Disney Skyliner shutdown and evacuation - October 6 2019

[sedati]

*Disclaimer* I don't mean to demean those who have endured legitimate hardships but...

I think the difference between being inconvenienced in the real world vs Disney is the idea that Disney will give you free stuff. There were people who felt a Disney Cruise was suitable compensation for being stuck in a gondola. That doesn't happen elsewhere- at least not to such an extreme extent. I rely of public transportation and have been through all manner of issues including a vehicle crashing into a building, and never once received an apology (beyond automated announcements) or any form of compensation.
Most people in a bad situation try and cooperate and get through it. Disney is up against people who want to escalate in order to maximize freebies or get that last great American dream- the out of court settlement.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Because history shows over and over that they are “special”

And very, very inwardly weak.

 

[Phil12]

Again, If it’s an emergency call 911. Your original post said if people are stuck and feel they aren’t getting enough info from Disney they should light up 911. That’s wrong. They should light up Disney’s customer service line. Calling 911 is only for an emergency, not to complain. I don’t care if it’s 5 minutes or 5 hours. It’s obvious that people knew they were trapped up there. There were CMs and other guests everywhere. It’s not like someone getting trapped in an elevator and calling 911 because they don’t know if anyone realizes they are in there.

As was clearly demonstrated during the last incident, Disney did a terrible job trying to solve the problem. You may desire to stay stranded in a gondola for five hours, but if I'm in that same gondola with you, I'll be on my cell phone calling 911. Being stranded in an inaccessible location for five hours is an emergency. And you can report me for making a non-emergency call to 911.

The bottom line is that Disney does not want to appear to be foolish and incapable. And so what if Disney CM's know the gondola's are stranded? Heck, they're the people that caused the stranding! And as hours dragged on you can't reasonably expect a sane person not to attempt to summon help.

It's a wonder that some guests didn't destroy the intercom speakers rather than listen to three hours of, "Please stay seated as your Skyliner will return to flight at any moment.". The ad nauseam of the repeated announcement was most likely enough to make some guests vomit.

And, as has been mentioned, the only good point for Disney was that this previous incident occurred at night so they were spared the problems associated with heat exhaustion. In addition there are still many unanswered questions. Disney has stonewalled about the incident and that indicates that they don't want the public to know the who, what, when, where, why and how of the facts that caused the problems. And that lack of candor tells me they are not to be trusted.

Also, I haven't done the math, but I would guess that if the gondolas are full of guests, there must be several hundred people on any given line. Out of that number I would expect if the line stops for more than 20 minutes, if only one person called 911 for help with a medical emergency then that entire line is going to come under intense scrutiny.

Let's all hope Disney has learned from the incident. But since the public doesn't know about what Disney learned or what changes they may have made, we can neither trust nor verify if things have gotten any better.

 

[Phil12]

Folks with medical conditions are going to be on every line and every day of Skyliner operation:

Disney World gondola 911 tapes reveal girl frantically seeking help for epileptic mom

For nearly an hour, an 11-year-old Lakeland girl was on the phone with 911, pleading for somebody to rescue her epileptic and anxious mother trapped on Disney World’s Skyliner gondola earlier…

www.orlandosentinel.com

 

[GoofGoof]

As was clearly demonstrated during the last incident, Disney did a terrible job trying to solve the problem. You may desire to stay stranded in a gondola for five hours, but if I'm in that same gondola with you, I'll be on my cell phone calling 911. Being stranded in an inaccessible location for five hours is an emergency. And you can report me for making a non-emergency call to 911.

The bottom line is that Disney does not want to appear to be foolish and incapable. And so what if Disney CM's know the gondola's are stranded? Heck, they're the people that caused the stranding! And as hours dragged on you can't reasonably expect a sane person not to attempt to summon help.

It's a wonder that some guests didn't destroy the intercom speakers rather than listen to three hours of, "Please stay seated as your Skyliner will return to flight at any moment.". The ad nauseam of the repeated announcement was most likely enough to make some guests vomit.

And, as has been mentioned, the only good point for Disney was that this previous incident occurred at night so they were spared the problems associated with heat exhaustion. In addition there are still many unanswered questions. Disney has stonewalled about the incident and that indicates that they don't want the public to know the who, what, when, where, why and how of the facts that caused the problems. And that lack of candor tells me they are not to be trusted.

Also, I haven't done the math, but I would guess that if the gondolas are full of guests, there must be several hundred people on any given line. Out of that number I would expect if the line stops for more than 20 minutes, if only one person called 911 for help with a medical emergency then that entire line is going to come under intense scrutiny.

Let's all hope Disney has learned from the incident. But since the public doesn't know about what Disney learned or what changes they may have made, we can neither trust nor verify if things have gotten any better.

Anyone involved with this incident has a major axe to grind with Disney. That has nothing to do with the 911 system. Advocating that everyone who is stuck on the gondolas should dial 911 is plain wrong. Nobody should be lighting up any 911 lines in protest of Disney’s poor handling of the situation.

