A Statistical & Factual Comparison - PeopleMover and Rocket Rods

I posted this on Roller Coaster Pro (you can find a link to the post at the bottom of this blog) in the Disneyland Resort Future Thread, and I felt like I had to post it as a blog. What you will be reading is a exerpt of the post I mentioned above, with parts reworded to fit the context of this blog. Enjoy and if you like what you read, be sure to comment and drop some kudos! If you feel like you dissagree with this blog and/or are one of the people I talk about in the first sentence of the exerpt below, feel free to comment as well.
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I just absolutely love it when some people contradict themselves when it comes to the PeopleMover and Rocket Rods. They bash the PeopleMover, which was a success, saying that it was pointless and yet, they praise Rocket Rods, which was a failure, like it was the best ride in California, which in fact, it was far from that. Lets look at the facts here about the Rocket Rods and compare them to the PeopleMover.

-Rocket Rods was a source of noise pollution, something that local residents complained about constantly, as opposed to the PeopleMover's near silent ride.

-Rocket Rods had 3 hour long lines and a horrible capacity. The PeopleMover was dubbed a "PeopleEater" where the ride had excelent capacity, drew in tons of guests at a time, while maitaining a wait time of about 15 minutes, usually less.

-Rocket Rods load/unload times were horrid, because of the fact that the ride vehicles stopped at the platform, whereas the PeopleMover kept moving at the load/unload platform, thus increasing capacity and decreasing wait times.

-Rocket Rods had seatbelts, which added to the loading and dispatch time nightmares. The PeopleMover had no restraints, adding to the good loading and dispatch times.

-Rocket Rods broke down many times daily, and at times, would litterally break down every 5 to 10 minutes. The PeopleMover usually broke down once every two to three days.

-Rocket Rods' maximum speed was around 35mph, had a ride duration of around 3 minutes, and had a height requirement of 46". The PeopleMover's maximum speed was around 2mph, had a ride duration of around 16 minutes, and had NO height requirement, making the ride perfect for every member of the family.

-Take into account the above statistics. The Rocket Rods did these things on a track that was built to handle a top speed of 2mph, not 35. It was also built to have ride vehicles complete the course in 16 minutes, not 3. Because of this, Rocket Rods was a potential death trap, and this has been proven. Upon inspection it was found that the track was severly damaged, and if the ride was to have kept operating, that death trap scenario would have played out.


So I ask anyone who bashes the PeopleMover because it was "pointless" as some of you say, and praise Rocket Rods like it was the best thing in California, after you just read those statistics and facts, what would you rather have if you ran Disneyland? A family friendly ride that had high capacity or a death trap that had a low capacity?


I for one choose the former.

-Brandon Anderson


Link to original post: http://www.rollercoasterpro.com/community/showthread.php?p=5953post5953