Volcano Bay: General Discussion
- Thread starter Parkscope Joe
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And that's why SAFETY should always come first, even if it's an inconvenience to some customers....I think Universal did the right thing last summer when they were extra cautious when issues were cropping up on the questionable slides.
- Aug 18, 2017
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This reminds me of a Calvin and Hobbes strip where Calvin asks his dad how they know what weight a bridge can take. The dad says "they drive trucks over it until it breaks, and then they rebuild it at that weight capacity."
It's obvious that the only reason this was built was to break records. So really, even with the mess that was the design, all of this could have been avoided had it simply been a drop.
Quick recap for those too lazy to read:
-The slide was made on a bet by Jeff Henry with the Travel Channel.
-The length of design for optimal safety would be at least 3-6 months, and with at least two professional dynamic engineers. They designed it in 36 days with no professional dynamic engineers.
-Even after the re-design, a week before its grand opening, rafts that MET THE WEIGHT REQUIREMENTS went airborne.
-Reports of riders going airborne and getting injured--which happened many times, mainly in the form of serious head and neck injuries--were repeatedly hidden by management.
-The rafts had to be repeatedly taped up--the raft that the kid died in was especially problematic. It was repeatedly taken out of circulation, but would inevitably enter back in WITHOUT STAFF DISCOVERING THE CAUSE OF MALFUNCTION.
-Critical systems often failed, but were repaired only when it was needed to keep guests flowing through. Maintenance workers ignored the braking system (the material on the slide to slow it down--see at bottom of page) completely eroding IN THE DAYS LEADING UP TO THE INCIDENT.
-Three weeks before the incident, one of the seasonal managers flagged the brake system as a "priority level 1"; rides given a "level 1" are not supposed to operate. The executive with the power to close the ride, Tyler Miles, ignored this warning.
-Eight reports that the brake system had failed were submitted to Miles IN THE THREE WEEKS FOLLOWING. No action.
It's obvious that the only reason this was built was to break records. So really, even with the mess that was the design, all of this could have been avoided had it simply been a drop.
Quick recap for those too lazy to read:
-The slide was made on a bet by Jeff Henry with the Travel Channel.
-The length of design for optimal safety would be at least 3-6 months, and with at least two professional dynamic engineers. They designed it in 36 days with no professional dynamic engineers.
-Even after the re-design, a week before its grand opening, rafts that MET THE WEIGHT REQUIREMENTS went airborne.
-Reports of riders going airborne and getting injured--which happened many times, mainly in the form of serious head and neck injuries--were repeatedly hidden by management.
-The rafts had to be repeatedly taped up--the raft that the kid died in was especially problematic. It was repeatedly taken out of circulation, but would inevitably enter back in WITHOUT STAFF DISCOVERING THE CAUSE OF MALFUNCTION.
-Critical systems often failed, but were repaired only when it was needed to keep guests flowing through. Maintenance workers ignored the braking system (the material on the slide to slow it down--see at bottom of page) completely eroding IN THE DAYS LEADING UP TO THE INCIDENT.
-Three weeks before the incident, one of the seasonal managers flagged the brake system as a "priority level 1"; rides given a "level 1" are not supposed to operate. The executive with the power to close the ride, Tyler Miles, ignored this warning.
-Eight reports that the brake system had failed were submitted to Miles IN THE THREE WEEKS FOLLOWING. No action.
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I had never seen this before. Watch the video!
We sell something similar to that for pools and I’m sure it’s basically the same technology.
https://www.jandy.com/en/products/water-features/laminar-jets
https://www.jandy.com/en/products/water-features/laminar-jets
- Jan 28, 2017
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Looks like a separate new exit?
Has the original ‘wide entrance’ which was combined with a ‘narrow exit of Tapu detectors’ instead now become entrance only?
Questions questions
Another example of Safety should always come first in theme/water parks....Two new indictments were just handed down in the Schlitterbahn scandal. Co-owner Jeffrey Henry was indicted today , arrested, and being held in jail. Designer John Schooley was indicted and authorities are trying to locate him...This just keeps getting uglier and uglier....I really have to commend Universal for lowering weight limits last summer until it was deemed the rides in question were safe.
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- Jul 27, 2015
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*time to spin off discussion to a new thread*
I think the impact will be felt more at regional amusement parks than the big theme parks.
This is the result of a park choosing negligence. They were told about issues with an attraction and, rather than spend the money to correct it or lose money in closing it, elected to let things play out. That sort of blase decision-making comes from decades of "small-market" thinking. We're not that big a deal, so it's not that big a deal.
Disney and Universal don't have that "luxury."
Man, it's so weird that you are able to still walk around Wet 'n Wild on Google Maps, but Volcano Bay hasn't even started construction yet.
Any chance we see something like Mach 5/The Flyer in the expansion? From what I've heard, those slides were great and had good capacity.
Any chance we see something like Mach 5/The Flyer in the expansion? From what I've heard, those slides were great and had good capacity.
- Jan 24, 2015
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I reported that they increased to 270 the ery day I was was there. This allowed me to ride to my great surprise.
- Jan 28, 2017
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Note the home moving truck outside a home on far left.
Feel bad for the homeowners, but glad for the VB visitors.
I am in that area all the time and honestly once you're into that neighborhood area, you could be anywhere, USA. You don't get much (if any) disturbance from the parks there and you would never guess that there is a whole Theme Park Resort just a block away if you didn't already know better.
Once thing I noticed staying in the Volcano Bay Side Room was that the music was really loud! I couldn't take naps during the day due to this. So I take it those homes right across the street don't have to hear it as loud? I guess maybe they have some speakers right by the Hotel Windows.
At RPR, you can hear that new Hulk lunch from anywhere....stayed at the Polynesian once and was surprised at how clear sound travels when there is just water between the source and me as I could hear the stage show at the castle clear as day!
Anyway, I assume with the road and, as you point out, speaker placement and sound direction play a big part in it all so those neighbor hoods might not have it so bad...and sometimes (from living near train tracks in the past), you just sort of learn how to make some sounds a kind of white noise in your mind....
Goodness, ain’t this a majestic photograph!
