Best (and Worst) Attractions to Get Stuck On
It happens. You’re right in the middle of an attraction, and everything just grinds to a halt. Sometimes you’re down for a few seconds, sometimes it’s several minutes, and sometimes you actually have to be evacuated from the ride. I was talking with someone in line on a recent trip, and he relayed a story where he spent an hour at the crest of the big drop on Splash Mountain before eventually having to walk off of the attraction without experiencing its climax. To me, that seems like a pretty awful way to spend an afternoon, and it got me to thinking — what are the best and worst attractions at Walt Disney World to find yourself so stuck that you actually have to exit the ride using your feet? This article attempts to answer this pressing quandary that I suspect most of you had never bothered to contemplate before.
Here are the parameters of the challenge: you’ll be in the midst of the ride, and then at either the most or least optimal moment, the ride will stop moving, although the effects and show elements other than motion will continue to work. You’ll thereafter spend 30 minutes plus whatever time it take to get you rescued in that spot, and then you’ll either be ushered out by Cast Members, or extracted from the ride if necessary. Shows that you could just stand up and leave do not count (i.e., you cannot get “stuck” at Hall of Presidents). Also, you should assume that any momentum-based ride (e.g. roller coasters) is going to come to a natural resting place, such that you won’t be stuck upside down or in the middle of a steep hill.
So, without further ado, let’s go!
Magic Kingdom
While being stuck at the crest of Splash Mountain’s big drop would unquestionably be sub-optimal, for me, the absolute worst attraction to be stuck on would be the Astro Orbiter in the up position. When you’re on the Orbiter, there’s really nothing around that is as high as you are and no scaffolding to step out onto, so you’re sort of out there all alone, no shade or anything. I’m fairly certain Disney isn’t going to permit you to climb down the structure of the ride, so that means that they are going to have to get some serious equipment, possibly a crane, to get you out of there. You don’t usually see cranes rolling around Tomorrowland, which suggests to me that you could be up there for a while. The fact that I’m not a huge fan of heights transforms this into my own personal hell.
Honorable mention here must go to it’s a small world. I get that it is a classic, there is a ton to look at, and it’s air conditioned to make sitting there more bearable, but — you know — that song! My position on this attraction has softened some now that I’m the parent of a small child, but it is still the case that its 14 minute duration is already about 5 minutes longer than I care to hear that little ditty. Add another 30+ minutes to what is already more small world than I’m comfortable with, and I’d probably end up in the fetal position sobbing just to drown out the sound of the song.
The best? The one upside of getting evacuated from a ride is that you get a backstage, behind the scenes look at your favorite attractions, and who among us hasn’t wondered what Space Mountain looks like with the lights on? I don’t have a particular spot in mind for the car to stop, but there are certainly some spots that are going to be easier to extract yourself from than others, like a spot where there is a platform and ladder right next to you where you can just exit by your own volition. I’d like to be stopped at one of those spots, thank you very much.
Hollywood Studios
The best attraction to get stuck on at Hollywood Studios is a pretty easy one for me, because it’s happened before: Toy Story Midway Mania. When the ride stops moving, the targets all change to “zero” value targets, but you can still sit there and play as long as you like. It’s a great way to get some practice, delve into the various things that will trigger special effects, and by any standard, it beats sitting there doing nothing. Moreover, it’s air conditioned, and if you get extra warm, just shoot a ring at one of those rockets that shoots a gust of wind at your face. It’s very refreshing! Also, when it is ultimately time to leave, you are basically just walking out on level terrain. Could be much worse.
The worst? With so many shows and a limited number of actual “rides,” Hollywood Studios doesn’t provide too many options. I’m going with Star Tours, because once the attraction starts, the ride vehicle becomes unmoored from any easy means of egress, and with the constant pitching, yawing and twisting, your final resting position could end up being completely cattywampus. It’s easy to imagine that your evacuation/extraction would be awkward, to put it mildly. Also, I’m sure C-3PO would fill the down time regaling you with the slim chances of you making it through the ordeal alive — or at least that’s how I picture it in my head. Not fun.
Animal Kingdom
Animal Kingdom’s Kilimanjaro Safari has the unique distinction of being both the best and worst ride to get stuck on, depending upon where and when it happens. The scenery and surroundings are gorgeous, your ride vehicle is covered so you’ve got some shade, and you’re looking at a dynamic environment as opposed to just a static scene that is going to cycle through the same motions every few seconds. There’s really nowhere else at Animal Kingdom — or at Walt Disney World in general, for that matter — that provides that kind of potential for an ever-changing view.
