What do you do when the Merry-Go-Round breaks down?

Over the years, theme park attractions have become extremely sophisticated pieces of equipment. Unfortunately, they still break down occassionally. In fact, breakdowns are fairly common, and are in fact often a good thing. Newer ride systems involve high-tech computers which constantly monitor the ride's operation and efficiency. A breakdown can occur when this sophisticated ride system detects a POTENTIAL problem further down the line. In the past, these potential malfunctions were only brought to light when the ride actually broke down, causing serious damage or in some cases injury. Now the systems detect possible future problems and shut down the systems BEFORE the ride can break or an injury can occur, allowing repairs to be made more quickly and allowing the ride to open again in a relatively short period of time. Sometimes, just shutting down the system is enough of a fix to "reboot" the ride and get it operating at full capacity again.

Rides also shut down for non-mechanical reasons. Because the ride systems are so sophisticated, they require that the ride be turned off if anyone needs to enter the ride area, or if there is a slowdown severe enough to throw off efficiency or distrupt the normal pattern of operation. If a guest loses an item in the ride area, for instance, the entire ride system often has to be turned off to retrieve it. That's why most rides tell you to check lost and found the next day - they can't retrieve items without stopping the ride completely and turning off the power. But what do you do when the item lost is essential, like a disabled person's cane or someone's car keys? Under those extreme circumstances, ride operators will sometimes shut the ride down without evacuating the guests, then call in maintenance to retrieve the lost item. It usually only takes five or ten minutes at most, so it is possible to do that without severely disrupting efficiency. Rides also may need to be shut down for cleanup if a guest gets sick. Or the ride system may need to be reset to get back to the normal operational pattern if a guest has difficulty getting in or out of a ride vehicle and causes subsequent vehicles to get backed up. Resetting ride systems is not as simple as flipping a switch on and off on most of today's rides, and often involves multiple steps and switches. This is a safety mechanism built into the rides to prevent accidental startups or electricution.

But what happens when a shut down is a little more long-term? Most theme parks set a time limit for repair. If the ride will only be down for a few minutes, they'll continue to allow guests to enter the queue. Once it is down longer than that, they close the queue to additional guests, but allow guests already in line to remain. After a certain amount of time, if the ride has not resumed operation, they evacuate the ride area, and direct guests to return at a later time to see if the ride has reopened.

What do you do, though, if you are ON the ride during an evacuation? Well, the truth of the matter is, there isn't really anything you CAN do but wait for someone to get you off. Although this seems simple enough, the truth is, evacuating a ride vehicle can be an extremely time consuming task. It can also be very scary for a guest to be stuck on a ride, and the employees understand this. This is especially true if you find yourself stuck in an awkward position, or perched precariously at the brink of a drop. It can seem as if no one is in a hurry to get you out of the mess you're in, but that is not the case.

When the ride comes to a stop in the middle of a cycle, a whole bunch of things happen at once, and a whole bunch of things HAVE TO happen to get you off the vehicle. First, there are usually a bunch of alarms, bells, whistles, error messages on computer screens, buttons that light up, and other things that happen on the ride's control panel. I speak from experience when I say it can be just as scary for the ride operator when a ride shuts down unexpectedly as it is for the guests on the ride! When the ride systems shut down, the operator has a whole bunch of things they have to do, pretty much all at the same time. They have to shut down the power, turn on any work lights, turn off effects that may hamper an evacuation, call the appropriate maintenance people, let their supervisors know what's going on, AND assure the guests on the ride that they know they're there. Some newer or more sophisticated ride systems actually automate this last procedure, with a spiel that repeats every so many minutes telling guests on the ride or in the ride area that a technical difficulty has occured, and asking the guests on the ride to remain seated in case the system starts up again unexpectedly. Some systems have a pre-recorded spiel that the operator is supposed to repeat regularly by pushing a button. And some systems rely on the operator to spiel to guests stuck on the ride themselves. Unless it's automated, spieling to the guests every few minutes is nearly impossible to do, as the operator has their hand's full answering phone calls from maintenance, pushing buttons, dispatching employees to evacuate the guests, and getting systems shut down so it is safe for the guests to evacuate. Although you may not actually HEAR from the ride operators, rest assured that they are working hard to get you off the ride!

