Well, I never knew that!

[marc]

We ask about that on the tour and were told it's not true, they have to empty every bin manually.

 

[Idlewild]

Could you imagine how much spit they'd be covered in if they were at Thorpe? :lol:

And I know most people already know of this, but there will probably be some that don't, but the Ultimate @ Lightwater used to have over the shoulder restraints:

That would have probably been the most painful coaster experience ever!

On a related note the flying fish of all rides started with OSTRs.

http://www.memoriesofthorpepark.co.uk/sszpcard.html

Possibly the most pointless use ever.

A lot more widely known is that it used to be enclosed and situated on what is now amity arcade.

 

[Lofty]

^ That's absolutely mental. I can't imagine riding FF with OTSR's, that's just pathetic. Ha!

 

[Mark]

Disney Uniforms

Originally, in the Magic Kingdom, members of staff were not able to take their work uniform home with them. Instead they would have to sign out their uniform for the post they were working that day at the start of their shift and then return it at the end of their shift.

On return it would be taken for laundry being washed, pressed and prepped ready for the next day. The system that they use for all of the laundry is not too dissimilar to the running rails for bedroom doors shown in Monsters Inc. All of this would of course, take place in the Utilidors that run 'underneath' the park. Originally they had this rule to ensure that no one would spotted outside of the park in a Disney uniform amongst other rules.

From what I remember though, they have partially relaxed that rule. As our Keys to the Kingdom tour guide said at the time, 'in all honesty, who would WANT to wear their uniform on the outside world'.
I am pretty sure he said something about all of the uniforms having some kind of barcode system so that the computer operating the 'running rails' would know where each item of clothing should go. I can't remember the exact specifics though.

 

[Venom2053]

Disney's Hollywood Studios (original called MGM Studios) opened in 1989 with only 4 attractions and was built to a) try and move some of Hollywoods movie production to florida and b) to compete with Universal Studios that was to open the next year. Many of its attractions were actually rejected rides the were planned to be built in EPCOT (such as The Great Movie Ride and Star Tours).

The Backlot Tour of the park has gotten progressively smaller as the studios have never needed all the sound stages they built for filming (and touring). Disney has since filled these studios with attractions like: Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, and Toy Story Mania. Production of films and TV at the studios were downsized in 1996 and today little to no filming takes place.

 

[Mike]

From what I remember though, they have partially relaxed that rule. As our Keys to the Kingdom tour guide said at the time, 'in all honesty, who would WANT to wear their uniform on the outside world'.

Me?
Go to the Steak n Shake in the evening, and you'll almost always see a table of CMs still in costume.

And... Ugh. Costuming. ¬¬

 

[Mark]

From what I remember though, they have partially relaxed that rule. As our Keys to the Kingdom tour guide said at the time, 'in all honesty, who would WANT to wear their uniform on the outside world'.

Me?

Really? Considering how much you complained about the place the whole time you were there, I would thought wearing your uniform outside work was the last thing you would want to do

 

[oriolat2]

The land where PortAventura sits is right in the middle of two villages (Vila-seca and Salou). Since both villages wanted to have the privilege to "own" a bit of the park, each village has more or less the same amount of areas. So, China, Mexico, Far West and the office building (backstage) belong to Vila-seca while Mediterrània, Polynesia, Costa Caribe and the entrance belong to Salou.

BTW, I want to post the TV commercial that was aired when PA was about to open. It is REALLY long (like, more than 4 minutes) and it really shocked everyone at the time (due to its lenght but also because it really tells what is PA about - a trip around the world).

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N18JdsAaMZc[/youtube]

Can you spot what rides DON'T belong to PA?

 

[Mike]

From what I remember though, they have partially relaxed that rule. As our Keys to the Kingdom tour guide said at the time, 'in all honesty, who would WANT to wear their uniform on the outside world'.

Me?

Really? Considering how much you complained about the place the whole time you were there, I would thought wearing your uniform outside work was the last thing you would want to do

Complaining about being forced to go work in merchandise, and then forced to be deployed to some horredous stores (Team Mickey, Port of Entry/Traders, Backlands... ugh), and complaining about Brazilian tour groups and stupid guests, yes... But working Tower of Terror was awesome!

I must have said hundreds of times that I want to take the trench coat home with me!


