Credit: Psychosisblue / FlickrHaving to evacuate any Disney attraction is certainly never the plan, and when it does occur, it can be quite time-consuming and, at times, complicated.
When an evacuation occurs, guests are typically stuck on the ride for a large amount of time before that happens. For example, when you are riding Under the Sea – Journey of The Little Mermaid at Magic Kingdom, while in your clamshell, you may sometimes notice that your ride will stop. When this happens, Sebastian will come on the speaker system and let you know they are working on things, and typically, a few moments later, the ride will continue moving.
This is because Disney tends to quickly fix issues as they arise so that the ride experience does not need to be compromised. They will typically do everything they can to allow the ride to continue, so long as it can be done safely.
Evacuations often happen at attractions at Walt Disney World and Disneyland. At times, a guest may be on the Haunted Mansion at Magic Kingdom or Disneyland Park, for example, when the ride breaks down, and the only way to safely remove the guests is to evacuate them. Maintenance issues tend to be the big culprit for these breakdowns. Still, in other cases, there have been more severe issues, such as a small fire causing all guests inside Cinderella Castle dining at Cinderella’s Royal Table to evacuate.
When guests do evacuate an attraction, a Cast Member will step in to assist them. Some rides are much easier to evacuate than others.
Guests are required to listen to Cast Members during this time, as certain evacuations may be much more dangerous than others, but alas, that does not always happen. As we have previously reported, recently, a family jumped out of “it’s a small world” at Magic Kingdom when the ride broke down to speed up the evacuation process.
In the video, we can see what appears to be the mother or caregiver of two younger children directing them to enter the water to exit the attraction while it is down. Disney Cast Members are properly trained in evacuating guests from “it’s a small world”, as we have seen in the past, and it typically does not involve the guests having to get into the water, especially without proper protective gear on.
Related: Fire Evacuates ‘Star Wars’ Land, Guests Removed Entirely
Another ride that can be a little tougher to evacuate is the Jungle Cruise.
The Jungle Cruise is located in Adventureland in Magic Kingdom and often boasts long wait times as one of the more popular rides in the park. Guests are able to hop into a boat with their Skipper, where they will hear jokes that go on for “niles and niles” as they venture the Nile river and see the great, backside of water.
Over in Disneyland, the ride is also located in Disneyland Park, also in Adventureland. Recently, an evacuation story has surfaced from the ride. One guest took to Reddit to share, “The skipper did an amazing job of entertaining us whilst they cleared the other boats and got us towed out. Honestly if you are going to have a ride break down this is the one you want. 10 mins of dad jokes was epic. Best part was the escalating bamboo ‘storeys’ running gag.”
Clearly, we can see that this evacuation was not a negative experience for the guest thanks to the Skipper; however, it is interesting to know that when Jungle Cruise does break down, the boat you are on will have to be towed for guests to get back to land and safety.
Many Disney fans who read of this experience reminded the guest that they could also leave a Cast Compliment for the Cast Member Skipper who made the wait for the tow boat a fantastic one.
At times, Cast Members may go out of their way to bring guests a magic moment. Magic moments are not required from Cast Members but will come up from time to time, bringing a little extra pixie dust into a guest’s day.
Magic moments can also come in the form of getting a free Mickey premium bar, having your PhotoPass photographer spend extra time with you, having a Cast Member joke around with your kids and offer some stickers, and so much more. Even if a Cast Member cannot offer something “free”, their energy and charisma can often create fun and memorable moments for you and your party.
In this case, it came in the form of an extra-long Skipper performance.
In order to say thank you, guests can leave Cast Compliments. Many guests used to hop on Twitter and #CastCompliment, and then name the Cast Member and where they worked at Disney World, but another way to do this was at any guest Services desk. Then, a feature was added into My Disney Experience where Cast Compliments could be made initially, a name could not be left, nor could any details about the interaction. Now, that feature has been upgraded to include this!
If you just search Cast Compliment on your My Disney Experience app, you will be able to see that there is now an option to add in a Cast Member’s name!
Leaving a Cast Compliment for a Cast Member who helped make your day brighter will go a long way and is our way of giving back to Cast Members as guests, for all that they do. Since the pandemic, Cast Members have worked extra hard, have often been understaffed, and especially during the earlier months, when ensuring that everything was constantly being sanitized, risking their health so that Disney could be a safe place for guests to enjoy during such an unprecedented time. Allowing Disney to recognize a Cast Member for their hard work is always the best thing to do if you want to say thank you.
Have you ever been evacuated from a Disney attraction? What was your story?
Are you looking to visit Disneyland? Considering Disneyland, located in Anaheim, California, is the first ever theme park, and the only one that Walt Disney himself was able to walk through, it holds a magical spot in all of our Disney-loving hearts. Seeing Sleeping Beauty Castle is a picture-perfect moment; there is so much to do! When it comes to attractions, Guests can enjoy the spooky adventures in The Haunted Mansion during the year and Haunted Mansion Holiday (featuring the characters from Nightmare Before Christmas) during the holiday season. Pirates of the Caribbean will take you on a swashbuckling journey, and Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain provide thrills like no other. Classic rides like Matterhorn Bobsleds, Storybook Land Canal Boats, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, and Snow White’s Enchanted Wish are a must, and dining is excellent with stand-out locations like Blue Bayou and Carnation Cafe. Want to start booking so you can see Mickey Mouse in his home in Toontown? The Disneyland website has everything you need to know about the Disneyland app, hotels, tickets, and the Disney Genie+ service. Click here to check it out.