# FIRST HAUNT EVER TO USE VERTICAL DROP PLATFORM COMING TO MD (hopefully)



## ProjectFEAR (Aug 25, 2011)

So, some of you out there may have heard of Legends of the Fog in Aberdeen, MD. Well, a studio I've started working with has started helping those guys out with prop-making and theming, and one thing they really wanted to add this year was a "first" element; something that no other haunt, ANYWHERE, has. And one idea that came up was a vertical free-fall platform (think like Verbolten or Thir13een's vertical drop track, without the track). We're putting up soft padded railings, and the ground will be covered by a soft cushy material. So, how do my fellow haunters feel about this type of element being placed into a haunt?
Legends is also going to be adding a bit more to its existing Evacuation! hayride and SiNiStEr cIrCuS attractions, so be ready for some other cool stuff you haven's seen outside of major theme parks!


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## austenandrews (Aug 22, 2010)

I'm not picturing the gag. Do you mean dropping a room like an elevator?


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## ProjectFEAR (Aug 25, 2011)

austenandrews said:


> I'm not picturing the gag. Do you mean dropping a room like an elevator?


No. Like, a catwalk in a factory/warehouse that falls. I'm trying really hard not to spoil it.....screw it! If you do go to Legends, don't get mad at me for spoiling the surprise, okay?
What we're gonna have is a catwalk type walkway elevated above a factory floor, and then the lights are gonna start flickering on and off, then they stay off and the catwalk drops guests onto the ground level, where they must navigate their way through a chain-link maze, which could be seen from the catwalk. So guests would enter the event building via an outside staircase, and exit through a shipping bay. It's a brand-new attraction that's being planned this year, but it won't be there until next year although we are planning a smaller drop platform in Carsins Manor in the mechanic's shed. This one will only drop a few inches, but it will go up and down to simulate a floor that's about to collapse.
But yeah, this is what I'm going to do.


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

Does the few inch drop you mention refer to the Legends walkway or the Carsins Manor one? If it's higher than just a few inches, will the catwalk be rigid enough that it doesn't twist and spill someone over the railing as it falls?


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## Lord Homicide (May 11, 2012)

Rox, I'm thinking a catwalk doesn't twist like a rope bridge would. The self-contained fall restraint system (railing) would be rigid for obvious reasons. 

PF, How far is the drop? How fast is the drop? I would imagine the more people dropped would increase the risk of injury due to peoples' reactions to abrupt movements differs vastly. That said, your injury potential is people falling down or piling up on each other like dominoes.

The protective measures needed for this are similar to construction safe practices. PF, sit down and write up a safety analysis that outlines all potential hazards and see if you can't come up with a way to minimize each.


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## Spooky1 (Aug 25, 2008)

Still seems risky to me. Your customers could end up falling into each other and get injured. Even with padding, a fall in the dark can still be hazardous.


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## ProjectFEAR (Aug 25, 2011)

RoxyBlue said:


> Does the few inch drop you mention refer to the Legends walkway or the Carsins Manor one? If it's higher than just a few inches, will the catwalk be rigid enough that it doesn't twist and spill someone over the railing as it falls?


Do you spend every moment of every day on this forum? lol


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

^No


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## scareme (Aug 29, 2006)

^she doesn't, but I do! Drop in this morning about 4:00am. It gets awful lonely around here about that time. :googly:


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

Sounds like injuries and lawsuits just waiting to happen.
Even a drop of a couple of inches is still more than enough to twist or break ankles, knees, hips, and backs, not to mention injuries to the head, eyes, and back from hitting things, like other guests heads or elbows.
And you can post all the signs you want for "enter at your own risk", in the end, if someone gets injured because of something you did, you will be held responsible.


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## ProjectFEAR (Aug 25, 2011)

fontgeek said:


> Sounds like injuries and lawsuits just waiting to happen.
> Even a drop of a couple of inches is still more than enough to twist or break ankles, knees, hips, and backs, not to mention injuries to the head, eyes, and back from hitting things, like other guests heads or elbows.
> And you can post all the signs you want for "enter at your own risk", in the end, if someone gets injured because of something you did, you will be held responsible.


'GASP' You mean, those waivers don't clear me of ANY liability? OH NO!!!!!! (end sarcasm)
I'm gonna bring up your post to my supervisors because so far they haven't heard a good argument as to why it might not work as planned. I think your mentioning the possibility of broken bones really hits it home, and especially for me because I'm always afraid of someone getting hurt when they're supposed to be having fun....:'(


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## Troll Wizard (May 3, 2012)

Lord Homicide said:


> Rox, I'm thinking a catwalk doesn't twist like a rope bridge would. The self-contained fall restraint system (railing) would be rigid for obvious reasons.
> 
> PF, How far is the drop? How fast is the drop? I would imagine the more people dropped would increase the risk of injury due to peoples' reactions to abrupt movements differs vastly. That said, your injury potential is people falling down or piling up on each other like dominoes.
> 
> The protective measures needed for this are similar to construction safe practices. PF, sit down and write up a safety analysis that outlines all potential hazards and see if you can't come up with a way to minimize each.


I'm thinking I would agree with Lord Homicide here. The risk really outweighs the fun factor. Not trying to spoil the fun of the haunt, but it would seem to me that if you go with this effect, that you should only do it with one person at a time. I think it would be too dangerous if you had more than one person dropping.


