There was another of those ride malfunction horrors on Friday but at least there weren’t any serious injuries, this time. Thrill seekers at Carowinds amusement park in North Carolina got a lot more adventure than they bargained for when the roller coaster car they were on got stuck upside down at the top of a loop. The worst part was that it took a full 45 minutes to free the trapped riders.
Ride malfunction madness
The Flying Cobra ride sends passengers screaming through a 360-degree loop at speeds up to 50mph and flips riders a total of six times. It’s not supposed to stop moving for nearly an hour.
The people left hanging upside down like bats didn’t appreciate it one bit. To make it up to them, the park offered some VIP passes.
Brandon Allen was new to the whole roller-coaster concept. It was his “first experience.” He won’t be repeating the ride any time soon. “I personally watched my tears fall from the sky. It was terrifying.” Nobody noticed anything wrong, at first. Apparently, there’s a narrator announcing things.
“We go to the very top where they’re backing you up, and he was doing a countdown. He goes, ‘We’re sorry, we’re having some technical difficulties,’ and we thought he was joking because of the surprise element or something.” The announcer wasn’t joking.
The minutes he was stuck hanging upside down on the ride felt like hours. They knew from the beginning that it would take 35 minutes to fix the glitch, at least.
Which, he informs, “may not be major, but it’s a big deal when you’re just facing the ground completely.” The worst part was screaming kids. “There were parents trying to talk to their children screaming, ‘It’s going to be okay‘!”
Not the first time
It seems that last month, the same park had a similar incident where folks got “stuck on the Electro Spin ride.” Allen relates that the rampant incompetence is frightening. “It’s almost like it continues to happen, and that’s what is so scary about it.”
Recently, an attraction in Florida was adjusted improperly to allow passengers too large for the equipment to handle safely and 14-year-old Tyre Sampson fell to his death.
Carowinds amusement park released an official statement about the roller-coaster ride incident, reporting that “the park’s maintenance team responded quickly and at no time were the guests in danger.”
They also assure that “all guests were returned safely to the station and unloaded within 30 minutes.” To make up for the inconvenience, “they were each given two fast pass vouchers as well.” That’s sure to stop the nightmares.
There’s a reason why nobody goes beyond the instant solution to everything. Ride mis-adjustment and improper maintenance are symptoms of a bigger disease. Social media has destroyed the ability for modern humans to reason things through. Average people, the experts say, can only cope “with bite-sized chunks of knowledge.” Everything after 140 characters goes right on past.
Even getting fries with that has become a challenge. You say yes, pay for them, pull away, then get back to the office and learn they never made it to the bag. Meanwhile the offended customer is equally to blame for not taking the time to thoroughly check the order before driving off. It’s a wonder some people can survive day-to-day.