Being stuck on a coaster or ride

Last year during Fright Fest at SFGAM we got stuck during a drizzle on Demon. We were just coming out of the cave at the very beginning, ascending the lift hill, and BOOM. Complete stop. I was cracking up because not ten minutes earlier I had mentioned that I'd never been stuck on a coaster. But a girl about three seats in front of us was panicking. It was her first ride on a coaster ever. I felt so bad for her.

Ride op came over, explained it was just a small problem and we'd be up and running in a minute. I enjoyed it but I think that poor girl in front of us was ready to bribe the ride op to let her out.

WhyBoblo said:
I have to say I agree with danh. I have seen coasters stuck for upwards of an hour (none while I've been on them), and I've never witnessed guests getting out of a coaster and walking down. Having guests walking a lift hill, or any of the access methods, is far more dangerous than having the guest sit in a train until it can be returned to the station. It just isn't a risk parks want to take unless they absolutely have to.

While that may seem to be the case, it is not true. I have a picture here of an lift hill evacuation done earlier this year at SFGAdv. I think parks would prefer to run the train through, but if it becomes too long a wait, or the malfunction cannot be fixed, the train must be evacuated.

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"If you make it too smooth, it'll be like sitting in your living room."
-Bill Cobb - Designer, Texas Cyclone

Just because you saw an exception doesn't mean it's generally not true. With a ride like that, in the prone position, not terribly comfortable, I can see them making it a point to get people off. I've been stuck on Raptor for upwards of half an hour and I can assure you they were in no hurry to unload us.

When Superman's chain broke, they had us off in about five minutes, not just because it was obvious they wouldn't be restarting the ride, but because it was 96 degrees and sunny that day.

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com - Sillynonsense.com
DELETED! What time does the water show start?

Let's see, which coasters have I been stuck on?

In order:
Viper at SFMM. Got stuck near the top of the lift. We had to be walked down after waiting about 30min.

Riddler's Revenge, got stuck half way up the lift but that was for probably 5 or 10min. We weren't taken off the ride so can I count that in there?

Medusa (SFMW), twice this has happened: two days after the ride opened in 2000, just as we were coming into the station and mere inches away from lining up for the floor panels to come up; it gets stuck. Probably an e-stop or something. But after sitting in the wind (if you go up to the station, you know what I'm talking about), for 45min. or so, they finally get us off the ride using the floor panels that hang off the side of the lift and mid-course brake just in case something like this happens. Note that not only was the train I was on stuck, but the train that left after us was stuck on the brake run so they had to be evacuated too.
Second incident on Medusa 4th of July 2001 power went out and so the train got stuck on the mid-course brake.

And lastly X. After waiting 4 and a half hours to ride it including two instances where they put a train on and then took it off I got to ride it for the first time. And low and behold after a great ride, we get stuck on the final brake run just as we're entering the unload station. So here we are, 28 riders, stuck on the ride at 9:30pm at a 45 degree angle. Good thing the seats are comfy. On the plus side, we got to see the fireworks that night. :) It took them about 30min. to get us all off. But I'll definitely never forget my first ride on X after that happened.

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-my signature is empty-

Let's see. I got stuck on Hercules on the block brake at the end for about 30 minutes at Dorney. That same day, I also got stuck on Talon twice for 30 minutes each time, on the lift. The problem was that some idiot didn't have their shoulder harness on correctly so we had to wait for the employee to fix it. Then the second time a person took a hat off on the lift so I was stuck on it for a long time, again. The people in the station clapped as soon as the train started up again.

On Hercules the train got stuck on the block brake at the end for some reason, and we were stuck aboard for about 20 minutes.

I had bad luck at Dorney 3 weeks ago.

1. TG:TJC - Stuck on lift for about 2 Minutes

2. Carolina Cyclone - Stuck MANY times on Lift for short intervals

3. Ricochet (PC) - Evacuated from brake run before the pile driver bunny hop

4. Hurler (PC) - Stuck on Lift Many Times

5. Vortex (PC) - Same as above

6. Goldrusher - Evacuated from Brake run lol how useless

7. White Water Falls - Evacuated on Lift (I have great luck dont I?)

8. Thunder Road - Stuck on Both Sides Multiple Times

9. Scooby Doo (PC) - Walked through the ride in complete darkness by a ride op with a flashlight after a lightning strike

10. Drop Zone (PC) - I was one of those "lucky" folks who got stuck at the top and had to repel down. That was the SCARIEST thing I have EVER done. I'm sure you all know the details of the incident as it made national news.

11. And The Grand Finale!!!!!!! Jurassic Park in California - We were making the turn into the room with the T-Rex when all of a sudden all of the Lights go out and the boat stops. We could still hear the sound effects and the waterfall where the t-rex is but we could only see one red exit light. It was VERY creepy sitting in that moody, dark room for about 10 minutes until the lights came back on and we continued our ride.

That ends my AMAZING list of evacuations, delays, and creepy breakdowns.

I've gotten stuck on: Tower of Terror, Roar SFMW, Boomerang SFMW, Kong, Medusa SFMW, Zonga, Riddler's Revenge, Superman the Escape, and The Cat in the Hat.

