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View Full Version : About the Splash Mountain "Mondo" Splash



Upanova
01-10-2002, 11:47 AM
Okay, I've been wanting to ask this question for ages now. Here it tis:

You know when you are going down in the log (?) and you are entering the Laughing Place, and hit that small area where you shoot out of the water into the dark with black lights...then hit the water again....my question is:

How do you avoid getting totally soaked on the right side? When you are sitting in the middle of the log??? I've done all I can to avoid that section of the ride, short of actually climbing out of the dang thing! I always ask to be seated elsewhere, especially if I get that ill fated middle seat. Either front, (mostly back) is where I would always like to sit, just to avoid that nasty area. When you hit the water again, it's like the whole middle part of the boat gets FILLED with water. It's like the flood all at once, especially if you are unlucky enough to get a full loaded boat. Usually if I get that ill fated seat, I'm gonna emerge from the ride with my right leg soaked from foot to thigh!!!! And it takes forever to dry off too, especially in jeans. I've even had to fling my legs over to the left when we used to hit that section of the ride.

Anyone who works the ride know why this happens? Is it a degisn flaw or what? All I know is that this is probably the only reason I suffer a ride on Splash---that and the part when the shooting water lands on your head before you go inside and up the hill with the hooting owl. That is another irksome thing too! Although you usually sigh with relief when you see the boat ahead of your's passengers get doused!!!!

All I'm saying is that it's pretty annoying to walk outta there with one leg soaked to the hip!!!! Also funny looking. Reminds me of Chevy's Chase's "Vegas Vacation" airline bathroom fau-pau! Without the blue water, of course!

Upanova

"All hail King Yeti"

coronamouseman
01-10-2002, 03:17 PM
Upanova: It's all a matter of physics - I believe that the more weight you have the more force will be generated at the bottom of the drop and the more water will be displaced causing a larger splash effect. I recall one very chilly Fall evening when my wife and I went on the ride and found ourselves in the front seat with 5 very large adults in the two seating areas behind us (could tell by the way the legs of the person behind me stretched well into our front seat area). We know we were goners when on the first small drop we got pretty well soaked and on the big drop, anything exposed ended up wet. We ultimately had to leave the park because we were too wet ..........

I believe that the park folks can alter the amount of splashing by adjusting the water levels at various points but I don't think they have any method for weighing the logs or making adjustments on what is essentially the free falling drop portion of the ride - there you are at the mercy of weight of the persons in the log.

But isn't it half the fun not knowing ahead of time if you are going to end up wet or relatively dry?

Ace
01-10-2002, 04:04 PM
do one of the 2. the second is my favorite...





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duck
human shield
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Ace
01-10-2002, 04:14 PM
and there's some thing not quite right if you're "suffering" through a ride...that ride rules, ESPECIALLY if you sit in the front and all the water hits you in the face....mmmm. yummy. just bring a small towel...

beanpole
01-10-2002, 06:47 PM
Few things in life are more annoying than having one leg, one shoe and one sock soaked by the splash in the Laughing Place drop. My solution is to lift both of my feet about 6 inches above the floor of the log during the drop and camel-back hill. That usually protects my shoes and socks, since the water pours directly into the bottom of the log.

JoeCanadian
01-10-2002, 09:54 PM
Yup, physics. If you've got a heavy couple out front...prepare for a soaking. On my numerous rides, about ten, I was only completely soaked on one. That one time happened to be when a huge 250 pound dude was riding up front with his gf, leaving us in the middle. It was weird getting wet on what looked like a one foot drop. Don't ask about the last drop...

But if you want wet I suggest visiting Universal. First there's Jurassic Park, which is THE KING in taking liberties to soak you. The final drop on their ride is the worst. Water doesn't only come at you from the sides but straight at you. Then there's the Waterworld show - where stunt actors throw buckets of water at the crowd before the show. Fun! :rolleyes:

'Course, we Vancouverites are always rained on so getting a bit wet is a day in the park.

Nigel2
01-11-2002, 12:41 AM
Someone else said their party makes a "dam" out of their arms so it hold off a lot of the water.

Morrigoon
01-11-2002, 01:13 AM
Here's a trick an imagineer (no one of importance, sorry) taught me once... if you're sitting in the middle of the log, just before the drops scoot as far forward as you can. This will ensure a complete soaking of the people in the front (and a pretty darn good soaking of yourself, but not as bad as the people in front of you! hee hee!)

Gregmh48
01-11-2002, 01:56 PM
Originally posted by JoeCanadian

But if you want wet I suggest visiting Universal. First there's Jurassic Park, which is THE KING in taking liberties to soak you. The final drop on their ride is the worst. Water doesn't only come at you from the sides but straight at you.


Jurassic Park is nothing compared to Perilous Plunge at Knott's Berry Farm. You get so soaked on that ride that you might as well have gone swimming. I think the main reason for the amount of water on the Laughing Place drop is due to the immediate right turn following it. Do you think the designers placed that turn there purposely to get people wet, or were they forced to do it just because they were out of space and needed to turn the logs around? Does anyone know why they even bothered placing those two "mini drops" throughout the ride? My only guess is that they were put there to alleviate the problems that Splash was originally having before it opened.

