11 Terrifying Disney World Incidents
2. Big Thunder Mountain Once Derailed Mid-Ride
Despite the fact that most people aren't all that scared of roller coasters, and instead find them thrilling, the vast majority of us have probably – if only briefly – wondered about roller coasters derailing. Does it happen? Surely never at somewhere like Disney?
The answer is yes, it does. And yes, even at Disney. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is a mine trail coaster situated in Frontierland, in this instance at Disneyland Resort. In September 2003 the coaster derailed, injuring ten riders and killing a twenty-two year old man who suffered severe blunt force trauma and internal bleeding.
The death occurred when the first carriage detached from the rest of the coaster. It then came off the rails and collided with the ceiling of a tunnel, causing the front section to come down on the first passenger car, landing on top of the victim and ending his life.
Though an investigation was carried out to find out why the carriage detached, it's unclear if the detachment caused the accident or was a result of some other technical issue.