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www.CaliforniaCoasterNews.com
www.SFMWZone.com
*** This post was edited by GoliathKills 7/6/2003 8:01:08 PM ***

I haven't gotten stuck on a ride yet, but I haven't been able to go to too many parks within the last about 5 years, so who knows what'll happen now that I live near SFA.

By the way, hi, I'm Christy and I'm new here.

Let's see... rides stuck on...

1) The Beast (memory's a little hazy, it was around 1980 or so)... got an all-expenses-paid walkdown from the top of the first lift. Kinda scary when you're 8 and just barely big enough to ride the darn thing!

2) Avalanche Run (1989 during bug season).. stopped on one of the mid-course brakes for 20 mins, but felt like an eternity with all of the muffleheads swarming around us - no wonder they enclosed it ;)

3) (KW) Thunderbolt (2001)... stopped on final brake during a torrential downpour - we overshot the prox sensor due to the skid being wet and shut down the whole ride. Despite the rain, we SAT for 5 minutes waiting, then they rolled us into the station.

Rides I've helped get people unstuck on (all at Wyandot Lake):

1) Sea Dragon - helped push the coaster train when it stopped on one of the turnarounds

2) Several flat rides - helped manually evacuate the Barracuda (Rock-o-plane) and the Octupus(?) when the power went out for an extended period. Probably one of my most interesting "amusement park worker" experiences, especially since I was the Merchandise Area Manager at the time! :)

[edit: Hi Christy, welcome to CoasterBuzz! :)]

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My signature is broked.
*** This post was edited by jimmybob 7/6/2003 8:29:28 PM ***

Jason Wilson said:

10. Drop Zone (PC) - I was one of those "lucky" folks who got stuck at the top and had to repel down. That was the SCARIEST thing I have EVER done. I'm sure you all know the details of the incident as it made national news.

Could you go into more detail. Sounds scary and very unsafe.

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Shock Wave R.I.P 1988-2002

Number of Rides on S: UF= 63

Yeah, it does sound scary. What does it mean that you had to repel down?

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"Train Secure"
*** This post was edited by SFGAMan 7/6/2003 8:40:18 PM ***

The first ride I got stuck was the Haunted Mansion when I was 3. I got stuck for about 35 minutes in the room with the holographic lady in the crystal ball and cried because it was my first time.

I got stuck on Splash Mountain in the place where the jumping fountains are and right before the laughing place drop.

I've gotten stuck many times at the top of Thunder Mountain's lifts.

I also got stuck at the top of Megazeph's first drop twice on United Way sneak peak of opening day.

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Top 3: 1. Top Thrill Dragster 2. Millennium Force 3. Magnum XL200

I've been stuck on a couple of rides . . .

1.)Orbit at SFGAm. We were waiting for the ride to start and it wouldn't! We just sat there for 20 minutes.

2.) S:UF also at GAm. The floor wouldn't go all the way down. that was only about five minutes. My choras directer (who's evil) got stuck in the flying position for about a 1/2 an hour.

3.) Logger's run GAm not pga. The Gates at the top of the big hill wouldn't open. This was my first time on it, years ago, so I was scared of hte drop. (I was like five!)

There are others, but I can't think of them.

The only ride that I have ever been stuck on is Vertical Velocity at SFGam during fright fest 2002. The e-stop brakes just outside the station stopped us halfway through the ride. After a half hour of sitting there, they slowly and loudly moved the train back into the station.

Lance Baker: I got stuck just as the car(or whatever it is) got to the top of the towers. It was rising as usual then it just stopped. It was flat, not tilted but it still hurt after about 20 minutes because those seats arent the most comfortable seats.

Also, I was stuck in the brake run of Air at AT for about 10 min and when i see a stuck ride or coaster I always take a picture of it(I got at least 15 of them).

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If Milli Vanilli fell in the woods, would someone else make a sound ?

I got stuck on Wild Thing at Valleyfair! for about 15 mins, near the top of the lift. It wasn't really that bad, and I called my parents from my cell phone while i was up there, just to give them a little shock

Repelling is when you put on a harness, attach it to a rope, and slowly make your way down an incline.

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Six Flags Worlds of Adventure Online
"We find that people don't pay any attention to what's underneath the ride."--SFMM Rep discussing Scream! as quoted in AT

Another one stuck in Splash Mountain. Its been three years, but boats were backed up from the last theme scene to the final drop, if I rermember. Then it started to rain and ops had to come get us.

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2002/2003
KWTM

The worst I've experienced was on the Edmonton Mindbender in 1990. The ride-op stopped us on the block brake after the double loop. One of the riders behind me had managed to get partially out of his restraint. After a terse lecture over the loudspeaker about keeping our appendages inside of the car, we were on our way again.

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“As scarce as truth is, the supply has always been in excess of the demand.”
-Josh Billings

RCT_MASTER said:
Got stuck for about 10 seconds on the top of Rolling Thunder's lift (@ SFGadv.)
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Mike T.
RCT2 Wizards-Medusa99
Current track record: 25

Was this on July 2nd?? If so, I was three trains before yours, and saw your train from the Viper line. I wish they'd do some work on RT. That right side looks like it's about to disintegrate ;-).

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"The most wasted of all days is one without laughter." e.e.cummings