A recent ride disruption at Walt Disney World Resort’s Soarin’ Around the World attraction caused quite the stir among guests. Last week, dozens of riders found themselves stuck over 70 feet above EPCOT when the flight simulator suddenly stopped, leaving them suspended mid-air for over 30 minutes. To make matters more uncomfortable, one guest reportedly became ill and vomited during the unexpected pause.
Soarin’ Around the World, which first opened in 2005, offers Disney Park guests the sensation of flying over iconic landmarks around the globe. In 2016, it evolved from its original Soarin’ Over California theme and now has sister rides across Disney parks worldwide. The ride’s worldwide recognition means many are reluctant to miss it, but this recent incident might give some Disney Park guests pause.
TikTok user @kettlecornmakspam, one of the stranded Disney Park guests, shared a firsthand video from the broken-down Soarin’ Around the World.
“We have been up here for 30 min and someone barfed,” the video’s caption read.
@kettlecornmakspam we have been up here for 30 min and someone barfed #epcot #help #disney
Despite the chaos, Disney cast members efficiently managed the situation, safely evacuating all guests from the ride. As compensation, those affected were given two unrestricted Lightning Lane passes, allowing them to bypass lines on popular rides like Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind.
“Update we got 2 free lighting lanes and rode Guardians twice in a row,” the TikToker later posted.
Walt Disney World Resort rarely issues public statements on ride malfunctions; this instance was no exception. However, Soarin’ Around the World reopened and resumed normal operations shortly after the incident.
Have you ever gotten stuck on a ride at Magic Kingdom Park, EPCOT, Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park, or Disney’s Hollywood Studios? Share your story with Disney Dining in the comments!
Please note that the story outlined in this article is based on a personal Disney Parks guest experience. No two guest experiences are alike, and this article does not necessarily align with Disney Dining’s personal views on Disney Park operations.
We have been stuck on several rides at WDW. Once we were on the Buzz Lightyear laser ride & were stopped inside for over 30 minutes. We stayed until the maintenance issue was resolved & the ride restarted. We also were stuck in the Haunted Mansion for about 30 minutes. We were stuck going up a ramp inside the ride. Wired when the lights came on. Magic lost. The worst was being inside the avatar ride line for 3 hours. There are two different theaters inside the ride & 2 lines feeding those theaters. One theater kept malfunctioning, so both lines were feeding 1 theater only. The line we were in would move along & then suddenly just stop for long periods of time. Because we had waited 1.5 hrs &’ didn’t know how much far into the process we were or how much longer we had to go, we hated to leave the line. Too much time invested. No water. Hot. Before Covid so people were packed in the line. Worst experience -ever. Rude was awesome, but NOT worth a 3 hr wait.
I got stuck on Test Track shortly after it opened! We got halfway round the track outside where the cars accelerate and instead, our car slowed down and we could smell burning. One woman was panicking and tried to get off, but cast members calmed her down. They got us going again after a while and the ride restarted. We got out of the car and were led straight to the loading bay to go again!