For a stress-free Disney or Universal Studios vacation, let the FREE expert planners at Royal Carriage Vacations take care of every detail including dining reservations, applying discounts, and onboard cruise credit.
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.
Share the love!
Sean Means
Saturday 4th of December 2021
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
john hubbard
Friday 3rd of December 2021
Agreed, good communication can have a major effect in potentially dangerous situations. And Disney failed their guests miserably in this instance.
john hubbard
Friday 3rd of December 2021
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.
Ian S.
Friday 3rd of December 2021
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.
Donna
Friday 3rd of December 2021
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