Spin-Off of Skyliner Thread: Have You Ever Been Stranded on a Ride?

[1GoldenSun]

Let's just say I've learned to never get on a ride when it's getting close to time for a bathroom break.

The only rides I've ever actually had to evacuate were Kali River Rapids, Tower of Terror, and The Three Amigos.

 

[Disney1fan2002]

Not for long, not enough to be worried. Years ago, when Test Track first opened, my son was a baby. My nephew was with us on the trip, so we took advantage of the baby swap. My Dh and nephew rode 1st, then DH got off, and I got on. The part of the (old) ride, where you are going around a corner and the seems like a semi is going to hit you, well, we stopped there. Sat there for a good 5 minutes. I asked my nephew if this was part of the ride he said no. No big deal, but it did take away from the ride a little bit.

My friend was stuck on It's a Small World for 2 hours. They never stopped the music. THEY.NEVER.STOPPED.THE.MUSIC!!!!!!

 

[DisLiss]

I was never stuck on a ride, but the Coast Guard had to come rescue a boat tour I was on once when I was a teen. They accidentally got it stuck on a sand bar. We wound up being on the boat for 3-4 hours longer than anticipated. The group I was with found humor in it and stayed out on deck watching the coast Guard & singing the Gilligan's Island theme, which I realize in retrospect must have been annoying to anyone around us who felt actually worried.

 

[Moliphino]

I've only been evacuated off of Kali River, and we were really close to the end anyway.
We broke down on Space Mountain for a while once. They turned the lights on, but did manage to get our rockets back to the unload station like normal after a while.

 

[ronandannette]

On DINOSAUR, right near the and where the giant Dino shows its face above your head!!. It was pitch black, couldn't even see your hand in front of your face. I was glad my kids were old enough to not freak out! I remember it being about 10 minutes in the dark.

This reminds me of another one I'd previously forgotten. In 2013 we took DS and a buddy of his to DLR and got stranded on Indiana Jones right at the spot the car dives under the huge, looming stone ball. We weren't 100% familiar with this particular kid and he'd never been anywhere like DL or experienced any sort of 3-D ride. It was touch-and-go with him for a minute but he kept it together and we started moving again in what was probably only 10 minutes or so. In hindsight, all the times we've had issues were on rides that had been intermittently down all day. One should probably learn something from that.

 

[Julie's Haircut]

At Disney or elsewhere? I have - twice at DCA. Once was near the top of Mickey's Fun Wheel and once was on Grizzly River Rapids. Both were mechanical break-downs of some sort.

In the first, we were stopped for 20 minutes or so and it took about an hour start-to-finish for us to finally exit the car. We were with a couple of teens (strangers to us) and the young lady was on the verge of panic for a bit - we kept her distracted and even talked to her mom on the phone. The second instance was a little dicier because people kept trying to bail out of their ride vehicles thinking they could just climb down the ride structure. CM's had a heck of a time controlling that but given the protocols they obviously had in place, having that ride stall was certainly not an uncommon occurrence.

All's well that ends well. I'm sure these things happen countless times.

Some girls in one of the "rolling cars" on Mickey's Fun Wheel started screaming bloody murder that they wanted to get off. The wheel had to stop to unload them, then it continued. The first time my car started rolling was a bit unnerving but then I enjoyed it.

Once on Haunted Mansion but not for long. It was in the graveyard scene.

Once on the Haunted Mansion it stopped FOUR times while we were riding. Three were about 15 seconds, but the other was at least two minutes.

In Wildwood there used to be a ski lift ride that went from one end of the pier and back again. I got stuck at the very top (about 50-60 feet high I imagine), at night, on a pretty breezy night at that. I don't remember how long we were up there, but it was way longer than a few minutes. At first, they were going to try and get me to the pole, which had a ladder, but decided I wouldn't be safe enough. I had to be cherry-picked off, and I remember the sheer terror of the swing swaying as they prepared to get me into the bucket. My palms are sweating now as I type. Never again.

I can ride enclosed gondola sky rides but those where your legs dangle in the air make me nervous.

 

[justafigment27]

We got stuck on Test Track on our last trip. We were pretty far into the ride when it stopped. We waited for quite a while and then eventually had to be walked off the ride. My daughter recorded the whole walk and made a time lapse video ... it was kind of cool to look at because we walked, single file, through most of the inside of the ride before we were lead out a door. We got an anytime FP added to our magic bands for our trouble. As far as getting stuck on a ride, that was probably a good ride and a good place ... we were inside in the a/c and we just got out of the cars and walked off ... it took a while, but we were comfortable.

