Following the Disney World Skyliner accident last night, guests who had been stuck on Disney World’s newest transportation system for up to three hours have been tweeting their story — and direct messaging us here at DFB — about their experience.
Disney World Skyliner Rescue Vehicles Last Night
See the Disney World Skyliner Accident Breaking News HERE
Luckily, it was evening, so the temperature wasn’t as much of a problem as it would have been had guests been stuck in the gondolas during the heat of the day. But boredom and the lack of bathrooms ended up being a real issue for many guests, as you’d expect.
Disney’s PA system announced to guests at first that the skyliner was temporarily delayed. Over and over and over again. Then announcements began that the guests should use the emergency packs found under the Skyliner’s wooden seats. These included cold packs, bathroom bags, notepads, and water.
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
Guests realized that they were seriously stuck. And may be stuck for a long, long time. Many began to post to social media about their predicament, updating the world in real time about their experience.
Truck and ladder being prepped to evacuate from Skyliner at Boardwalk Resort #disneyskyliner #DisneyWorld @WDWToday pic.twitter.com/4WAu5ClwMq
— Aaron Murray (@WaltyDis) October 6, 2019
Finally guests began to see first responders on the scene. DFB follower @Diane_Katherine sent us photos from her experience via instagram.
First Responders on the scene
Guests weren’t sure what had happened, if anyone had been hurt, or what their rescue situation might be.
First Responder Truck Ready to Evacuate
And after up to three hours stuck on the Skyliner, some gondolas began to move very slowly toward the stations while others were evacuated from the air by emergency vehicles.
Happening now at Disney.
Evacuating the sky lifts after a power failure @WFTV pic.twitter.com/o1ZEl8EbJC— tom terry (@TTerryWFTV) October 6, 2019
When guests were able to finally get off of the Skyliner, we’ve seen tweets and had guests report they were given two $50 Disney gift cards and two Disney World park hopper tickets to make up for their trouble. Disney also had cold water available and taxis and transportation ready to return guests to their homes and resorts.
Just finished talking to some @WaltDisneyWorld representatives but no one would say what happened. They took our info and gave gift cards and park hopper passes. My gondola mate was disappointed @DisneyCruise wasn’t on the table. 🙂 pic.twitter.com/IsS0OQpl2f
— Cierra Putman WFTV (@CPutman_WFTV) October 6, 2019
At this time, the Disney World Skyliner is closed until further notice.
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If you’re already on Disney property, chances are you don’t need park hopper tickets, so that’s kind of lame. My husband and I are annual pass holders so we would have handed the park hopper tickets right back to them. I think they should have given more than two $50 gift cards. Being stuck in a sky gondola for three hours is pretty extreme.
2 $50 gifts per person and I’m sure if you are a pass holder and do choose to complain, they would do something else for you. My brother is at WDW staying at the CB. Don’t know if they were on it, but there are 4 of them and are from Boston. when their flight leaves it leaves and it doesn’t give them the 3 hours back. I’m sure that if Disney’s giving you something to compensate isn’t to your liking and you raise a stink, they will attempt to satisfy you. That said, I think $100 each is pretty generous.
So tickets for people who already have paid for tickets. And if they don’t live nearby, they would have to plan ANOTHER trip in order to use them, thus giving Disney even more money for hotels, food and shopping. Just wow. We go in 14 days, and I was already planning to skip the gondolas. Last night made it clear that my plans were wise. This is just not Walt’s Disney anymore.
Disney should be sued, the denial and lack of communication to these guests is unacceptable. They are clearly not prepared to evacuate 300 gondalas in a timely manner and should have to publish new procedures before this goes back into operation
It was unfortunate for sure. 3 hours is a long time to be stuck, but I’m guessing that was only for the very last guests to be evacuated. Most were probably off sooner than that. Disney will learn from this and adapt.
As for the $100 gift card that was a nice gesture. The park tickets though, are hard for people who have planned for months to come on these dates and already have purchased their tickets.
Lots of overreacting people here. 3 hours is not that long, especially at night. The compensation seems fair. It’s a brand new system, there are bound to be kinks. They tested it for months, and even with all of the testing and training accidents happen. Nobody died.
Hmmmmm… I saw reports that some Skyliner guests received 4 park passes and $200 in gift cards. I wonder if the reporting was wrong, or if some Skyliner evacuees were offered different compensation?
If have a medical problem you should not be on this ride or any other amusement park attraction. You control your life. You are responsible for yourself.
So thankful to hear there were no injuries! I hope that once Disney works with the manufacturer they can get to the bottom of what happened, make appropriate changes and get them up and running again! I hope to be able to use them when we visit in November. While it had to have been uncomfortable and scary for many, I certainly wouldn’t have complained about receiving gift cards and park hopper tickets (I don’t get to visit enough to complain about such things).
Accidents happen, yes. But the point is to be PREPARED. And Disney should have been prepared to deal with getting people off the gondolas MUCH quicker. Reminds me of magic band testing. We went a lot over a 2 year period and I can’t say how many hours I stood at desks trying to get issues resolved even after testing was “over”. The worst was 2 1/2 hours at BLT when we moved over from Boardwalk. But I could go to the bathroom and get water….
Also, the most important thing with “unexpected” anything is to manage expectations and communicate. And you know Disney knows that. If you don’t know what’s going on at least communicate that you’re working on the issue, that you’ve got help on the way, and that you’re going to make it right.
