Night Rides at Disney

[Ash]

On our last trip my wife and I both rode BTM an 7DMT in both the day and late at night.
We both noticed that these two coasters were (or at least seemed) to be a lot faster a night.

Is this a thing? Do Disney speed up their coasters at night?
Is this even possible to do?
They both felt dramatically different..

We were in similar rows on both each time so it's not like I'm comparing front row to back row...

 

[JoeCamel]

On our last trip my wife and I both rode BTM an 7DMT in both the day and late at night.
We both noticed that these two coasters were (or at least seemed) to be a lot faster a night.

Is this a thing? Do Disney speed up their coasters at night?
Is this even possible to do?
They both felt dramatically different..

We were in similar rows on both each time so it's not like I'm comparing front row to back row...

Pretty sure gravity works the same way at night as it does during the day so the coaster is running the same speed if both rides the train is full.

Probably just your perspective and what you can see at night. The coasters and other rides do have a different personality at night though.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

On our last trip my wife and I both rode BTM an 7DMT in both the day and late at night.
We both noticed that these two coasters were (or at least seemed) to be a lot faster a night.

Is this a thing? Do Disney speed up their coasters at night?
Is this even possible to do?
They both felt dramatically different..

We were in similar rows on both each time so it's not like I'm comparing front row to back row...

When things are dark or faker the rides seem faster. For example space mountain goes 28 mph but feels much faster.

 

[Ash]

I wonder if the evening guests were made up more of adults than in the day. Maybe the kids had gone back to their hotel to sleep, making the train heavier and therefore faster... Is this possible?

 

[JoeCamel]

I wonder if the evening guests were made up more of adults than in the day. Maybe the kids had gone back to their hotel to sleep, making the train heavier and therefore faster... Is this possible?

I can't imagine that even 2000 lbs more would make enough of a difference, in theory it would but do you feel it? I don't know

 

[Brian G.]

I wonder if the evening guests were made up more of adults than in the day. Maybe the kids had gone back to their hotel to sleep, making the train heavier and therefore faster... Is this possible?

It honestly is just a mind trick as stated before - due to the darkness.

 

[epcyclopedia]

Coasters do speed up as the day goes on because the track heats up and there's less friction.

But it's not a particularly noticeable difference.

Ride cycle times do change though as well, so how long you're held at a brake point or the speed of a lift may change making the whole experience seem quicker though the other elements haven't really changed.

 

[Scott W.]

Coasters do speed up as the day goes on because the track heats up and there's less friction.

But it's not a particularly noticeable difference.

Ride cycle times do change though as well, so how long you're held at a brake point or the speed of a lift may change making the whole experience seem quicker though the other elements haven't really changed.

I would have thought the track heating up would have result in more friction with the track expanding ever so slightly.

 

[Mad Dog]

I would have thought the track heating up would have result in more friction with the track expanding ever so slightly.

When they do the media articles on Kennywood Park here, the park ops people often said the Wooden Coasters, Thunderbolt, JackRabbit, Racers, run faster at the end of the day. They mention factors like grease/oil on the track and a few other things I can't remember at the moment. I have no idea what the technical aspects are, but the topic's come up often and that's what the park reps have publicly said. Just about every year they do mass media interviews before the spring season starts and they usually center it on the maintenance guys that work the coasters, since those three rides are the crown jewels of the park. It's been mentioned often.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

When they do the media articles on Kennywood Park here, the park ops people often said the Wooden Coasters, Thunderbolt, JackRabbit, Racers, run faster at the end of the day. They mention factors like grease/oil on the track and a few other things I can't remember at the moment. I have no idea what the technical aspects are, but the topic's come up often and that's what the park reps have publicly said. Just about every year they do mass media interviews before the spring season starts and they usually center it on the maintenance guys that work the coasters, since those three rides are the crown jewels of the park. It's been mentioned often.

Entirely possible (if not probable), but any gains are negligible. To answer the original poster it's all psychological based on the dark. Speed does not factor in mass and is not a toggle beyond any mechanical inputs (lift chain and breaks).

 

[GAcoaster]

Coasters do run faster as they warm up. The grease in the wheel bearings heats up. That's why they have problems with low temperatures and the trains stalling out.