Share The Article
Last Updated
Walt Disney World park-goers were stuck for up to 3 hours aboard the newly launched “Skyliner” aerial cable car system Saturday night. Firefighters and rescue workers were dispatched to lift people from the gondolas and bring them back down to the ground safely.
“One of the three Disney Skyliner routes experienced an unexpected downtime Saturday evening. As a result, the Skyliner will be closed while we look into the details surrounding the downtime.”
Walt Disney World Press Release
On Sunday, Disney said the problem was not a power outage and that it was continuing to look at the situation.
Chris Edenfield told the Orlando Sentinel he had been stuck on the ride for “hours” with his disabled mother.
“There’s a fire truck and paramedics unloading the people ahead of us. We’ve been stuck up here for hours waiting. We’ve cracked open the emergency kit awhile ago for water; it’s just a nightmare right now.
Chris Edenfield
Edenfield said his mother was having a very hard time.
“She got sick awhile ago, throwing up because of her nerves, but I gave her one of the bags water” he said.
Not a fun experience on the new skyliner. @WaltDisneyWorld @WESH pic.twitter.com/fwuXjlN9wg
— Ada (@Ada58974405) October 6, 2019
Part 2 Disney Skyliner Stuck @ the Boardwalk #disney #skyliner #disneyworld #epcot #epcotforever #disneyskyliner #disneypark #disneysboardwalk @WESH pic.twitter.com/QLR7gE5Znr
— JK DeLaCruz (@JK2559) October 6, 2019
The ride features nearly 300 cabins that Disney says travel at about 11 mph reaching a peak height of 60 feet off the ground.
Riders also said they were asked to open the emergency kits, social media posts show.
Well here’s a look inside the emergency kit on the #Skyliner. We were just told we could open it. There’s water inside, a note pad, cups (possibly in case nature calls), light stick … hitting 90+ min @WaltDisneyWorld @WFTV pic.twitter.com/3xyvrHGyUO
— Cierra Putman WFTV (@CPutman_WFTV) October 6, 2019
Luckily, the malfunction occurred in the later hours of the evening when temperatures had cooled off. The cable cars are not equipped with air-conditioning.
As compensation, stranded guests are reporting that Walt Disney World Guest Relations provided each of them with a $100 gift card, 2 park tickets, and taxi vouchers.
Evacuating two people at a time off of the Disney World Skyliner… could be very slow with 10 capacity gondolas…. #disneyskyliner #disneyworld @WDWToday pic.twitter.com/y5S1IJxhtP
— Aaron Murray (@WaltyDis) October 6, 2019
Have a travel related news story you want us to cover? Contact us
Follow us on Facebook below for all of the latest travel news and tips!