Posted this info before a while ago:
I have been stranded on BTMRR (more later) and...
I have been stuck TWICE on ToT... in the same spot!
Its the room where the elevator travels between the first (set-up) shaft and the second (drop) shaft.
I will say that that room just looks like somebody's basement or workshop with the work lights up .
In ToT, the seat-belts (and formerly the lap-bars, which was the case when I was stuck the first time) will not release without a maintenance cast-member coming by with a laptop computer to connect-up and send the "release" command. I'm guessing they don't want guests just getting out and "roaming the building" unescorted during a shut-down. I'm HOPING under "fire-drill" conditions, the belts WILL release by themselves... don't want to "wait" for assistance then.
This is now the second time (different WDW trip, different year) I was stuck in the same area.
After the lights came on, I said "Oh-Oh, we're stuck!" but most of the others (newbies) on the ride refused to believe me as they thought it was just "part of the ride".
There is just a standard metal "office door" right next to the "mirrored" doors (with the fiber-optic effects) that you pass thru to get into the ride's drop-shaft. Within a couple of minutes a ToT-uniformed young female cast-member came thru that door to announce that "someone would come by and release us in just a few minutes." (By now, even the newbies had decided this was NOT just a "part of the ride".)
We had to sit and wait for about 10 minutes (!) and I jokingly asked the uniformed CM if she could tap-dance or sing for us to keep us entertained. (She actually DID a little time-step for a couple of seconds!!)
At last the maintenance operator showed up with his laptop, made a connection on the front of our elevator and hit some keys which freed our belts to be unbuckled. He said we were the last car he got to as a couple of the other cars where actually inside the drop-shaft(s).
Since the sliding door on the elevator vehicles is pretty far off the actual FLOOR... they had a small portable step that was placed for us to get down out of the car.
We all walked thru the metal door, and right there are stairs and that "standard" brightly-lit elevator (that doubles as the "chicken exit").
That elevator goes all the way up and down inside the tall TOT building.
I don't know what is UP, but a few floors DOWN is the "chicken exit" (some of the folks took THAT way out) but some of us decided to take the offer of another chance to ride AGAIN (as the system had, by now, been re-started.)
I'd say 2/3's of us went right back on and had a full "normal" TERRORIFIC ride this time!
As to our stroll out of BTMRR:
Our train stopped right in the center of (half-way up) the second chain-pull hill (found out the ride "blew" that big chain-drive motor.)
Those noisy "one-way safety ratchets" kept us from sliding backwards down the hill (they DO work!)
Of course, the other rolling trains had stopped in their respective safety positions so we were in no danger... we were just sitting there, tilted-back, in virtual silence (not the usual NOISE of that part of the ride.)
Then there came the PA/intercom chatter from the ride CM's as they tried, a few times, the re-start sequence (with the dead motor, of course, nothing actually MOVED.)
Within about 5 minutes, several cast-members appeared on-foot and proceeded to manually unlock the lap-bars and help all of us clumsily climb over the side of the cars and onto the little built-in escape stairway.
As we were led through a labyrinth of pathways, we got to see the "back-stage" areas (lots of stucco-type steel screening that is the framework for the "rock" facades) and lots of spare parts. I did notice a couple of MOTORS back there... so I figured they could get back UP before too long.
As we exited around the "Cave-with-Bats" area (normally the FIRST thing you see on the ride) we were offered an apology and FAST-PASSES good for anytime we wanted to come back, which we DID, later that evening. (Good ride THAT time.)
Lastly... in all cases where our party was "stuck"... a COUPLE of our group was WAITING for us outside (unaware of our "stuckness" ) So they could do nothing but sit and WONDER what had happened to us.
Ah, just part of another day at WDW!
aw:
