Behind the Thrills: Inside Coaster Maintenance and Safety

Behind the Thrills: Inside Coaster Maintenance and Safety

The thrill of experiencing rides is based on the trust that comes from knowing that every park’s maintenance team works diligently to keep each ride safe for all riders.

When a ride or attraction has an incident, it’s sure to get a lot of negative attention. The less visible side of maintenance is the number of hours and the attention to detail that every park spends maintaining their most precious commodity: the safety of their park visitors.

Today, co-host John Davidson talks to Will Meldrum-Thush a Mechanical Engineer at Roush Entertainment Systems about the important work his team does to keep their rides safe for all guests to enjoy. Listen carefully for a pro tip about getting out of a B&M hyper coaster’s train!

In this episode:

• [02:00] Introducing Will Meldrum-Thush, mechanical engineer at Roush Entertainment Systems 
• [06:20] John recaps his Ice Breaker maintenance bay tour at SeaWorld Orlando
• [08:10] Annual maintenance insights (spoiler: it’s VERY thorough!)
• [18:30] Daily checks: Every bolt on every support
• [25:20] Testing block zones and avoiding "bumper cars"
• [26:53] Transition from manufacturer to park maintenance
• [32:10] Complex coaster maintenance (i.e., flying coasters vs. hyper coasters) 
• [36:55] Coaster operating costs
• [38:15] Dealing with delays in operations 
• [40:00] The secret behind one-train operations
• [43:15] The key to coaster education 

Share your ideas and thoughts about this podcast via email: podcast@aceonline.org. Visit ridewithace.com to learn more about the non-profit organization American Coaster Enthusiasts.

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Podcast Volunteer Team 

• Hosts: Jessica Gardner and John Davidson
• Producer: Derek Perry
• Editors: Bob Randolph
• Show Notes: Liz Tan
• Project Manager: Corey Wooten 
• Correspondent: Bryant Yeager 
• Cover Photography: Andrew Pace, Anthony Saporito, and Rafael Larios