Quick, what’s the scariest thing that can happen on a theme park attraction? No, I’m not talking about getting seated next to someone who really needs to shower. And no, I’m not talking about serious injuries or the like. I’m referencing something that happens more often than you’d expect…or like. Sometimes, the one way off of a ride is the hard way. Here are the Disney rides that get evacuated the most.
10. Spaceship Earth
What causes a ride evacuation? Disney is passionate about safety to the point that any significant disruption can shut down an entire attraction. When ride carts are in inconvenient locations on the track, the only option is to walk or transport the guests off the attraction.
Sometimes, the explanation isn’t Disney’s fault, either. For example, a frequent cause of ride evacuations is – I kid you – people getting off of rides in the middle of the journey! Sensors are in place to signal when this happens, and an automatic shutdown gets triggered. In the case of an attraction like Spaceship Earth, cast members attempt to re-start your Time Machine aka ride cart before walking you off the ride.
9. Toy Story Mania!
Image: DisneySomething that will surprise you about this list is that some of Disney’s greatest thrill rides aren’t on this list. Conversely, some of the gentlest attractions at Walt Disney World tear up frequently and require evacuations. Part of the explanation is that evacuations are rare for most major attractions.
During a recent 24-month period, only seven attractions averaged more than one evacuation per month, an extremely impressive number. A takeaway from this fact is that entries #10-#8 on this list are much less susceptible than the top seven. Only three (or arguably four) entrants are incredibly vulnerable to ride shutdowns.
At Toy Story Mania!, the explanation is simple. People get into the game too much and sometimes grow reckless because they’re overly excited. Since these ride carts bounce around a lot, anyone dislodged from a cart is in peril. When sensors recognize an incorrect guest count in the ride vehicle or abnormal movement on the tracks, they shut down.
Restarts are relatively straightforward at Toy Story Mania!, and so that’s the outcome most of the time. Evacuations mainly occur when the track needs maintenance or security is required at the time.
8. Splash Mountain
The issue with Splash Mountain is the water. I’m not joking. Imagineers rely on sensors for many of their automated safety checks. As you’re about to see, water rides are a nightmare in this regard. Yes, Disney employs waterproof technology for its sensors, but the situation is more complicated than that. A splash of water can dislodge a sensor or cause an inaccurate reading.
On some rides, a restart is more complicated, but Splash Mountain doesn’t fall into that category. It’s relatively easy to reset. This attraction only required 21 evacuations in a 24-month period. The numbers will increase from here…and a couple of them will either blow your mind or terrify you or both.
7. Peter Pan’s Flight
Image: DisneyOne of the subtle causes of ride shutdown is beyond Disney’s control. Some guests take longer to depart their vehicles. In specific instances, an individual may trip and fall. It’s easy to do on rides that don’t slow down at the end. You’ll be expected to jump off while the vehicle is still in motion.
Some people aren’t that coordinated, and everyone stumbles from time to time. When this happens on a precisely timed ride, it throws every other part of the attraction into chaos. In some instances, it’s the equivalent of throwing a wrench into the gears of a large machine. It could easily cause an evacuation, especially if someone’s ride vehicle is located in a troublesome position when the shutdown occurs.
6. The Barnstormer
Image: DisneyDon’t laugh. When guests require evacuation from roller coasters, it’s not easy. There’s a reason why these rides have side paths and emergency ladders scattered along the tracks. The speed of the attraction isn’t relevant when you’re stuck in a high place, either. So, while The Barnstormer may be the equivalent of a bunny hill for hardy theme park tourists, it’s still no fun to get evacuated from here. The good news is that its top height is 30 feet, something you’ll appreciate if you ever have to climb down from here.
5. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Do you know what’s creepy? Imagine being stuck in a room full of Audio-Animatronics for an extended period. Their movements loop and their audio tracks do as well. So, you’ll see and hear the same things over and over again, a potentially disturbing experience. The most evacuated ride at the top of this list includes a beautiful song that would become a form of torture if you were forced to listen to it 15 times in a row.
On the Winnie the Pooh attraction, a couple of the sets feature intentionally creepy visuals. Even the ones that aren’t like the happy play times still come across as unsettling when you sit there and watch them long enough. Out of all the entries listed here, this one is most likely to cause nightmares long after the fact. Fortunately, it only requires evacuation a little over once per month. Everything else remaining on this list gets evacuated much more regularly.
4. Kali River Rapids
Out of the attractions listed here, this is the only one that I’ve ever watched get evacuated in person. I wasn’t on the ride at the time, just waiting in the FastPass queue when it happened. Due to its raft system and sprawling water track, Kali River Rapids is extremely difficult to evacuate.
When a raft gets stuck in the wrong place, cast members must ask the local fire department to save the guests. As part of the removal process, Disney sometimes has to drain water from the ride. You can imagine what that does to Kali River Rapids for the next few hours. Fortunately, this happens less than twice a month.
3. Space Mountain
Most of the evacuations listed here aren’t problematic. Space Mountain is different. Guests get stuck on the tracks an average of 2.7 times per month. Whenever you watch ride videos of Space Mountain with the lights on, odds are good that they came from a post-evacuation test run or walkthrough of the attraction. It’s not easy for cast members to free Space Mountain riders from certain parts of the track.
When the ride shuts down, a Disney employee will walk the track to see where guests are stuck. Sometimes, they’ll ask you to depart the attraction and walk to a nearby set of stairs or ladder. On other occasions, they’ll attempt to dislodge you in a way where you can coast your ride cart back to the station.
In some horrific instances, Disney even needs special equipment from the fire department to remove you, the same as Kali River Rapids. These two rides are the ones where you REALLY don’t want to get stuck and require evacuation.
2. Pirates of the Caribbean
Have you heard one of the stories about guests losing fingers on Pirates of the Caribbean? These stories aren’t apocryphal. They happen, and the reason why is that morons stick their fingers in the water on the ride. Usually, lacerations occur instead of actual ligament losses, which is…good, I guess?
From a safety perspective, the fingers in the water, the potential ligaments messing up sensors, and the redirected water current are all causes for a ride shutdown. In extreme cases, Disney has to retrieve guests, and that’s a messy affair for people on a boat.
You’ll see cast members walking toward you and pointing toward a walkway. They’ll ask you to depart row by row in order to minimize splashing and the possibility of people falling into the water. Then, you’ll walk out an emergency door that you didn’t even know was there. It’s the purest way of ruining the immersion of a Disney ride forever. And it happens three times a month on average.
1. Frozen Ever After
Hoo boy! Everyone’s favorite journey to Arendelle is a landmine. Frozen Ever After tears up a LOT. Even worse, when it does tear up, it’s challenging to reset without performing a full evacuation. Cast members frequently cut power to parts of the attraction, making it the rare ride whose Audio-Animatronics may shut off while you’re waiting. And if you’re in the Let It Snow portion of the attraction, you’ll be grateful for the respite from hearing that song on repeat while you wait.
The numbers on Frozen Ever After are absolutely terrifying. It required evacuation 113 times in 24 months. Friends, that’s 4.7 times per month or a little over once a week. Since its opening day debacle, the attraction has struggled to operate consistently. When it breaks down, the ride stays down for almost an hour on average.
The combination of guests sticking their hands in the water, jumping out of the ride, and the possible disruptions in the ride path explain the why of it. If you’ve always wanted to get evacuated from a Disney attraction, Frozen Ever After is far and away your best bet. Roughly 20 percent of all Walt Disney World ride evacuations come from this single attraction.