With that said, that dynamic environment combined with the presence of wild animals could be a problem. Sure, those hippos and crocodiles (or are they gators? I always get them confused. I digress…) are safely out of reach, but the very first time I experienced the Safari, a baby rhino walked literally a few yards from our vehicle as we rolled by. While that was incredible with a working truck, it probably would have been a less than ideal place to get stuck, particularly if one of his 3/4 ton buddies decided to come over to make sure everything was cool. I’m sure Disney has taken steps to ensure that we wouldn’t be in any actual danger, but it would still be a bit unnerving.
Epcot
Epcot is tricky, because there isn’t an enormous list of attractions that fit the criteria to choose from. For me, if I have to get stuck and then escorted off the ride, I think I’d go with Living With The Land. How many times have you been riding it and thought to yourself, “Hey, I could just step right off of this boat and look around?” I mean, the edge is RIGHT THERE, and I wouldn’t even have to get wet, plus, there’s some great looking fresh produce. This would give me an opportunity to live out this dream, and if you’re going to get stuck on a ride, the least Disney can do is let you have some jackfruit, right?
Honorable mention goes to Spaceship Earth. There is an enormous level of detail in the various scenes, and I feel like I always notice something I haven’t seen before every time I experience it. It would certainly be interesting to see behind the scenes here.
The worst? For me, it would be Ellen’s Energy Adventure. It doesn’t really have anything to do with the experience of being stuck on it, though — unless I need a nap or have someone in my party that really loves dinosaurs, I’ve already made a mistake by getting on it in the first place. Spending an extra half-hour in there is only going to exacerbate the agony. Sweet fancy Moses, could we please get a refresh of this attraction? A lot has happened in the last TWO DECADES in the energy arena, and it’s starting to feel a bit dated.
So, those are my choices, but I’m curious what all of you think! What would be your most and least preferred places to get stuck? Which attractions would you like to see behind the scenes? Let us know in the comments!
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Our worst “stuck” experience happened on the monorail. We had busted our butts to get to the park at rope drop, and while we usually take the ferry, had seen the monorail line was low and the ferry had just departed, so we decided to take that route. After we had stroller loaded and were seated, a cast member popped his head in and said there would be a “couple minute” delay on this ride so they could add another track. We hesitated but since we were already all on there and loaded up, figured a few minutes wouldn’t hurt anything. We started riding, and the monorail came to a stop right before the exit to the Magic Kingdom. We then proceeded to sit there, unmoving, for the next 45 minutes! We watched the welcome train pull up, and could actually see all the characters just sitting there waiting for the train to come into the actual station where they would be seen. We then watched them all stand up as the Disney train went into the station. Our monorail started moving about five minutes after the opening ceremony was finished, and quite disappointed us! Fortunately, after stopping by guest services to explain what happened, we were issued a “golden” fastpass that allowed us to get on any attraction of our choice. It was quite frustrating though- we definitely choose the ferry a lot more often now!
While we didn’t get “stuck” per say, back in 2003 I was on a trip with lots of extended family to DL Anaheim when we (foolishly looking back on it) all went on Small World in one boat. We asked the CM if it was ok and they packed us all in.
About the time we entered the first room, we start hearing this grinding noise coming from under the boat and we could feel the grinding through our feet. We were bottoming the boat! Boat slowly grinds to a halt and then BUMP! we get smacked by the boat behind us which dislodges us and we float a little ways before we bottom out and stop again.
Repeat this process for 20-25 minutes… grind to stop… another boat piles into the ever growing line of boats all stuck behind ours… float a little ways down the channel… repeat ad nauseam.
By the time we reached the exit of the show building, we had cast members leaning into the tunnel looking for where all the boats had gone… all of us absolutely DYING in hysterics.
As for “das Lied” (THE song) I think people make a bigger deal out of the song being irritating than they really truly believe. It has always been popular and fashionable to find the iasw theme to be irritatingly sappy. It’s one of the best songs by the brothers Sherman… Disney music legends beyond all others. I will never be ashamed of loving the tune and lyrics… no matter if it’s the “in” thing to do or not. I could have sat through an hour more of it and never batted an eye.
On the other hand, two years earlier we “got stuck” watching the “Christmas Fantasy” parade. I know… we could have walked away at any time… but here’s what happened…
It rained that day… one of those SoCal torrential deluges that make you start thinking about building that Arc you’ve been meaning to get to. Anyway, that night is got cold… like near freezing cold with 40° temperatures and a 10° wind chill with everything wet… COLD! But we were determined to stay and watch the parade… us and bout 200 other people. Main Street was almost EMPTY in the middle of a parade… because it was COLD.
