Soarin' Evacuation (7/16/19)

[aaron611]

We had fast passes for Soarin' yesterday morning; it was our first FP of the day. So the kids and I hoofed it from the resort bus as fast as we could and barely made it in time.

The FP line took quite awhile and then when we finally got buckled in, they suddenly made an announcement that we were to unfasten our seat belts and exit. All of the cast members acted weird about it and ignored every question from the guests.

At first, we thought they were just having us step outside and then we would come back in and finish the ride. But they ended up marching us out a back exit and winded around through the back lot behind Journey Into Imagination and the Canada Pavilion.

We were deposited back into the park without an apology nor an explanation. The cast members literally said nothing.

It was just really weird. I don't believe the ride was shut down because it continued to show a 60-70 minute wait on the app afterward.

Does anyone know what happened?

 

[aaron611]

They didn’t give you a makeup fast pass?

No makeup pass. Just a hundred people being marched through the back lot and deposited back into the park without a word.

I wouldn't bother asking on this board if it wasn't handled in such a mysterious manner.

 

[drizgirl]

No makeup pass. Just a hundred people being marched through the back lot and deposited back into the park without a word.

I wouldn't bother asking on this board if it wasn't handled in such a mysterious manner.

That's really crappy. You get one decent FP in that park to start with and a bunch of people in your group chose to use it there. They owed you a FP regardless of what happened. I'm sure you could have gone to Guest Services and gotten one, but that might have taken as long to accomplish as just waiting in line again.

 

[aaron611]

That's really crappy. You get one decent FP in that park to start with and a bunch of people in your group chose to use it there. They owed you a FP regardless of what happened. I'm sure you could have gone to Guest Services and gotten one, but that might have taken as long to accomplish as just waiting in line again.

Well, we had already rode Soarin' a couple days earlier and then rode it again late that night. What really would have sucked would have been waiting in standby for 60 minutes like some of the others did.

We all just passively followed orders, bewildered and expecting that there would be an explanation and/or a FP reimbursement. But then they deposited us back in front of Journey Into Imagination and then we all suddenly realized this is it....no explanation whatsoever.

I was initially thinking it was some kind of terrorist threat or something, but now I have no clue.

 

[larryz]

"Ladies and Gentlemen.... The Back Side of Soarin'!"

 

[drizgirl]

Well, we had already rode Soarin' a couple days earlier and then rode it again late that night. What really would have sucked would have been waiting in standby for 60 minutes like some of the others did.

We all just passively followed orders, bewildered and expecting that there would be an explanation and/or a FP reimbursement. But then they deposited us back in front of Journey Into Imagination and then we all suddenly realized this is it....no explanation whatsoever.

I was initially thinking it was some kind of terrorist threat or something, but now I have no clue.

But Disney didn't know you had already ridden it. And I'm sure there were plenty of other in group who hadn't ridden it. I understand it was an unplanned situation, but I'm sure it happens often enough that they should be prepared with someone at the end to distribute a replacement FP. It's not like the old days where you have any sort of expectation of just getting one on your own.

 

[sy278]

Had a similar experience in September 2015 on the TGMR. All the audio on the attraction stopped and the lights came up with an announcement to the CMs telling them to evacuate the ride which ended with 'Signal 25 west'. We also received to makeup passes but weren't to bothered as we were in the last scene of the ride. However outside the CMs were in a human chain blocking all entry to the TGMR. I googled Signal 25 west and found that Signal 25 is CM speak for Fire, but nothing more about the west part but that could have been something along the lines of advising its a drill or to exit via a specific area of the ride building.

 

[NeonNinja]

its called fog in the sky that means there were techincal difficulties with the theater. ITS RARE but it does happen.

 

[Jon81uk]

its called fog in the sky that means there were techincal difficulties with the theater. ITS RARE but it does happen.

If its technical difficulties then you would exit as normal. Only reason to leave via the emergency route is a suspicious package alert, fire alarm or similar.

