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Tinkermommy
12-01-2011, 04:25 PM
Although I like Pirates, it's my least favorite ride in the park because I'm always afraid of being stuck on it. Mind you, it's not like I have a history of having been stuck on it -- I've just been afraid of that since the long ago summer that had all the reports of people being trapped for days and having to resort to cannibalism...or something like that.

Anyway, I went on today with my bff during our annual Mommy's shopping day at Disneyland. The ride stopped when we were just past Blue Bayou; right near the cabin with the old guy in the rocking chair. We waited, and waited, boats backing up behind us...and waited. After a while, we heard an announcement asking us to remain seated. That was a sure thing for us, because we were in open water, and as much as I like new adventures at Disneyland, taking a dip in the Pirates water isn't on my Disneyland bucket list. After more time passed, the lights in the tunnel ahead of us came on, and a guy came out and talked to the boats in the tunnel (but not us, or the boats behind us). After we'd been sitting about 45 minutes, they had people start climbing out of the tunnel boats onto the side and departing via stairs. They then apologized for the wait, and said they'd had to get some people from Small World to assist them, and told us we'd be next.

My pal asked how they were going to get us out, and the guy said, "The same way they got out." We looked around, noting that there was no dry land where we were, and then we learned the plan was to have us just keep climbing over seatbacks until we reached dry land, then follow the others.

This was particularly exciting because the parties in two of the rows in front of us (we were in the back) both boarded from the HCA side. However, everybody was able to clamber right over the seats and get themselves out. Even the woman carrying the sleeping toddler. (Brave soul, she was.) So we got to exit through backstage, past the employee lockers and what I presume was a break room.

I will say this: the guests were extremely well-behaved, and we all had a lot of laughs together while waiting. The cast members were very nice, and apologetic. Although it was one of my worst nightmares coming true, everybody involved made it rather a fun experience. (And I almost brought my camera today, nixing it because it was a shopping day.) The only thing I think they could have done better was communicate with us more than telling us to remain seated. Now, why can't that happen when I'm on Space or Indy?

oregontraveler
12-01-2011, 05:00 PM
My first thought since you were still near BB and had yet to go down the waterfall. But maybe not the most tactful way to do it, but they could have used a megaphone or something right off the back restaurant area to communicate with guests.

At least it didn't ruin your whole day and able to laugh abit afterwards.

tea4two
12-01-2011, 09:48 PM
So encouraging to hear that everyone was well behaved! After hearing about so many crazy people at DL, it certainly is nice to hear about guests who chose to act like grown-ups. And I'm sorry, too, that you didn't have your camera! This sounds like a very interesting adventure. We got stuck on POC about 5 years ago in the cannon fight scene. The fog machines were going like crazy, cannons were booming, but all boats stopped for about 20 minutes. I was just about avast-ye-matey'd out and was quite relieved when we got going again. On the funny side, my hair reacts quickly to humidity, and, after such a long exposure to the fog, it must have been pretty wild by the time we exited the ride. I had no idea, until DH kept staring and finally asked, "What happened to your hair??" Poof! A DL dandelion.

AJDerrick
12-02-2011, 07:31 AM
I will say this: the guests were extremely well-behaved, and we all had a lot of laughs together while waiting. The cast members were very nice, and apologetic. Although it was one of my worst nightmares coming true, everybody involved made it rather a fun experience.

After all the talk lately about Disneyland and guest standards, let alone the thread about when they reopened pirates with trouble on Thanksgiving (met with booing! At Disneyland!) I am so glad to see you say this. To me, this is how bad situations should be handled at Disneyland. People should be nice, cut each other a break, and be glad that they are there. Even being stuck in a boat on Pirates is better than being a lot of other places I can think of! :) Hooray for a boat of nice, civilized guests who didn't turn into a mob of angry, entitled boo-ers.

Plus, if I could pick a spot in that ride to stop, it'd probably be in the bayou with the fireflies. :)

ladodgerjon
12-02-2011, 08:18 AM
45 minutes sounds like a "Jet Blue length" sort of delay! Ugh. Anything over 20 minutes should earn you a voucher for at least a free cheeseburger (IMO)...

Bolivar
12-02-2011, 08:31 AM
I work on the ski patrol and we have a written policy as to what guests get if they are stuck on a lift. Based on the length of time it starts with a voucher for a coffee or hot chocolate and goes up to a pass for another day of skiing. Forty-five minutes would get you something in the middle if I remember correctly.

I always assumed CMs would come out in waders and push your boat to a spot where you could get out on dry land. In fact, riding it I have often looked for the spots where you could get out and were you couldn't and thought that they had enough were you could, that the boats wouldn't stack up to much so they could push boats out of the way and get others there -- with the exception being that long open stretch before the tunnel.

iceman559
12-02-2011, 08:31 AM
Hmm, I find it interesting that they don't have some sort of manual override for the gate at the top of the hill there so that they can just push boats through and avoid having everyone have to walk over the boats in front. Now, if the current had stopped, I could understand the danger of boats colliding at the bottom, though.

