What to Do When a Disney Ride Breaks Down
When you visit Disney long enough, you’ll eventually run into an unavoidable problem.
At some point, your ride will stop working. And it’ll probably be one of the most memorable moments of your trip.
Seriously, you can tell all your friends what you were riding when it shut down and thereby freaked out everyone!
Fortunately, cast members have trained for such incidents. They can take care of you as long as you let them.
Here’s what to do when a Disney ride breaks down.
Why Rides Stop Working
Disney rides shut down for countless reasons. You can probably guess some of them, though.
For example, you’ve probably watched someone do something foolish like unbutton their safety harness, reach into the water of a water ride, or exit a ride cart.
There’s a viral video floating around of a drunk woman at EPCOT stumbling off a Living with the Land boat so that she can steal a cucumber. It’s outrageous.
Believe it or not, Imagineers anticipate this sort of ignorant behavior and design ride safety based on such outlandish possibilities.
Of course, some shutdowns occur automatically. Disney has added safety sensors to all its thrill rides to ensure that they remain under control at all times.
Should a safety sensor register something problematic, it’ll trigger a ride stoppage.
Even then, the ride won’t stop instantly. It’ll be more of a gradual slowdown in most instances to protect guests.
You may wonder why rides suffer such problems, and the answer is one any engineer could tell you.
Anything with moving parts sometimes tears up. When a larger structure includes many smaller structures, each containing moving parts, the odds of a breakdown increase.
I often mention the most extreme example, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.
It’s not coincidental that this attraction goes offline the most often of anything at Disney. This Star Wars ride is effectively several rides in one.
Since any of them can tear up, the odds of the entire attraction shutting down are higher than anything else at the parks.
What Can Happen When a Ride Breaks Down
This answer depends on the attraction you’re riding.
For example, one of the funniest glitches I ever saw happened at EPCOT’s Frozen Ever After.
This ride utilizes digital projection to animate the faces of the Audio-Animatronics…when it works correctly. Thankfully, that’s most of the time.
On this particular date, the projection wasn’t working, which triggered a shutdown…and led to a disturbing digital projection of Anna’s face that haunts my dreams.
In fact, most ride breakdowns come with a fair amount of entertainment.
We were on DINOSAUR once. Just when the ride’s dialogue shouted, “We’re not gonna make it!” the attraction stopped working. We did not make it.
That vacation proved especially memorable, as Disney had a bad week.
In 2016, we were meeting with both sides of our family at Disney, and EVERYTHING tore up.
We averaged more than two ride stoppages per day for 11 days. It got so bad that I contacted Disney’s customer service afterward to complain.
The cast member laughed and said, “Oh, we know! We’ve heard!” Sometimes, it happens. Like everything else, Disney can have a run of bad luck.
In many instances, all you’ll notice is that your ride stops.
The disembodied voice of a narrator will play, assuring you to remain calm and stay in your seat.
Some of these narrations are ride-specific, and it’s the only way you’ll hear the dialogue. So, that’s fun!
After a few moments filled with uncomfortable silence or uncontrollable giggling, the ride starts again.
On Omnimover attractions, you’re more likely to face a temporary stoppage. The system expects quick expediting of ride cart exits.
When someone stumbles or requires assistance, the ride must shut down temporarily.
In rare instances, the lights will come on, and you’ll know that the problem is serious.
What to Do When a Disney Ride Breaks Down
When that happens, please keep your wits about you. The situation is aggravating enough for cast members.
When you don’t follow the rules, you make their jobs that much harder.
For starters, listen to that voice! Remain calm, and don’t you dare leave your seat!
Should the need arise, a ride operator will inform you when and how to exit the ride cart. That rarely happens, though.
In most instances, Disney can safely restart the attraction and transport everyone to the exit.
While you wait, feel free to take out your phone and plan your itinerary, check your socials, or play a game. The breakdown has shattered the immersion anyway.
If the lights come on and a cast member speaks, please stay silent and listen carefully to the instructions. They are important.
Often, the ride operator will let you know how long they expect the shutdown to last. The delay is rarely more than five minutes.
In the most extreme examples, Disney will evacuate all guests from the attraction. When that happens, it’s an unforgettable experience.
You may not realize this fact, but attraction buildings house any number of exit doors. These aren’t ones you’ll see when the lights are off.
Disney has designed its attractions practically so that it can safely extract guests from broken rides.
The Excitement of a Ride Evacuation
Should you realize this is happening, well, it’s up to you. Many guests pull out their phones and start recording the events.
The “lights on” ride videos are readily available on YouTube, TikTok, and other outlets. Here’s a Space Mountain one:
I wouldn’t recommend it, and cast members may icily ask you to stop.
Still, watch the video and pay attention to all those exit signs. You’ve never seen those before, have you?
The only way you could answer yes is if you’ve been evacuated from Space Mountain.
In the ride video I linked, you’ll notice Disney operates each ride cart individually to return them to the exit station.
Also, in this clip, Space Mountain operates at or near its normal velocity. It doesn’t seem that face because this ride maxes out at 27-32 miles per hour.
You don’t notice because sensory deprivation intensifies the experience. It’s one of many examples of how a ride breakdown can break the illusion.
Here’s a video of a ride evacuation at Pirates of the Caribbean:
Notice those poor cast members in waders! You may think working here is glamorous.
Instead, the job duties include standing in gross water and safely escorting guests to the exits!
The end of this video mentions one other vital aspect of a breakdown.
Disney may offer you some make-goods as an apology for your experience!
Folks, I’m kind of a weirdo, but I quite enjoy when a Disney ride breaks down! It’s such a fun, memorable experience!
Photo: MickeyBlog
Thanks for visiting MickeyBlog.com! Want to go to Disney? For a FREE quote on your next Disney vacation, please fill out the form below, and one of the agents from MickeyTravels, a Diamond Level Authorized Disney Vacation Planner, will be in touch soon!
Feature Photo: Disney