 

[Julie's Haircut]

Splash Mountain at Disneyland. We were at the top of the big hill just about to go over the edge when the ride stopped. It took about 15 minutes for us to be evacuated. I jokingly suggested they just push us over the edge but they didn't go for it. We walked down the steps and then through some backstage areas to exit. Another passenger tried to take photos but the CM sternly told him not to. We received an anytime any ride Fast Pass. The ride was working again later in the day so we used the FP there.

Loch Ness Monster at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg about 1982. The train was going up a hill after the first loop but didn't have enough momentum to go over the top. Some type of safety latch caught and we rolled back s-l-o-w-l-y to the bottom of the hill. It was still about 15 feet above the ground so a cherry picker had to evacuate us. By the time we were rescued the park had closed for the night.

Whatever the Runaway Train at Six Flags Over Texas is called. About 1989 the train couldn't negotiate the final hill up to the unloading station and it rolled back thru the underground tunnel to the previous downward hill and partially up it. It went back and forth several times before finally coming to a rest in the tunnel. There was a path and steps to the unloading station.

El Toro roller coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure in NJ about 2013. The train went partially up the initial hill and then stopped dead. We had to climb out and walk down the steps.

All of these were an adventure. But I wouldn't want to be stuck for 3 hours.

 

[Sabeking]

We were stuck on the Winnie the Pooh ride. The funny thing is we were so close to the end we could see the line when the doors were open. However, they started at the loading on end so we were the last to get off. The wait was quite long as there was a passenger in a wheelchair and they had to have special assistance to get off. By the time we were led off I think I had heard the music track for an hour. It drove me bonkers!!

 

[bcla]

Maybe not stranded. Or at least not for long.

Decades ago I was stuck on Mr Toad's Wild Ride at DL Just stopped and we waited about 10 minutes before a CM came in to release the lap bar and escort us out. Also BTMRR maybe 15 years ago where we just stopped on the hill. I pulled out my camera from my hip bag and took photos, and nobody told me I couldn't. We walked out on the stairs to the side. We were all given passes to return on the ride any time without waiting in line. However, that was less than a week before someone died on the ride after the train derailed at the loading station. I heard the first car after the locomotive got loose and went under the locomotive.

Also one on Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at DCA back in 2012. We got up to the first scheduled stop and then just stayed there. They turned the lights brighter so we could see, and there was a recorded message to wait there and they would advise us later. However, it was recorded in a sinister horror movie announcer voice. It was actually rather amusing. Then we got lowered down slowly (rather than dropped) and anyone on the ride vehicle was given the option to ride again on it immediately or leave if uncomfortable riding again. A few people got off, but most of us got back on. I also pulled out my phone:



I whited out the heads even thought it would be pretty difficult to identify anyone by the back of their heads.

I guess it wasn't necessarily being stuck on a ride, but I have been on a ride when it was stopped because someone was monitored pulling out a cell phone against clear announcements that it wasn't allowed. It was on a roller coaster on the initial hill. An employee came up the stairs and let the person with the phone know that they wouldn't continue until he handed them his phone and they would figure out what to do after the ride was over. I guess if he refused they could have gotten the police there to remove him and eject him from the park. We ended up completing the ride after he handed over the phone and at the exit I saw they just handed it back, told him in no uncertain terms that if he did it again he would be ejected, and he stayed in the park.

 

[dish rag]

Splash mountain. They eventually walked us out.

 

[NHdisneylover]

My oldest and I were stuck in Mission Space for almost an hour about ten years ago. It's so confined and movement so restricted, that wasn't very fun.

We were also walked off of Mr Toad's Wild Ride at DL once, about 17-18 years ago. But that's an easy one for them to evacuate. We only day 10ish minutes before they took us off. Not long enough that I'd have called it "being stuck" had we just started moving again

Both were mechanical issues so far as I'm aware.

 

[design_mom]

Once on Haunted Mansion but not for long. It was in the graveyard scene.

I was stuck in the same place on Haunted Mansion, but for a long time. At first, it was kind of fun. But after about 30 minutes the ghost jumping out from behind a gravestone and yelling "boo!" was no longer cute. It was very annoying. I don't remember getting anything for our trouble, but I think this was prior to fast passes. (I was a teen.)

