youtubeView full post on Youtube

Theme parks like Disneyland and Disney World offer up a bit of a petri dish for transportation nerds. In a completely controlled environment with a self-selected populace eager to get from Point A to Point B, theme park engineers have to think up an equally diverse transportation safety structures. As YouTuber Technology Connections shows, Disney's got a variety of tricks for keeping people safe without them ever realizing.

A big advantage is that unlike public transportation, people put a premium on themed rides. Your average passenger on Space Mountain will have no problem being completely in the dark because that's what they've come to expect from the ride. But in the light, the ride's multiple safety structures are easy to spot, like frequent straight pieces of track with brakes. Those brakes, called brake runs, are in place to make sure Space Mountain can get as many people through the ride as possible while still making sure collisions never occur.

Plus, it's just really weird to see inside Space Mountain with the lights on.

Headshot of David Grossman
David Grossman

David Grossman is a staff writer for PopularMechanics.com. He's previously written for The Verge, Rolling Stone, The New Republic and several other publications. He's based out of Brooklyn.