Monday, January 26, 2015

What Can Cause Racers to Breakdown

All rides at the Disney Resort can break down once and again. The more complicated the ride system is the better chance that something could go wrong.
At Racers, there is 1 Main computer that controls all the moving parts. There are 20 regions for the attraction, 16 of them have numbers. And 2 areas and 480 zones. Any one of these could go wrong.
Today, a single car stopped in the middle of the race. They first took the guests out of that car. Maintenance then tried to get the car moving again. They could not. So they had to power down the whole attraction. They did a full evact, where they take all the guests out of every car. They then had to get the push cart to push the bad car off the track. But before they can can get the car off the track, they have to power the ride up, region by region and move the good cars out of the way, so the bad car can be taken off to be serviced. The ride went down at about 11:37am. They got the ride moving again at 1:38pm.
I want to make clear that they never want the attraction to go down. If it was up to the ride operators, the ride would never go down. But with anything, the more something is used the more little things can happen. I've been to the ride 9 times this year and the ride has only been down 4 times. The first 3 times for only 10 minutes a piece. 
This down time gave me time to write this blog. I turned 2400 laps last year and I think the ride was only down less that 15 times, when I was at the attraction.

The bad car today 
The push cart getting ready to move the car

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

The Kramer family and what really slows down the ride.

One of the fun things about wearing my " All Time At Racers" lanyard is meeting people who also love the ride. I met the Kramer family from Washington State, at the front admission gates this morning. They were impressed about the number of times I've been on Racers. I told them my story and gave them a blog card. I showed them where to get the Fastpass for the ride. 
After turning 7 laps, I met up with them in the single rider line. After the ride, I got a picture with them. 
I was going to have a little gripe session about what really slows down the ride. I'll save that information for the next blog.
The Kramer Family : Bill, Lisa and their 2 kids.

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

How It All Began

As far back as the year 2001, I've kept track of all my visits to The Disney Resort. I wrote down the date I visited each Park and the attractions I rode that day. 
My first time on Radiator Springs Racers was during a Passholder Preview Day. On June 10th 2012, I turned 7 laps at Racers. My very first time, I lost my hat. I called lost and found the next day, and told them I lost my D23 Convention Hat. They found my hat and I got it in the mail 2 days later. 
In 2012, I rode Racers 56 times. In 2013, I started going more often. Cast member Sherri B., noticed I was there a lot. She was the first Pit Crew member to add me as a friend on Facebook.
When I reached 300 laps, on December 23rd, I brought a "300 times" sign. I took a picture at the front of the ride before the 300 lap. I was also in the single rider switch back, where I asked a guest to take a picture of me with the sign. One of the ride managers, Kelly M, saw this and also took a picture of me with her camera. When I got off the ride, she had the cast members clapping for me. I also got a picture with Pit Crew members, Carlene B., Ruth C., Phil P, and Mark. That is when I started to become friends with the cast members. Soon after, I became friends with Carlene B. I even sent a message to Carlene saying I wanted to reach 400 laps last year. Just unestimated that one by 2000 laps.
January 2014, I became friends with Ruth C., Catalina S., and Brett P.
February added friends Katie H., Cameron V., Jeri R., and Erika G. Phil P was added around this time, but he accidentally dropped me as a friend. But later added me back.
In March, I became friends with Teresa V., France's H., and Samatha L. And it took off from there. Now it's over 100.
I ended up with 316 laps in 2013. 
This year I'm keeping track of the overall lap count from the first time I rode on June 10th 2012. The next sign you will see will be at the 3000 lap.

Some interesting stats from last year. 
My annual passport cost $629. I came through the admission gates 225 times. That works out to $2.75 each time I passed the turnstiles.
Attraction totals from last year:
Radiator Springs Racers - 2400
Astro Blasters - 8
Tower of Terror- 3
Big Thunder - 3
Mater's Junkyard Jamboree - 2
Silly Symphony Swings - 2
Little Mermaid- 2
Indiana Jones - 1
Jungle Cruise - 1
Bobsleds - 1
Luigi's Tires - 1
and Alladin- 1
Toy Story Mania - 1
So I do go on other rides.
I think I also forgot to put my overall won- lost record from last year.
1234 wins and 1166 losses

