This is when you know people are missing Disneyland when they build a piece of it in their backyard. It does help that Sean LaRochelle is an architecture student and he did manage to get a lot of help to make this impressive site since otherwise it’s a lot of work for one individual and the pandemic might be over by the time he was finished. But then again, well, let’s not get into that. Anyway, Sean’s father apparently didn’t think he was going to be building something quite this big, which when compared to Disney’s massive attraction isn’t even as big as the tip, but it’s still substantial enough that one can imagine that Sean’s father was wondering what he’d agreed to. Despite all that, this project came out looking pretty good since despite being a one-person ride it’s proof that it can work and it can be pretty impressive too. The Matterhorn Bobsled ride has been a part of Disneyland since the 50s and as anyone can probably guess it’s been through a pretty fair share of improvements, repairs, upkeep, and regular maintenance checks in order to keep it running. There have actually been a couple of fatalities on the ride that had to do with the seatbelts. One occurred in the 60s and one in the 80s, though the first sounds as though it was the fault of the individual, sad to say.
Thankfully it looks like safety was a concern on this ride since that one-person sled doesn’t look as though it’s going to tip easily unless someone really has enough speed up going around the curves or is being reckless. That’s one of the worst things to do on a ride anyway, right? People want to talk about getting hurt on a ride, but quite a few will embellish the story in their favor and not mention that they were acting against the better judgment being displayed by those around them. Admittedly, some accidents do happen due to faulty equipment that might not have been properly maintained, and this is why parks are so diligent about making certain that the rides will function the way they should. Does anyone remember how many times Space Mountain has been shut down for repairs? That used to be one of the rides that was almost never up and running due to safety concerns or something that needed to be fixed. But as irritating as it can be, theme parks are responsible for the safety and enjoyment of their guests, and if it means inconveniencing them rather than harming or possibly killing them, any park will do what they can to make sure that a ride is one hundred percent safe, or as close to it as they can get.
Rides even have to make it clear to the guests just what’s going to happen during the ride and what it could mean for their health. This is the responsible and boring way to go, but it’s also the best way to operate since it helps to avoid a number of lawsuits that can be avoided since people not exercising their common sense can’t state that they weren’t warned. A lot of rides will actually have their warnings listed at the front of the line, or somewhere during the commonly long and tedious lines that are so common in places such as Disneyland. One of the only places that might not have taken those warnings to heart was Action Park in New Jersey, which was closed in 1996 and taken over and converted not long ago. That place was a death trap, and it was common to hear about injuries and even fatalities being caused within Action Park, while places like Disneyland and other parks did their best to make certain that the injuries caused by their rides were minimal.
Obviously, the LaRochelle’s are taking every precaution they can and have made a safe enough ride for themselves and possibly for those that want a turn since it looks as though they were having a good time with it and skating around the track at a pretty good clip. Even the abominable snowman was placed in a great spot to be kind of impressive. Just imagine what this looks like at night when it’s all lit up, that would be a lot of fun no doubt, especially with the big hairy guy and his glowing eyes roaring at you while the sled rockets around the turns. There are times in life when it’s easy to look at stuff like this and get jealous due to the fact that we’re not all bound to be architects or come up with ideas this great. But that moment passes and it’s fun just to imagine the good times that the family will have with this for as long as it stays standing. Forget a playhouse for the kids, something like this would be epic.
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