Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
with a shorter ride. This is why we try to steer you clear of the cycle rides unless you
are willing to ride them early in the morning or late at night.
Other rides at Disneyland can increase their carrying capacity by adding units to
the system as the crowds build. The Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is a good ex-
ample. If attendance is very light, Big Thunder can start the day by running one of
five available mine trains. When lines start to build, more mine trains can be placed
into operation. At full capacity, a total of five trains can carry about 2,400 people
an hour. Sometimes a long line will disappear almost instantly when new units are
brought online. On the other hand, the queue may stop altogether for a few minutes
while new units are added, extending the wait for guests who were about to board.
When an interval-loading ride places more units into operation, it usually shortens the
dispatch interval, so more units are being dispatched more often.
5. HOW MANY CAST MEMBERS ARE AVAILABLE TO OPERATE THE RIDE?
Allocation of
additional staff to a given ride can allow extra units to be placed in operation, or addi-
tional loading areas or holding areas to be opened. Pirates of the Caribbean and It's a
Small Worldcanruntwoseparate waiting linesandloadingzones.TheHauntedMan-
sion has a short preshow, which is staged in a “stretch room.” On busy days a second
stretch room can be activated, thus permitting a more continuous flow of visitors to
the actual loading area. Additional staff make a world of difference on some cycle
rides. Often, if not usually, one attendant will operate the Golden Zephyr. This single
person must clear the visitors from the ride just completed, admit and seat visitors for
the upcoming ride, check that all zephyrs are properly secured (which entails an in-
spection of each zephyr), return to the control panel, issue instructions to the riders,
and finally, activate the ride (whew!). A second attendant allows for the division of
these responsibilities and has the effect of cutting loading time by 25%-50%.
BEWARE OF THE DARK, WET, ROUGH, AND SCARY
OOPS, ALMOST FORGOT:
There's a member of our team you need to meet. Called a
Wuffo, she's our very own character. She'll warn you when rides are too scary, too
dark, or too wet. You'll bump into her throughout the topic doing, well, what charac-
ters do. Pay attention to her—she knows what she's talking about.
SAVING TIME IN LINE BY UNDERSTANDING THE SHOWS
