Credit: DisneyIt doesn’t often happen that one of the Disney parks almost completely shuts down with no warning, but it does happen from time to time for various issues. Unfortunately for guests visiting the Disneyland Resort yesterday, this is exactly what happened.
The Disneyland Resort opened under the guidance of Walt Disney himself in 1955 and was the only park that he was able to experience in his lifetime. Comprised of two parks, Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure, the resort features iconic attractions, both classic and brand-new. At Disneyland Park you can experience a variety of timeless attractions like Haunted Mansion, Space Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, and even some opening day attractions like Peter Pan’s Flight and the Storybook Land Canal Boats.
At Disney California Adventure, guests can experience attractions inspired by some of their favorite Pixar and Marvel characters at Pixar Pier and Marvel Avengers Campus, respectively. Cars Land is home to Radiator Springs Racers while Avengers Campus features Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT! and several beloved Marvel characters. Guests can also ride the IncrediCoaster or Pixar Pal-A-Round Ferris Wheel. Visitors can also find a variety of food and beverage options at both parks as well as a diverse and entertaining offering of live shows and other attractions.
With its location in Anaheim, California, Disneyland often experiences a year-round mild climate compared to its sister location, the Walt Disney World Resort (WDW) in Orlando, Florida. WDW is no stranger to weather issues and downtimes caused by rain and lightning. During hurricane season, which runs from June to November each year, heavy storms are a near-daily occurrence, which can cause attractions to experience delays and downtime. In the past few years, the entire resort has also closed its gates due to hurricanes. However, Disneyland experiencing a resort-wide shutdown for weather issues is almost unheard of.
However, that’s exactly what happened Monday night as the area experienced a 3.5 magnitude earthquake, which caused the park to shut down at least 35 attractions according to SFGate. The earthquake occurred around 8 p.m. last night, which meant that most guests weren’t too affected by the resort-wide shutdown. Unfortunately, hundreds of guests were unaware of the quake, taking to social media to share their confusion about the issue.
On the Disneyland subReddit, a guest shared their screenshots of the Disneyland parks app, stating, “We are in Disneyland right now and after multiple rides breaking down, the entire park just went down!! It’s been like this for about 15-20 mins.” Several comments were quick to let the user know about the earthquake, but the general confusion seems to imply that Disneyland didn’t inform guests of the reason behind its almost early closure.
“I didn’t even know there was an earthquake until we went to 3 different attractions and they were all closed. I had to ask a cast member wtf was going on. Honestly everything opened pretty quick after and it was darn near empty!!” one user had replied. Others chimed in on the confusion and how quickly it caused the parks to empty, “I didn’t feel the earthquake at all, but man it was a zoo getting around during that. My sister and I decided to just leave the park and go to bed lol.”
According to the Cal State Fullerton Police Department, earthquakes of the magnitude experienced last night don’t typically cause damage, but the Disneyland Resort has a set of safety protocols that must be followed to ensure nothing is amiss. With Disneyland Park open until midnight, it seems as though cast members were able to get several of the downed attractions back up and running before close, with one comment mentioning that Dumbo had at least reopened before they left the park.
Have you ever been at Disneyland during an earthquake? Share your experience with us in the comments below!