According to the Orlando Sentinel, a Reedy Creek spokeswoman shared that at least one person was taken to the hospital after being stuck on the Disney Skyliner on Saturday Night. According to Eryka Washington, the communications manager for Reedy Creek, the individual has since been released from the hospital.
Washington further clarified by stating that the individual was evacuated by Reedy Creek firefighters and asked for medical attention. Information about the individual’s gender and age were not revealed, nor was their time of release from the hospital.
Two other individuals were also taken to the hospital by Reedy Creek personnel, but it was unknown if that was connected to the Disney Skyliner incident. Only one gondola was evacuated by Reedy Creek firefighters, for a total of six people. After the single evacuation, the line started back up for easier evacuation for the rest of the guests at the stations.
Eryka Washington also denied claims by Reedy Creek firefighters’ union which stated that the incident utilized most, if not all of their staff. Washington responded by saying that a majority had responded, but not all.
Osceola and Orange County fire departments responded to the incident, as is protocol, but did not perform any evacuations.
Credit: Orlando Sentinel.
This non air conditioned gondola was a BAD idea from the start. Now wait until someone DIES when it breaks down in mid August. Complete idiocy!
Exept no one at all has complained and it’s not exactly fall temps down in Florida at the moment. No one is going to die from heat magically.
If you haven’t ridden them, you can’t judge. It was 92 for a high when I was riding in them last week, and they were perfectly cool stationary, and chilly when moving. Much better than that horrid hothouse of a monorail.
It’s impossible to add AC to a gondola. Even a tiny solar powered unit wouldn’t be strong enough to help the internal climate. A gondola is an unpowered box clamped onto a cable. It’s not the gondola moving on a track, its the cable itself on a mechanical pulley. This particular event was in the evening, so no beating sun at least, still sucks for the riders though.
Incorrect, they sell air-conditioned models:
http://gondolaproject.com/2012/09/12/how-londons-emirates-air-line-cable-car-powers-cabins/
Your headline is not accurate. One guest is confirmed to be a related hospitalization. Be consistent and have some integrity, or you will not be a respected new source.
It’s not inaccurate. No matter what the title of this story was, someone would take issue.
Walter is actually right. Headline says “Guests” plural was hospitalized but only one guest was. The headline implies more than one.
“Guests” is being used in general, not to define a number, as Disney originally stated that no-one was injured.
Let’s not play coy. If I report on a single homicide and say that “people” were killed, it changes the context of the article. They’re right. It’s no better than clickbait.
The Sentinel article says “at least one”, so that doesn’t really say that there wasn’t. The article has all of the information, the title doesn’t change the story.
Tom, I’m also an avid reader of this site (but rarely comment). That being said, I want to echo Walter’s contribution. Have more integrity when you post news. Yes, you earn revenue through added clicks – but titles shouldn’t be misleading to compromise the truth.
I don’t believe it is misleading. Regardless, titles have to be decided upon rather quickly, so sometimes you may think of a better one in hindsight, but changing it here doesn’t change it in 50 other places where the article was posted.
wow you guys are really splitting hairs over this one. I hope you’re writing the same messages to the major news hubs that release inaccurate information on a daily basis and actually affect peoples lives.
Another site published a title that 3 guests were hospitalized, but we’re the only ones getting yelled at. I’m used to it at this point.
Someone asking for medical attention doesn’t mean said person was injured. My kids ask for medical attention in order to stay home from school, but that doesn’t mean they’re actually sick.
It’s intriguing how the facts have developed, especially given that we saw them doing “drills” for lack of a better word for evacuations of the lines over land and water in the _months_ of testing leading to the opening.
I’m not sure why it’s taken this long for the fact to come out that in the entire downtime, a SINGLE gondola was evacuated from the line itself (at least by Reedy Creek FD). I would presume based on time of accident that a healthy portion of the gondolas on the line were occupied.
Re: air conditioning issue, there’s been a lot of doom-and-gloom about what could have happened if the circumstances were completely different with no consideration for the operational factors that would be at play if this occurred in the middle of July during the day, including whether or not Disney even intends to run the Skyliner under certain conditions. In any event, Doppelmayr has comparable systems literally all over the world, including in other hot, humid environments like Orlando.
Disney has their own specs and maintenance for their attractions. This is in NO WAY as safe as gondolas at ski resorts and such, just because the same manufacturer makes the mechanism. Disney is about profit, and image. Not about safety. If this incident required every gondola to be evacuated, the process might STILL be going on. And on top of this, a breakdown like this in a lightning storm would have been a tragedy. Disney can be enjoyed and bring fun, but it is in fact profit oriented over safety and Disney is neglectful. It’s time guests admit this to themselves.
Please stop with the “what if” and “might have been” stuff. It didn’t happen just like you didn’t get run over by a bus or get hit by lightning during the latest storm.
Disney’s own safety policy and procedures are in addition to the OSHA & NIOSH regulations they need to satisfy.
These gondolas are no less safe than other of the same type. Go google cable care accidents and incidents and you’ll see that this little incident is exactly that, a little incident.
BTW, all businesses are profit oriented or they’re not in business for long.
So the firefighters only evacuated 1 gondola? Wow! All that man/womanpower for one evacuation! I know they have to call all available units for a big emergency such as this but to only use some people/apparatus. I believe the FFs Union over ANY PR(I used to work in tv news so I know how PR is for spin not necessarily the truth) and I’m sure EVERY piece of man/womanpower was called to the scene but only a few were used. That would leave the department devoid of FFs for another emergency and have to call another area unit to assist.
Disney is unsafe, period. They are about profit, and their image alone. By them being in charge of their own safety measures, and owning their own EMS, there’s a ton that goes on that the media never catches. Remember how the monorail doors ere opening? What was the fix? There was none. They hope for the best and put stickers up to stay away from the doors. Guests are absolutely crazy to think that their safety is a concern.