What does Disneyland do in the event of an earthquake?

[trishakay84]

I was just wondering what happens if there is an earthquake while people are on rides at Disneyland?

 

[beachdreamr1229]

That's a really good question. As a So Cal native, I've had my fair share of earthquakes and can say that at other theme parks, they usually shut down rides for safety inspections then open up again as long as it's not a huge earthquake with major damage issues. But, I've never been to Disneyland during an earthquake, so I really don't know. I'd like to know the answer, too.

 

[DznyPrnces]

I went to Disneyland the day of the Northridge quake in January 1994. If I remember correctly, the quake was early in the morning, so before we got to Disneyland. By the time we got there, some of the rides were open and some were still closed for inspection. They opened up rides as they were inspected and deemed safe. Since that happened before the park opened no one was on the rides. I'm pretty sure they would have a similar protocol if one happened during operating hours. Stop all rides, escort guests off, and inspect before reopening, but that's just a guess.

 

[Malcon10t]

The rides are e-stopped, people are escorted off, the ride is inspected for damage, then recycled to a start. Takes a while. Some rides can be done in 30-45 mins, some are 2 hours. It also takes time to get maintenance crews to each ride for the inspection.

 

[JeriLee]

Disneyland was open and operational the day of the Northridge Earth Quake? I was in Thousand Oaks at the time and all power was lost. We used our camping stove to cook. My sister lived in Northridge and their entire street camped out on their front lawns for a week because of the damage and threat of more quakes. Wow… Pretty impressive I guess that Disneyland could handle such a large scale trauma with apparent ease. Wow...

 

[heybets30]

We arrived the day after a minir one a few years ago. They kept Indy down the day we arrived and said it took longer to inspect ... All other rides were open, but heard most closed for at least an hour or so day of to inspect everything!

 

[trishakay84]

Interesting! Thanks for the info.

 

[DznyPrnces]

Disneyland was open and operational the day of the Northridge Earth Quake? I was in Thousand Oaks at the time and all power was lost. We used our camping stove to cook. My sister lived in Northridge and their entire street camped out on their front lawns for a week because of the damage and threat of more quakes. Wow… Pretty impressive I guess that Disneyland could handle such a large scale trauma with apparent ease. Wow...

Yes. I was in high school at the time (and have a terrible memory) so I don't remember a lot of details. I vividly remember feeling the quake. I woke up a split second before it hit and stared at the wall. We all ran downstairs and realized my sister wasn't with us. She was trying to sleep through it. We had already planned on going to Disneyland that day because of the holiday. My mom decided we should still go, because it would be a good distraction for us. I remember some rides still being closed while they inspected them, but I don't remember crowd levels (I'm guessing low) or anything like that.

 

[PinkBudgie]

About 6 years ago we were at DLR during an earthquake. We were buying our APs in the bank (now the gallery). It lasted long enough for us to stop and think where we should go. The employees went in to the vault doorway. But that was on the otherside of the counter so we went to a side door and waited for it to stop. When it did, they called everyone out of the building and had everyone stand in the street.

After about 5 minutes, people went back in to the buildings but all the rides where shut down and inspected. It was about a hour and half before the first rides started coming back up. The really big rides never did open for the rest of that day. We ate lunch, shopped at DTD, then came back to the parks for the evening. We heard lots of people saying they were going to go to the City Hall and get their money back because the rides were closed. We decided that would be a silly waste of time. These things happen and we found other things to do for a few hours besides rides.

Based on that experience, we always had an earthquake plan after that. Our 14 year old boys were in a different shop on Main Street when it happened. We found them when we all came out to the street, but we thought we should always have a place to meet if another earthquake happened. Cell phones could be busy or down and we wanted to have a back up plan other than just calling.

 

[DaveNinja]

I was there during a distant magnitude 4.something about 2.5 years ago. I did not feel the quake (earthquake research is my job ) but it was big enough for them to empty the rides/queues. My wife and daughters had just got seated for Star Tours and had to leave with no fastpasses or anything. Most of the the rides were back up 5-10 minutes later. It was amazing how crowded the walkways are when all the rides are closed; and this was not a crowded day so i can image where everyone would fit on a crowded day.
From what I've heard, DL is build to withstand a higher degree of shaking than almost any other building.

 

[Girimama33]

Disneyland was open and operational the day of the Northridge Earth Quake? I was in Thousand Oaks at the time and all power was lost. We used our camping stove to cook. My sister lived in Northridge and their entire street camped out on their front lawns for a week because of the damage and threat of more quakes. Wow… Pretty impressive I guess that Disneyland could handle such a large scale trauma with apparent ease. Wow...

I lived 4 miles from DL during this quake, and while it did shake, rattle and roll for quite some time...there was no real damage in Anaheim like there was in LA County (my sis lived in Sherman Oaks and her house was trashed). At my house, nothing fell off the shelves.

 

[Huff]

I don't recall any major earthquake ever hitting in the Anaheim area. The Northridge quake was 35 miles to the north although it did cause the nearby baseball stadium sign to collapse onto the stands. Luckily no game was in progress so nobody present. Otherwise there wasn't any damage in the area. Other quakes have been minor in the area as well.

 

[luvgoing2disney]

On our first trip to DL, I was standing in line at the Refreshment Center when a small quake occured. Having never been in one before, I did not even think about an earthquake, but rather looked around and saw the horse drawn trolley going down Main Street, and I remember thinking, "Wow, that thing must be really heavy." Then of course as the tremors continued I realized what was happening. DUH!!!

As other posters stated, some rides were closed , then reopend later.