Roller coasters are designed to give riders the illusion of danger. While they can certainly make you feel in the moment like something terrible might happen, the attractions are designed with numerous safety features in place to prevent anybody from actually getting hurt. This is why a lot of people on TikTok aren’t cutting a woman on TikTok much slack for freaking out after riding Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure at Universal’s Islands of Adventure.
A clip has gone viral from TikTok from a woman who spends nearly a minute and a half in a complete panic because she rode the E-ticket attraction at Universal’s Islands of Adventure when her train stopped in the middle of the ride. She seemed quite certain that her death was only seconds away.
@cryinglawyer ♬ original sound - my name’s not rachel
A lot of the comments aren’t exactly kind, asking if she has ever been on a theme park ride in her life before now. This is because being stopped on rides is far from uncommon, and roller coasters are specifically designed to deal with exactly this issue.
She’s afraid that another train is going to come crashing down, apparently unaware that when there is an error that stops one vehicle on the track, the entire coaster stops. It’s called a “cascade stop.” Comments that are (at least slightly) kinder and more informative include:
- Girl, you were no where near close to getting hurt
- You ever been to a theme park? lol this happens daily..
- 😂 Rides break down. You were 100% safe. A comp ride seems reasonable.
- there’s really no danger of anything like that happening on a roller coaster 😭 it’s an incredibly high tech system and theres about 1000 safety precautions and backup mechanisms in place at all times
It’s perfectly understandable to perhaps be a little rattled by an unexpected stop of a roller coaster, but most commenters take issue with the level of intensity of the video’s complaints. The woman seemed to feel that such a problem should result in full ticket refunds rather than just a free Express Pass to make up for the lost time. The impression here is also that everybody else on the train was equally panicked over the situation.
As somebody who spends a lot of time in theme parks, I've been on rides that stopped so often that I rarely notice anymore. My most recent roller coaster stoppage occurred on the Starfall Racers, one of the best rides at Universal's new Epic Universe park. It was only a brief delay and nobody was bothered by it.
While problems with roller coasters have led to serious injury and even death in some cases, these issues often arise as a result of structural defects or human error. Safety systems are specifically designed to prevent injury. While it can sometimes be weird to find yourself stopped on a coaster, especially if you’re in the dark, it’s a fairly normal thing to have happen.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