Ghoulish Delight
01-11-2002, 02:15 PM
Okay, I think everyone is pretty comfortable with the simple physical fact that more weight means more water dislaced means bigger splash. But I think what Upanova really wanted to know is why does the water always pour in on the right side ONLY. And I have to agree with that observation. It's always my right side that gets wet. Why is this? The logs look symmetrical enough. I'm pretty symmetrical, as are most people. So why the right side? My best guess is that it has something to do with the fact that the turn afterwards is to the right. Don't really know how that would affect it, but it's the only glaringly non-symmetrical factor.

Here's my extended theory based on what little I know about fluid dynamics. The water is flowing forward, bending to the right. The water on the outside of the turn (left side of log) moves faster to get around the corner (fundamental rule of fluid dynamics). So, as the log heads down the drop straigh in, the water on the right side is moving away from it more slowly, so, from the logs perspective, it's moving TOWARDS it faster. Thus a larger splash on that side.

Sounds pretty good, right?

LIMANDL4EVA
01-11-2002, 02:18 PM
Well here we go now. This happens to be the most annoying, yet fun part at the park. I know EXACTLY what you mean on that drop, so let me write a little story here...
It was a VERY coold a wet day, in fact it was raining. So i go on Splah with my best friend, we are both very LARGE guys, not fat, but large, the rest of our boat is filled with around 300 pound football player, lucky for us we thought they would block the water from the drops, ;) were we ever so wrong, first drop goes ok, you never get too wet on that one, meanwhile im taking pics for my website (don't worry they werent flash pictures), so our log has roughly 1900 pounds in it of people alone, with my camera to my right and smile on my face, we go down the roller coaster type flume drop, the entry to laughing place scene as you have all noted. the ENTIRE LOG FILLS UP! Water is half way up to my knees, seriously, im not7 exagerating here. Meanwhile, my entire body is SOAKED along with my camera, which thank god could be exchanged with it's 90 warrentee. So my camera is ruined, i am SOAKED, absolutely not doubt hands down the wettest i have ever been next to jumping in a pool, and it was miserable because it was basically a freezing rainy day, it was very cold, it was the only miserable time i have had at DL, but then again it was rather funny to look back on it now. Ok I'm sure you are all sitting there wondering what the point of this is, there really isnt any, im just sharing a story, so yes indeed I'm not sure if the ride was designed like that, but you can't avoid it, the 2nd drop on Splash Mountain is bound to swamp your log with water on the right side, there is no escaping it, believe it or not, I have leaned to the left side and the log still gets thrown to the right, so unless they fix it, heck i know your supposed to get wet, but there has to be a line draw sooner or later to how wet is wet. Its just something we all have to deal with.:)

mrfantasmic
01-11-2002, 02:23 PM
Originally posted by Gregmh48


Jurassic Park is nothing compared to Perilous Plunge at Knott's Berry Farm. You get so soaked on that ride that you might as well have gone swimming.
True to that! Yes, true to that!
You get about as soaked as if your car was driving through a water tunnel and all of a sudden the roof flies off and the tube breaks.

coronamouseman
01-11-2002, 03:24 PM
A few comments based upon the more recent discussions:

(1) Yes, the right-hand turn at the bottom has to be pretty hard in that direction otherwise you would have the Splash Mountain logs turning around in the middle of ther river. And since the water on the ride is much cleaner than that in the river (notice that water spills over the top out of the ride but never back in) there needs to be that cofferdam which separates the two.

(2) Yes, Perilous Plunge (if it ever reopens) is wetter; so is Bigfoot Rapids (both at Knott's). But there is something a little more interesting about a ride like Splash Mountain or even DCA's Grizzly River where there is the potential to get wet but they don't have waterfalls or waves directly pouring into the boat to ensure soaking..... Splash Mountain could easily add a few elements of "soakdom" if they wanted: they could ensure that each drop generated lots of flow into the log; they could place a few directed fountains (like those ones down at the end of the second drop that shoot over the path of the logs) so that the large drops fall into the logs; they could add supplemenatal sprayers down at the bottom of the big drop; they could fire more water out of the water cannons which go off when a log passes through the briar patch; they could change the benign looking little waterfall (on the right as you head back toward the inside of SM after the big drop) into a raging torrent which drenches the log ....... My guess is that Disney expects a lot of guest to be carting around merchandise with them so to have a ride which completely drenches the log, its occupants and their belongings might not be received too well ..........

Ace
01-11-2002, 03:59 PM
I'm happy if I don't have to wring out my socks. I hate rides where you ALWAYS get wet, like if there's a waterfall covering the whole track. that bugs me. but if it's random wetness, then it's ok.

Nigel2
01-11-2002, 09:26 PM
I remember seeing something about a the raft/bigfoot type attractions (pre GRR and KRR) and if they didn't put the things like waterfalls and such in the riders would stay realitively dry since the rafts are designed to be very stable.