Originally Posted By AnastasiaJones Me and my siblings were at Disneyland on this past Wensday... we rode BTMR in the evening, and it seemed faster. BTMR will usually ease down the rails before it takes on speed, but it was roaring down the rails when we were on. I have to admit, it was a lot better, but I was wondering if this was something that happens only at night/in the evening, or maybe just a coincidence? Has it ever happened to anyone else?
Originally Posted By nemopoppins I've only noticed that there is a difference between the front and back of the train. If you're in the front, it doesn't start down the hill until the back makes it to the top. If you're in the back, you start down as soon as you clear the top. I think the ride is extra fun at night, but I think only my perception is changed, not the ride. It's also a lot of fun in the rain.
Originally Posted By trekkeruss The speed of a coaster is influenced by changes in the weight of the train, the ambient temperature, and the temperature of the track, wheels, and bearings. It can also be influenced by braking zones along the track. Generally speaking, coasters will be slower in the morning and on cool days. Perception is a huge factor too. Space Mountain seems very fast, but in reality is a relatively slow coaster, topping out at about 28mph.
Originally Posted By AnastasiaJones Thanxs for the answers... we were in the very last cars, actually
Originally Posted By CMM1 The ride in the back is always faster - ask ride operators who ride BTMRR either during initial warmups or late at night after closing the attraction - they always ride in the back car. Not sure of the physics involved but I'm sure somebody out there knows why. At DL it seems you can almost always request waiting for the last car on the "next train" and get that request granted; at WDW they seem very much trained to be oblivious to such requests. Of course, you can always "time the line" a bit so that you make sure you are first in line for the next group to be distributed for a train (tie your shoe or something to let a few people pass by). What always seems funny is that for handicapped guests (who might prefer the tamer seats), they invariably put those guests in the last car as they shove them down to the end of the exit row to keep them out of the way of most of the guests heading for the exit.
Originally Posted By mrichmondj << The ride in the back is always faster - ask ride operators who ride BTMRR either during initial warmups or late at night after closing the attraction - they always ride in the back car. Not sure of the physics involved but I'm sure somebody out there knows why. >> The back is no faster than the front. This is a train -- all the cars are connected and travel at the same speed. The sensations are different in the back because the train reaches full speed as the rear of the train does the full descent of downhills and the subsequent turns. You feel some of the forces in those downhills and turns more at higher speed. In the front, the train doesn't reach its top speed until it is near the bottom of the short hills or out of the turns, so the forces aren't felt as much. In larger coasters, where the hills are much longer and the entire train has an opportunity to get up to speed before reaching the bottom, this is not as noticeable an effect.
Originally Posted By nemopoppins Also, physically, the longer falling sensation you feel when in the rear of the train is a trade with your slowing or stopping at a sooner spot on the track than when riding in the front. But that's the dull part so we wouldn't really perceive that.
Originally Posted By BrigmanMT 2 You can see the biggest difference on the first drop at Disneyland. If you sit in the front the drop is only about 6 ft. because you are slowly being lowered over the hole hill as the back is still attached to the chain lift. If you are in the back you get ripped up the last 6 ft. of chain lift and head down the entire drop at full speed. It is a far superior experience.
Originally Posted By monorailblue Maybe the workers ride in the last car for safety reasons. I watched the engine shake and rattle last time I rode and it terrified me! It was a thrill!
Originally Posted By Pollyana We rode it in pelting rain once. It was the most fun ever! Best facial I ever got....beat red faces as we exited. We laughed till we cried talking about how the rain drops felt as we were speeding around the track.
Originally Posted By cmpaley If you think riding Big Thunder in the rain is fun, you'll LOVE California Screamin' in the rain. :-D
Originally Posted By FerretAfros Or Apollo's Charriot at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Sure it isn't a Disney park, but that thing goes over 70 mph for extended periods of time. I rode in the front row, where the seats are completely exposed, in one of the worst downpours I've ever seen. It felt like people were throwing coins at us as hard as they could. It was fun...but ouch!
Originally Posted By DismayingObservation I dunno...it seemed smoother when I was on it last week, but the final approach after the cave-in scene was an unusual mix of really fast coming out and really slow coming into the station. That annoying brake drag that slowed the trains on the way out of the cave-in was far less pronounced. Good thing.
Originally Posted By ChurroMonster Thunder Mountain is only fun if you are riding in the back car. It makes the Goat Trick sooooo much better.
Originally Posted By CMM1 "In the front, the train doesn't reach its top speed until it is near the bottom of the short hills or out of the turns, so the forces aren't felt as much. In larger coasters, where the hills are much longer and the entire train has an opportunity to get up to speed before reaching the bottom, this is not as noticeable an effect." Thanks for the clarification!
Originally Posted By danyoung >At DL it seems you can almost always request waiting for the last car on the "next train" and get that request granted; at WDW they seem very much trained to be oblivious to such requests.< I've ridden BTMRR many times in both DL and in the MK. I always ask for the back row, and have never been turned down in either park. Not sure why your experience is different from mine.
Originally Posted By CMM1 "I've ridden BTMRR many times in both DL and in the MK. I always ask for the back row, and have never been turned down in either park. Not sure why your experience is different from mine." Can say without a doubt that at WDW's MK for a very long period of time in the 1990's through the mid 2000's that requests for the back row were pretty much frowned upon and not welcomed warmly - CM's would just point to the row and not budge much. If that situation has improved recently then that is a good thing. When I was at WDW this past August we ended up in the last car the one time we went on the ride at MK without asking.
Originally Posted By pitapan16 The biggest difference on Thunder is between the front ands the back. The time of day and temperatures influence the speed as well, but is not as major as the front is to the back of tha trains on Thunder. I always ask for the back myself.