We were stuck on the People Mover at WDW, I think for about 30 minutes. We were on an outside part of the track so it was very enjoyable.

We were also stuck on the People Mover for a while, but it was outdoors so it wasn't too bad. I am not sure how long we were stuck, maybe 10-15 minutes. Again, I don't remember receiving anything, but we weren't expecting to receive anything either.

Edited to add one more (non-Disney):
Our local zoo has a small wooden roller coaster. My husband's cousin is a major roller-coaster enthusiast, and apparently this inauspicious coaster is the oldest one still in existence designed by some famous roller coaster designer, so the cousin really wanted to ride it. We rode it several times in a row...and we were the only ones on it. Then we got stuck on the hill. They had to shut down the coaster and we had to climb down the evacuation stairs. The coaster is relatively small by today's standards (but it's not a kiddie coaster), but my daughter was pretty small at the time and the staircase was open on one side (the side by the track) and the hand rail on the other side was pretty high. But the steps weren't wide enough for me to walk down side-by-side with her and hold her hand.

 

[DVC-Don]

Longest one was on the ride in Norway 10+ years ago before the change. Got stuck on the incline right after you board the boat, the one with the eye staring down on you for about 30 minutes.

 

[gmar1210]

Never on a Disney ride but once in Breckinridge on a chair lift for 1.5 hrs. Broke down in the middle of a snow storm. Thankfully I was wearing enough to keep warm.

 

[kaytieeldr]

We were at the after hours event (extra magic hours that you paid for at that time...can't remember the name).

E-Ticket Night. Ten dollars, the original e-ticket rides and some newer, comparable ones (like Splash Mountain.) Once a week for three hours.

In case you ever need the facts

Once on the Haunted Mansion it stopped FOUR times while we were riding. Three were about 15 seconds, but the other was at least two minutes.

Short stops like this (and on SE, or almost* any attraction with a walkway moving at vehicle speed) are typically not actual attraction problems, but more likely to allow someone to transfer to/from a wheelchair, or who just needs extra time boarding or debarking.

*Except Peter Pan and People Mover

 

[fortwildernessishome]

Too many to list at WDW over the years!!

The most memorable was Space Mountain back in 1980. I was 13 and with my brother and three friends. I don't scare easily, but when the ride stopped, I was terrified for about 30-seconds, because my first thought was, we were the only ones stopped and the car behind us would crash into us. Happily soon after the lights came on and I could see other cars also stopped. We were stuck for about an hour. I remember being so worried, because we were due to meet my parents and our friends parents for a show at The Diamond Horseshoe Revue. (Back in the 80's when the show was still performed, you had to go to a ticket window in Frontierland, at park opening to get free timed tickets to a show.) This was long before cell phones and I was so worried that my parents would be worried about us not showing up on time. When we finally got off, we sprinted from Space Mountain to the Diamond Horseshoe Revue, (Apparently in the early 80's running in the park wasn't so frowned upon!!) and were let in just as the show was starting.

My kids were stranded on Rock n Roller coaster for a couple hours a few years ago. They had gone in on the single riders line, so they weren't even sitting next to each other. They had their cell phones and called me and also talked to each other while they waited.

Two years ago, my husband and I were on the Tower of Terror and we stopped right in the elevator shaft. We were all excited for our first drop and we just stopped still and the lights came on. Waited about a half an hour and the lights went off and we did the drop sequence.

 

[hereyago]

2010: Splash Mountain bit luckily it wasn't long. We were next to an emergency point because some idiot was about to get out and then we hear a voice to stay seated lol.


Early 80's Kings Dominion. I went up the Eiffel tower with my friends and their dad(who was also my dad's friend.
Something happened to the elevator and we had to be walked down.

A few years ago, we had a very short pause on Alpengeist at Busch Gardens Williamsburg climbing up.

 

[Miffy]

We were stuck on PPF in May--and in a very boring place, just past the London scene but before the Neverland scenes. There was literally nothing to see but the wall. I think it was about 15 minutes, maybe 20.

 

[BrianL]

I've never been stuck long enough for an evacuation. I got stopped on DL Space Mountain and the lights came on. We were manually pushed to the bottom and never left the car. They let us ride again. The whole thing only took about 20 minutes.