November 30th 2023.
On Thanksgiving night, riders aboard a Universal Studios Florida theme park roller coaster found themselves in an uncomfortable situation. The Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit coaster car suddenly stopped at the top of its 167-foot-tall drop, leaving passengers stuck in a vertical position for nearly an hour.
Dennis Malesky, a park visitor, witnessed the incident. "We were walking out of the park as it was closing time and seen a group of people taking pictures of the Rip Ride Rockit," he told Fox 35. "That seemed kind of odd until we looked up and seen the group stuck on the ride."
Universal employees asked everyone who didn't know anyone on the ride to leave, while the Orlando Fire Department worked to get the coaster moving again. After an hour, the car finally moved.
Malesky said the incident made him think twice about trying the coaster next time. "This is the only ride in the park I have not done yet," he said, "And, needless to say, it will probably stay that way."
The incident is the latest in a string of recent roller coaster malfunctions. In early July, eight riders including seven children were left hanging upside down for a few hours on the Fireball coaster at the Forest County Festival in Wisconsin. Weeks later, the Boomerang coaster at Wild Adventures theme park in Georgia stopped suddenly while moving backward, causing some riders to have panic attacks.
Fortunately, no injuries were reported in the Universal Studios incident. Universal Studios did not immediately reply to a request for comment from The Agency.
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