as the Thunder Mountain safty tour: A relaxing tour of the ride that once was Thunder Mountain... "doesnt it look fun... and slightly life threating kids..." :fez:

Lani
07-08-2004, 06:50 PM
I wish Disneyland wouldn't have these accidents! We have to drop everything to provide coverage!! OK OK, besides that, I don't want things in the park to get so bad that they break down and cause damage or injury. That makes me sad. :(

Anyhoo, here is the direct link to our updated URL:

http://www.mouseplanet.com/btmrr_accident/index.htm

Alf
07-08-2004, 06:54 PM
no on got hurt... gotta be glad about that :| right? :fez:

splashmtngurl
07-08-2004, 06:56 PM
wow! i consider myself lucky, i mena i was in DL in may and the ride was perfect!

newhdplayer
07-08-2004, 07:20 PM
Wow, talk about luck. I was just in the park a week ago, and walked right by the ride! And, I rode it last just over two years ago. Talk about luck.

Darkbeer
07-08-2004, 07:43 PM
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/07/08/state2321EDT0199.DTL

QuikQuote:

Three people suffered minor back and neck pain Thursday after two trains bumped into each other on the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad ride at Disneyland, authorities said.
A 10-year-old boy, a 44-year-old woman and a 42-year-old man were transported by private ambulance to a local area hospital after an accident on the roller coaster about 5:05 p.m., said Maria Sabol, an Anaheim Fire Department spokeswoman.

PapiBear
07-08-2004, 07:46 PM
:~D Cool! Another closed Disneyland attraction! That's what Walt was always telling his employees - "Always make sure that in the heat of summer, you keep 3/4 of one of our most popular lands shuttered and under construction, and the majority of our most popular attractions shut down. Oh, and regular maintenance? It is to laugh! We don't need no steenkin' daily inspections! The public are such suckers they'll eagerly plunk down $50 a head to put their lives in my hands, and I can abuse that trust any time I like! Because....I am - how you say? ah yes....the Disney."

And with such wisdom, Unca Walt was able to win the love and affection of children worldwide, who marveled at the magic of standing in line in the hot sun in order for Mommy and Daddy to pay $3.00 each for a sip of water and thus maximize shareholder value.

SCUBAbe
07-08-2004, 07:48 PM
wow! i consider myself lucky, i mena i was in DL in may and the ride was perfect!


Everytime you decide to get on a ride it's a risk. You're putting your trust into someone who may or may not know how to operate the ride and also in the people who may or may not maintain. Of course the same is true when you get into a car. You kind of have to trust that people around you know how to drive safely.

It's sad to see so many accidents with the same ride though. Did they declare operator error again? I hope not...everytime they say that I wonder why they are not trained and allowed to operate a ride....*sigh*

AVP
07-08-2004, 07:55 PM
Here are some photos from the scene, taken around 6:30:

http://www.mpimages.net/dlr/compressed/Disneyland/Frontierland/BTMRR1-070804-AVP.jpg
This was taken from Rancho del Zocalo

http://www.mpimages.net/dlr/compressed/Disneyland/Frontierland/BTMRR2-070804-AVP.jpg
This photo really shows the separation between passenger cars 2 and 3. We do not know if this happened before, during or after the accident.

(In response to a comment e-mailed to us by an anonymous reader: Obviously the PHOTO was taken after the accident. What we don't know is if the separation between the cars happened before the accident, if it happened as a result of the accident, or if the cars were separated in this manner after the accident by an inspector or mechanic.)

http://www.mpimages.net/dlr/compressed/Disneyland/Frontierland/BTMRR3-070804-AVP.jpg
This shows the position of the only train visible on the scene. This train looks to have been heading into the right side of the station. There is no second train visible anywhere on stage.

Edited to add: Disney has confirmed that there were two trains involved in the accident. At the time this photo was taken, the second train was either blocked from our view by the station building, or had been removed from the track. Overhead images taken by news helicopters show the second train sitting in the station. Channel 9 news has a copy of their video on their Web site: (link (http://kcal9.com/topstories/topstoriesla_story_190224257.html))

http://www.mpimages.net/dlr/compressed/Disneyland/Frontierland/BTMRR4-070804-AVP.jpg
Four investigators standing around the train.

http://www.mpimages.net/dlr/compressed/Disneyland/Frontierland/BTMRREntrance1-070804-AVP.jpg
Cast members standing at the entrance simply told people that the ride was closed for the rest of the night.

http://www.mpimages.net/dlr/compressed/Disneyland/Frontierland/BTMRRFP-070804-AVP.jpg

http://www.mpimages.net/dlr/compressed/Disneyland/Frontierland/BTMRRWaitTime-070804-AVP.jpg

http://www.mpimages.net/dlr/compressed/Disneyland/Frontierland/Zocalo1-070804-AVP.jpg
Two rows of tables around Big Thunder were blocked off.