In order to evacuate a ride, several things need to happen. First, the ride must be shut down completely. THis means turning off ALL electrical power to prohibit the ride from accidentally starting up again while a guest is not locked in, or while a guest or employee is in the way. Second, all employees who enter the ride area have to be accounted for, so that once the ride resumes normal operation, no one is left in the ride area to be injured by the ride. Most parks use a system of locking out the electrical sources so no one accidentally turns things back on and tagging out employees so everyone knows where everyone is within the ride area. Every employee, from maintenance to ride operators, must sign out to enter the ride area. The ride will not be started again until each of those employees returns to the main console and signs back in. That way no one gets left behind.

While maintenance employees are rushing to fix the ride, operations employees are rushing to evacuate it. Since the two teams often have different home bases, you may see maintenance personnel before you see anyone from operations. Maintenance is not responsible for an evacuation in most cases, and in fact maintenance may completely ignore you as they rush to try to isolate the problem and fix it. They're not being rude. In fact, they may have a procedure that has to be followed BEFORE operations can even enter the ride area to come get you, and they are rushing to complete that as quickly as possible so you can be evacuated.

Once all moving parts on the ride have been stilled, and all electrical currents have been stopped, the operators can evacuate any guests stuck on the ride. Even that procedure usually has very strict rules to follow. This is especially true in cases where a ride vehicle has stopped at a height, or in a precarious position. The vehicle may need to be manually moved to an evacuation area, requiring that you remain strapped in. Once an evacuation is possible, operators begin releasing ride restraints one or two rows at a time, keeping guests in a very controlled and tight formation. Once everyone has been released from the vehicle, operators escort the guests to a designated area away from the ride. This may involve climbing stairs or following narrow pathways within the ride area to an emergency exit. If a guest is unable to evacuate under normal procedures (a guest who can't climb stairs for example, or someone who needs assistance getting in and out of the vehicle) the operators may need to hold everyone within that guest's vehicle or car until an alternative can be found. This is because it is extremely unsafe to have a guest sitting unrestrained in a ride vehicle, and most rides have systems that release several restraints at once. If one person in a restraint system can't be evacuated, the rest of the guests in that same restraint system have to remain buckled in their seats until the guest can be removed. Parks have emergency procedures for handling difficult situations, usually involving use of a crane or lift mechanism and emergency handlers (like paramedics) specifically trained in dealing with an evacuation procedure.

Once the ride has been evacuated, maintenance or repair can begin in earnest. Even a simple repair usually requires a full reset of the ride's systems, which can take awhile. The reset cannot take place until all guests and employees are away from the ride area.

No matter what the problem - a guest illness, lost item, or full mechanical breakdown - park employees will NOT tell you anything except that the ride is experiencing "technical difficulties." They can't tell you anything more than this. First, they often don't know what is wrong. Second, even if they do know what's going on, rumors get started because guests misunderstand. No park wants rumors of a dangerous ride. Operators also won't tell you how long it will take to get the ride back up and running again. They often don't know, and they aren't about to guess. Telling a guest that the repair will only take a few minutes then having it turn into a few hours is a certain recipe for guest dissatisfaction. Most theme parks also would prefer their guests to be out riding other rides, shopping, or dining in their restaurants rather than waiting for a ride that's shut down to open again. Take the operator's advice: If a ride is experiencing "technical difficulties," go do something else and check back later to see if it's open again.

And if you're ON that shut down ride? Take heart! They know you're there, they're watching you on video most likely, and they're coming to the rescue! It just takes awhile to ensure that all of you are safe in the process!