So about when Goofy’s float gets to us (that year it was Goofy’s Kitchen cooking gingerbread) the floats stop. The performers keep going… the song keeps playing… but nothing is moving. 30 minutes later, we’ve seen the entire Goofy’s Kitchen routine about 10 times and the Christmas Fantasy song is now permanently burned into our brains. (and unlike iasw, it’s NOT timeless) Turns out one of the floats shorted out due to the wet ground and they had to get a little tow cart out, hook it up, and tow the float the rest of the way down the parade route.
So why did we stay? Pity. We sat there and watched those poor CMs still dancing, smiling and doing their utmost to entertain the dozen or so people that didn’t walk away… in near freezing temperatures… some wearing nothing but a skimpy snowflake costume and tights. We endured it for them.
A few years ago, My friend and I got stuck at the biggest dropping point in Splash Mountain at Disney World. For 45 minutes! How you asked? We were in the lead boat (second row to be exact) and the guy sitting in front of us jumped out not once … but twice as the boat began its descent! A grown made (mid-20s). Not only alerted security, but he also set every alarm off and tripped the auto-shutoff feature within the ride. Disney team members had to calm him down because he refused to get off the ride … and those crow characters overhead continued to squawk and chat throughout this whole ordeal. After about 25 minutes, the ride started up again and the guy jumped out again! This time, he was physically restrained and forcibly removed from the ride. Since all of us were pretty pissed about this ordeal, we all were allowed to go on the ride again without any wait time. Weird story … but at least it had a somewhat happy ending.
My sister and I were stuck on Tower once for about 30 minutes. The lights came up and the the car started moving forward. We all assumed we were being taken to an exit but they ended up doing the whole ride, 3 drops included with the lights on. It was so weird and freaked all of us out. It’s hard to notice because it’s so dim usually but there are some really creepy props as you come to the end of the ride. A ventriloquist’s dummy was RIGHT THERE which we all screamed at and then when the doors finally opened there was a very tall and large cast member right as the doors open saying “who wants fastpasses???” We all screamed at that too. It was a big bonding experience lol!
That is hilarious… quite an experience!
That’s an expert answer to an inreiesttng question
Two weeks ago we were on Alice in Wonderland at Disneyland. Just about 100 feet from the part where you briefly go outside , the ride came to a dead stop. Within 30 seconds all the lights came up and the outside door was opened. I really appreciated that! As long as I could see outside I felt okay. They walked us off through the maintenance shop. It was very cool to see all the tools and spare parts. Nobody said anything about no cameras so I turned mine on, but didn’t hold it up to look through it. So my video was a bit blurry.
We were asked by a cast member if he could join our family on the Maelstrom ride. We thought that was pretty cool. Then the ride stopped for about 20 minutes at the backwards part right before the drop. They had to bring out a board to use to get us from the boat to the side. Then we were escorted out backstage. My husband is convinced the whole thing was an evacuation training exercise. We did get a fastpass and a picture with our new Norway friend.
Based on your issue with heights, I figured Soaring would be your worst stuck experience at Epcot.
A fair point, but have you been on Ellen’s Energy Adventure? 😉
I was stuck on Toy Story Mania at Disneyland. It was awful. I was so close to the end of the ride, but didnt get to see my final score. We had to be escorted off the ride. One by one they had to rotate the car and have each person step down, and join a line. This line had to walk the entire length of the attraction and all leave together. The whole attraction staff was there, but they wouldn’t let people split up. I had to wait 80 minutes until they got to my car (last one closest to the end of the ride) and we walked back through the attraction all together to leave through the front of the attraction. No fastpasses or anything given to us (I don’t want to sound entitled, but that was a long time). I went to the Chamber of Commerce to complain and to compliment the cast member who was doing the unloading, and they did give me a fastpass. That CM tried his best to be jolly and let people know what was going on. The rest of the team stood around and yelled at guests to stay in line. I don’t know how slippery that floor is; the only reason they should be that careful if it was dangerous to be out there.