AVP

splashmtngurl
07-08-2004, 08:12 PM
i am just utterly shocked at this though. i mean lets re-cap: 1st: engine comes decoupled from rest of train and instanyly kills one man and injurs 10 others. 2nd: 2 trains collide in a test run of the ride, no one is injured. 3rd: this. Its like papi said! walt used to sit around and tell his employees that there was no need to inspect and maintain, no need to take great care of the guests in the park. AS IF! i think walt would turn over in his grave if he knew this kinda stuff was happing. I mean sure, accidents happen but for pete's sake, this is the third accident this particular ride has had in the past year. DL cant afford to have another attraction closed. I mean think about it. without TMR frontierland doesnt have alot and then we have several of the major attractions closed and its the middle of the stinken summer! biggest crowd period and these people are definetly not getting the complete bang for their buck. its just astonishing the state that some of these things are getting into.... :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

SteveK
07-08-2004, 09:05 PM
They just showed an overhead view of the accident on channel 9. You can clearly see one train was still in the station (right side) and it appears that the second train moved to the occupied station (right side) instead of the unoccupied station (left side). The collision of the two trains is what appears to have uncoupled/derailed the car on the second train. Needless to say, computer error or human error, this is not what Disneyland needed.
-Steve

AVP
07-08-2004, 09:15 PM
They just showed an overhead view of the accident on channel 9. You can clearly see one train was still in the station (right side) and it appears that the second train moved to the occupied station (right side) instead of the unoccupied station (left side). I just saw that. I honestly could not see the train that was in the station when I was there. I don't know if they had moved it, (unlikely), or if the angle I could get was insufficient to see the 2nd train.

AVP

PapiBear
07-08-2004, 09:15 PM
i think walt would turn over in his grave if he knew this kinda stuff was happing.

Oh, believe me, Unca Walt's been on permanent spin cycle for the last couple of decades. His RPMs have been pretty high the last 10 years in particular, though.


Current Walt Disney Grave Spin Cycle Status: 5000 RPM. ;)

disNeytEen
07-08-2004, 09:18 PM
amazing how DL was at first the magic kingdom but to me it seems every year it gets closer to an every day run of the mill theme park. How can DL be having so much problem but the Magic Kingdom over in WDW is running smoothly

RagtimePrince
07-08-2004, 09:34 PM
It looks to me like the station switch didn't actually move for some reason, and the computer or sensors failed to realize that and sent the train through the brakes anyway as if it would be heading into the empty station.

While that's not a huge, serious accident, it is still block failure, and block failure is bad bad bad bad bad on a rollercoaster.

Darkbeer
07-08-2004, 09:55 PM
http://www.ocregister.com/ocr/2004/07/08/sections/breaking_news/article_161704.php (Free subscription required to read this article)

QuikQuote: The ride was shut down and is expected to remain closed Friday as state safety officials investigate the accident. A 10-year-old boy and his parents reported neck and back pain after a train rolled into the loading station and hit another train. The family members, from Canada, were taken to a hospital, said Maria Sabol, an Anaheim Fire Department spokeswoman. Human error was cited in the last two accidents on Big Thunder, but it was unclear what caused today’s collision.

cutelittleartist
07-08-2004, 10:05 PM
Why am I not suprised? Disney has been cutting to many corners. The entire Thunder Mountain ride should be redone so that this won't happen again. But of course, that will cost Disney money so they'll probably just shut it down all together.

Tigertail777
07-08-2004, 10:11 PM
wow.... I am beginning to think Magic Mountains coasters are safer than big thunder! Geez you would think that they would have had some super strict CM training among other things after the last time. If they use some more of that fancy computer technology on the new space mountain I hope they do have more safety measures and training.

While its true you take a risk every time you ride, the risks seem to be going up for some reason, over past years. I begin to wonder if having such high tech equipment on rides like this is a good idea, it seems like there were less problems before that new equipment... sometimes the old ways are best. Or maybe its just Disney has no clue how to really use this equipment.. I dunno but 2 signifigant and one minor problems all this close together is far too much, something needs to be drastically overhauled in how this attraction is run.

SweetAurora
07-08-2004, 11:09 PM
Well, I was working tonight, and I have heard so many different stories about what happened ...stories ranging from leads to cast members to maintenance crews. And I don't think I'm at liberty to relay information, since it'll probably be released in the DOSH report anyway. It was dejavu, unfortunately, with the helicopters overhead and people mad that Big Thunder had been closed for the night.

Everything however, went smoothly and quietly for the rest of the night, including Fantasmic! and the parade. I would LOVE to give a piece of my mind over what I really believe contributed to this (yes, it's probably a lot of things we all have mentioned time and time again), but I'll have to keep mah mouth shut ;P

Just glad all the guests and cast members are seemingly okay.

BJW
07-08-2004, 11:41 PM
Enough is enough! I think they need to close this ride and put another ride in there, maybe bring the mine train back or something. Vekoma's coasters are unreliable as it is and lackluster maintenance isn't improving the problem. I've been on it twice since the accident last September and haven't enjoyed the ride because everytime I hear a noise or something squeak I think something's happening. Also, last time I was on the ride the two punks in front of me just had to discuss the accident through the whole ride! :mad: With three accidents in one year, two of which injured people, I know I'm going to avoid this ride from now on.

Also, the cars that got hit decoupled from the rest of the train right. Isn't that what the locomotive did when Marcello Torres was killed? If this is true it's scary.

dasrock
07-09-2004, 12:45 AM
:eek: