I was at thorpe park UK waiting for Nemesis Inferno all day long because it had been closed for maintenance whilst I was there. Just before we left we went to check the electric ride queue time boards (not sure what to call them) and saw that Nemesis had literally just opened so we sprinted over there got on the ride. It got all the way up the chain lift and then stopped for some reason right at the very top of the hill before it turned to go down the track. We were up there for a good 10-20 minutes before they somehow managed to get us round the track and then the ride immediately closed again afterwards to fix the problem. Felt pretty good that I was the only one of the only people whom rode it that day and I was at the front [wacky]
Real World Theme Parks Have you ever experienced a break down during a ride?
- Thread starter Gysan
- Start date
Oh yes I have been on one or two rides before that have broken down...
I'm sure there's some others but that's all the ones I can think of right now [weird]
- Nemesis at Alton Towers (stuck in the brake area just before the station for about 15 minutes)
- Air at Alton Towers (stuck on the lift hill one time, stuck inside the station waiting to depart one time, and stuck inside the station hanging down at the end of a ride one time had to wait for an engineer to come and manually lower the seats!)
- Smiler at Alton Towers (one time on a lift hill, one time coming into the station. both only few minutes though)
- Thirteen at Alton Towers (one time at the bottom of the lift hill, we didn't go anywhere for about 5 minutes. one time inside the building just before the drop. nothing happened for a few minutes then we dropped a little bit then nothing for about 10 minutes - they had switched the lights on at this point - then we dropped again and carried on with the rest of the ride!)
- Stealth at Thorpe Park - the launch was incredibly slow, not much above walking pace; we stopped completely after a few seconds then they rolled us back into the station and took everyone off and closed the ride due to "technical problems". Not sure how long it was closed for but it was running fine again later in the day.
- Superman at Magic Mountain, it felt like one of the LIM motors was pulling on us rather than pushing, we slowed down as we went past it, then barely made it half way up the hill before rolling back down again. it took ages to get back to the station we were going very very slowly. then after a couple minutes they said they were going to try it again and we could stay on if we wanted, so I did... exact same thing happened again though but this time we didn't even make it all the way back to the station we stopped just outside and they had to come and walk us back.
- Tower of Terror at Disneyland Paris, we got in and the doors closed then absolutely nothing happened for at least 5 minutes before someone came and said there was a problem with our car and they transferred us to a different one which worked fine.
- Pirates of the Caribbean at Magic Kingdom, we got stuck in a long line of boats for about 30 minutes in the cavern area next to the restaurant.
I'm sure there's some others but that's all the ones I can think of right now [weird]
I was att Bakken amusement park, riding the pirateship. Everything was ok until it was time to brake..... the tires that both drive and brake the sledge got unsyncronized... so the tires got in to breakmode before the sledge arrived to go between them, got a lot of backpain after that one, whiplash after every hit to the tires.... but i survived and stil riding the love the pirateship 
I got stuck in splash mountain in Disney World earlier this year. It was right around the corner from the big drop, where some jets spray water on the fake rocks. Normally, you don't really notice these, but I got quite wet. Luckily, they turned them of after a few minutes and we were on our way within 15 minutes.
I got stuck on Splash Mountain in the Magic Kingdom once. It was glitching out the whole time. We got stuck for several minutes at various points, including the first two lift conveyor belts. The lights turned on every time the ride stopped. Immediately before the second drop, the one with the "To the Laughin' Place ->" arch, the ride broke down completely. We were stuck for quite a long time before they stopped the music and dispatched cast members to release the lap restraints and escort the guests off. We were escorted through the backstage area back into the park and given free fast passes. In total, I think I was on the ride for at least 45 minutes.
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At SFMM I wanted to go on Superman before its update and so the launch was great and went up the tower. However on the way back it seemed to be carrying speed for a while and I was kinda wondering how much longer we had until the station. Just as I think that we come barreling through the station at probably about 40ish mph and end up in the emergency brake run behind the loading area. Took about 15 minutes for them to finally bring the car back to the station and let us out. Most interesting experience I've had on a roller coaster.
I always assumed it was bad optics for a park (real or otherwise) to have mechanics out walking around among the guests. in the game they should be sequestered somewhere out of game-sight and if a ride does happen to breakdown, the ride's operator, who is standing right there, can pick up a phone and have a mechanic dispatched...I hate that these guys are walking around, they start moaning and groaning and moping when they're under or over worked.
You bring up a pretty good point: there is no real way to make "Backstage" Areas if you will. The most annoying thing is, that the Mechanics have to squeeze through the Queue Line sometimes, or worse get stuck in a congested Path. It would make my life so much easier to have something Similar to Parkitect: Paths that can be used by Staff only. This way, you could plan a Backstage Area, have Mechanics go through a special Gateway on Rides (Like in Real Life) to make Park Operations more smooth.
