felinefan wrote:Seriously, how long does it take for the generators to kick in? At Knott's they kicked in within 15 minutes. And yes we did have a couple of power outages, usually off-park in origin. I don't recall anyone demanding anything; they just went around asking when the rides will be back up. I always told them, "As soon as the generators kick in and we have done the required safety checks, we'll be back in business." I don't remember anyone giving us a hard time over it.
The problem is "which generators?" A generator that can power emergency lights and a few minor functions that would allow safe evacuation of an attraction with very low power draw should only take a few moments to a couple of min, depending on if it is automatic startup or has to be manually started. But larger power backup may require the power plant behind the MK. Having worked in a power plant for a while I know that from the time a generator begins to spin until it is able to generate power is about an hour, and that is a realitive low power generator. Most generators are powered by steam (which is generated in many ways) and if you throw the steam to the generator blades too quick the sudden change in temp and sudden speed change will make the generator fly apart. So the fact that they say emergency power is generally up in 15 min means they have a generator already spinning before the outage and are only doing the final spin-up and sync. Even then it would only be enough power to power the Epcot attractions enough to bring everything back to a safe "shutdown" state and power basic lighting. This also assumes that the fault isn't in the power switching station that selects the source of power from outside to the internal power plant. If the switch is dead, having the power available won't do any good.
So while I can empathize with the people who suddenly find themselves stuck on a shut down ride who may be nervous and and a bit upset by the interruption to their plans, I understand that no matter how we wish the outside world would have no bearing on us when in the parks, it just can't be totally discounted. I applaud the hard work that few will appreciate or recognize, of the people behind the scenes who are willing and able to keep interruptions to such remarkably short and infrequent times.
If any of you see any of the power plant workers, or the behind the scenes electricians, be sure to give them a "good Job" and pat on the back for me. If they didn't do their jobs so well that we don't notice their work, we would definately feel their absence.
Randy