 

[LAKid53]

But Disney didn't know you had already ridden it. And I'm sure there were plenty of other in group who hadn't ridden it. I understand it was an unplanned situation, but I'm sure it happens often enough that they should be prepared with someone at the end to distribute a replacement FP. It's not like the old days where you have any sort of expectation of just getting one on your own.

We were waiting in line to ride Everest when it broke down. As we were leaving, a CM had a hand held device to touch the MBs of those with FPs to give them another one.

 

[donsullivan]

If its technical difficulties then you would exit as normal. Only reason to leave via the emergency route is a suspicious package alert, fire alarm or similar.

Yup. And if it's any of those types of conditions (and it sounds like it probably was) safety and security are top priority, as they should be. And nobody cares about FP. The cast member has ONLY one responsibility in that situation; quickly and safely evacuate the building.

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

"Ladies and Gentlemen.... The Back Side of Soarin'!"View attachment 390948

Guest got to Experience Disney's newest attraction......GROUNDED.

 

[HoldenC]

If this was Tuesday morning then it was indeed an evacuation due to a fire alarm trigger. As far as I know the entire Land pavilion was evacuated for a bit.

 

[danlb_2000]

Yup. And if it's any of those types of conditions (and it sounds like it probably was) safety and security are top priority, as they should be. And nobody cares about FP. The cast member has ONLY one responsibility in that situation; quickly and safely evacuate the building.

But you can have both, safety and security and good customer service.

 

[drizgirl]

But you can have both, safety and security and good customer service.

Correct. They are not mutually exclusive.

 

[donsullivan]

But you can have both, safety and security and good customer service.

Correct. They are not mutually exclusive.

In the event of the need for an emergency evacuation of the building which it seems like this was, having even one cast member worried about anything other than safe evacuation is one too many. The ONLY thing that is important is the safe evacuation of the building. I'm sorry, but demanding that somebody should have been focused on getting your FP back instead of safe evacuation of the building is an unreasonable demand. And not replacing your FP is not poor service, they did the most important service thing they could/should do by ensuring the safe evacuation of all guests and CM's.

 

[drizgirl]

In the event of the need for an emergency evacuation of the building which it seems like this was, having even one cast member worried about anything other than safe evacuation is one too many. The ONLY thing that is important is the safe evacuation of the building. I'm sorry, but demanding that somebody should have been focused on getting your FP back instead of safe evacuation of the building is an unreasonable demand. And not replacing your FP is not poor service, they did the most important service thing they could/should do by ensuring the safe evacuation of all guests and CM's.

But I doubt every CM in the park was involved in safety. Someone at the end of the line could have been there dealing with customer service. Or someone at the end of the evac area turning people loose in the park could have said "wait over there if you need a replacement FP".

People get 1 tier 1 FP per day in Epcot. Disney escalates the value of that FP by imposing the limit and having them scheduled in advance.

 

[WondersOfLife]

If anyone was upset about the CMs forgetting to give people a make up FP... All anyone would have to do is go to Guest Relations and explain what happened, and then they'd just give them a FP.

 

[Chef Mickey]

What's interesting is we received the same treatment on Toy Story Midway Mania a few months ago. Literally no one said anything except giving instructions on where to walk. We had to wait for every vehicle to be unloaded and then walk out together. No make up fast pass or explanation.

Maybe it's some kind of thing to be very deliberate with instructions and not give much detail.

 

[donsullivan]

But I doubt every CM in the park was involved in safety. Someone at the end of the line could have been there dealing with customer service. Or someone at the end of the evac area turning people loose in the park could have said "wait over there if you need a replacement FP".

People get 1 tier 1 FP per day in Epcot. Disney escalates the value of that FP by imposing the limit and having them scheduled in advance.

The fact that some here think getting a free FP (replacement or otherwise) is more important than safe evacuation of a building during a fire (potential or real) is in my mind ridiculous. I'm no longer going to try and reason with that perspective because it is beyond reason. I'm out!