Nearly lost my feet on a Cobra ride at a traveling fair. The foot rest part of the ride scraped on the ground while my feet were resting on it. The only thing the operator could say was "That's not supposed to happen".
I have a story of a time I have been stuck on a ride and it happened at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim California. The story happened summer of 2012 in late august two months after Cars land had opened at Disney California Adventure. It was my fifth time going on Radiator Springs Racers with my dad we did single rider because the stand-by line was I think a 140 minutes or some crazy thing like that and fast passes were all gone, well I mean since Cars land has opened I have been to Disney land 4 times and I didn't get a fast-pass for radiator springs racers till my last trip there in august of 2016. but any ways so me and my dad get in the single rider line every thing normal we were put in different cars not unusual but the ride stopped when my ride vehicle was in the show building we stopped where you pass sarge and filmore. we sat there for about ten fifteen minutes the audio telling us to stay seated repeated and finally after about twenty minutes the person running the ride got on the PA system and said " we are sorry for the inconvenience a cast member will be there to assist you out of the ride in a few moments. then all the lights turned on and we were escorted out of the show building and that's was it, it was cool to see the ride with all the lights on.
I've been involved in a number of minor glitches but never anything so serious as to make the news.
* One time at SFOG, the restraint on the mine train coaster failed to open at the end of the ride so the staff had to disassemble it with wrenches. I guess this is better than the thing coming open during the ride
* After about the 3rd massive head-on collision, my bumper car died and I had to sit there getting pummeled the rest of the time. I can't remember where this was. Might have been a Las Vegas casino while my parents were off gambling.
* I was in the Tiki Room (not a ride per se) at the original Disneyland when there was a power failure. The music stopped and all the lights went off. Eventually, the staff led us out using flashlights.
* One time at SFOG, the restraint on the mine train coaster failed to open at the end of the ride so the staff had to disassemble it with wrenches. I guess this is better than the thing coming open during the ride
* After about the 3rd massive head-on collision, my bumper car died and I had to sit there getting pummeled the rest of the time. I can't remember where this was. Might have been a Las Vegas casino while my parents were off gambling.
* I was in the Tiki Room (not a ride per se) at the original Disneyland when there was a power failure. The music stopped and all the lights went off. Eventually, the staff led us out using flashlights.
a couple times...but the most memorable were:
Superman - SFGA. It was late at night, the park was officially already closed, but they were letting the last few trains get their rides in. The train in the station in front of us was stuck as we tried to enter back in. We stopped at the brake station and continued to "hang" there face down for quite a while. Arms were going numb and neck was sore after a while. We ended getting out of the park that night really late.
Rapids ride in DCA - those of you that know this ride...there is a huge lift the rafts go up. well, broke down right as we were about to go over the crest. Had to cross a steel ramp/bridge they put across from the raft to the ramp...and then had to walk down the steep wooden ramp all the way from the top.
Space Mt. DL - right stopped right after we went down the first drop. stopped at the brake station. After waiting for a while we got manually pushed out of the brake station and got to ride pretty much the whole ride with lights on...pretty cool, yet very disappointing what it looks like without the lighting and special effects. A pretty bland ride without all that.
Superman - SFGA. It was late at night, the park was officially already closed, but they were letting the last few trains get their rides in. The train in the station in front of us was stuck as we tried to enter back in. We stopped at the brake station and continued to "hang" there face down for quite a while. Arms were going numb and neck was sore after a while. We ended getting out of the park that night really late.
Rapids ride in DCA - those of you that know this ride...there is a huge lift the rafts go up. well, broke down right as we were about to go over the crest. Had to cross a steel ramp/bridge they put across from the raft to the ramp...and then had to walk down the steep wooden ramp all the way from the top.
Space Mt. DL - right stopped right after we went down the first drop. stopped at the brake station. After waiting for a while we got manually pushed out of the brake station and got to ride pretty much the whole ride with lights on...pretty cool, yet very disappointing what it looks like without the lighting and special effects. A pretty bland ride without all that.
Long, long ago, when I was 1st old enough to ride the Matterhorn bobsleds at the original Disneyland, I was somewhat disappointed yet also intrigued that the mountain was just a shell. Inside, it was just all scaffolding propping up the outer surface. This was particularly surprising because I'd ridden the sky ride (cable cars) many times previously, and these went through actual tunnels in the solid-seeming mountain. But there above me were the tunnels for the sky ride, also held up by scaffolding.
