So, who has an interesting story about getting stuck on a ride?

[James G]

I got stuck on small world for an hour. was not fun. now my kids hate that ride.

 

[HollyL]

This has turned into a really fun thread. Thanks for all that have responded. This is definitely not for just Disneyland rides, but for any Disney anywhere rides!

 

[audrey2580]

Only people on this board can appreciate this. Last September we got stuck on Small World. After 20 mins they started evac-ing people. I was so excited saying to my son "Omg, we get to walk through Small World". Strangers in my boat thought I was crazy. Sadly they got the ride going before getting to my boat. Oh well, one day I'll get to walk off a ride lol.

 

[jetskigrl]

I have been stuck on Ca. Screamin (right before the loading/unloading zone so nothing exciting), Small World (just after we came outside) and our boat jumped the track on Jungle Cruise and we were floating around the hippo pool. That one was a little scary because we were floating right towards a submerged hippo and I just knew it could come up underneath us and flip the boat (I know, they probably aren't strong enough to do that, but still, LOL). Luckily they shut off the hippos right as we were about to float over it.

But it was fun floating around and even more interesting watching them get us back on the track.

 

[Lucille1963]

Years ago GRR broke down as our raft was right at the top of the big drop. They drained all the water out so the raft was resting on the bottom and we were walked out through a staircase inside the mountain.

 

[1st86trip]

We were stuck on Indiana Jones right before the large stone ball comes rolling down. The lights were turned on and we could see what was behind the ball. The sound was left on so we had to hear Indiana Jones say his line over and over. Finally the lights went out and our ride went on as usual.

 

[coloradodumbo]

We have been stuck on multiple Disney rides both at DLR and WDW. Disney has a lot of experience evacuating people off rides and we happen to be one of those "lucky" families that gets evacuated almost every trip. Normally if you are evacuated they give you a FP which is funny when you are evacuated off a non-FP ride it does you no good.
The worse one for us was the former Mullholland Madness. Our car was stuck at the very top of the ride and I hadn't had my knee fixed yet so doing all of those stairs was fun. But you get a great view from up there and so we got a bunch of great photos. We even took one of where our car had stopped.
We have also been evacuated off IJA. We had just started and the ride stopped at the point where he is stuck between the doors telling you to go back. The lights came on and so everything you thought was 3-D suddenly becomes flat. Also the ride vehicle is so high they bring a little step ladder around to all the cars.
Pirates is an interesting one to be evacuated off of since you are in a boat. We were by the gold room when all of the lights suddenly came on. Our boat had to stop right under a vent too, it was cold! They slowly start moving the boats forward to the landing on the left side right before the mist screen that show Black Beard and Davy Jones. The boat I front of us had a little boy with Down Syndrome who didn't want to get off the boat because he didn't understand the ride was broken, that was sad to see. He perked up when the cast member told him he could come back later and ride it again. Once off the boat you go up a back set of stairs and pass what is my understanding of one of three mouseketeerias (cast cafeteria). Then they lead you out a back door and voila back among the crowds of park goers with FP in hand.
Monsters Inc, Snow Whites Scary Adventure. Winnie the Pooh, the Great Movie Ride, etc our list goes on and on. But you have to love the behind the scenes looks you get.

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

We were stuck on Buzz for a good 45 min. There were 8 family members. The really good thing was we could keep playing and the boys really perfected their aim. We took pictures. We made the most of it and were thankful it wasn't the small world. They eventually led us out walking.

 

[HollyL]

In my lifetime, I have probably been on Pirates at least 100 times, and never been stuck! That will be on my bucket list!!

 

[DisneylandDeeDee]

I have been stuck on multiple rides over the years. We were walked off Thunder Mountain. Stuck on Haunted Mansion for 15 minutes at the graveyard. Space Mountain.....and they turned the lights on. It looked like a wild mouse ride.

 

[Kilala]

Wow! I never had to walk off a ride. I'm glad they make it safe to walk off the rides.

 

[jjharts]

Last time we were at DL - my daughter had gotten a fortune card on mainstreet from the fortune teller machine that had a line on it about being wary around boats. A little while later, we were on POC and our "boat" got stuck on an incline. The canons kept going off in front of us and we had to listen to the same recording for about 15 minutes before the ride started up again. I guess the fortune teller was right

 

[PHXscuba]

We were stuck on Indiana Jones right before the large stone ball comes rolling down. The lights were turned on and we could see what was behind the ball. The sound was left on so we had to hear Indiana Jones say his line over and over. Finally the lights went out and our ride went on as usual.

We got stuck at this point (right under the dangling Indy) a few years ago. They kept it dark for a bit but then turned the lights on and sound off. Interestingly, the animatronic Indy kept fidgeting the whole time, very lifelike. I had never been walked off a ride before and thought this would finally be the time. But after about 15 minutes they got it running.

At WDW we got stuck right before the launch point for Space Mountain, around the corner from the loading zone. A CM came and said the minimum shutdown was 20 minutes -- often it just backs up at unloading and it automatically stops. She chatted with us and even took our picture in the cars. Two techs came and pushed a bunch of buttons. The whole time we were visible from part of the line so I waved at people. They finally started up again and we went through. It was a good thing that I didn't put two and two together until we got to unloading that we were the very first ones to go through after it got running. That would have made me nervous!

