Update 11/19: the Walt Disney World Monorail system is back to normal operations today. Monorail Coral has been involved in a monorail accident at Walt Disney World. The accident happened on the express loop between the TTC and the Contemporary Resort. No guests were on… Read More »Monorail Coral suffers damage in accident at Walt Disney World
Good news from Disneyland Paris, the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction in which a 5-year old child was injured on Wednesday reopened for normal operations on Saturday. Authorities gave permission for the ride to reopen after it was found to be free of defects or… Read More »Disneyland Paris Reopens Pirates Attraction, Boy Released From Hospital
Update: Sunday 4/14/13 12pm PT – Just spoke with our contact at Disneyland and have a new story with important updates to the below post:
Update: Sunday 4/14/13 9am PT– Disneyland opened today with the Matterhorn Bobsleds running. Space Mountain and Soarin’ over California remain closed, according to Disney PR. Yesterday’s Matterhorn closure may have been unrelated to CAL/OSHA inspection. I’m hearing more inspections could happen over the next few days. Still awaiting official statement from Disneyland PR.
The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (CAL/OSHA) delivered seven safety violation citations to the Disneyland resort yesterday for Space Mountain. For some reason (update: the closures were made voluntarily by Disneyland after an internal safety review), this has resulted in three major attractions to be closed at the Disneyland Resort today. Those attractions are Space Mountain, The Matterhorn Bobsleds, and Soarin’ Over California. It’s not yet clear if the Matterhorn and Soarin’ are related to the same CAL/OSHA filing. I’ve asked Disneyland for clarification.
The citations were related a 2006 agreement to make improvements and to inspections following recent accidents such as the man who was seriously injured while cleaning the outside of Space Mountain in November 2012. The findings include simple failures like not having a charged fire extinguisher and more serious ones like failure to protect employees from unsafe ladders or lack of railings preventing a fall hazard. Serious fines of up to $70,000 for each infraction could be levied if Disneyland does not comply immediately with the requests (although appeal is also an option). Total penalties for just the Space Mountain citations could reach over $230,000.
These are the same sort of hazards that forced Disneyland to close Alice in Wonderland until temporary scaffolding could be erected with guardrails. The park still hasn’t made permanent fixes there.
The second injury from flying objects on the Dragon Challenge roller coaster at Universal Orlando’s Islands of Adventure Wizarding World of Harry Potter in two weeks has forced changes to the attraction. The two coaster trains used to be released near simultaneously so the riders… Read More »Second Injury on Dragon Challenge forces Universal to Change Ride
Earlier today a man riding in the front row of the Dragon Challenge Roller Coaster at Universal Orlando’s Islands of Adventure theme park was injured and possibly blinded, when an object hit him in the head as he rode the dueling roller coaster attraction. This… Read More »Man injured on Dragon Challenge Roller Coaster at Universal Orlando Islands of Adventure park
A Disney World cast member working the Tomorrowland Speedway at the Magic Kingdom suffered a broken leg in an incident Sunday afternoon. Apparently the employee was struck by a guest in one of the attraction’s themed cars. The cars only travel 7 mph at max… Read More »Worker’s Comp, Worker’s Comp
Disney and OHSA have settled the fine situation that resulted from its investigation of the July Monorail accident. Under the agreement, Disney agreed to correct all four safety violations cited by OSHA, including one lapse that the agency said contributed to the monorail crash. The… Read More »Fine for Monorail Accident reduced, excuse me?
WFTV is reporting on a Walt Disney World resort bus that crashed near the gates to the Magic Kingdom last night. Injuries were reported, but no word on their severity. Video shows that the accident was nothing serious. This is yet another accident in a… Read More »Bus Crash at Magic Kingdom with reported injuries