20 years later, which itself was more than 20 years ago, I went on the bobsled again and was quite disappointed to discover the hollow interior of the mountain was blocked from view by fake tunnels all along the track. By then I was into engineering and wanted to look at the supporting structure
Had a few, was fortunate enough to experience a rollback at Top Thrill Dragster a few years ago. It was after a power outage apparently and they were getting the kinks out.
Otherwise, I was unlucky enough to get stuck at the top of the Wild Thing (207 ft, 63m) at Valleyfair years ago, all I remember it was 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 Degrees Celsius). Some poor out of shape guy had to climb all the way to the top of the lift hill to assure us we were going to be fine. Felt real bad afterwards.
Otherwise, I was unlucky enough to get stuck at the top of the Wild Thing (207 ft, 63m) at Valleyfair years ago, all I remember it was 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 Degrees Celsius). Some poor out of shape guy had to climb all the way to the top of the lift hill to assure us we were going to be fine. Felt real bad afterwards.
TP Loggers Leap one hour a 1m away from an exit but we weren't let out
Exact same thing happened to me the first time I got to ride this. I had just enough time to think "Why aren't we slowing down?" then WHACK! KA-CHUNK! I was glad I had my head against the head rest at the time... that would have been a hell of a bump.
Three that I remember...
Willard's Whizzer at Six Flags Great America Santa Clara (long time ago, like 1981) E-stop for about ten minutes.
Jet scream log ride at SFMM - all of the water suddenly drained out of the ride... the park manager himself came out to help push our log to the nearest exit.
Superman the Escape - Magnetic break failure as others have explained on this thread. That used to happen quite a bit on that ride from what I understand. We were offered free tickets as compensation for that one, so I just showed them my season pass... they gave me a food voucher instead. It was enough for a nice lunch and even a churro!
Willard's Whizzer at Six Flags Great America Santa Clara (long time ago, like 1981) E-stop for about ten minutes.
Jet scream log ride at SFMM - all of the water suddenly drained out of the ride... the park manager himself came out to help push our log to the nearest exit.
Superman the Escape - Magnetic break failure as others have explained on this thread. That used to happen quite a bit on that ride from what I understand. We were offered free tickets as compensation for that one, so I just showed them my season pass... they gave me a food voucher instead. It was enough for a nice lunch and even a churro!
thankfully i had just "longer run than usual" on various flat rides. i don't had the feel that anything broke, guess they were just happy to let the last few guests enjoy the final hour. beside the first imho the best hour of the day in a park.
beside i just had various nightmares. not always funny, i can tell you. [shocked]
beside i just had various nightmares. not always funny, i can tell you. [shocked]
Regretfully I experienced a park visit full of breakdowns today at SFDK...
1 - Went to board "California's only Vekoma Boomerang" and they had to call the ride down because of a protien spill/vomit
2 - Speaking of vomit, went to do the park's "Vomit Ring" (Larson looper) and that went down as soon as I sat down and locked myself in
3 - blew through 40 minutes in line for Joker, 20 minutes of that 40 was waiting to see if it would reopen and eventually bailed
4 - went to do Joker one more time for the day, which again went down as soon as we got seated.
5 - not that we rode it but had witnessed their SLC "Kong" get stuck on the lift on 5 different occasions throughout the day.
6 - Got lucky and their B&M floorless "Medusa" went down after we got off.
7 - Had got in line for a broken Skyrocket II "Superman"...no communication that the ride was down, no closing off the queue...
1 - Went to board "California's only Vekoma Boomerang" and they had to call the ride down because of a protien spill/vomit
2 - Speaking of vomit, went to do the park's "Vomit Ring" (Larson looper) and that went down as soon as I sat down and locked myself in
3 - blew through 40 minutes in line for Joker, 20 minutes of that 40 was waiting to see if it would reopen and eventually bailed
4 - went to do Joker one more time for the day, which again went down as soon as we got seated.
5 - not that we rode it but had witnessed their SLC "Kong" get stuck on the lift on 5 different occasions throughout the day.
6 - Got lucky and their B&M floorless "Medusa" went down after we got off.
7 - Had got in line for a broken Skyrocket II "Superman"...no communication that the ride was down, no closing off the queue...
Wasn't a serious thing but I was on Montu in Busch Gardens, Tampa when we got stopped on the chain lift right at the top. We were climbing, the train was clicking away as normal then it slowed down and started to fall backwards down the lift for a split second before it hit one of the "teeth" and jolted to a stop. Then a couple of members of staff had to climb up the stairs either side of the lift and re-check everyone's harness and belt clip thingy. That moment of rolling backwards was very un-nerving though!
Then we started climbing again and rode the coaster as usual, and what an awesome coaster it is!
Then we started climbing again and rode the coaster as usual, and what an awesome coaster it is!