I must say, that the article and the comments are making me nervous. I’m afraid of higths and don’t like to ride ToT. If I would get stuck there and have to be evacuated, not sure what I would do. On top of that, I read the Kingdom Keeper books and I’m a chicken. Do I have to say more? If we would get stuck on IASW I would totally expect the dolls to come after me ;-(
Don’t be worried. We’ve been to Disney World several times and have not been stuck long enough anywhere (never more than 15 minutes, I don’t think) to be escorted off. And if you are – well, just think of the great stories you’ll have to tell your friends when you return! If you get one thing out of this thread, it’s that all of these people have fun stories to share! Yes, it may not have been fun to go through it, but they did get through it! 🙂
Yeah, not worth worrying about. A ride getting so stuck that you have to be evacuated is very, very rare.
My friends and I got stuck on Test Track, outside, at a 35 degree angle – for 90 minutes. It was late at night, so at least we got a great view of Illuminations? Reedy Creek had to rescue us since we had a handicap rider in the car. It was uncomfortable, and chilly since it was late January! Quite the experience though.
https://twitter.com/rubywizard24/status/560996058713817088
Many years ago, while on splash mountain at DL, the ride stopped right below the buzzing beehives. It’s my favorite ride so I didn’t mind a bit! I always recall that time, when I see those buzzing bees.
Last March however….finally got my husband to go to WDW for our anniversary. The crowds for fireworks were unbearable. We decided on our last night to ride the People Mover and see the fireworks from there. It suddenly stopped, just around a corner from the view of the castle. We sat through all of the fireworks, and could hear them but couldn’t see anything. Took about 30 minutes to finally get evacuated, and they led us through some very boring back areas. We were given a fastpass for another ride, but sadly did not see any fireworks.
Recently my husband and I decided to take a restful ride on The People Mover and then watch Wishes. We were enjoying our ride when it stopped. We were stuck just across from the Stich show but that track is at the second level. We waited aprox. an hour with the recording advising us that we should remain seated as the ride could resume at any time playing over and over on a loop. It was enough to make you want to jump! Finally we were advised that we would be escorted off by cast members. We could see cars on sections of track below us being evacuated but nobody ever came to our car. After another hour the fellas in the section of our car just in front of us started yelling they had waited long enough and to come get us. Wishes had been going on the whole time and while you could hear it the sign on the Stich building effectively blocked everything…uggggg. Finally after about two hours and a half the cast members came and got us….every other car we could see had been evacuated an hour previous to us. When we got to the exit it was completely empty. They had forgotten our car! We were handed a FastPass+ for our trouble but it excluded everything good, Mine Train, Haunted Masion, ect…but the worst thing was the park was closed by the time we got off and you know that some of the guests were on their last night and not only missed Wishes but would never be able to use the FastPass. Really, really lame Disney. Very disappointing!
You should probably have gone to guest services to challenge the sufficiency of that fastpass! After such a horrible experience, I definitely think they should have awarded you with much more than one limited fastpass!
I’ve gotten stuck on TSMM at DCA, and while it was fun to continue shooting at the targets (even though no points were being scored), we ended up having to walk-off and never got our final scores! It was pretty cool to see the behind the scenes portion of the ride though!
“With that said, that dynamic environment combined with the presence of wild animals could be a problem. … but the very first time I experienced the Safari, a baby rhino walked literally a few yards from our vehicle as we rolled by. While that was incredible with a working truck, it probably would have been a less than ideal place to get stuck…”
It’s possible I was misinformed while on a real safari in Africa, but we were told that when you’re in a vehicle, the animals in the park only see a vehicle. Not the people in it. They know the vehicle is not food, so they won’t attack it. I tend to believe this explanation, since you don’t hear of people being eaten by lions or vehicles being head-butted by rhinos all the time while on safari.
This makes good sense to me. The seating areas are quite elevated, too, and I doubt that’s an accident.
Fun article! My best “stuck” experiences happened on Tower of Terror. Once we were stuck at the end — our car did not rotate properly into position and we ended looking at several maintenance workers in the backstage shop. Another time were were stuck in the room at the top with the shiny floors and floating objects. Had to walk on the shiny floors to get to a stairwell to exit. Very cool! My worst was stuck on Dinosaur in the dark — I knew as soon as the ride restarted a huge dinosaur was going to scare the pants off me. Although I’m glad the lights didn’t come up that time — it would have ruined the magic for me.
Tower would be a great one as well. In fact, the Studios have several good ones — Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster would be cool to see with the lights on, too…
Not exactly stuck, but last summer, one evening we were taking the ferry from the Wilderness Lodge to the Magic Kingdom and the ferry had to stop and wait while the Electrical Water Pageant passed. My wife, daughter and I were the only three passengers on the boat at the time and we got to see the entire show from the distance of about 30 feet away.