On a related Did You Know fact... Did you know that after character performers, Tower of Terror Cast Members are the most photographed CMs in WDW, and also own the most expensive costume?

 

[roomraider]

I imagine a good proportion of you will know of this one but this is a ride that has always caught my attention.
I suppose in a way this is the Lost Intamin/Giovanola.

Vertigorama was built at Parque de la Ciudad in Argentina and for whatever reason was never finished. The track was completed but the electrical systems were never added and the ride has sat SBNO for the past 29 years. (It is possible this ride opened for a brief period in the 90s and I've seen people saying they rode it then but I've never seen any photos of it actually running)

The ride is a Mobius coaster (ala Grand National and Racer at Kennywood) and has always struck me as a rather odd ride, The park has always suffered with claims of corruption and foul play and currently almost all the coasters are SBNO.

 

[TP Rich]

^ Thanks for sharing those images. There's something strangely fascinating about derelict/abandoned roller coasters and theme parks.

 

[Tomatron]

There's an Intamin Half Pipe which is on top of an entertainment complex in Japan. It never opened, either because of noise complaints, or because it failed structural tests once it was built.

And either because it was unsafe to do so, or the permits and cost were too great to remove it, it's just sitting there doing nothing.

If Dave (roomraider) sees this, I know he's pretty up on his Asian rollercoaster biz, so hopefully he could shed some light on it and correct or confirm this!

 

[roomraider]

The claim of Don Quixote and what is. Is an excerpt from the newspapers of the day. On the other hand to apologize at a briefing about 80 people took part, was "not enough" explains director male angle Inamura, the "noise is no explanation. has been confirmed, the visit individually just before construction even safety have done, "SHOULD. "Numerical noise was calculated on the assumption that you set up a soundproof wall." "Clear all the legal standards for establishment, are committed to helping safety measures." "Overlap even after validation runs. Conduct a trial run, reaffirmed the noise, to finalize the travel time." Emphasized that the union claims that the problem has cleared, we seek understanding. Well, but you can see claims of kidnapping degree, just, hey when it comes to travel of that devoted midnight. And the petition does not have a legally binding house. Such as verifying legal permission and construction has been, or it can not overturn that even if the adoption of the petition. Come to think of it, I had a similar problem before. Problem during the construction against the construction of the "Thunder Dolphin" of Tokyo Dome City Attractions, and concerned about the noise erupted. And "that affect the living environment and health of the passengers screaming," 111 people apply for arbitration residents of the apartment of pollution of the city near to the Board. Was unusual in the deliberations of "screaming" of people will be the focus of environmental issues. In that case, is requested to take action, Bunkyo-side Tokyo Dome, which operates the amusement park on its own investigation was carried out, the problem has converged.

A roughly translated article from the time suggests its a mixture of noise complaints and permit issues.

 

[Tomatron]

^Roughly translated is a bit polite. I got to the bit where it mentioned kidnapping and and nearly gave up! :lol:

TBF I get the gist of it. Seems like it's noise related, similar to some of the problems Thunder Dolphin had when it was under investigation for similar circumstances.

 

[roomraider]

I would have written it less politely but there might be kids watching

 

[Ollie]

I assumed most people knew this but when I tell them they usually act surprised.
Anyway the musty type smell that you can smell in Hex isn't natural or from the oldness of the building etc. It's actually a scent called 'Gothic Mansion' that's pumped into the building via scent cannons.

 

[Lofty]

I assumed most people knew this but when I tell them they usually act surprised.
Anyway the musty type smell that you can smell in Hex isn't natural or from the oldness of the building etc. It's actually a scent called 'Gothic Mansion' that's pumped into the building via scent cannons.

Also, you do realise that a lot of scent "Cannons" aren't cannons at all? They're fans with attached scent packets?

 

[reddude333]

Or in the case of some entertainment venues, essentially just dispersed into the room/area via the ventilation systems.

 

[Lofty]

OR smoke machines.

Camelot used to have a Walkthrough based attraction themed around cats. You went around and watched different scenes of animatronic cats. This is a true fact. It was right at the entrance.

 

[Ollie]

Also, you do realise that a lot of scent "Cannons" aren't cannons at all? They're fans with attached scent packets?

I know but I was keeping it simple as I was getting more at the fact that the smells in Hex are artificial.
Also you missed the one about just putting the actual thing in a bucket and letting that stink out the area.