ASK any theme park guest what they fear most on a rollercoaster, and you can expect the majority to say it is being stuck on a broken down ride.
Sun Online Travel spoke to an expert on rollercoaster safety to find out why rides really stop – and why a breakdown isn’t as scary as it sounds.
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Gaz Morris, ride manager at Alton Towers, has one of the best jobs in the world.
He not only checks the safety of the attractions but he also gets to ride the rollercoasters every day.
Having worked at the park since 1999, he handles the operation of each ride, making sure they are safe to run.
Speaking to Sun Online Travel, Gaz explained all the things he looks for before opening the ride to the public as we were given an exclusive behind the scenes tour of Wicker Man.
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What goes into checking a ride is safe?
Gaz explained: “[Every ride] is first checked prior to our arrival by our technical services department.
“Technical teams are looking for mechanical integrity, checking the structure itself and the electrical elements.
“When the operations team arrives, they’re looking at safety systems, such as CCTV cameras at both the station and throughout the ride, as well as the train, and that the lap bar systems are functioning.
“They will test them to the point of failure to check they fail safe.”
When both teams have performed their checks, and everything passes, the ride can then open to guests.
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He continued: “A lot of our safety standards apply to all rides even if its just a small child’s ride. They will take around the same time to check off but can have larger teams for larger rollercoasters.”
Why rides stop working
Sometimes rides will still breakdown, even if all the checks have been made.
Gaz revealed that there are three main reasons why your ride might stop or close unexpectedly.
Perhaps surprisingly, guests are the main cause of stoppages.
In fact, people getting their phones out for a selfie causes up to 30 stoppages a day.
Other common causes are to do with the weather, such as high winds, but it can also be due to the ride itself, such as a mechanical issue.
He added: “They are all fairly common reasons but some of it can be down to people on the rides, not the rides themselves.”
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What happens when a ride is stopped because of a guest incident
Gaz explained: “We take them seriously. If a guest takes out their phone or camera, we have concerns about it being dropped – which could hit someone or drop into the mechanical process of the ride.
“This means us stopping the ride to go and retrieve the item and start up again.”
He added that it “isn’t always obvious” to guests that a dropped phone is the reason for a stopped ride.
Gaz continued: “Operators are trained to review this situation.
“If they spot someone with their phone, they could make an announcement over the tannoy telling them to put their phone away.”
However, what actually happens will depend on when the phone is spotted.
Gaz explained that if the gadget drops beyond a safe point, a member of staff has to be sent to retrieve it, which stops the ride.
He added: “Riders who are spotted will be warned for ignoring the safety rules – and we will reinforce this when they get off.
“They are dealt with on a case by case basis, but you could be removed from the park as we have to make sure guests are safe.”
While there are other guest related problems that can lead to a ride stopping, such as guest illnesses or guests climbing over fences, the theme park has plans to reduce them as much as possible.
For example, there are safety nets around some rides so guests in the queue don’t drop anything in.
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Mechanical or electrical stoppages
Many people might assume that mechanical issues cause the most ride breakdowns – but Alton Towers has back up plans for these as well.
Gaz said: “Every ride is backed up with a safety system which is triple checked on the ride.
“For example, Wicker Man has sensors for every seat and lap bar, or multiple sensors in some cases.
“If one of those isn’t right, it will tell the operator and stop the system. Technical services might need to be called.”
A stoppage could also be due to something on the ride itself.
Gaz explained: “We can only have one train vehicle in one block (also known as a section of the ride track) at any one time which means cars cannot collide.
“The system is always checking the speed of the other trains to keep them a good distance apart.
“If its not happy, it will stop the ride for us to look into – which could cause more delays.”
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Weather stoppages
Bad weather conditions could also lead to a ride stopping, or even closing for the rest of the day.
Wind is one of the worst culprits as it can slow down rides, meaning they don’t make it back to the station – leading to an evacuation.
Gus explained: “Once you reach the top of the ride and go over the lift system, you are “free run coasting” to the lowest point of the track, meaning you are only moving through momentum.”
Thunder and lightning obviously cause problems as well, thanks to the height of the rides, while cold weather and ice can affect the brakes on the tracks.
Thankfully, hot temperatures are less of a concern.
He explained: “Things might overheat and affect the cooling system or a motor overheats but track rarely expands in heat.”
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Anyone who is concerned about the safety of the ride can be rest assured of the emergency procedure in place.
Any potential problems can be solved with a big red button, which overrides everything and forces the ride into an immediate stop.
Gaz said: “If there is any doubt over anything, you ignore procedures and functions, you press that and everything comes to a stop immediately.
“In an emergency situation, there are brake sections which would stop the ride at any point along the ride, so people can then be recovered.”
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Find yourself at the front of a queue when a ride is closed? Don’t panic – you’ll most likely be given a Priority Pass to skip to the front of another ride queue.
If it is raining for the majority of the day, most theme parks also have a Rainy Day policy where you can get a free day ticket to return to the park when the weather is.
Despite going on the rides every day, Gaz remains unfazed by rollercoasters – unless they are going backwards, something he admits even he dislikes.
He added: “Doing safety stuff absolutely makes me feel more secure on rides, knowing how safe they are.”
How to make the most of the rides at Alton Towers
- Take an earlier or later lunch and ride during lunch breaks so between 12pm and 2pm.
- Don’t go straight to big rides first. For example, Oblivion starts busy and gets quieter as the days goes on, so is quiet past 2pm.
- Past 3pm most days you wont queue more than 20 minutes in Forbidden Valley rides like Nemesis.
- Wickerman and Smiler are where everyone heads to first, so save them until later.
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