A few hours later we got to see the inside of Space Mountain with the lights on while riding the People Mover. We liked it so much we stayed on the People Mover for a second go around. To top it off, Space Mountain reopened just as we got off the People Mover and we were able to hop right on Space Mountain with no wait.
Got stuck in the very last room of Mr. Toad – you know, the one with the guy with the pointy tail and the pitchfork? guess what – it gets *hot* in that room when you’re there for more than ten seconds.
Irony number 1 – the car was about 8 feet from the exit, and it would have been very easy to just walk out. But noooo!
Irony number 2 – this seemed somewhat symbolic, as it happened the night before a presidential election when it was pretty clear my guy was not going to win. Where am I? I’m stuck in hell. (No, I’m not telling you who or when – I’ll just say it was “not recent”.)
yikes! I once got stuck on Pirates less than a boat length from being fully docked at the spot where you disembark. We were close enough that the people in the front of the boat could have gotten out as normal, just using the spots where the people in the rear of the boat were supposed to exit. We all had to sit there anyway. It was awful. That said, at least I wasn’t slowly roasting as you were on Toad’s…
On my first and only time on Splash Mountain we got stuck several times for a few minutes each time. I was already anxious and that just made it so much worse.
After a 45 minute halt on It’s a Small World the song is still one I can’t stomach almost 30 years later
We got stuck on splash mountain right before the drop into the dark tunnel. They had to turn the lights on so when we finally got going again we did the drop with the lights on which really ruined it and made it way less exciting seeing how far you’re dropping while looking at concrete walls. But at least we got to finish the ride!
We got stuck at the Primeval Whirl, I wanted them to get us out of the ride, but I think it must have been safer to keep us there. We “sat” for 30mins.
Outside loop of Test track for 30 minutes in August
We were also stuck outside of Test Track in August for 30 minutes. We were literally 5 feet away from the entry tunnel but had to take to using our maps to try to provide some shade in the 90+ degree heat.
At Ca. Adv. Park my two older kids and husband got stuck and had to evacuate from the very top of Goofy’s Sky School coaster. They were the last car to be helped out and escorted onto the very skinny walkways and stairwells down. They were the happiest kids ever…said it was on their bucket list to get stuck on the top of a coaster and have to climb down. So glad I was eating a corn dog with my 5 yr old. They were given 10 fastpasses for ANY ride. Toy Story Mania here we come! That ride is great when it stops and you get extra target practice, which the one in Ca. seems to do all the time. Thanks for a fun blog topic.
Not unlike TSMM, we were stuck on Buzz Lightyear’s Ranger Spin. The spinning part determines the value of when and where to get stuck on this ride. If, like my wife, you are stuck in a position facing a high point value target like Zurg – BINGO! The cars wouldn’t spin, but we were able to keep shooting within the range of motion of the guns and points kept adding up. She was lucky enough to be able to sit for a few minutes and rack up the max 999,999 points. The rest of us set our personal best, but not nearly that high. That’s my vote for best. I have to agree that it’s a small world would force me into tears in the fetal position after extended minutes, also. FUN READ!! THANKS!!
We got briefly stuck on Buzz Lightyear last trip and I managed to hit 3 100,000 point targets. My daughter was very jealous, her blaster wouldn’t quite aim at that target. The worst I’ve seen was a coaster at another park where the cars are pulled backwards to the top before being released. I watched from the ground as it was pulled up and then stuck at the start for about an hour!
We got stuck in front of Zurg, too, for about 15 minutes. My husband quickly maxed out his points. My daughter and I – not nearly the videogame pros that my husband is – still got a score that was much higher than normal. That was great fun! On the flip side, being stopped in front of the burning Greece on Spaceship Earth is the worst place to get stuck. Luckily, that was only for about 10 minutes, probably to allow someone with mobility issues onto the ride. I imagine that if it’s any longer than that, the smoke goes away.
I got stuck there on our last trip- only time I came CLOSE to beating my husband… he still pulled through right at the end!
We’ve been stuck on the People Mover, Small World (in the ‘white room’) and Spaceship Earth. My husband would say Small World was the worst, but on Spaceship Earth we were stuck about halfway down the backside. On the one hand it was kinda comfy to be leaning back, on the other hand we were just sitting there looking at…..nothing. Not terrible, but not entertaining, either.
We loved getting stuck in the Haunted Mansion. Loved getting stuck in Splash Mountain too. The poor little ducks beaks we moving but no music was coming out…
Worst has to be PotC – has happened to me more than once (one time for 45 minutes without evac). We were stuck at the burning scene, and while they turned off the music after a while, you could still hear the hydraulics of the AAs clicking and whirring…kinda freaky.
