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Friday, March 23, 2018
Park’s Animatronic T-Rex Goes Up In Towering Inferno
CBS Pittsburgh: The co-owner of a dinosaur-themed park in southern Colorado thinks an electrical malfunction caused a life-size animatronic Tyrannosaurus Rex to burst into flames.
5 comments:
Katie Pyzowski
said...
One of the facebook posts shown in this article says that the park is "incredibly proud of our team for the way they efficiently and quickly handled this situation and kept our guests safe". I wonder what, if any, protocol the park had for flaming dinosaurs? That seems like a very specific and seemingly rare accident. I am surprised that the dinosaur robot was not fireproofed for something like this, especially since there is so many electrical components within it. Who was responsible for building this T-rex? Will the park or the company who made the robot be penalized for this accident? I also think it is an interesting strategy for the park to release pictures of the flaming attractions, and even cracking jokes at it. I guess it is better to get it out in the open and admit to the faults than have a third party calling out negligence and having the park come under scrutiny. Although this must have been a pretty frightening accident, the animatronic frame does look pretty cool.
I can’t imagine how shocking it must’ve been to see this dinosaur go up in flames at this amusement park. Reynolds didn’t seem too concerned about the fact that these dinosaurs are fire hazards and potentially life threatening to visitors at the Royal Gorge Dinosaur Experience. He said it brought some spectacular imagery along the way, which I agree the pictures look great but I want to know more about the investigation into why the dinosaur went up in flames in the first place. He said the team handled the fire well and efficiently; however, had they been trained to do so and how can they prevent the other fires from taking place on the other dinosaurs. I can’t imagine what would’ve happen if a fire went off in the chosky or on a show I was working on. I feel like I haven’t been taught what to do in case something like that happens during a show except wait for the fire curtain to come down and evacuate the space.
Wow, what an attention grabbing headline! I really couldn't help but check this one out. I can't imagine how it must have been for the park guests who witnessed the flaming destruction firsthand. The shock and horror must have been in no short supply that day... That said, it is encouraging to see that the park was able to keep guests safe and deal with the no doubt unexpected and stressful scenario of an incendiary dinosaur. I suppose that similarly to theater workers, park workers need to be ready for every possible catastrophe to ensure the safety of themselves and the guests or audience members. In a way, this situation is no different from if a theater set went up in flames, which technicians need to be prepared to deal with if it should happen. Nonetheless, this is certainly a rather dramatic way things could go wrong, so I couldn't help but check it out.
Last summer, I had the opportunity (for which I am endlessly grateful) to visit Dinosaurland in White Post, VA. While those dinosaurs did have disappointing lack of animatronics, they did have a painted realism that made them truly terrifying. I was eighteen year of age, and I was scared that the dinosaurs were going to come alive and eat me. While I appreciate animatronics, there is something to be said for painted detail. Painted realism is a movement I am super intrigued by, but never really had the time to explore myself. When I see a painting or drawing that looks photo realistic, I gain so much respect for the artist and their attention to detail. That someone was able to create that same feeling of realism with creatures I've never even seen in real life is impressive. I wished I could have seen the animatronic T-rex before it went up in flames, but the management was right, the photos of the dino spitting flames are pretty cool.
Not a very in depth article of the situation past the information that it was an electrical malfunction causing the flames to arise, but the park seems to be having a little fun with their accidental pyro show. I have to admit, I’ve already seen memes arising on tumblr and reddit based on the fiery dinosaur and the shots are pretty cool. I’m assuming no one got hurt in the incident or else there would be much more severe news coverage on the event, and the park seems to be handling the need for a replacement dinosaur pretty well. I wonder where they source their electronics and construction from and more importantly, what they’re planning on doing with the old t-rex frame because its a pretty interesting post modern sculpture and also just super weird. All in all, this fire actually turned out to be a cool PR event for the park and I’m sure everyone knows about it by now.
5 comments:
One of the facebook posts shown in this article says that the park is "incredibly proud of our team for the way they efficiently and quickly handled this situation and kept our guests safe". I wonder what, if any, protocol the park had for flaming dinosaurs? That seems like a very specific and seemingly rare accident. I am surprised that the dinosaur robot was not fireproofed for something like this, especially since there is so many electrical components within it. Who was responsible for building this T-rex? Will the park or the company who made the robot be penalized for this accident? I also think it is an interesting strategy for the park to release pictures of the flaming attractions, and even cracking jokes at it. I guess it is better to get it out in the open and admit to the faults than have a third party calling out negligence and having the park come under scrutiny. Although this must have been a pretty frightening accident, the animatronic frame does look pretty cool.
I can’t imagine how shocking it must’ve been to see this dinosaur go up in flames at this amusement park. Reynolds didn’t seem too concerned about the fact that these dinosaurs are fire hazards and potentially life threatening to visitors at the Royal Gorge Dinosaur Experience. He said it brought some spectacular imagery along the way, which I agree the pictures look great but I want to know more about the investigation into why the dinosaur went up in flames in the first place. He said the team handled the fire well and efficiently; however, had they been trained to do so and how can they prevent the other fires from taking place on the other dinosaurs. I can’t imagine what would’ve happen if a fire went off in the chosky or on a show I was working on. I feel like I haven’t been taught what to do in case something like that happens during a show except wait for the fire curtain to come down and evacuate the space.
Wow, what an attention grabbing headline! I really couldn't help but check this one out. I can't imagine how it must have been for the park guests who witnessed the flaming destruction firsthand. The shock and horror must have been in no short supply that day... That said, it is encouraging to see that the park was able to keep guests safe and deal with the no doubt unexpected and stressful scenario of an incendiary dinosaur. I suppose that similarly to theater workers, park workers need to be ready for every possible catastrophe to ensure the safety of themselves and the guests or audience members. In a way, this situation is no different from if a theater set went up in flames, which technicians need to be prepared to deal with if it should happen. Nonetheless, this is certainly a rather dramatic way things could go wrong, so I couldn't help but check it out.
Last summer, I had the opportunity (for which I am endlessly grateful) to visit Dinosaurland in White Post, VA. While those dinosaurs did have disappointing lack of animatronics, they did have a painted realism that made them truly terrifying. I was eighteen year of age, and I was scared that the dinosaurs were going to come alive and eat me. While I appreciate animatronics, there is something to be said for painted detail. Painted realism is a movement I am super intrigued by, but never really had the time to explore myself. When I see a painting or drawing that looks photo realistic, I gain so much respect for the artist and their attention to detail. That someone was able to create that same feeling of realism with creatures I've never even seen in real life is impressive. I wished I could have seen the animatronic T-rex before it went up in flames, but the management was right, the photos of the dino spitting flames are pretty cool.
Not a very in depth article of the situation past the information that it was an electrical malfunction causing the flames to arise, but the park seems to be having a little fun with their accidental pyro show. I have to admit, I’ve already seen memes arising on tumblr and reddit based on the fiery dinosaur and the shots are pretty cool. I’m assuming no one got hurt in the incident or else there would be much more severe news coverage on the event, and the park seems to be handling the need for a replacement dinosaur pretty well. I wonder where they source their electronics and construction from and more importantly, what they’re planning on doing with the old t-rex frame because its a pretty interesting post modern sculpture and also just super weird. All in all, this fire actually turned out to be a cool PR event for the park and I’m sure everyone knows about it by now.
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