PHXscuba

 

[bcla]

Anyone know if Disneyland has a cherry picker?

I've seen video of some amusement parks where a cherry picker was used to removed riders from stuck rides. Especially interesting were inverted roller coasters. I think they sometimes attach climbing harness or other safety equipment just in case.

Of course many of the rides aren't amenable to that. There's probably no place for them. Still, if California Screamin' got stuck on the inverted loop, I think they might be able to bring in the heavy equipment if they could find a place to park. Disney seems to use every square foot of available space.

There's a ride that I've been on at Great America in Santa Clara, CA called Invertigo. That one has had mechanical issues and was finally dismantled this year. I heard they had to bring in a cherry picker once when it got stuck. I think a cable failed although all the safety systems worked.

 

[8caliace]

Years ago, we got stuck on the People Mover on one of the higher portions above Autopia. We had to have been stuck there for a good hour. The worst part was breathing in the fumes from Autopia. They were unable to get it restarted, so we got to walk what ended being a pretty decent hike along the elevated track back to the station.

 

[bcla]

I've been following this thread, and I haven't seen one mention of animatronics ever failing. I have read about the motors being completely replaced on several attractions because they were old and worn down, with the motion typically out of sync with the audio. Modern motors are probably considerably more reliable and longer lasting that whatever was originally installed in the 1960s.

 

[TotalDreamer]

Anyone know if Disneyland has a cherry picker?

I've seen video of some amusement parks where a cherry picker was used to removed riders from stuck rides. Especially interesting were inverted roller coasters. I think they sometimes attach climbing harness or other safety equipment just in case.

Of course many of the rides aren't amenable to that. There's probably no place for them. Still, if California Screamin' got stuck on the inverted loop, I think they might be able to bring in the heavy equipment if they could find a place to park. Disney seems to use every square foot of available space.

There's a ride that I've been on at Great America in Santa Clara, CA called Invertigo. That one has had mechanical issues and was finally dismantled this year. I heard they had to bring in a cherry picker once when it got stuck. I think a cable failed although all the safety systems worked.

I think I'd insist on the fire department coming to get me off of Screamin' if I had to do a walk-off on a hill. Someone mentioned in this thread said they saw people having to do that? I'd love to hear a first hand account of that.

I also wonder what happens if you need to evacuate the Haunted Mansion from parts where the basement is underneath.

I've never had to walk off a ride, but I really want to - just not Screamin' or It's a Small World. I think Pirate would be interesting. But it's like water rides, when you want to get wet you don't, and when you want to evacuate you never need to.

I did get stuck on Indy right before the loading dock, but we were soon on our way and got to again (after they let my mother off rotfl).

 

[SilentFeline]

My boyfriend and I got stuck on PotC on our last trip earlier this year in January. We were stuck for about 45 minutes at the part where the drunk man was saying that he would find Jack Sparrow and Jack is popping in and out of a barrel behind him with the barking dog. There were about 4 or 5 boats stopped. The lights were turned on but the sound stayed on for a while, so we had to keep hearing the drunk man and the barking dog. They finally turned the sound off and we were still sitting and waiting. The boat in front of us had a birthday guest on it and someone from the boat wanted everyone to sing "Happy Birthday," so we did. Finally, some cast members came to push our boats to an area where we could safely evacuate. Before we left the area, we were told that cameras and phones were forbidden as we were walking outside. I was disappointed at first, but there actually wasn't anything interesting anyway. I remember walking through a locker room.

This experience would have been a lot more exciting if my boyfriend and I weren't pressed for time. We had to rush to get WOC Fastpasses because the show wasn't playing every night, and that was the only night we wanted to go. We did get front-of-the-line passes for any ride in the park though.

 

[madigraham]

A few years back I got stuck on space mt and indie in the same day! On space the lights all turned on and they restarted the ride shortly. With indie we got stuck on the bridge and eventually got escorted out of the ride. That was so cool because we got to walk through the ride on the track. Probably one of my top 10 coolest things that I've ever got to do at Disney

 

[spellhex]

I've been on rides a few times when they've broken down. Was on Splash Mountain about three logs before the final lift when the lift broke down. Had to be evacuated out the log; luckily, we were right next to an emergency exit. Unluckily, they didn't turn the soundtrack off for 20 minutes or so, which meant we had to listen to the wailing mothers for longer than anyone should.

This isn't a breakdown exactly, but before they replaced the jets in it's a small world, our boat was overloaded and we ended up floating slowly backwards twenty feet or so before enough boats bumped us forward to working jets.

A month ago my brother and I lucked into getting the first two seats on the Matterhorn after going through the single rider line. Broke down right when we got to belt check. He ended up forgetting his brand new sunglasses in his sled (it marks the fourth straight time we've gone to Disneyland and he's lost his sunglasses - we're also 0-for-4 in recovering the sunglasses). When we went on it again a few hours later also via single rider line, my brother somehow was lucky enough to sit in the front AGAIN. Didn't break down this time!

There's a ride that I've been on at Great America in Santa Clara, CA called Invertigo. That one has had mechanical issues and was finally dismantled this year. I heard they had to bring in a cherry picker once when it got stuck. I think a cable failed although all the safety systems worked.

Invertigo wasn't dismantled because of mechanical issues, IIRC. Cedar Fair just wanted to move it to another one of their parks, I believe one in Pennsylvania.