Any possibilites for a New PeopleMover? - Petition!

[spaulo]

Welcome to the 21st Century in Litigious America.

[subsonic]

That is really disappointing. I can't believe they can't figure out a way to make it safer. Why do a few people have to ruin it? Disney needs to add a new disclamer to their tickets, "If you get injured or die at the Disney parks by not following the rules the Disney Corporation cannot be held responsible"

[Esmeralda]

This is so tragic! Does that dash all hopes for a new Peoplemover or is there a way around it? Also, how did the TTA get past the restrictions, or was it grandfathered in?

[spaulo]

TTA operates in Florida, which has different DOSH standards than California.

They're talking about the possibility of an enclosed pod-type-thing, based off those pods in The Incredibles, but it's still a very long shot.

[G2-4T]

My question is if it was so heavily grandfathered in before Rocket Rods, how did Rocket Rods make it? The two person backseat of those cars was just as wide as a PM car...

I have to imagine there are ways around it with semi-enclosed cars where one couldn't hurt themselves... [and not some Incrediables tie-in, keep the old, high-capacity multi-car method...] They are Imagineers for a reason, get to work folks!

I like Sub's idea for the tickets - maybe we can knock off a few lawyers after they put that on there [not like the world needs any more of them].

[G2-4T]

So here is an easy fix, add lap bars and replace the metal bars with shoulder high plexiglass. Think of it - you can't stand up and now you also couldn't reach out, but the average height person can still see out with little problem and no real worries about overheating, etc, in a little traveling greenhouse pod. No doubt there are some technical things that would need to be worked out but since they need a new fleet of cars it isn't like they have to stuff things into an old vehicle.

If I can come up with that on the bus then imagineers can certainly come up with that and more

[Gizmata]

Plexiglass won't work because of the vandalism associated. The smeary hand prints and words etched in would make the view bad very quickly.

I still think it would be cheaper to create a campaign getting disney nuts to march on the DOSH to demand them to agree that a 3mph vehicle is safe.

[G2-4T]

If you look at the Monorail, etc. they have windows and somehow stay clean... I think your idea is certainly more interesting though!

Plexiglass won't work because of the vandalism associated. The smeary hand prints and words etched in would make the view bad very quickly.

I still think it would be cheaper to create a campaign getting disney nuts to march on the DOSH to demand them to agree that a 3mph vehicle is safe.

[Just Believe]

TTA operates in Florida, which has different DOSH standards than California.

They're talking about the possibility of an enclosed pod-type-thing, based off those pods in The Incredibles, but it's still a very long shot.

What do you mean a very long shot? It's a good idea I think for the PeopleMover to be enclosed like that, Disney won't have accidents like they had in the past

[spaulo]

I mean it's a long shot that they do anything with the track. Plenty of people in Anaheim are convinced it isn't a big deal to have the track empty.

[Esmeralda]

Boo to the the people in Anaheim who think the track should be left alone. Almost 1000 people around the country (and world - the latest is from Milano!) have signed the petition. It'll be at 1000 by the new year and that's just over 5 months since it started. Not that I have any real say, but I think the guests want the return of the Peoplemover.

::gets off soapbox:: I think finals studying has gone to my brain. Back to work for me!

[rdeacon]

Don't know if you DL people saw this but it sounds like a cool solution

PeopleMoving

With the end of the massive Submarine Voyage project in sight, WDI has been turning their attention to the PeopleMover tracks that glide above the lagoon. It's no secret that Imagineers are a very sentimental bunch, and many of the thirtysomethings that now inhabit Glendale have fond memories of the kitschy old PeopleMover. While there was once a proposal to bring back an updated version of the PeopleMover, complete with retro 1960's soundtrack, the humorless state inspectors from the California Department of Safety and Health put an end to that. Since the multiple grandfather clauses the original PeopleMover was working under when it came to building codes and accessibility all expired the day the Rocket Rods opened to the public back in 1998, there is now no hope of ever reviving a funky open air train ride like the PeopleMover.


Why didn't they use this same idea for the resort parking structure?

For one thing, the tight clearances inside the tunnels and passageways the PeopleMover track passes through would never meet the criteria the DOSH inspectors now use for establishing a safe "ride envelope" for people who might stick their hands or arms outside of their vehicles. The sides of many of those PeopleMover tunnels are are load bearing exterior walls, and there's simply no way to rebuild them without demolishing many existing Tomorrowland structures. If an adult male can reach his arm out and touch something from a PeopleMover car, and there are plenty of places along the track where that is possible, then DOSH will never allow Disney to reopen the ride. Your tax dollars at work here folks.

The answer to that, and you can bet the ornery Imagineers rooting for movement to return to Tomorrowland's winding PeopleMover tracks have an answer, currently lies in the past hit Pixar film The Incredibles. The current proposal for the existing PeopleMover track has an all new ride idea based on the egg shaped pods the villains in that film used to zip around their futuristic environment (film still below). If you could create a new enclosed vehicle, theme it to pods from The Incredibles (minus the superhero on the roof), then you would solve the "ride envelope" issue that DOSH uses as a reason why the PeopleMover can never return to Disneyland. As is the current craze with any Disney attraction (besides the obligatory movie tie-in), there also needs to be some sort of rider interactivity, so a steering mechanism that would allow the vehicle to tilt and turn is also proposed.


It was hard to get a good frame grab, those were zippy eggs there.

This would obviously create a ride system and experience vastly different from the PeopleMover, so about the only thing to be carried over from the 1967 original would be the long and winding track layout. It would also mean that the famously high hourly capacity of the original PeopleMover, at over 3,000 riders per hour, would go out the window. (That's why you never had to wait to get on that old ride, even when it was popular. The Cast Members called it the PeopleEater for a reason, as it could swallow up big crowds faster than they could get in line on the speedramp.)

While there may be a longer queue with this new Incredibles pod concept, at least there would be something kinetic happening up on that long expanse of track in Tomorrowland. The current timeline WDI is working under has this new attraction opening in late 2009 or 2010.

[kronk's angel]

Thanks, rdeacon. That's really good news!

But do you think the ride will include the wall of lava?

[rdeacon]

ohhhhh wall of lava!

that's worth a trip to DL for me!


Rich

[Esmeralda]

We have 999 signatures, but there's room for 1000.

Any volunteers?!

Edit: The petition has reached 1000 signatures. Congrats to all who have put so much effort into bringing back the Peoplemover!