 

[Phil12]

Anyone involved with this incident has a major axe to grind with Disney. That has nothing to do with the 911 system. Advocating that everyone who is stuck on the gondolas should dial 911 is plain wrong. Nobody should be lighting up any 911 lines in protest of Disney’s poor handling of the situation.

As previously stated, the sheer number of guests on any given line will ensure calls going out to 911 in the case of any extended stop of the Skyliner. Cell phones are ubiquitous. Stranded guests will decide what is an emergency.

 

[MrMcDuck]

Folks with medical conditions are going to be on every line and every day of Skyliner operation:

Disney World gondola 911 tapes reveal girl frantically seeking help for epileptic mom

For nearly an hour, an 11-year-old Lakeland girl was on the phone with 911, pleading for somebody to rescue her epileptic and anxious mother trapped on Disney World’s Skyliner gondola earlier…

www.orlandosentinel.com

People that don't understand mdcpr's "different audience" need to read that entire article. Disney gets a lot of guests with physical and mental health issues. Add in the families with overprotective parents factor, which is going to be significant at a place like WDW, and you have the recipe for chaos when these things break down and aren't handled well. We all wish it weren't so, but that doesn't change the fact that it is so.

 

[Tanna Eros]

People that don't understand mdcpr's "different audience" need to read that entire article. Disney gets a lot of guests with physical and mental health issues. Add in the families with overprotective parents factor, which is going to be significant at a place like WDW, and you have the recipe for chaos when these things break down and aren't handled well. We all wish it weren't so, but that doesn't change the fact that it is so.

I believe you are onto something. The people that would go cliff climbing or scuba diving are off doing just that, not meandering around Disney parks. Disney is for people that want a safer environment, or else they would be cliff climbing, too. Maybe that's what's so surprising when something that even seems unsafe happens at the park.

 

[mdcpr]

People that don't understand mdcpr's "different audience" need to read that entire article. Disney gets a lot of guests with physical and mental health issues. Add in the families with overprotective parents factor, which is going to be significant at a place like WDW, and you have the recipe for chaos when these things break down and aren't handled well. We all wish it weren't so, but that doesn't change the fact that it is so.

Thank you.

 

[mergatroid]

As was clearly demonstrated during the last incident, Disney did a terrible job trying to solve the problem. You may desire to stay stranded in a gondola for five hours, but if I'm in that same gondola with you, I'll be on my cell phone calling 911. Being stranded in an inaccessible location for five hours is an emergency. And you can report me for making a non-emergency call to 911.

The bottom line is that Disney does not want to appear to be foolish and incapable. And so what if Disney CM's know the gondola's are stranded? Heck, they're the people that caused the stranding! And as hours dragged on you can't reasonably expect a sane person not to attempt to summon help.

It's a wonder that some guests didn't destroy the intercom speakers rather than listen to three hours of, "Please stay seated as your Skyliner will return to flight at any moment.". The ad nauseam of the repeated announcement was most likely enough to make some guests vomit.

And, as has been mentioned, the only good point for Disney was that this previous incident occurred at night so they were spared the problems associated with heat exhaustion. In addition there are still many unanswered questions. Disney has stonewalled about the incident and that indicates that they don't want the public to know the who, what, when, where, why and how of the facts that caused the problems. And that lack of candor tells me they are not to be trusted.

Also, I haven't done the math, but I would guess that if the gondolas are full of guests, there must be several hundred people on any given line. Out of that number I would expect if the line stops for more than 20 minutes, if only one person called 911 for help with a medical emergency then that entire line is going to come under intense scrutiny.

Let's all hope Disney has learned from the incident. But since the public doesn't know about what Disney learned or what changes they may have made, we can neither trust nor verify if things have gotten any better.

Would you do the same if you were stuck in traffic for 3 hours unable to leave your car? If you have a medical condition that's one thing, but if not do you think that call is a great use of the time of those manning the 911 switchboard? I mean if you've no medical condition and others have who are in the same predicament, do you feel the emergency services should be trying to get you out at the same time?

Whilst a terrible experience for those involved, in a scenario like the one that happened surely all the guests must have known that Disney were aware of the issues and that decisions (right or wrong) were being made. Personally if it were me in the skyliner for 3 hours not moving then I'd be very angry with what was happening (or not happening) and no doubt tired and uncomfortable. I'd be feeling let down and also be thinking "Surely Disney could do better or let me know what's going on" and "I expect a big apology for this".

However I'd also realise the the cabin I'm in is perfectly safe hanging there. Uncomfortable, stressful and boring yes, but safe and not going to fall. I'd also guess that I'm nowhere near the point of starving to death or dying of thirst, so I wouldn't be unduly worried about that at this point. So if I'm healthy, my cabin's not on fire, then personally I'd think calling 911 would be completely irresponsible. I'd think Disney were irresponsible or unprepared too, however two wrongs don't make a right and I absolutely wouldn't want to dial 911 to say I'm healthy with no urgent needs but want to be 'rescued' with hundreds of other people.

 

[Rickcat96]

The fault is Disney- don't blame the folks that got stuck, if Disney did their due-diligence, guests calling 911 would not be a conversation piece.

