Roller coaster riders stuck in vertical position on Thanksgiving night

Riders aboard a Universal Studios Florida theme park roller coaster got stuck in a vertical position on the night of Thanksgiving.

A car of the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit coaster stopped in the awkward spot for nearly an hour, the Orlando Fire Department told Fox 35.

The coaster has a 167-foot-tall lift and takes riders through dips, loops, twists and turns. The car halted at the top of the drop.

In a video from the scene, a woman could be heard saying: ‘They’re stuck way up there, at the tip. They’re literally on their backs right now.’

Park visitor, Dennis Malesky, saw a crowd observing the incident on Thursday night.

‘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 the TV station. ‘That seemed kind of odd until we looked up and seen the group stuck on the ride.’

Fire department officials arrived but the ride remained stuck.

‘Universal employees made everyone who didn’t know anyone on the ride leave, as it was much after closing,’ Malesky said. ‘On our way out, we seen the car finally move. They must have been up there an hour.’

The incident, which did not lead to any injuries, made Malesky 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.’

Universal Studios did not immediately reply to a request for comment from Metro.co.uk.

The incident comes after eight riders including seven children on the Fireball coaster at the Forest County Festival in Wisconsin were left hanging upside down for a few hours in early July.

In mid-July, the Boomerang coaster at Wild Adventures theme park in Georgia stopped suddenly while moving backward, causing some riders to have panic attacks. 

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