It seems every other day, someone is breaking the rules at Disney Parks. Fights and rude behavior have increased, along with people doing dangerous stunts and exciting ride vehicles. Just days ago, someone exited their boat on Pirates of the Caribbean at Magic Kingdom and walked around in the water. Guests have also been known to jump onto ride platforms at Living with the Land and Gran Fiesta Tour at EPCOT.
This time it happened at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad after the ride had stopped temporarily. Rather than wait for Cast Members to give instructions, a guest decided to take matters into their own hands and exit the ride vehicle. Then they walked on the tracks to find the rides exit which is incredibly dangerous. Though the guest’s train had momentarily stopped, other trains were still running on the track. In fact, according to eye-witness reports of the incident, a speeding mine train was incoming. This erratic behavior put the guest at risk of being struck by the moving train.
While Big Thunder Mountain Railroad may not be Disney’s fastest Coaster (that accolade goes to Tron: Lightcyle / Run) it does reach speeds of 35 miles per hour. Had the guest been struck it could have been fatal. A version of the “wildest ride in the wilderness” ride can be found at Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disneyland Paris, and Tokyo Disney.
This particular incident occurred at Disneyland Paris on July 16. In a video posted on Twitter, you can see a Cast Member running frantically toward the rule-breaker. The video has no sound, but the poster wrote (in Dutch): “Some visitors are dumber than a potato. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Broke down, and these guests thought it would be a good idea to find their own exit, and that was via the track, while there was still a train to come!” Thankfully, all was well, and the guest was safe, but it could have ended up very differently.
Sommige bezoekers zijn nog dommer dan een aardappel.
Big Thunder Mountain viel in storing dus deze bezoekers dachten dat het een goed idee was om een eigen uitgang te zoeken en dat was via de baan, terwijl er nog een trein moest komen he! #DisneylandParis pic.twitter.com/T8WsiPL45b
— Arendo (@arendo_geense) July 16, 2023
When a ride stops, especially a roller-coaster, it can be a very scary thing for a lot of people. The anxiety sets in, and a fight or flight response kicks in. That’s because the reason we love roller-coasters is that we perceive them as dangerous but also know they are inspected for safety and regulated and tested so we can let ourselves go and experience “danger.” When something goes wrong, many freakout. However, doing so can put you in very real danger.