BREAKING NEWS on CNN: Monorail Accident Kills One IN WDW

[DoeWDW]

I feel very sad for Austin and his family.

I also feel very sad for the other driver, the manager on duty, whoever was supposed to be in Central, anyone else involved. Clearly no one meant for any of this to happen. It truly was an unintentional accident. These people have to live with second guesses and regrets for the rest of their lives and must be feeling horrible.

I do hope they figure out what the problems were in the system that allowed this tragedy to happen so that those inadequacies can be fixed. to prevent anything like this from happening again.

My heart goes out to everyone involved.

 

[sorcerormickey]

The monorail system has now reopened.

 

[sbell111]

... Just b/c someone says they are sorry--doesn't make them not responsible for what they caused so while I feel sorry that he lost everything--he likely would have been found at fault without the roadside apology. ...

The problem is that he wasn't really at fault. It was the company's truck. The company does the maintenance on the truck. The driver had no reason to believe that the truck had any problem and he wasn't driving in a manner that caused the accident.

I can totally see the company being found to be at fault, but not the driver.

 

[Luv2Scrap]

My own opinion... I don't see that Disney is trying to sweep anything under the rug at this point. I wouldn't expect them to say anything about fault until the investigation is complete.

As far as the video right after the crash, I'm very sad that this is out there for us to see. I didn't realize what it was going to be until I was several seconds into it, and I'm really disappointed with myself for continuing to watch it through to the end. I've been really emotional about the whole thing yesterday and today. I don't thing there was ANYTHING wrong with the CM telling the person to stop recording. That wasn't for Disney's sake. That was out of respect for his injured (deceased) co-worker. Would YOU want that video out there if that was YOUR son, brother, or best friend? That makes an already tragic event even worse for this poor man's family.

I can't think of a single good reason for us to be watching that video.

 

[DarthKTrava]

What scares me is sometimes people sit in the front of the monorail and it is lucky that noone was on the front!

And some of those being a friend of mine and me. Neither of us have said we won't do that again (assuming that Disney continues that 'tradition') when we go back.

My condolences to the family of the driver. From what someone else said, Austin was a wonderful part of the cast and will be sorely missed.

 

[Jennasis]

Anyone know about how fast the monorail was travelling?

 

[KyleRayner]

Ever since we heard the news of the monorail crash yesterday, a bunch of us on Twitter have been trying to honor Austin, the monorail operator who lost his life yesterday, by trying to get his name to appear on Trending Topics on Twitter.

If you're on Twitter, please tweet #Austin at 3:00pm EST today. Even if you read this after 3:00pm EST today, please continue to add #Austin to all your tweets.

Spread the word to your Disney tweeps on Twitter! Let's do this for Austin!

If anyone cares, we achieved our goal and the Orlando Sentinel posted a blog about it. See link below.

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/et...ail-driver-austin-wuennenberg-on-twitter.html

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Anyone know about how fast the monorail was travelling?

I had read in one of these threads that for MAPO override would only allow max speed of 15mph.

 

[RadioNate]

If anyone cares, we achieved our goal and the Orlando Sentinel posted a blog about it. See link below.

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/et...ail-driver-austin-wuennenberg-on-twitter.html

Awesome.

In other news, Disney has suspended front cabin rides for guests.

I don't think anyone will be surprised by this. They are citing "out of respect for the pilots at a difficult time" as the reason.

This leads me to believe that they may reinstate cabin rides at some time.

I totally agree with Disney decision to suspend the rides. I can only imagine that one well meaning (or NOT) guest asking about the incident would rattle even the most seasoned pilots.

 

[bicker]

Anyone know about how fast the monorail was travelling?

Early in the thread someone said 15mph.

 

[Towncrier]

I just found out that my son James worked with Austin at Rock'n'Roller Coaster last summer. When I heard that Austin had worked Sunset Attractions from 2006 to 2008, I had a feeling that James might have known him. Prayers for Austin's family, his co-workers, and for everyone who was involved in this tragic accident.

