Hello all, first post here and I thought the "rumor" section would be correct for what's on my mind.
I am currently at WDW--last night around 7:30/7:45ish, my mom & I were taking pictures of Haunted Mansion, etc., from the wooden docks in Frontierland that you can use to bypass the main (and oft congested!) walkways. While standing here, I heard no less than three families saying "What? Frontierland is closed?" or "Oh, I guess we can't go this way, staff is saying Frontierland is closed."
We looked up, and indeed, cast members from Haunted Mansion were directing folks *away* from Frontierland, and stating that it was closed & guests must turn back and go the other way. The specific spot I saw this happening was directly across from the Shooting Arcade; later on we saw that the entrance by Pirates of the Carribean was blocked off by cast members as well.
No context or reason was given for this closure. We are not upset, just super confused and curious! We're "Disney veterans," been coming here at least once a year since 1998. In all those years, not once have we ever heard of an entire "land" being closed under normal circumstances. I've personally been evacuated from Splash Mountain no less than 3 times, maybe even more, so I am of course familiar with the premise that individual rides can close for periods of time, and that flooding from sunken Splash Mountain logs can cause the whole ride & queue to be evacuated away. But "all of Frontierland is closed" is VERY different, and the reasoning could potentially be cause for concern.
Normally I do my due dilligence and ask a cast member, but I chose not to because of the urgency of the situation, and because I figured they would most likely not be allowed to explain what was going on. I've searched high & low for information on what happened, with absolutely no luck. The only info I've come across pertains to a Splash Mountain closure/evac earlier in the year, which is of course not relevant to yesterday (April 4th).
Any ideas about what could have been going on? My mom and I speculated that perhaps the area was being closed off for a celebrity that booked a private event or something, or perhaps something being filmed. I honestly don't even know if private events can be booked within subsections of MK, that would require all attendees to evac. Is that a thing? The other options are obviously much more grim, i.e. someone being hurt, someone having a weapon/being otherwise threatening, and so on. We have no clue.
Last but not least, we saw several aircraft in MK airspace just before this occurrence, and for the remainder of the evening afterwards. We left for our resort just when the fireworks began. I realize that not all of WDW is a true, legal "No-Fly Zone," and that tour helicopters/careflights account for many sights in the sky. We saw one helicopter and one airplane, that looked similar to a commercial airflight. I know there are websites for tracking air traffic, but I did not think to look into that at the time.
Thanks for any info!! What a weird situation!
(oh, they also soft-evacuated people in line for Pirates--we & a dozen or so others were relocated from our spot near the boarding zone to another part of the queue on the other side of the ride. No context. Doubt it's related, but the timing was odd because that was IMMEDIATELY after the Frontierland closure)
I am currently at WDW--last night around 7:30/7:45ish, my mom & I were taking pictures of Haunted Mansion, etc., from the wooden docks in Frontierland that you can use to bypass the main (and oft congested!) walkways. While standing here, I heard no less than three families saying "What? Frontierland is closed?" or "Oh, I guess we can't go this way, staff is saying Frontierland is closed."
We looked up, and indeed, cast members from Haunted Mansion were directing folks *away* from Frontierland, and stating that it was closed & guests must turn back and go the other way. The specific spot I saw this happening was directly across from the Shooting Arcade; later on we saw that the entrance by Pirates of the Carribean was blocked off by cast members as well.
No context or reason was given for this closure. We are not upset, just super confused and curious! We're "Disney veterans," been coming here at least once a year since 1998. In all those years, not once have we ever heard of an entire "land" being closed under normal circumstances. I've personally been evacuated from Splash Mountain no less than 3 times, maybe even more, so I am of course familiar with the premise that individual rides can close for periods of time, and that flooding from sunken Splash Mountain logs can cause the whole ride & queue to be evacuated away. But "all of Frontierland is closed" is VERY different, and the reasoning could potentially be cause for concern.
Normally I do my due dilligence and ask a cast member, but I chose not to because of the urgency of the situation, and because I figured they would most likely not be allowed to explain what was going on. I've searched high & low for information on what happened, with absolutely no luck. The only info I've come across pertains to a Splash Mountain closure/evac earlier in the year, which is of course not relevant to yesterday (April 4th).
Any ideas about what could have been going on? My mom and I speculated that perhaps the area was being closed off for a celebrity that booked a private event or something, or perhaps something being filmed. I honestly don't even know if private events can be booked within subsections of MK, that would require all attendees to evac. Is that a thing? The other options are obviously much more grim, i.e. someone being hurt, someone having a weapon/being otherwise threatening, and so on. We have no clue.
Last but not least, we saw several aircraft in MK airspace just before this occurrence, and for the remainder of the evening afterwards. We left for our resort just when the fireworks began. I realize that not all of WDW is a true, legal "No-Fly Zone," and that tour helicopters/careflights account for many sights in the sky. We saw one helicopter and one airplane, that looked similar to a commercial airflight. I know there are websites for tracking air traffic, but I did not think to look into that at the time.
Thanks for any info!! What a weird situation!
(oh, they also soft-evacuated people in line for Pirates--we & a dozen or so others were relocated from our spot near the boarding zone to another part of the queue on the other side of the ride. No context. Doubt it's related, but the timing was odd because that was IMMEDIATELY after the Frontierland closure)