Still, that must have been interesting to go through the backstage areas! Secretly, I've always hoped I'd be stuck on a ride and have to be walked off! Sadly, as many times as I've gotten stuck, I never have :( I got stuck by the auction scene for over an hour once before we started moving again...that's the closest.

Tinkermommy
12-02-2011, 08:35 AM
45 minutes sounds like a "Jet Blue length" sort of delay! Ugh. Anything over 20 minutes should earn you a voucher for at least a free cheeseburger (IMO)...

Forgot to mention -- they did give us one of those fastpass tickets to go on another ride. Ours said "choice," and didn't exclude Star Tours. We didn't use it, but it was a nice thing for them to offer. Also forgot to mention, on the way out, the last long hallway we went down was lined with cast members. There were CMs in costumes from different attractions, and at least one in a guest services outfit, and some in street clothes. It looked like they had sent a call for anybody available to head over there. We had fun trying to figure out what they were all there for, other than to wave good-bye! I'm guessing they had to pull the boats that were behind ours up closer to land, and we had visions of all these costumed people pulling ropes and yelling, "Heave, ho! :p There were, of course, plenty of CMs inside helping guests get out; holding the boats steady, offering hands in the boat as well as making the transfer from boat to dock. At no time did I feel like it wasn't safe.

Although I was glad we were as close to the tunnel as we were, I sure would have liked to have seen how they retrieved the boats that were behind us!

PlutoIsTheOne
12-02-2011, 11:08 AM
Hi-My first post here.

We were stuck on POTC on Thanksgiving day for 45 minutes at the battle scene, right in the middle of open water. They got us unloaded by pulling our boats up to the area where you first enter the village. The boats were mostly moved to the unloading area by the current but the CM's did have REALLY long polls with hooks to pull us in all the way.

The walk through the back lot was pretty interesting and enjoyable but just as well that you didn't have your camera. I pulled mine out and was told to put it away:cool: I saw the earlier post about how rude guests were on Tday morning but everone on the ride with us was great and made a good time of it.

currence
12-02-2011, 11:23 AM
The problem with going to Disneyland too often is that we get excited when the rides break down because it is a new and different experience. :)

My only ride "break-down" with Pirates was at the drop, there was a sensor problem that prevented our boat from dropping. At first, the CM thought that they had overloaded the boat and asked a very heavy-set couple to get off. When that didn't fix the problem they discovered that a New Year's Eve party had landed on the sensor, probably from falling off the previous boat. Once it was removed, the ride worked properly. I felt very bad for the couple who had to get off because it was clear that they were embarrassed/upset.

bennette
12-02-2011, 11:33 AM
The only time I ever got stuck on Pirates was right smack next to the pig and drunken sailor. Not too small or dark of an area and it was only twenty minutes but ugh, all that squealing had me a little uptight by the time we got moving!

oregontraveler
12-02-2011, 12:08 PM
The problem with going to Disneyland too often is that we get excited when the rides break down because it is a new and different experience. :)

My only ride "break-down" with Pirates was at the drop, there was a sensor problem that prevented our boat from dropping. At first, the CM thought that they had overloaded the boat and asked a very heavy-set couple to get off. When that didn't fix the problem they discovered that a New Year's Eve party had landed on the sensor, probably from falling off the previous boat. Once it was removed, the ride worked properly. I felt very bad for the couple who had to get off because it was clear that they were embarrassed/upset.

word missing here??? I'm assuming a party favor was covering the sensor.

jrsharp21
12-02-2011, 01:03 PM
Just got a text from my Dad and Pirates just went down again. That makes Indy, BTMRR and POTC all going down today.

currence
12-02-2011, 01:37 PM
word missing here??? I'm assuming a party favor was covering the sensor.

actually it was supposed to be hat, not had. Amazing what a difference a letter makes :) Sadly, spell check doesn't tell you that you have misspelled a word when you inadvertently spell a different word. I am not sure what would have happened to the sensor if an entire party landed on it.

olegc
12-03-2011, 08:28 PM
next time you're stuck near BB - ask someone to throw you some rolls. You never know when you'll need provisions ;-)

bumblebeeonarose
12-03-2011, 10:51 PM
We were evacuated off of BTMR this September. They told us no photography. The walk off of BTMR was interesting, but a bit terrifying. At least it wasn't GRR which had broken down twice while we rode it during the same trip. We just waited 20+ minutes both times.

Our first ride this week was Monsters and it shut down and we were evacuated. Someone stopped and took a family picture with Sulley and Boo. I don't think the CM saw. Our first ride the next day was Snow White which also broke down, but we had just loaded so we just walked off through a different exit. Bad ride Karma. They did offer to let us wait, but we went on Pinochio and the carousel and went back to Snow White.

I was also evacuated off of Winnie the Pooh once. I don't visit as often as some, so breaking down can be annoying. We got a special pass for BTMR, but not for any of the smaller rides. As we were riding Peter Pan this week, my husband wondered how they would evacuate riders from it. One ride I would NOT want to be on if it broke down is NEMO.

ralfrick
12-04-2011, 02:11 PM
Our first ride this week was Monsters and it shut down and we were evacuated. Someone stopped and took a family picture with Sulley and Boo. I don't think the CM saw.