 

[JR6ooo4]

Originally Posted by Kickapoo Joie Juice
I would say that I'm not making assumptions; I'm making educated guesses, having been in a train wreck. I think Disney's statement where they refused to discuss the way the monorail works is the beginning of the sweeping.

In the real world (not a chat forum) anyone personally involved in prior events similar to a current situation under investigation would be removed immediately from the investigation.

It is obvious by some of your comments that emotions are being interjected into theories that should have only been based on pure facts.

I am sorry for what you have had to endure in your incident and forever after...


Mikeeee

 

[Shutterbug]

I was so bummed out when I heard about this.
I would have to say the Monorail is one of my top 5 rides at WDW.

I know this is to early to state this but I have a feeling this might mean the end of guests being up front with the driver.

 

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

In the real world (not a chat forum) anyone personally involved in prior events similar to a current situation under investigation would be removed immediately from the investigation.

It is obvious by some of your comments that emotions are being interjected into theories that should have only been based on pure facts.

I am sorry for what you have had to endure in your incident and forever after...


Mikeeee

Thank you for that.

I am certainly more upset than many people who haven't been through a train accident would be. Those people who walked off the monorail unhurt on the outside will probably be as dented as I am on the inside when it comes to trains.

I spent a lot of time after the accident reading about trains and how they worked to get over my fear of them (I still don't ride amtrak), and I have probably asked more questions about the monorail than most people, just to re-assure myself that it was safe.

While the system may have been designed to be safe, in practice, as evidenced by the crash, there are some serious problems that need more than a bandaid patch such as "extra safety devices have been put in place."

Yep, I'm fired up about it. Nobody should ever be in a train accident.

 

[shrubber]

I know this is to early to state this but I have a feeling this might mean the end of guests being up front with the driver.

Joey, do you like movies about gladiators?

 

[disney1990]

As the mother of a former Disney College Intern, my heart goes out to Austin's family and to the entire Disney Family during this time. I am deeply saddened.

 

[Belle0101]

I just can't imagine what was running through everyone's minds when they saw, or if they saw, the pink monorial moving towards the purple.

An incredibly sad event for Disney.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

Awesome.

In other news, Disney has suspended front cabin rides for guests.

I don't think anyone will be surprised by this. They are citing "out of respect for the pilots at a difficult time" as the reason.

This leads me to believe that they may reinstate cabin rides at some time.

I totally agree with Disney decision to suspend the rides. I can only imagine that one well meaning (or NOT) guest asking about the incident would rattle even the most seasoned pilots.

You are absolutely right. I worked for the park when Javier (Pluto) was killed and both of my next two programs I performed in that same parade. I was never fortunate enough to meet Javier as I was in attractions at that time, but I worked with many who were friends with him. One of my good friends was trained by him. His death hit the cast hard, and people would say the stupidest things about it. I remember being in the park as a guest to watch the parade (this was a year later!) when a girl was going on and on about how her friend watched Pluto get run over. I informed her that her friend could not have seen it because the accident happened backstage.

It is an insult to his memory that people make up these stories, and it's hard on the CMs- particularly those who knew him best. Those of us who have performed know how far above and beyond Disney went to keep this from ever happening again. Never once did I feel unsafe doing the same performing he did.

It will be the same way here. People will be making up stories, claiming they saw the body, bringing it up. Please, use some common sense. I know people want to talk about it, but whenever a CM dies it is hard on everybody in the company, particularly if you worked with the CM. Please respect the CMs and don't go around making up wild stories or asking them all kinds of questions about it. I know to this day Javier is missed by his friends, who still wear pins in his memory. I am sure it will be no different for Austin and his coworkers.

 

[MarkBarbieri]

We rode in Austin's car last month. He was a very nice and professional gentleman. I'm deeply saddened by the news of his death. I still haven't decided whether I should discuss it with the kids (7 and 9). I feel so sorry for his parents. I can't imagine the grief that they must feel.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

Thank you for posting your pic and experiences with Austin. What a wonderful tribute.