Every day, people call 911 while they are in Disney World. Just like anywhere else, there are medical emergencies and other situations in theme parks that warrant a call to first responders.

Reedy Creek Fire Trucks ©WESH

But, there are also daily accidental 911 calls from Orlando’s theme parks, and authorities are asking for your help in preventing them.

“With the large number of theme parks in Central Florida, accidental 911 calls triggered by rides are a challenge our Communications Center faces daily,” a spokesperson for the Orange County Sheriff’s Office told DFB.

So, why is this happening? Many smartphones and apps like Life 360 have a built-in “crash detection” feature that will automatically dial 911 if a collision is sensed by the phone. As you might imagine, a roller coaster could mimic the force of a collision. 

Rock ‘n Roller Coaster

This problem is not unique to Disney World, or to Orlando theme parks. In the summer of 2021, Sevier County, Tennessee, officials reported they had received 10,000 accidental 911 calls from Dollywood. The report resulted in Dollywood adding signs to some of its coasters, requesting that riders turn off their phones or put them in airplane mode during the ride.  

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office is requesting your help in preventing 911 calls by doing the same — “It would help us immensely if visitors turned off their phones immediately before getting on a roller coaster, but of course, for their own safety, we would encourage them to make sure they remember to turn their devices back on after they exit the ride,” a sheriff’s office spokesperson told DFB.

Expedition Everest

Alternatively, you could set your phone on airplane mode for the duration of your ride. You can also go into the settings on your phone and turn off any Emergency or Crash Detection features while you are on vacation, if you are afraid you will forget to turn your phone off and back on — just note that these safety features will not be activated until you go back into the settings and turn them back on!

Longer term, it has been reported that geofencing around roller coasters — in other words, using your phone’s location settings to tell when you are on a roller coaster and prevent crash detection features from activating at that location — is being investigated as a possibility for solving this problem without theme park visitors needing to do anything.

Until then, we know that safety is important to us all, and part of that is doing our part to be sure that emergency officials are available to those who really need them. So, remember to turn off your phone or set it in airplane mode the next time you’re in line for a Disney World roller coaster.

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Click here for 5 places you don’t want to walk after dark in Disney World!