skyway to tomorrow land??????

[detroitdad]

Originally posted by Robert Walker
The park was closed at the time so no guests were around at the time. I believe it was about 3 years ago they cut down and totally removed the entire ride.

Unless there have been multiple accidents with workers falling from the Skyway (God, I hope not), the park was most definitely open. I was there with my family in Fantasyland in Feb 1999 when this accident occurred. We did not witness the fall but came out of a restaurant in Fantasyland shortly afterwards. They had already moved his body to the nearby restroom and security had that area of Fantasyland roped off quicker than anything. I was very impressed with how Disney security handled themselves that day. A very very sad and tragic mishap.

So unless this was a different incident, I beg to differ.

 

[LibertyBelle]

detroitdad... Unless you were eating at Cinderella's Castle and had a reservation prior to 9am would you have been in the park when that occured. The accident happened before the park opened. No guests, other than breakfast priority seating guests were in the park, no guests witnessed the event. It happened as the ride was being cycled for the first time prior to park opening. I was working at the Riverboat that day, it all happened prior to 9am park opening time.

 

[detroitdad]

Originally posted by LibertyBelle
detroitdad... Unless you were eating at Cinderella's Castle and had a reservation prior to 9am would you have been in the park when that occured. The accident happened before the park opened. No guests, other than breakfast priority seating guests were in the park, no guests witnessed the event. It happened as the ride was being cycled for the first time prior to park opening. I was working at the Riverboat that day, it all happened prior to 9am park opening time.

LibertyBelle- wow I'm so glad you were there that day of my trip to let me know what happened. We were eating lunch at the restaurant (the Pinnochio themed one) and prior to going in nothing had happened. When we finished our meal everything was roped off and security was everywhere. Obviously we are referring to two different events.

 

[Geoff_M]

Media reports seem to back LibertyBelle's recollection:

February 18, 1999

Employee Falls To Death At Walt Disney World

Orlando, FL - Last Sunday an employee of Walt Disney World was killed when he fell 40 feet to his death, while dangling from one of the cars on the Skyway attraction in Fantasyland.

According to reports, Raymond Barlow, 65, fell to his death after being swept off the ride platform by one of the cars, when the attraction was turned on about ten minutes prior to the park opening.

The employee who was sweeping the area suddenly had to grab onto the outside of a four-passenger gondola to avoid being hit and thrown from the platform. Barlow held on to the car while he desperately looked for a place to fall.

According to the local Sheriff's Office, he was looking for a place to fall to avoid landing on the concrete below.

Barlow died of multiple injuries as a result of the fall and was pronounced dead at the Orlando Regional Medical Center.

The local sheriff's office has ruled the death an industrial accident. A Disney spokeswoman stated that the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration was to begin its investigation Wednesday.

There were no guests in the park at the time of the incident. The Skyway attraction remained closed all-day Sunday, but reopened on Monday.

http://www.ultimaterollercoaster.com/news/archives/february99/news_feb99.shtml

Man dies at Disney park

The Associated Press

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - A part-time custodian at Walt Disney World died after he was swept from a platform by an elevated cable car and fell 40 feet to the ground.

Raymond Barlow, 65, was on a platform for the Skyway in Fantasyland when the cable-car ride was switched on in preparation for the park's opening Sunday morning. Whoever switched it on didn't know Barlow was standing in the path of the cars, Orange County sheriff's Deputy Robert Larson said.

Barlow, 65, grabbed the four-person gondola and struggled to pull himself inside. He let go when he was over a flowerbed, snapping tree branches on the way down, park employees told investigators.

http://www.amarillo.com/stories/021799/usn_LA0652.001.shtml

 

[Jestocost]

Snopes.com has a good article on the situation too:

http://www.snopes.com/disney/parks/skyway.htm