With Carlene, Ruth, Mark and Phil
The 300 lap
Before the 300 lap

Friday, January 2, 2015

2400 details, stats and what's ahead for 2015

Getting 30 laps on New Year's Eve was a huge task. So many things had to click together. One was the awesome support of The Pit Crew. They really had my back this day. They new what had to be done and kept me on track throughout the day. Special thanks to Carlene B. and Cameron V. They took the lead in the morning and evening. Everyone was cheering me on and I even felt the ride wanted me to reach my goal. The one major stoppage was caused by a guest going into a restricted area. I even saw the incident that caused the cast member to hit the emergency stop button. It usually takes 60 minutes to reset the power but it only took 45. 
And we were off and racing. At 4pm, I needed 15 more laps in 8 hours. I took a break to get my signs from my rented locker. I had 2 signs. One 2400 sign and one with 23 that I would add 2 numbers to if I did not reach 2400. I then stayed at the ride with no breaks until we finished. Things were going good and I was afraid if I left, the ride might break down. I got more nervous the closer I got to 2400. 
My friends Ken and Sandra W., came over from Disneyland to support me in the last few laps. I was in line with 2 to go and the Mater after the race was acting up. They cycled the ride and took everyone off the ride. I saw the maintenance person go to reset and it only took 5 minutes to fix. The ride started up and I got 2399 at 10:50pm. When I got out of the car. I was escorted to GWD with Ken and Sandra. We got in the car for lap 2400. We got to the start of the race and the cars would not start the race. This has happened before and the race starts up after a couple minutes. This time it took awhile longer. I really got nervous. I was thinking, "Not now". Then we took off for the race. Just after 11pm, I finished lap 2400. I had enough time for at least 1 more lap but 2400 was a good number to end on. The photo crew gave me the 2400 photo. I came back to unload and watched the Disneyland fireworks at midnight. Happy New Year and hugs all around. I came back after the ride was closed for the day. I then was able to ride with the Pit Crew. I had a sign that said "We Did It". That was ride number 1 for 2015. It was a great topping to a great year at Racers.
I know I've said it several times, but this group of cast members really help make this a great journey. I was happy everytime I showed up at Racers. I could also sense that were also happy to see me. They always had smiles and kind thoughts when I was there. It was always my pleasure to bring them treats. I also liked how they all wanted to take pictures with me after each milestone. I now need pictures with them with my 2400 sign.
I also need to thank all the guests who gave me words of encouragement when they saw my lanyard and asked me about my lap count. A lot of them also wanted pictures with me and have been following my blog. A few even sent words of support on the final day. I really enjoy talking about my love for the ride and Pit Crew. 
I'm still going to come to Racers in 2015. I'm now going to wear a lanyard with my total laps since the ride opened in June of 2012. Less than 230 laps from 3000 all time. I also will bring cookies once in awhile. But I won't have a yearly goal.
Some cast members and guests don't know how I put in the time to get 2400 laps. I have a very competitive spirit and a deep sense of commitment. If I set out to do something I want to finish what I start. That is why I went strong  after 1000 and more so after 2000. I need 338 laps in December. I came to the ride 18 times in December and averaged 18 rides per day.
This has truly been one of the best years I've ever had. It is all due to the awesome Pit Crew, the ride and guests who have supported me along the way. Ka Chow.
Now for the year end statistics 

Laps per month:
January: 76
Febuary: 142
March: 152
April: 135
May: 191
June: 168
July: 208
August: 251
September: 377
October: 236
November: 126
December: 338
I came to Racers 210 days for an average of 11.4 per day. The most laps in one day was 45 and the least 1.
Now by lane of race:
Ramone side of race: 1205 and record of 638 wins and 567 losses
Luigi side of race: 1195 and record of 596 wins and 599 losses.
Color of car
Silver:  378 times and record of 191-187
Teal: 353 times and record of 161-192
Red: 349 times and record of  179-170
Yellow: 322 times and record of 174-148
Cranberry: 270 times and record of 151-119
Blue: 260 times and record of 126-134
Green: 248 times and record of 129-119
Purple: 220 times and record of 121-99

I will continue with the blog into 2015



The new lanyard for 2015

Closing crew on the last day
The first ride of 2015 with Pit Crew members Sonjia, Jared, Marc, Carina and Arleen.
The 2400 car