20/10/06

“Ride Attractions – In Action!” (#516)

Stinger REPORT Skinny!

(25/09/06) The Stinger Report achieves a firsthand, eyewitness report of a multiple attraction evacuation at a major theme park. The Tussauds Group venue played host to both severe weather conditions, and the application on the emergency procedure for both the Stealth and Nemesis attractions, and the formative London theme park. The Stinger gives a rare onsite evaluation of the procedure to evacuate guests from leading technology attraction, while observers comment on the future of technology that is so susceptible to the claims of the weather.

Main REPORT:

Well it had to happen. Visit enough theme park attractions (even build a few) and you will arrive at a venue when an incident happens. To be honest the Stinger correspondent that was in the UK visiting Thorpe Park (the Surrey-based Tussauds Group owned venue) was visiting for an upcoming piece in ‘Tourist Attractions and Parks’ magazine, but got a lot more than he bargained for!

The September the 22nd 2006 visit was scheduled to be at the end of the season, and one of a number of UK park visits. The striking English summer came to an appalling end… for the tail-end of tropical showers that had pelted the East coaster decided to make the trip across the Atlantic and pummel the UK mainland. Arriving at the park and the torrential rain started to fall.

Things were clearly not right when the correspondent arrived at venue’s newly-installed ‘Stealth’ attraction (one of the main reasons for the visit). After working since the beginning of the day, the attraction’s operation had just been suspended) due to a launch failure – resulting in the train remaining a few feet from the loading station with a full load of riders. The ride’s fail-safe system was automatically triggered by what was called a minor issue. The park’s staff jumped into a well-rehearsed emergency procedure that saw all the riders safety evacuated.

It was interesting to for the Stinger to see a very impressive evaluation procedure executed as if for our attention – a rare occurrence and it was expected to be the only such occurrence that would be seen that day… well, we were to be proven wrong.

Having ridden ‘Nemesis Inferno’ a few minutes earlier, the correspondent stood in a queue in the worsening rain, waiting to be allowed in to the park’s 4D theatre. Commenting on the deterioration of the conditions and the issue of park operation, he looked up to check on the running of the attractions. At that point he noticed that a full Nemesis ride car was stranded at the top of the lift tower before commencing its ride.

It was reported to the Stinger later that the Nemesis had experienced a temporary shutdown due to the sudden onset of heavy rain. As a result, the ride cars of the suspended coaster came to rest at the top of the lift tower before their drop. The staff had to climb the lift tower (some 70 feet), and then had to secure fences round the ride cars, before unlatching the riders and escorting them to the ground, all through torrential rain and wind.

During the next few minutes in worsening rain and wind, the ride team started the laborious task of placing safety rails round the car and then unlatching and evacuating the riders – a slow and dangerous task in not ideal conditions, the slippery nature of the ride tower adding to the difficulties. The flooding was severe, ankle-deep and knee-deep in places.

Happily, this proved to be a precarious situation where prior rehearsal clearly paid off. The park reported that, although a couple of slips were noted, no injuries were incurred.

The shutdown itself was, arguably, not a sign of technology failure but of design success, That is, the shutdown resulted from the successful triggering of built-in, automatic safety measures. The ride being an incredibly sophisticated piece of equipment, any minor issue will (as with Stealth) cause a fail-safe shutdown, and a resulting evacuation.

From the park’s point of view, ride events that required two evacuations during a single day’s steadily worsening weather conditions, may have felt like the worst-case scenario come to life. However, the fact is that this unusual dual occurrence represented a best-case (or at least a “very good case”) scenario, from the point of view of systems working more or less as intended.

Again, the bottom line was, no injuries – and that makes this a highly successful outcome indeed, considering the long string of hospitalizations and fatalities that have recently occurred in parks worldwide (see Stinger #500); an interesting situation to observe in first person.

Of the 25 rides of varying ages at the park all made by varying manufacturers only a few could still operate in the worsening weather conditions – it was surprising that the sophistication of the rides shut down the latest, while some of the more dependable were able to keep running as the rain subsided.

What Could this all Mean:
Having worked on theme park attractions, the Stinger reporter was not unaware of the issues of park operation. Also having seen a number of minor incidents (including being present at the infamous fall injury that took place at the 2004 IAAPA exhibition), TSR felt it was good to see the professional way that this park handled its guests when conditions required the “unthinkable” to be considered.

Thorpe Park proved equal to the conditions of poor weather and temperamental attractions – though media representatives stated that Stealth has been a valuable addition to the park’s operation, definitely helping in attracting guests – sources close to the Stinger suggested that the ride was proving temperamental and would be receiving some updates during the down season.