After spending a full day immersed in the excitement of Walt Disney World—from early morning rope drops and high-speed rides to spectacular nighttime fireworks like Happily Ever After—most guests are ready to kick off their shoes and drift off to sleep. But for some staying at Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort recently, that evening peace was short-lived.
According to a post shared on Reddit, a fire alarm sent guests out of their rooms and into the night. The original poster, Redditor DuckQuacks, even uploaded a short clip showing fellow guests gathered outside the hotel buildings, with the loud alarm echoing in the background. The evacuation reportedly occurred around 11 p.m., and while a hotel manager was onsite during the incident, they reportedly did not know the reason behind the alert at the time.
“Fire Alarm I think,” the poster wrote later in the thread. “Asked a manager standing outside the building and he said he had no clue what was going on.”
No official statement has been released and there were no reports of fire, leading many to believe the alarm may have been triggered by a false signal—something that, according to several commenters, isn’t especially rare.
“It happens all the time,” one user named asealifeforme shared. “Happened a couple weeks ago at the Poly. We had one at Pop because the people tried smoking in the room or bathroom.”
Others chimed in with potential causes. A user named WishIWasOnTheFarm, who identified as a maintenance worker, speculated it could have been a fire sprinkler maintenance glitch:
“There are a variety of ways an alarm can go off like this that don’t involve literal fire… the most common thing I saw was when a fire sprinkler line starts losing pressure and they go off,” they said. “Especially easy for a false alarm in a dry line.”
Another user, xeno0153, noted that guests often misinterpret smells from heaters: “Not alarms, but the #1 call for concern we got from hotel guests was ‘we can smell a faint odor’ after turning the heat on… Many people have not familiarized themselves with the smell of dust on a heater coil.”
A firefighter who goes by Blaaamo offered additional insight into what might trigger an alarm: “As a firefighter I can tell you there are lots of ways these go off. Vaping is #1 on the list, but showers, food, smoking are all on the list.”
Interestingly, some commenters took the situation in stride, joking that this unplanned middle-of-the-night event was actually part of Disney’s guest experience, calling it “Extra Magic Evening Hours”—a playful nod to the resort’s perks like Extended Evening Hours and Early Theme Park Entry.
While a middle-of-the-night hotel evacuation might not be on anyone’s vacation checklist, many seasoned visitors to Walt Disney World—home to more than 25 themed resorts—say these surprise alarms are just part of the adventure.
Have you ever had to evacuate due to an unknown alarm? Let us know in the comments down below!
