Amusement park thrill rides are supposed to give you the feeling of experiencing real danger, but without any of that danger actually being real. Sometimes, however, things can go wrong and the thrill can become a bit too real. Such was the case over the weekend at Canada’s Wonderland, when a swinging ride malfunctioned, causing guests to be suspended in the air, upside down for almost 30 minutes.
People reports that the incident took place at about 10:30 in the morning on September 23. The Lumberjack, a swinging ride that puts guests in a carriage that is then sent in 360-degree loops as much as 75 feet in the air, stopped working. The ride vehicle was left suspended in the air, with the guests all upside down.
And here’s what may honestly be the worst part of the whole story: when the ride was finally fixed to the point where the guests could be unloaded, the ride had to do several of its standard revolutions before the guests could exit the attraction. Needless to say, I can’t imagine that part was fun for anybody. At least one person on the ride reportedly threw up while upside down, and others began to panic.
First Aid personnel at Canada’s Wonderland attended to everybody. Most were reviewed and released back into the park. A couple of guests reported chest pains, but they were released without additional medical attention being necessary. The Lumberjack is currently closed while an investigation is undertaken into what exactly went wrong.
Canada’s Wonderland, located in Ontario, is one of the top amusement parks in North America, and thrill rides are its specialty. It currently boasts 17 roller coasters, the 3rd most of any amusement park in the world.
This is certainly something resembling an actual amusement park nightmare. Attractions breaking down on occasion is to be expected, but the more intense the thrill ride, the bigger the problem when shutdowns happen. It’s one thing if a dark ride like the Haunted Mansion stops moving while you’re on it. It sucks, but nobody will get hurt. What happened at Canada’s Wonderland was a little different.
We’ve seen guests get frustrated when stuck on an attraction, including people jumping off of Disney World roller coasters, which can be incredibly dangerous. In this case, doing that isn’t even an option. There are times when a thrill ride restraint system barely feels like it’s enough to keep you in, but in this case, it surely ears whatever it’s worth.
We’ve seen similar issues with other thrill-ride experiences. Several were injured when the roller coaster El Torro broke down at a Six Flags park last year. We’ve even seen roller coaster malfunctions lead to guests’ deaths, though that’s a very rare occurrence. Even simple thrill rides are not immune to major malfunctions as a slingshot attraction saw a band snap last year. Luckily, nobody was seriously hurt.
This sort of ride has never been my favorite, and I’ve just added another reason why. I just don’t need to risk getting stuck upside down.