As to the gift cards and tickets they just grabbed what was available, I’m sure. But IMHO the best thing is a REFUND (cash/check of some sort)! Not a future trip or spending more there. Disney can’t seem to let a penny go once they’ve got it (as MANY other places and some people I know) but really that would go a long way and then people can decide if they want to spend it coming back or…not. I think it would be better and prevent some of the complaining and bad press/bad PR.
Glad I wasn’t there and I’m gonna be waiting on checking out the gondolas!
Can’t imagine being stuck up there and needing to use the restroom. The gondolas hold 10 people, you most likely will be with strangers, which is already awkward in such closed quarters. I would be mortified if I had to expose myself and use a plastic bag. I hadn’t considered this as a possibility. I was already hesitant to get back on after we rode the gondolas a couple days ago. The gondolas go directly over the slanted roofs of the Caribbean Beach Hotel. How could they possibly evacuate you from there?
A $50.00 gift card and a one day pass. Disney shame on you. Disney has gotten so greedy it’s just gross.
When my son was 11 he was stuck on 2 different rollercoasters on 1 trip to Carowinds. He didn’t even receive a ‘have a good day’ from the staff.
Well, now that the existence of the “emergency packs” is well known, you can bet that they will be stolen or their contents pilfered by future guests. Unless they require a code to access.
Come on. Disney was prepared. They started evacuation as soon as it was safe to do so. They had to make sure the system was stable before they started getting people off the gondolas. In my opinion, they handled this situation the best they could have.
Accidents happen. Subways and buses break down, airplanes are grounded. Why should Disney be any different? And you can be sure if your subway broke down you wouldn’t get a $50 dollar gift card! Unforeseen occurrences while unfortunate, happen to the best of us. I’m sure Disney would have much rathered this didn’t happen, but this is all new to them, too. Maybe they should have been better prepared, but hindsight is 20/20. They did the best they could given the circumstances, and I’m sure they will redouble their efforts to never have this happen again.
Do we know what Disney’s protocols are from time of breakdown to emergency recovery begins? Is it possible that since it was night and cool out they let it slide longer? Is evacuation protocol temperature based? I am sure if it happened at noon on a 95 degree day they probably have to make a bang bang call in minutes whether to start evacs!!
We we’re watching them build it last year my husband and I said this is a mistake. I don’t understand why they just didn’t put a regular train system in. I think it would have been lot cheaper in the long run. I’m not talking about monorail a regular commuter train with a bathroom.
This was bound to happen. I’m wondering what Disney’s evacuation procedures are for those who are stranded over the lake portion of the ride? Remember, there are alligators in that water and they don’t play. And what are the procedures for someone who’s having a panic attack or, worse, a heart attack while stuck there? Or, after a couple of hours, a pregnant woman goes into labor? Heat stroke from the summer sun beating down on folks for 3 hours? Etc., etc.
I’d already decided that my family wouldn’t be using the skyliner – at least for a few years until they have all of the bugs worked out and safety protocols – which have been well tested! – in place.
With respect to evacuation over the lake portion of the Skyliner route, Disney has a barge fitted with a “cherrypicker” for exactly that scenario.
@Rob from Canada – Thanks for that! Let’s hope that it never has to be put to use, but good to know that there’s some sort of help available.
Let’s update the monorails…. NO! Lets build a whole new system and cross our fingers…
Nope…. we won’t be riding it.
Disney’s plan to evacuate the gondolas was as good as its ever gonna be. They are not gonna put rope ladders or haul in giant air bags for people to jump out. WHy should Disney be sued? They didn’t build the gondola system and accidents happen. If you weren’t on it than you can’t vouch for other people’s feeling about it. I’m sure some greedy people looking for a free ride will sue and they will likely end up with very little unless they were actually hurt. If you think 100 dollars isn’t good enough for the inconvenience than hire an attorney. Life is sometimes inconvenient and most of us deal with it without thinking we need compensated for that inconvenience.
My train once broke down on a trip home from England, we were stuck for around 3 to 4 hours FIVE minutes away from the station I was going to get off at. It was infuriating. Most we got was a ‘sorry for the inconvenience’ over the tannoy. $100 dollars and park hopper tickets for that amount of people is a good deal. Some people are just beyond entitled 🙄
Very unfortunate for all the people who were stuck for so many hours. We were on line to ride when the accident occurred. We rode three times during our stay and it was a pleasant ride. I’m sure Disney is working on a solution. Monorails have had accidents, buses have as well. I have to agree with a prior comment “ this is not Walt’s Disney anymore”. I am just glad there were no injuries. I’ll be back in December and hope to ride once more.
…“this is not Walt’s Disney anymore”…
You’re right. In Walt’s time, you were more likely to be killed on a ride, and less likely to see any kind of compensation…
Leaving this afternoon for another week at WDW!!!
FYI – We went to Hollywood Studios today (Thursday – 10/10/19) and the gondolas were up and working when we arrived this morning. So if you’re ready to try them out, they’re ready for you!
Just left yesterday afternoon and the gondolas were running in test mode. No one was aboard. The cast members we spoke to said all they had been told was that the system would be up and running soon. Signs are up in the resorts stating that The Skyliner is currently not operating and they apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. The information channel in the rooms provides a similar message. Each Skyliner station has signs up stating it is currently not operating and cast members along with security team members stand at the entrance and patiently answer guest questions as they turn them away.