Fun topic – thanks for posting!
As someone who’s gotten stuck on Spaceship Earth for upwards of 20 minutes right in front of the speaker that informs you to “please remain seated as your time machine is rotating,” I’m gonna have to disagree with you on that one 😉
Touché!
I’ve been stuck at the worst possible locations in two of the best rides to get stuck on. Haunted Mansion, right as we started to “fall down” from the attic, tilted backwards for 10 minutes. Spaceship Earth, halfway around the peak, just staring at the projection of earth from space.
I’ve gotten stuck on Tower of Terror just when it goes in the elevator shaft ready to drop!! We were escorted out with lights on which was pretty neat 🙂
Got stuck in HM once, right in the scene where the ghost says “you’ll never get out alive.” After 30 minutes, we started to believe him.
That’s pretty hilarious 🙂
After our trip to Disneyland in September, we got evacuated from both Roger Rabbits Car Toon Spin and Mr Toad’s Wild Ride (on the same day)… both took place pretty quickly though so I wouldn’t say we were “stuck” The ride stopped moving, the lights came on, and the cast members had us out within 5 minutes. As for Small World, we got stuck once but if the whole ride truly goes down, they lower the music volume to almost inaudible. Although, I’m not sure if listening to the clicks of the moving doll parts was any better.
My husband, 5 year old son, and I were stuck on Haunted Mansion for about 20 minutes. My son was frightened and barely holding it together during the ride and then once we got stuck he became an absolute mess. What a horrible experience for us. When we got off the ride, we had to go back to the hotel to let him calm down. It’s 7 years later now, but if anyone asks about Disney, the first thing he tells them about is the horrible Haunted Mansion ride. I’m sure I’ll never get him back on it.
Same thing happened to us, with already anxious children the ride stopping just makes it worst.
On one occasion, my wife and I got stuck on Haunted Mansion – we were just relieved it hadn’t happened on our previous ride on it, when we had our
7-year-old son riding with us and so terrified he wouldn’t open his eyes! So when we rode again, we had him instead ride the Liberty Belle. In hindsight, our biggest mistake that first time was not getting him to keep eyes open, as I’m sure he was imagining much scarier things than he would have actually seen). He loved pretty much all the physical thrill rides (roller coasters, Astro Orbiter, etc.) – the HM was the one ride that freaked him out. Turns out it was the Stretching Room, in particular, that had completely spooked him.
Couple of years later we persuaded him to try it again, but only by taking advantage of the lesser-known option of skipping the Stretching Room experience (where by asking a cast member, you can simply pass right thru the room, through a door, go down a short hallway, through another door, briefly outdoors, then through another door to find yourself back inside and right at the Doom Buggy loading area). Still had to cajole him into opening his eyes, but when he did, he decided he really liked it. I think he’d have been fine if we’d known to skip the stretching room that first time.
Great topic! We got stuck on the Haunted Mansion with our 5-year old twins. As if they weren’t already anxious about the whole Haunted Mansion experience (but troopers nonetheless), getting stuck in there only made it worse. Plus, we got stuck in the room with the floating crystal ball and had to hear that darn spell over and over again. Getting stuck in the ballroom would have been nice, and we could’ve kept the kids busy looking at all the details. Fortunately, the ride continued after about five minutes or so. Having to walk out of there would not have been cool for our little ones.
We had a 5 minute pause at the very end of Finding Nemo, where Peach (the starfish) complains about everyone singing. Fortunately, that character had a pretty long loop of comments.
We got stuck facing that scary lightbulb fish in Nemo- my three year old was none too pleased! Fortunately it was only for a couple minutes.
Sum of all thrills, stuck almost completely upside down for 30 minutes. Aside from the head rush, the really annoying thing was the hoods went dark and it just kept saying over and over again without pause “Please watch your children” in English and then in Spanish.
Hilariously, one year later, we were back on the ride and we used the same design card, it locked up as soon as it left the platform, another 30 while we were waiting for maintenance. I still had the fast pass paper slip in my pack from the previous year’s incident.
That sounds absolutely brutal, I’m glad you can see the humor in it. I might need to reevaluate my Ellen pick at Epcot, this sounds way worse!
I’ve never been to Disney world yet, but my sister got stuck on a get suspended on a roller coaster at sea world once because of rain. Then had to ride said coaster in slow motion to get off. Then we couldn’t find her and she spent the next 3 hours looking for us (while we looked for her we checked out the attractions). This was before cell phones and she was pissed when she found us.