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## Eric Striffler (May 6, 2006)

fontgeek said:


> Even a drop of a couple of inches is still more than enough to twist or break ankles, knees, hips, and backs, not to mention injuries to the head, eyes, and back from hitting things, like other guests heads or elbows.


Was thinking this. Very risky.


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## Darkmaster (May 9, 2009)

Wow, I can't agree anymore. Just the thought of someone getting a slight injury doing this opens many doors to lawsuits. Unfortunately, our society is a sue happy one.
I would not want to be the one getting hurt either, and I can see this happening.

There's no way I would think of doing this even on a small scale haunt setup.


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

You would also end up with injuries to those who grasp the chainlink fencing as they fall. the rings and fingers that would and will get caught are bound to do some injury to the wearers and or the jewelry and clothing they are wearing.
While the drop may be fun for many, I think the risks far outweigh the thrill.


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## Lord Homicide (May 11, 2012)

Troll Wizard said:


> I'm thinking I would agree with Lord Homicide here. The risk really outweighs the fun factor. Not trying to spoil the fun of the haunt, but it would seem to me that if you go with this effect, that you should only do it with one person at a time. I think it would be too dangerous if you had more than one person dropping.


Troll, truthfully it's not about spoiling fun man, you are just being real . It's the unfortunate side of today's world and the ridiculous realm of accountability.

PF, Don't scrap the idea - just don't drop the floor... Lower it. Lowering would be cheaper too probably. Since you didn't answer my questions originally, this is all I offer


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## tattman98 (Jun 29, 2011)

I don't know, as crazy as I am I don't think I would even try this. I had enough trouble with a bubble machine that wouldn't stay put two years ago. That thing has been put on the back burner to never be used again.


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

Rather than dropping or lowering the people, how about adding sound effects a a creaky walk way, then add a physical blow to the underside of the walkway. The people will hear the creaks and groans, and then feel the thump under their feet like something is giving way/breaking. You might look at something like a "Buttkicker". It's a powerful transducer used on sound stages and in some people's homes to add the vibrations that come with powerful subsonic shocks like you get with thunder, a dinosaur's footstep, an explosion, etc. The creaking and groaning of the walkway will tell the people that the walkway has weaknesses, and the big thump will startle them into thinking that the walkway is breaking down beneath them. You can add to this fear by having dangling "support rods or wires from the ceiling down to the railings, with some fastened, but many, if not most, just dangling with broken ends. You can superglue or hot glue connections (intact or brtoken) to the railing. Make sure any broken ones are smooth enough so that nobody can get cut or injured on them. You can paint them up to look rusted away.


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## QueenRuby2002 (Oct 23, 2011)

One thing no one has pointed out but I'm going to is the ADA. I'm not sure about your state but you could plan this out and spend all that money just to be shut down because you don't comply. I mean all that injury stuff is bad too of corse but unless your grandfathered in all new haunts have to be ADA compliant. Sorry not only did I take a class on this recently but for the thired time I had to redo the plan for my maze because of it.


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## Offwhiteknight (Sep 17, 2008)

If done right, it could be terrifying.

*SPOILERS follow for Dark Harbour*
Queen Mary's Dark Harbour has something that sounds similar. Within the ship there is a catwalk that is made into part of one of the interior mazes. They did do a trick where the catwalk "dropped" about an inch. In reality, it was a false second floor atop the real catwalk that you couldn't see in the dark. The real floor/catwalk never moved, it was just the false floor that dropped maybe an inch.

A big startle scare, and one that utterly terrified my wife who is afraid of heights and *hates* that part of the ship/maze anyway. Made her cry. I liked it though.

*end SPOILERS*
The big thing to remember is of course safety, but don't forget that a drop of a single inch will not only feel much bigger than it really is, but will serve as enough of a startle/shock that it will get the affect you want more safely than say, a six inch drop.

Erik J.


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## Lord Homicide (May 11, 2012)

tattman98 said:


> I don't know, as crazy as I am I don't think I would even try this. I had enough trouble with a bubble machine that wouldn't stay put two years ago. That thing has been put on the back burner to never be used again.


Man, you have to tell me how a bubble machine got you into trouble. I'm dumbfounded.


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

LordHomicide, it's easy to see how, just be cynical and think the worst case scenario.
Someone getting bubbles in their eyes, someone having a skin or respiratory reaction to the bubbles, someone tripping on the machine, it's cord, or touching some part of it that got hot, someone getting hurt because they "couldn't" see because of the bubbles and ran into something, fell over something, etc. Sometimes it's simple stuff like the guest getting caught doing something they weren't supposed to do, and rather than accept the responsibility for their actions they cause a scene and throw up a diversion/smokescreen by pointing at a machine, prop, or actor and try to blame them.
That's the major reason haunts and amusement parks have had to post such elaborate rules, post security throughout, and buy tons of insurance. People want to scream about "big brother" and some company or business trying to play God, but the reality is you have to go out of your way to tell people not to be stupid and to treat their surroundings with respect. Sad but true.

But like you, I'm curious to hear about it.


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## Lord Homicide (May 11, 2012)

fontgeek said:


> LordHomicide, it's easy to see how, just be cynical and think the worst case scenario.


Haha, you sound just like me  I was trying not to dive into that yet



fontgeek said:


> ...and buy tons of insurance.


Yep and that insurance is dumped right into the ticket prices... bend over consumer.

You said it, sad but true.


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