Disaster Transport History

Hey... I was looking at a mock up for disaster transport as shown in the 1990 park guide for CP and noticed under the 12 E there was a large florecent looking sign displaying Dis(patch)(M)aster Transport

http://www.rollercoasterfreak.com/CP_Brochures/1990_b_inside.jpg

Does anyone know if this ever exsisted...

Also, i was reading somewhere that there was a pre ride movie. does anyone know anything about this and what it was like?i bet it helped the thmeming alot...

Hmm, good find. I'm not sure that it was ever there, perhaps someone else can confirm. My guess is that it was one of those "only in the artist rendering" things.

Much to my surprise, I have found some cool things on Disaster Transport over the years...
http://www.sfps.net/indexCMS.php?projectPro=theme&profile=3

And somewhere, I have pictures of the transformation to Disaster Transport.

And somewhere, I have pictures of the transformation to Disaster Transport.

Thats awesome... if you ever find them id def be interested in seeing them
*** Edited 8/31/2006 4:17:56 AM UTC by blindturkey***

I remember that artwork...I think it was in the 1990 Getaway Guide (or whatever it was called then), which I believe I still have somewhere.

Anyway, I know I rode it in either 1990 or 1991, and I don't remember there ever being a sign like that on the finished ride.

You know, I seem to remember enjoying it considerably more when it was the Avalanche Bobsled Run....but that may have more to do with it being the pre-Maggie era and how young I was.

I agree about AR being more fun, but (as you said) that may have more to do with age and/or the novelty of the ride than anything. That part of the park looked a lot different before it was enclosed, that's for sure.

There was quite a bit of theming to Disaster Transport when it first opened. Despite their best efforts, I always found it kind of cheesy. It'd be nice if they still had it all in place though, it must confuse some people who are unfamiliar with the ride as to why there are things here and there and what it was all supposed to mean at one point. Now it's little more than a bobsled coaster in a building.

The whole gimmick with the ride was that it was supposed to be an "airline" so to speak, but travelling into the atmosphere (IE space) with space planes for a trip to Alaska. The name of this imaginary transport company was "Dispatch Master Transport". Things go wrong on the trip though (mechanical failures, space pirates, whatever) hence the alternate name "Disaster Transport". The sign for the ride actually said "Dispatch Master Transport", but certain letters were made to look like they had coincidentally burned out, leaving "Dis aster Transport" illuminated on the sign. Sort of like an "omen" of things to come.

Throughout the queue, they had TV monitors showing video clips of "airline" employees talking about your trip, space travel, safety precautions, etc. They would go back and forth with the "space plane" pilots shooting the bull. At one point while talking to a pilot he says stuff about things going wrong, like "what the..." or "we're under attack" or some such thing. They had two animatronic robots, one who was very animated and talkative. The other just oversaw the repair bay.

The repair bay had a moving overhead conveyer system. The coaster car in there had robotic welders moving around, throwing sparks, like they were repairing the car.

There were travel posters on the walls for all the destinations Dispatch Master Transport serviced. There was a schematic of the cars as if they were space planes. All kinds of little things that fit the theme.

There was also a satellite hanging in the middle of one of the rooms on the ride itself (I believe it's gone now) and it used to shoot "laser" beams.

The ride ops all used to wear orange jumpsuits to fit the theme. The whole thing was at one point blacklit, making the outfits glow.

While climbing the lift hill, there was a strobe flashing in your eyes. They had a sound track too, something about prepairing for launch. Halfway through the ride, (when it's just a space transport trip to Alaska, before things go wrong) there was a sound clip of a guy (presumably the pilot) exclaiming "I'M LOSING CONTROL!" At the end of the ride, there was a sound clip saying "Welcome to Alaska".

So in the end, the production and special effects were a nice effort, but kind of cheesy. Still, at least it gave the ride some meaning and theming.

There's probably more I'm forgetting, and I may be wrong about one or two things. Confused by the passage of time perhaps. I haven't been on it in a while, they may still have a few of these elements.

I remember there was an accident a few years after it opened. A meteor prop fell on the track and a car hit it, causing leg and back injuries to those in the front of the car.
*** Edited 8/31/2006 11:56:59 AM UTC by Jeremy Sell***

The voices heard on the ride were of the in-flight computer. I think his name was Dave.

I had posted about this sometime ago, and yes there was a large poster hanging in the position but I believe it was of the actual logo "Disaster Transport" that was exploding outward. I believe it only hung there a year or two.

Does anyone here know who the "star" of the pre-ride show on the TVs was? :)

-Tambo

I don't think that sign ever made it to reality.

I thought they did a great job with Disaster Transport when it first opened, though. Its really a shame to see what its like today. When I go to the Point with newbies, I refuse to take them to that ride. It really is an embarassment to the park. To have a queue in that much of disrepair is totally unlike Cedar Point and that's why I won't take new people in there.

I don't know if this is a doctored photo ... but it looks real.

http://mediaserver.cedarpoint.com/images/thumbnails/disaster_transport.jpg

Jamesb said:
I don't know if this is a doctored photo ... but it looks real.

http://mediaserver.cedarpoint.com/images/thumbnails/disaster_transport.jpg

Thats exactly how I remember it.

Anyone remember this:
"Welcome aboard... I'm your in-flight computer. I have been programmed to get you safely to the momentary receiving station. Stand clear of the cargo loading port. Cargo loaded, switching to automatic launch sequence..."
I think it went something like that, why that is burned into my brain? Who really knows.

I remember riding DT in 1990 and that robot in the begining of the que lines still worked and he prepared the passengers for the "flight"/ ride. I though it was the cheesiest thing ever but now I'd rather have the cheesy themeing than nothing like there is now. ( pardon my spelling errors)

I may be alone in this, but I'd like to see CP spend some treasure and fix up the queues and add some state of the art special effects to the ride, returning the ride not to its former glory but updating and bettering the previous effort. After all, CF does seem to be entering the theming business. And I'm not talking pie-in-the-sky investment like Disney did with the refurbishing of Space Mountain, but something commensurate with the kind of capital they spend on fixing or improving other parts of the park. Instead of tearing down DT, they should bring it up to what it should have been all those years ago.
*** Edited 8/31/2006 5:10:25 PM UTC by Ensign Smith***

I'd like to see them just remove all the theming and return it back to Avalanche Run... I remember it being a pretty cool ride, but I was probably 10 when I was riding it as Avalanche Run. Not a super thrills coaster life MF or TTD by any stretch of the imagination, but fun, in the same vein as CCMR... It also provided some pretty nice views of the lake and beach.

Ensign - You have to remember that its not the cost of creating the theming that is prohibitive. Its maintaining that theming.

Too true. What was I thinking? ;) But isn't it possible CF might turn over a new leaf, now that they're the third largest park chain in the world?

If you ride with me some of the ride dialogue still can be heard. ;)

I believe a few of the old queue rooms are now used for Pharaoh's Secret during Halloweekends. There is one point in the Disaster Transport queue where there is a passage usually just blocked by a trash can. If you step past the can for a moment to have a quick look, you can see part of Paraoh's Secret.