When you go to Disney World daily like we do, you get stuck on quite a few rides over time.
Disney rides malfunction from time to time — sometimes due to guest behaviors (like hats flying off or people reaching out of ride vehicles) and sometimes due to technical difficulties. Occasionally, we’ll be onboard a ride when it stops and we get the chance to see “behind the curtain.” So today, we’re sharing some of the most interesting ride closure photos we have!
Rise of the Resistance
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is arguably one of the most popular attractions in Hollywood Studios. Seriously, people wait in line for HOURS to do this ride because of its incredible storytelling and extremely advanced technology. But when we hopped on the ride, we got the chance to see how one of the effects really works!
After you encounter Kylo Ren “accidentally” during the ride, he begins to chase your ride vehicle through the ship. One of those scenes involves Kylo walking towards you down a hallway with his lightsaber lit up. And during our ride? It stopped working!
When the ride halted, we could tell that this effect was made by projecting onto a flat piece of material that was shaded darker around the edges. The hand holding the lightsaber extends and retracts from the background material. Pretty cool effect!
Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover
One that’s a little less surprising is the evacuation process for the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover. This ride goes along a track above Tomorrowland, and if the ride shuts down, the riders are walked alongside the track until they get to an exit point.
You can see this evacuation when you’re outside in the land, but you may also be able to spot people being escorted off the ride from Star Traders — the gift shop has an upper window that peeks into the ride! From there, they’ll exit through doors and down staircases that drop into Tomorrowland.
Test Track
It’s currently being renovated into a new version, but back when Test Track was open, we witnessed an evacuation of the ride where people were walked through various ride scenes to the exit. Since this ride has a smooth ramp-like track, it was an easier trek than some others.
We’ll be interested to see if the evacuation plan is any different with the new version of the attraction when it opens in EPCOT.
Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway is one of Disney World’s newer attractions, operated with trackless vehicles. When this ride has issues and has to close, the vehicles all stop in their respective rooms and the lights come on.
It’s very interesting to see this ride evacuated because turning the lights on highlights some of the hidden effects in the attraction. It’s also an interesting experience due to the fact that you’re just exiting on a “regular” concrete floor.
So there you have our experiences with some of the most bizarre ride evacuations and malfunctions in Disney World!
For more behind the scenes, check out this video of ways you can get kicked out of Disney World!
Stay tuned to DFB for more Disney World updates.









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