Power Outage at Disneyland Left Thousands of Visitors Frustrated

When you sign up for a day at a theme park, you know you're going to encounter the inevitable kid tantrum or any number of every day headaches. But getting stuck on a ride thanks to a widespread power outage probably isn't on your agenda. Plenty of Disneyland park-goers were caught by surprise yesterday, Wednesday, December 27 when a transformer problem caused a power outage in Toontown and Fantasyland, affecting 12 rides, park spokeswoman Suzi Brown said.

According to the Associated Press, an unknown number of guests were taken off stalled rides, and no one was hurt. Brown also noted that power was restored in Toontown and much of Fantasyland within a couple of hours, and it was fully restored later in the afternoon.

Mark Freeman of Provo, Utah talked to the AP and explained what it was like when the outage occurred. He, his wife, and their two children were in line for It's A Small World, he said. “It just went out. And they basically said, ‘Everything’s shut off.’” The Freemans proceeded to go to nearby New Orleans Square while the situation unfolded. “It was just such a mad house,” he said. “It was so crowded, we couldn’t even get out of the park. We went and got ice cream and just sat there for probably a half-hour.”

The inconvenience drove some guests to take to social media to inquire about refunds, but no refunds were expected to be offered, the park spokesperson said.

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This was undoubtedly a frustrating situation for plenty of guests, many of whom flocked to the park for their busy holiday season. But it's heartening to hear that although visitors may have been aggravated, they were also left unscathed.