Take a Ride on the Red Car Trolley

[bill937ca]

Disney has created a couple of interesting trolley replicas.  This seems to be at the original Disneyland in Anaheim. This article has a good description and lots of detail photos.

 

http://travel.usatoday.com/alliance/destinations/mouseplanet/post/2012/07/Take-a-Ride-on-the-Red-Car-Trolley/806792/1

 

It has a trolley pole (which must be in the correct position to run the trolley), but runs on batteries.  The proportions are interesting.  From some angles its a bit odd, but from other angles its bang on.  But Disney should know how to do this.  I read an article years ago in a hot rod magazine about how Disney builds all its own vehicles, so I assume the trolleys are no exception.

 

The staffing levels (operator, conductor, conductors at each stop, and two employees walking ahead of the trolley to keep people from walking into the path of the trolley) and having lights on inside the only when the doors are open after dark reflect a focus on visitor experience that transit operations never have.

 

Given the crowds in a typical Disney park I'm not surprised the car moves at a gentle walking speed.

[cteno4]

Interesting. Disney is all about creating a unique experience in the mind's eye that really has only a little relationship to reality, but in the end you walk away thinking you did something in reality! Quite interesting. I got to sit in on a couple of meetings with them when the consulted on an exhibit that might have had the imagineering experience applied to it. Not so sure this works if you want to present content (which was the ultimate decision on this project and it turned out the content did not need all the bells and whistles a few wanted to add to it and stood on its own very very well for 20+years now), but for entertainment they certainly take folks to new entertainment places others rarely can get to. they do really know their stuff for what they do do at the parks.

 

jeff