Our first ever ride on People Mover, the lights were on in Space Mountain. It was really neat but I was too much of newbie to realize and appreciate that we were having a relatively rare experience!
On that same trip, it was my first ride on Seven Dwarfs (and my first experience with a roller coaster as well). We got stuck, in the first car, *right* at the peak of the first lift hill for about five minutes. That five minutes seemed like forever as I sat there trying to keep a tight grip on my courage and listening to the dwarfs sing “Hi-Hooooooo”.
Last October, it was HOT and we got stuck on Haunted Mansion (all too briefly!) right at the hallway where the super cold air blows on you. Best stuck-moment ever!
p.s. Great article idea!
Thanks! I hear you re the cold air. I got stuck very briefly on Indiana Jones at Disneyland just a few days ago at a similar spot where there was a rush of cold air. It was hot out, so it felt great!
I would love to be stuck in the Wizard of Oz scene of the Great Movie Ride in Hollywood Studios the hope that we would have to get out of the cars and I could quickly get some lovely photos of my family with that gorgeous background. I really love that scene.
Agreed! I remember Jim Hill talking about the popularity of that particular room for weddings and other private events, too.
I think everyone has been stuck, if only for a short time, in The Haunted Mansion. For some reason, that ride has always had “hiccups.” On the one hand, it’s a bummer, since interrupting the flow takes away from the experience. On the other, it’s a good opportunity to really look around and see details you might otherwise miss.
Mansion does tend to stop quite a bit, probably happens at least once every 3 rides or so for me. I had always assumed that it was to help people on and off since it’s an omnimover, but that’s speculation on my part. I rarely mind the stops, though, because they tend to be brief and it gives you a chance to take in the details…
The CM when we did Keys to the Kingdom tour said that’s what it is, when any omnimover ride stops momentarily like that, almost all the time it is to let someone on or off, they rarely have to stop for any mechanical reasons.
It stops to load and unload wheelchairs and people who have trouble walking. During the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay at Disneyland I always HOPE for lots of wheelchairs! There is never enough time to see all the cool details, especially in the banquet hall!!
I was once stopped on Pirates for over an hour, the music was left on for the first half hour, then when it was turned off my husband started singing a pirates life for me and got the whole boat to join in 🙂 We got walked out around the back of the ride and got a fastpass for our trouble.
Thanks for the comment, Liz! See the exchange above. How did they evacuate everyone without people getting wet (if, in fact, they were able to avoid that)?
My daughter and I were stuck on POTC this past January in the wench-auction chamber. After a good 20 minutes, they turned up the lights and turned off the sound track. Another 20 minutes and we saw CM’s in waders coming through the water to push the boats to the side where we could safely climb out. Then through the back stage area where CM’s could take a break. Fascinating to see some of the scenes from VERY close up, and almost as interesting to see the break room tucked just behind the facade of the ride. We did get a fast pass for our efforts.
Five years ago my son and I were stuck on the old Test Track on Christmas Day for at least half an hour. The lights came up enough to be able to overlook the entire interior of that huge building. To pass the time, our entire car ended up singing Christmas carols as we waited for rescue. I’m not sure if it was because of our singing or as a punishment for it, but we were the VERY last car evacuated through the bowels of that ride. Once again we got to see some behind the scenes views of CM retreats.
Also… many years ago, my entire family was stuck on Splash Mountain for about 10-15 minutes just at the top of the final incline before the big splash. It was late in the day and the sun was blinding and hot. Not fun.
Had the exact same experience in the same spot. Jack Sparrow peering from behind the “wenches.” We were carefully evacuated by CMs in waders, they pushed the boats to the edge and helped everyone out. I felt it was a LONG walk around the back of the building, with a CM at the front and back of the line (and a few along the walk), but definitely interesting. Once they turned on the lights, there were recorded reminders that photography was not allowed and when a real person announced the evacuation she said no photos until we were back in the main park.
The craziest part of the whole thing? We had not yet seen our pirate room at Caribbean Beach, we went straight to the park upon checking in. POTC was our last attraction of our first afternoon. We get into our room and what is on the wall to greet us? A framed painting of the exact scene where we had gotten stuck!
We got stuck in the Pirates of the Caribbean … there were a lot of “Yo Ho Yo Ho” to listen to. I supposed if you had to exit that ride or Small World, you’d have to wade through the water?
