Some Disney’s Hollywood Studios guests had a very scary experience today while riding a fan favorite attraction that apparently caught fire while they were on it! What would you do if you were aboard an attraction that actually caught fire? We’ve included a witness video.
A scary situation
Guests are reporting that while riding Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, today, December 1, a very scary situation occurred.
While riding this fan-favorite Roller Coaster, the ride stopped. Guests described hearing the announcement that they should remain seated, because the ride could start up again at any time. Here’s what the eye witnesses had to say.
Then, a terrifying situation started. Some Disney Guests described the harrowing experience.
It slowly started filling with smoke. We were stuck and we could hear like a crackle, sizzle noise in the background and we were just stuck. We were screaming for employees and no one responded or said anything. And it just filled with more and more smoke until there was a thick cloud of smoke around us.
The Guest went on to describe the terrifying scene. “I called 911 and they said we’ve already dispatched paramedics and firetrucks to the scene. A few minutes later finally some employees came out to release us.”
Another Guest chimed in to share her experience.
We were sitting there for several minutes and we were screaming for people and nobody was acknowledging us.
Luckily, Disney’s Cast Members turned the ride off, and the smoke dissipated. There are no reported injuries.
Watch the account from several Disney Guests below.
As of publish time, My Disney Experience shows that Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster is temporarily closed. We will be sure to update you on additional Rock ‘n’ Roller Caster information as it becomes available.
UPDATE: Rock n Roller Coaster reopened to guests at 9:45am on December 2, 2021
What would you do if you were on a ride that suddenly caught fire? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below, or tell us on Facebook.
How fortunate for those guests that went without any further incident. How unfortunate for Disney to experience this occurrence so soon after reopening and resuming pre-pandemic operations.
WDW dodged a bullet by the riders not panicking and attempt a mass exodus from the roller coaster style attraction. That scenerio could have been catostrafic.
Disney is the benchmark for amusement rides and attractions used by many other ‘theme parks’ for safety and the quick movement of masses of people.
One writer commented he thought the park has gone downhill. I will agree with that remark. I did observe a dramatic change during a recent three day stay at the park. I didn’t come away with the same feelings as in previous visits. There was an obvious complacency concerning the small details. Most obvious was the scraps of papers, ,popcorn and other litter on the ground and walkways throughout the parks. Another was the monorail, the seats were cracked, the cushions were torn and the interior appeared dingy. Just the small things observed during entrance to the park. Maybe persons responsible for operations should slow down and take a better look. It wouldn’t be bad idea to review the outline of the high standards expected by Walt to be passed on to his guests.
Finally, maybe your imagineers should create better procedures to deal with any future incidents of this most recent type. The maintainence folks should conduct more thorough inspections of the rides carrying adults and children. It’s not all about the bottom profit line
Agreed, good communication can have a major effect in potentially dangerous situations. And Disney failed their guests miserably in this instance.
Disney hasn’t treated their guests”amazingly”for a long time. Guest service WAS what made Disney stand out above all other hospitality companies,those days are now just happy memories. Disney now just rakes in the cash while guests issues are magically ignored.
The actions of Walt Disney World in this instance are unacceptable. Guest safety should always be too priority and that includes both physical AND mental health. Disney traumatized these people. PTSD can develop when people are in a situation in which they fear for their life, and that is further increased when they are trapped and cannot escape the situation. The silence of the staff, ontop of guests being trapped in the coaster without any sign that their safety will be cared for and that they will be safe is uncalled for. Walt Disney World should be heavily fined in this instance as they are an organization that should and DOES know better, yet failed to act properly towards their guests.
This further demonstrates the problem of a poor leader such as Bob Chapek. When leadership at the top is in disarray and out of touch, it begins to find its way down the chain and ultimately park operations suffer. When that happens, guests suffer. The demoralization of the entire staff at Disney as of late has been unconscionable. Fire Chapek! How many guests need to suffer from misguided leadership before the board does anything? These are the exact scenarios shareholders have voiced concerns over because we know that when you have such a bad leader, it ultimately affects not just company image, but the very guests who allow your company to even be a reality.