They allowed me to photograph freely on MInc when this happened to us. Perhaps it's a safety concern on BTM with hills and such.

I've wondered/hoped maybe some of the opening day booing was meant in jest. Last night at the Sharks' game the row in front of us won the 4' burrito. Yeah, I yelled "Row 13 sucks", but afterwards they offered us some burrito and we shared our cookies with them. All in good fun sometimes, sometimes not.

A bientot.

candles71
12-04-2011, 03:25 PM
The last time Whistler and I went, just us, we got walked off Alice. They did give us a pass to come back.

iceman559
12-05-2011, 06:27 AM
I've wondered/hoped maybe some of the opening day booing was meant in jest. Last night at the Sharks' game the row in front of us won the 4' burrito. Yeah, I yelled "Row 13 sucks", but afterwards they offered us some burrito and we shared our cookies with them. All in good fun sometimes, sometimes not.

I wonder this as well. How much if it was legitimate booing because someone took "opening this day" to mean "opening this day, at park open, guaranteed 100%" and was truly angry, and how much was just "dang it, this sucks, oh well, I'll boo and go on my merry way".

It's funny you mention a hockey game as an example. I was just at the Flyers @ Coyotes game Saturday night and about halfway through the thrid period (we were losing 4-1 at the time), a few people in the stands started yelling "You still suck Bryz!" and "You sucked in the playoffs, Bryz!". Now, is it possible that they were entirely serious, sure. But it's also entirely possible that they were just trying to be funny (which they were). However, I do think the huge, resounding 'BOOOOOOOOOOOOO!' that happened any time his name was mentioned over the PA was serious. I mean, we know Bryz didn't SUCK. He wasn't the best, but he had his amazing nights and his okay nights when he was still with us. Only very rarely did he have a BAD night, so I can't see someone (who's right in the head) truly thinking HE was the reason we lost every game we did when we had him.

adriennek
12-05-2011, 07:35 AM
The problem with going to Disneyland too often is that we get excited when the rides break down because it is a new and different experience. :)

My only ride "break-down" with Pirates was at the drop, there was a sensor problem that prevented our boat from dropping. At first, the CM thought that they had overloaded the boat and asked a very heavy-set couple to get off.

In their defense, this happens a LOT. NOT in their defense, it is often the loading CM's faults. We had this happen to use once... twice. They emptied two rows, including one I was in, which included a very overweight individual. Then they took us back to the loading dock and put us into... 2 rows. (This is the part where they should've spread us out into 3 rows.)

The boat stopped the second time in EXACTLY the same spot. Only this time the entire ride went down. (The first time, after they emptied two rows, the boats went off without a problem.)


I wonder this as well. How much if it was legitimate booing

"Legitimate booing"? My vote is "None." That would have to be a PRETTY high standard to justify booing.

ralfrick
12-05-2011, 07:45 AM
Yeah, iceman, I'd just read your account of the Winnepeg game before writing that (after losing TWO teams to small market Canadian cities, I think we can let the Atlanta experiment end). The only former players that get booed at the Tank left the team badly. That's why Brian Campbell got it every time he touched the puck Saturday, and Marco Sturm didn't get booed when he scored, because Marco made Joe Thornton possible.

I now return this thread to its original scheduled topic.

A bientot.

iceman559
12-05-2011, 08:44 AM
"Legitimate booing"? My vote is "None." That would have to be a PRETTY high standard to justify booing.

Okay, so "legitimate" may have been a bad word to use without quotes. If you read the context, I state:


How much if it was legitimate booing because someone took "opening this day" to mean "opening this day, at park open, guaranteed 100%" and was truly angry...

If you notice, I imply that by "legitimate", I mean "actual" in that someone took the online community (and Disney) saying something would open on a specific day to mean that it would be open with the park, 100% guaranteed. In this regard, I would mean to say that they MEANT their boos because words were taken to mean more than they did, but not that they were actually warranted.

I mean this in contrast to those people who, as ralfrick said, booed in jest. I've done that sort of thing before. The whole "this sucks, and I know it's out of their control, but boo anyway!" thing.

Rosepins
12-06-2011, 01:44 PM
Although I like Pirates, it's my least favorite ride in the park because I'm always afraid of being stuck on it. Mind you, it's not like I have a history of having been stuck on it -- I've just been afraid of that since the long ago summer that had all the reports of people being trapped for days and having to resort to cannibalism...or something like that.

Funny memory: When I was 7, I told my then-3yr old sister that if she screamed or cried, the pirates would jump out and eat her... and the skeletons lining the ride were the kids that screamed... Suffice to say she didn't say a peep the whole ride.

We laugh about it now (20 yrs later) but in retrospect, I might have been a bit of an evil big sister back then. he he he :~D

danyoung
12-06-2011, 02:44 PM
A bit???

allye
12-06-2011, 10:17 PM
My son was there today they were in line when it broke down, we were on Toy Story mania this summer when it broke down. I was right in front of where balloon pops and air blow in your face. they did escort us out took them a while they had to put cars down for night while we wait my husband took photo of woody on wall he got in trouble from CM. My husband and son were on indy when it broke down they got to see a hidden Mickey they never realize that was there.