I’ve wondered that myself. I feel like there are several spots in Pirates where you’re close enough to the side to step out into the scene, so if you’re stuck there, you’d stay dry. During the sea battle scene, though? I guess you could wait for the boats to back up and then move boat to boat until you find a dry area to hop out? Unless there was a true emergency situation, though, I can’t see Disney allowing people to crawl from boat to boat — and if there was a true emergency, staying dry would be pretty low on the list of priorities. Anyone ever evacuated from Pirates?
When I was a teenager, my dad and I rode Tower of Terror at Hollywood Studios and the ride broke down. They evacuated us through the behind the scenes area. My dad is an engineer so he was fascinated by seeing how the ride works. The cast member leading the group had to tell him to come on since he was falling behind trying to look at everything!
I think that would be pretty cool as well!
My husband and I also got stuck on Tower of Terror and we had to take an elevator off. Very strange to take a working elevator there
Just think if that elevator had gotten stuck! Really might have got you thinking about the possibilities… 🙂
I didn’t really get stuck, but my cell phone dropped out on ToT during my honeymoon in Disney, and when we went back to retrieve it (with our just married mickey ears) the cast member offered my husband and I our very own ride in a car by ourselves! We got to go through a back hallway and they let us in a car, where we were able to experience the attraction just the two of us. We also got to see a lot of the behind the scenes stuff- it was quite fascinating, and most definitely a memory we will never forget!
It wasn’t a ride exactly, but we went on the Pirates and Pals Fireworks Cruise the evening before our kids’ first visit to MK. The kids loved the snacks, the photo opp, the captain. The scene from the boat was great. Then the music started and we saw that first burst of light. For a split second, everything was great, fantastic, wonderful. Then we started hearing the explosions from the fireworks and my pre-K son turned into a frightened, quivering lump who huddled on my lap while I tried to cover his ears. And we were stuck there for the entire show.
Sadly, we had something of a repeat on our last day in the parks — MK again. We lost track of time trying to squeeze one last ride on this and that, and then stumbled upon Cinderella’s castle all lit up. We walked to the edge of the moat to admire it… queue the start of Wishes.
I got stuck on Indianna Jones at Disneyland once, just at the top the hill as the ball comes at you. Not scary but ruined the effect. Was walked off after 15 mins but did get a pass to ride later without queuing, very useful as it was 3rd July 1995, very busy!!
I actually had this exact same thing happen. Indy was hanging more or less directly overhead, and that ball just sat there spinning towards us but not getting any closer. We eventually got moving, though, so they gave us an immediate re-ride rather than a FP.
It took them more than an hour to fix the ride on my visit and after keeping us waiting in the exit area for about 20mins, they gave us the tickets. As this was before fast pass the ticket allowed us to reboots through the exit with no wait. I loved the ride though and have risen it many times since with no problem.
I once got stuck on Finding nemo for nearly 30 minutes. The music nearly drove me crazy!
I also go stuck on Finding Nemo for a while…in the room with the East Australian Current…the bubbles that spiral around the tunnel. I’m not one to get motion sickness, but this one had me feeling green!!
We were stopped for a while on Thunder Mountain once at the top of a hill during Wishes with a perfect view of it. At Disneyland I was stuck on Space Mountain with the lights on for about 20 minutes. The cool thing was the CMs had to push the vehicles through the breakpoints and we just glided until the end of the ride.
I agree on SSE, it always stops a lot for letting people get on an off, so I love looking around at all the detail when it does. Bonus if you’re at the part where you smell the burning books.
I had not even considered the idea of getting stuck during Wishes! You win, getting stuck on BTM with a view of Wishes might be the best place to get stuck in MK!
What a fun post! I saw the guts of Space Mountain one time when the ride was down (lights were on), the PeopleMover still goes thru the Mountain so you get to see what it looks like. The coaster itself is a tangle of steel and the walls of the Mountain are that brown/black sound absorbing foam. Very industrial looking.
I think the worst ride to get stuck on would be Thunder Mountain in the bat cave – it is so loud that I’m sure I’d be deaf in 5 minutes.
Getting stuck on the Kilimanjaro Safari when an animal decided to saunter in front of the truck and inspect the bumper for 15 minutes – with a preschooler who declared 5 minutes into the ride that she had to pee – was the most nerve-wracking experience I’ve had at Disney World.
My family was stuck on Dinosaur once, right at the end when the TRex comes out and roars at you. There were some little kids behind us crying, but the adults all thought it was great. CMs had to bring in step ladders for us to climb down out of the vehicles and then we walked out. I would have liked to have been in the middle of the ride to see what those dinosaurs looked like with all of the lights on.