Guests Rushed Away as Disneyland Ride Suffers Serious Failure

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was evacuated and powered off at Disneyland Park on June 17 due to an unknown emergency.

While getting evacuated from an attraction at Disneyland or Disney California Adventure is a dream for many Disney Parks fans, it can be unsettling not to know the reason why. Reddit user u/Mundane-Ad5218 recently shared their experience on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, hoping to discover what incident caused the complete shutdown.

“The ride stopped right towards the end, right before you go around the loop and can get off,” the Guest recalled. “They made everyone waiting in line to get on leave and we were stuck there for a while, they brought us umbrellas and water and then, after a while, finally we were able to climb off and follow a staff member off the tracks.”

It wasn’t your typical Disney ride breakdown.

“The coaster had been completely shut off, water, sounds, everything,” they continued. “It was a few hours later when I watched them finally open it back up…I thought someone may have just vomited but they took a while (several hours) to get the ride started again.”

While no one knows for sure what caused the downtime, one Disney Parks fan had a theory.

“I think that is where the final break run is,” u/ChaosTheoryGirl said. “However, that break run is on an uphill section so they have to manually (with a pulley system) pull the train back to the station. It takes a lot of time to do that. I was not there so I don’t know for sure but that is my guess as to what happened.”

This isn’t the ride’s only recent controversy. Days ago, a woman was arrested after climbing over a fence and hiding in the bushes near Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in an attempt to sneak into Disneyland Resort.

Despite recent incidents, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is operating normally at the time of this article’s publication.

More on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is a classic Disney rollercoaster located in Frontierland at Disneyland Park (Disneyland Resort) and Magic Kingdom Park (Walt Disney World Resort). “Streak through a haunted gold mine aboard a speeding train on this thrilling coaster-style ride,” the official ride description reads.

“Legend has it that after gold was discovered in the 1850s, eerie incidents took place in the mine. Trains would take off and race through tunnels… by themselves. As you enter the cursed cavern, your train speeds up along the rickety track. Shoot under a booming waterfall and dodge a falling boulder from an unexpected landslide as you swoop around sharp turns and drop into desolate canyons. On this rip-roaring adventure, you may learn that some legends turn out to be true…”

Have you ever been evacuated from a Disney Parks attraction? Share your experience with Inside the Magic in the comments. 

Please note that the story outlined in this article is based on a personal Disney Parks Guest experience. No two Guest experiences are alike, and this article does not necessarily align with Inside the Magic’s personal views on Disney Park operations.