Disney World Monorail Crash

JMarsden92 July 5, 2009
[2] comments

I just read some startling news.  This news is the first of its fatal kind for the monorails in @ 38 years.  Evidently 2 monorails crashed at the Disney World Resort in Florida.  1 driver was killed, and the other is fine.  Information states that there were only a few guests on the monorail at the time.  Some reports say on the Epcot rail, and others say Ticket & Transportation, while others say the Magic Kingdom area.  Many of the sources at the scene are stating Ticket & Transportation.

What never stops amazing me is how fast a company can blackout the media, and other sources on the web.  All video of the crash was pulled from YouTube due to copyright issues.

art_monorail_disney_cnn

A strange photo because it shows the monorails out on the track.

The image below shows the monorails in one the loading areas.

19955770_320X180

ORLANDO, Fla. — A Walt Disney World employee was killed when two monorails carrying several guests collided at Magic Kingdom, emergency officials said. ONLY ON CLICKORLANDO.COM:
VIDEO: Guests Try To Help Driver
 According to Reedy Creek Emergency Services, the monorails collided at about 2 a.m. Sunday, killing one of the train operators.

 The name of the driver has not been released. The operator of the other monorail was not injured.

 Eight other people were evaluated after the crash, but no other injuries were reported.

 A witness told Local 6 News that he heard a loud crashing noise when the monorails collided. Video obtained exclusively by Local 6 News shows guests trying to help the driver who was killed in the crash.

 The monorail has been closed, and an investigation into the fatal accident is under way.

 Walt Disney World vice president of public affairs Mike Griffin issued a statement offering condolences to the employee’s family.

 ”Today, we mourn the loss of a fellow cast member. Our hearts go out to the family and fellow cast members who lost a coworker and a friend. Safety of our guests and cast members is our top priority. We will work with law enforcement to determine what happened,” Griffin said in the statement.

 A Disney spokeswoman declined to discuss details of the accident.

From everything that I know the monorails are working in conjunction with sensors throughout the track.  The sensors cause the monorails to stop if the computer system sees an issue, or safety problem caused by being too close, etc.  According to outside sources the monorails controls can be overriden.  This leaves the question… Mechanical failure, Human error, or Both?

Posted in Disney World | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Happy 4th of July

JMarsden92 July 4, 2009
[0] comments

Thank you to everyone that has kept us FREE.

Mickeywithflag

Posted in Holidays & Such | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Disney Spring Float Kids Boat Ariel Review

JMarsden92 July 4, 2009
[0] comments

A few years ago we purchased some swimming pool lounges.  My daughter had one that she liked.  She never could find another that she really liked, so she hasn’t had one.  Recently we had the opportunity to have her give us her impression of the Disney Spring Float Kids Boat Ariel by Swimways.

Today was girls day in the pool.  My wife, and daughter went out to the pool with their lounges, and relaxed.

100_1834

100_1835

My rundown is as such… The float is well designed.  It has a internal bladder for blowing up with air.  The size of the float was much bigger than we expected.  My daughter is taller than most other 9 year olds.  The coloring of the material was bright.  The float also coils up into a small ring for storage.

My daughters rundown… She feels that it is sturdy enough for children to play on.  It allowed her to get only slightly wet while on it.

The 2 of us like the product, and would definitelly recommend it to others.

Swimways does carry a small Disney line that has both boy, and girl items.  Check their site for other items.

Posted in Misc Reviews | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Captain EO…Why Bring Him Back Now?

JMarsden92 July 4, 2009
[2] comments

swooshEO

I always enjoyed watching Captain EO when I went to Epcot.  I also saw it in DisneyLand.  What I can’t understand is why so many people are trying to petition to have Captain EO brought back.  The 3D movie was well done, and cost far more than what a 15 minute show should have cost.

Even though Michael is gone there is no reason for Disney to want to put him back up.  What I have in my mind is this… Neverland could be cleaned up, and they could setup a 3D theatre there.  People would most likely pay admission to go to Neverland.  They have a win-win situation.  The Jackson family gets some revenue from it, and people are happy.

Just say NO!  If we say YES, then Disney will have to pay out to the Jacksons, and such action could cause Disney to maybe want to increase ticket prices.  I may be wrong, because they may have a standing deal with the Captain EO movie so that they don’t have to pay out royalties.

I will have a very clean cut of the movie up on my site soon.

I think Disney should keep everything they do in-house so that they don’t have to pay royalties to others like this would result in.

Brief Rundown of the Movie…

Movie was directed by Francis Ford Coppola

Movie was produced by George Lucas

The story was designed by Disney Imagineering

Starring:

  • Michael Jackson
  • Anjelica Huston

Captain EO is a movie about a team of space travelers that are on a mission to deliver a gift to the queen of a land.  When they get there they almost don’t get to deliver the gift because a piece of equipment broke.  After the team fixes the equipment Captain EO delivers.

The effects were superb for the time.

Captain EO was only shown in 4 theatres worldwide…

  1. Epcot Imagination Pavilion – 1986 – 1994
  2. DisneyLand TomorrowLand – 1986 – 1994
  3. Tokyo’s Tomorrowland – 1987 – 1996
  4. DisneyLand Paris – 1992 – 1998

You can still find some good buys on Captain EO merchandise at EBay.

Posted in Disney (General) | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Disney Spring Float Kids Boat Giveaway

JMarsden92 July 4, 2009
[33] comments

I have something for all of you looking for something special for that little girl.  We are running a giveaway that will award the winner with a Spring Float Kids Boat Ariel by SwimWays.

13102H_090_Prod

Entry guidelines…  (Each entry must have an individual comment here.)

  1. Visit Swimways.Com & Post a comment here telling us which pool toy you find the coolest.
  2. Place our button on your site. (Extra 2 entry)
  3. Technorati Fav me. (Extra 1 entry) CLICK HERE
  4. Subscribe to my Feed. (Extra 1 entry) CLICK HERE
  5. Blog about this giveaway. (Extra 1 entry)
  6. Place all buttons on your site. (Extra 4 entries)
  7. Comment on any post other than a contest on any of the following: www.MyBlogs4U.Com, www.MomsBlogs4U.Com, www.GameBlogs4U.Com. (Extra 1 entry per comment.)
  8. Follow me on Twitter. (Extra 1 entry) CLICK HERE
  9. Tweet this giveaway. (Extra 1 entry) (Max 1 every 2 hours) Use: ->RT @JMarsden92 Ariel Kids Boat Giveaway http://www.disneycontestblog.com/index.php/2009/07/disney-spring-float-kids-boat-giveaway/ <–

The item will be shipped by the manufacturer.  Contest is open to the US.

Contest starts on 7/4/09 and ends on 7/26/09.

Winner will have 3 days to respond before another winner is chosen.

**Button must stay up for duration of contest.

**Twitter account must have more than 25 people.

Posted in Contests | Tagged , , , , | 33 Comments