Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< As I suggested they could have some sort of "lift assist" ala an escalator or chain lift (ala Pirates) to get them up steep grades. >>> And since the vehicles move completely independently, they could also go into a real elevator and ride them as if they were passengers - how cool would that be?
Originally Posted By FerretAfros Isn't that pretty much how WDW's Tower of Terror works? From what I've seen, there isn't a track that guides the cars, but instead it is controlled by sensors in the floor. Then it pulls forward and locks into the elevator shaft and does the drop sequence.
Originally Posted By barboy After reading #40 I am thinking that you don't understand what I am saying. Here's my take: Have you played D&D before? When a ride changes levels it is like having a +3 "to hit" on the 20 sided die roll. In other words it helps and improves things. (And just to throw grease on the fire if a ride is screen based then I would say it is like having a -3 on the die roll to hit) I did not say that level changing is a ***NECESSARY*** feature to make a ride a "grand slam" or "3 run shot over left field" but it sure would be hard to make an ultimate ride experience on the flats. Spiderman pretty much did it .......and just think how much better that ride is with the illusion and feeling of the drop sequence at the ride's end. If you subtract the 'falling' sequence I say the ride would go from "stellar" to just "pretty solid". Pooh came close to something I would label stellar but it should have pulled an "Alice in Wonderland" with modest ups and downs. DL's RR, old Subs, Street cars, monorails just don't excite....... well me at least. They're great for relaxing and kicking back and taking in the sights but I do not think of them as a must see or something to which to write home.
Originally Posted By barboy //// they could also go into a real elevator and ride them as if they were passengers - how cool would that be?/// Please stop talking because I'm getting all hot and bothered and might have to go do something alone upstairs.
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< Isn't that pretty much how WDW's Tower of Terror works? From what I've seen, there isn't a track that guides the cars, but instead it is controlled by sensors in the floor. Then it pulls forward and locks into the elevator shaft and does the drop sequence. >>> Only in the vaguest of senses are they the same. FerretAfros, I can't remember whether or not you've been on Hunny Hunt, but the vehicles are a totally different technology than FL's ToT, even though they both might generally fit the description you give. The ToT carriages only travel in one direction, very slowly, and are actually the elevators themselves, which lock themselves into place inside of a large bracket of sort in the shafts. Hunny Hunt like vehicles are completely free roaming, with a wide range of speeds, 360 motion, being able to turn in place, back up, and start and stop quickly and precisely. They could go into something very close to a standard commercial passenger elevator and ride it from floor to floor, as long as it was big enough and had the navigation pucks embedded in the floor. There's nothing standard about the ToT elevators.
Originally Posted By barboy /// Hunny Hunt like vehicles are completely free roaming, /// When I'm on Hunny Hunt I notice that parts of the floor are worn due to specific paths that the pots travel which detract from the 'random' feel that we are supposed to experience(I notice that on Aquatopia too from spectating outside the ride). The pots are supposed to feel like they have a mind of their own but do they travel on one of a very limited number of predetermined paths or are there countless paths that they take? It looks like say 4 or 5 paths but I just don't know.
Originally Posted By Mr X Then don't look at the floor! Duh. (I think that's bordering on obsessive, don't you?)
Originally Posted By FerretAfros The TOT cars are able to turn, since they do it very awkwardly at the end of the ride to get you to the exit door. They then turn back around and go up a floor to get reloaded with new passengers. As you said, the TOT motions are very slow, but I would assume that's a combination of it being one of the first uses of the technology and the heavy vehicles. It's much easier to have fast accelerations in a car of 6 people than in a car of 30.
