Is the flying carpet grounded?

[chai]

We saw the Aladdin show at DCA the week before last, and we've seen it at least once at every visit. At the most recent show, the carpet did not fly from the ceiling during "A whole new world". They were singing the song from backstage, but nothing visual was happening for a minute or two, then A&J appeared on the carpet on the stage.

No more flying carpet? Or a glitch in the system that day?

 

[ArchOwl]

We saw the Aladdin show at DCA the week before last, and we've seen it at least once at every visit. At the most recent show, the carpet did not fly from the ceiling during "A whole new world". They were singing the song from backstage, but nothing visual was happening for a minute or two, then A&J appeared on the carpet on the stage.

No more flying carpet? Or a glitch in the system that day?

There was an accident awhile ago where the flying carpet malfunctioned and the production had to be halted. Since that incident, the carpet was grounded. No idea if/when the carpet will fly again.

 

[8timesblessed]

We were just there this weekend and I was sad there was no flying carpet and I asked and they said the carpet cable broke and it flipped and the characters were left dangling in Sept so it was halted. The CM said the girl was frightened and bruised. You can find it on youtube.

 

[Hoku]

I wonder if they will bring it back after the current characters' contracts expire. They are contracted, right? After so many years without incident, I'd expect them to learn from this one mistake and not let it happen again. But it might not be reasonable to expect the actors to get over their understandable trauma, so maybe they're waiting until they get new actors.

 

[miss.potatohead]

I wonder if they will bring it back after the current characters' contracts expire. They are contracted, right? After so many years without incident, I'd expect them to learn from this one mistake and not let it happen again. But it might not be reasonable to expect the actors to get over their understandable trauma, so maybe they're waiting until they get new actors.

It might not be as simple as 'getting back on the horse' or because of the actors' trauma. I'm definitely not knowledgable on the legalities surrounding it, but I'm sure there would have been an investigation into the incident - there is always the risk of something like that happening which I'm sure the actors would be aware of but it's Disney's responsibility to make sure it doesn't happen again or fix the malfunction that caused it to occur. Hopefully it is resolved soon, the flying carpet was truly magical

 

[MrsPinup]

Wow, what a crazy incident. I am appalled that people stood around to film instead of evacuate like they were being told. Those poor actors...I hope this doesn't scare them from returning to the carpet.

 

[DLR29]

Yeah I saw Aladdin two days ago and was sad when the carpet did not fly. Still a fantastic show though!

 

[MrsPinup]

Double post

 

[chai]

Found it on youtube - wowzaa! That would definitely be scary.

 

[Katiebell]

We saw the show with the flying carpet in September; the day after we left, friends who live locally and go to DCA all the time told us about the incident. We just saw the show today, assuming the carpet would be flying again, but it wasn't. We casually asked a CM when we were leaving if the carpet usually flies but there was just a technical glitch, and he wouldn't say anything, just told us to talk to Guest Services I thought he could at least tell us if the carpet was usually flying or not.

The other effects using cables -- Aladdin's leap in the marketplace, Aladdin's descent into the Cave of Wonders, and Jafar the Genie appearing to transform from the giant cobra -- all were being used. The thing that is different about the flying carpet effect is that it isn't just over the stage, it's over the audience. So if there is a mishap, it isn't just the actors that are at risk -- though that's certainly bad enough to make Disney reconsider the effect. But Disney would definitely not want to take any chances and risk harm to the guests. That might be why the carpet no longer flies.