 

[Heppenheimer]

Just checking, does everyone realize that the main reason why the stoppage lasted so long was not the original mechanical issue but because guests had called 911 and EMS thus decided they needed to attempt a rescue? (And the rescue was for a panic attack?). The phrase "self-fulfilling prophecy" comes to mind.

 

[larryz]

The people that would go cliff climbing or scuba diving are off doing just that, not meandering around Disney parks.

And when they DO go to WDW, they don't panic when their ride or transport breaks down and stops for an extended period.

 

[KrzyKtty]

When you take any form of transportation, especially public, you have to accept a level of risk inherent with it.

When you get on any Gondala system, you are accepting the risk that something may go very wrong and you will be stranded. The risk statically may be small, but it is there. Odds are your plane probably won't crash, but sometimes they do. If you are not ok being stranded ever, then don't ride.

I'm not saying Disney handled the situation well. I'm not even saying that it crashing 6 days after opening is acceptable. However if your reaction to being stranded is to freak out, then maybe you should ride the bus. These are individual cars hanging 60 ft off the ground and spaced far apart. There is no real way to evacuate it except at a snail's pace. If you take the things and something happens, you have to realize that a three hour evacuation is a real possibility. You accepted that reality by getting on anyway.

And while Disney isn't being very upfront, even if the intercoms can air live message relays, I don't blame Disney for not telling anyone 60ft off the ground that there was a literal crash. It was probably Disney's poor attempt at staving off an even worse mass panic.

 

[mergatroid]

Just checking, does everyone realize that the main reason why the stoppage lasted so long was not the original mechanical issue but because guests had called 911 and EMS thus decided they needed to attempt a rescue? (And the rescue was for a panic attack?). The phrase "self-fulfilling prophecy" comes to mind.

I think the majority off us do there Heppenheimer, no harm pointing it out again though.

 

[Heppenheimer]

I think the majority off us do there Heppenheimer, no harm pointing it out again though.

Some posters were justifying the decision to call 911, so I'm not sure if they realize that the extended delay was the direct result of the 911 calls.

 

[drizgirl]

But is it really any different from every other 'lack of information' status Disney puts out? People keep saying "they weren't ready" -- I think it's more about "people don't like Disneys method". Disney never gives out details.. There was no pressing matter to tell guests to do anything except 'stay calm and be patient.. use the kit under the seat if you must'.

The problem with information is people love to second guess every decision. So if you tell people "we are holding up resuming operations due to a medical emergency" -- everyone will just freak out over why one person is more important.. why not this.. why not that.. etc

What people need to do is simply establish frequency of contact.. so people know they are not forgotten. Disney could say "We've had an issue at a stations that is preventing us from running the line through to the stations. You are not in any danger. We do not have an ETA on resuming operations yet, but we will get back to you no later than 30mins from now with an update" And just repeat with better precision as they get it.

ETA: tell people if they must, use the comms box, but please reserve it for only emergencies. Do not crowd the system with requests for updates or information

Can't you imagine how many people probably tried to use the comm boxes to ask about their ADR... or fireworks FP, whatever..

It might be the Disney way to close ranks and go silent on stuff. But with people stuck in gondolas for an extended period of time, I embrace my inner Dr. Phil and ask "How's that working for them?" I'm sort of shocked that Disney ever thought that approach would end well in this situation.

I hope they have taken a critical look at their communications process and (rather than blame their guests as so many here want to do) they have made changes that will keep this from unfolding the same way in a future incident.

 

[drizgirl]

Just checking, does everyone realize that the main reason why the stoppage lasted so long was not the original mechanical issue but because guests had called 911 and EMS thus decided they needed to attempt a rescue? (And the rescue was for a panic attack?). The phrase "self-fulfilling prophecy" comes to mind.

How are you going to keep that from happening again? I doubt that everyone ranting about it here will change anything.

 

[GoofGoof]

The fault is Disney- don't blame the folks that got stuck, if Disney did their due-diligence, guests calling 911 would not be a conversation piece.

911 and Disney are 2 unrelated things. If you are upset at Disney for not doing their due-diligence the answer is not to call 911. Call guest services, call Bob Iger himself if that helps. You shouldn’t call 911 to punish Disney or in the hope of giving them bad PR. Nobody is blaming the guests who got stuck for being upset or blaming the ones with real medical conditions for calling. The vast majority of guests who were stuck did not call 911 and that’s a good thing.

I know it’s me repeating myself over and over but it’s important for people to understand. If people read a bunch of posts here or anywhere else advocating everyone to light up 911 when the gondola stops that could lead to a serious problem. Just trying to put the other side out there in hopes people come to their senses and realize that is not the appropriate use of the 911 system.

 

[VaderTron]

Cherry pickers setup and move loads faster than cranes do... you don't need a crystal ball to figure this one out. Moving smaller things takes less base and stability than moving big heavy things.

Wait till they have a scooter containing a 479lbs individual. The boom operator gets out his scientific calculator and radios down to his companions to check the boom angle.

Better hope that chair occupant doesn't try to save face and say "350lbs".