I would literally freak out bend over and kiss my but good bye. And the point that nobody acknowledged the screaming people on the ride is awful they should’ve at least let them know it was being taken care of you just sit tight and apologize for the inconvenience but to leave people all upset and hollering for them and nobody acknowledging them was not only rude a very unprofessional. I don’t know what Disney has been thinking lately because I had so much problem with them and getting through to them to get something straightened out transferred here and they are hung up on held for six hours one day and then hung up onAfter holding so long and nobody did nothing about my inconvenience of three days trying to get a hold of somebody holding for hours on end and then them disconnecting you I just think their customer service is very very poor now they have gone downhill and they charge so much to get in to get treated like you’re a nobody
My family found lice in the bed at the Disney hotel. We wasted at least half a day getting the hair treatments after the staff bought the products for us. We received a credit for the day lost, in the hotel and the one day park ticket. These people should’ve got at least that, because something like this, when you genuinely and collectively feel abandoned within smoke, would ruin your whole day at least.
They always treat their guests amazingly, this was surely an accident nobody expected to happen and congrats to your family but I’m sure they’ll think of it as a funny story down the road and what would you like the employees to have done?? They were just doing what they’re trained to do and everyone got out safely, they probably had to investigate or something seeing as nobody knew where the smoke was from but please continue to act like you’d have saved the day if you were in their shoes Susan
1) I’m glad everyone is safe and nobody was seriously injured. What a horrible and frightening experience.
2) Bob Chapek will probably find a way to charge all those guests extra to cover the costs of the first responders.
At sounds like you work at Disney. Are you afraid that you’re going to lose some money?? This is serious and should be taken seriously especially when lives could have been lost. Of course people are going to complain and rightly so, it should be investigated so deadly situations are prevented. Get a heart Mr. Grinch!!
I’m so sorry that this happened. Me and my family were just there before Thanksgiving. I already don’t like rides. This would have really scared me. I’m surprised to hear Disney only offered a T Shirt. We stayed at the Art of Animation Resort. When we arrived our hot water didn’t work. We recieved a 100.00 credit. A t-shirt for seeing your life flash before your eyes doesn’t sound like the Disney way.
When guests on the ride were screaming for help, some acknowledgement would have been great! A simple announcement of “Authorities are on the scene, please stay calm and stay seated”, would have done a LOT to calm nerves!
Congrats to your son and fiance! What a horrible thing to go thru the day after a proposal! And yes, Disney should have done better in how they responded. Some day your family will laugh about it but definitely not now, and probably not for a very long time.
Could it have been the fog machines?
We recently visit Disneyland and there a few rides with problems. The train could used a little maintenance such as a few rides as well.
The whole park needs a huge maintenance.
It may have been your guardian Angel keeping u from going. Things happen for a reason
What would you like them to have done? It was obviously an unexpected accident and it’s seems cast members followed their protocols which are there to protect everyone. I also don’t understand what compensation they should recieve aside from a shirt so they can change out of their smoke smelling one. Sounds like a lot of self entitlement
None of these responses really answered the question of what to do if the ride stops and there is a fire and you can’t get out of the restraints. Parks should drill for this scenario.
Everett…are you ok man?
I was there that day and had a Lightning Pass for the ride for me and my family but unfortunately suffered a severe anxiety attack so we left without riding it. I guess that’s the first time I can say I was lucky to have to leave the fun due to anxiety attack. It probably saved us all a lot of ptsd
Agreed
What would I do? With any luck, I’d pass out and die quietly. My family could then live comfortably from the insurance settlement. Win-win.
Walt would surely be rolling over in his grave for a lot of decisions the company has made lately, but not because a couple of kids decided to smoke dope on a roller coaster.
That is my son, his fiancé, and my daughter. They were very frightened. Smoke filled the tunnel they were stuck in. They were having trouble breathing. Disney employees were rude to them and did nothing to compensate them for going through this. It ruined their time at the park. My son had proposed to his girlfriend yesterday and this really was a very disappointing end to the day. All Disney had to offer them was a t-shirt. I think Walt would be rolling over in his grave if he knew how Disney employees were treating their guests.