They were left hanging upside down for close to an hour.
Horrifying footage of a malfunction on a ride at Canada’s Wonderland theme park in Vaughan, Ontario has gone viral, as passengers were left dangling upside down for 45 mins.
The incident occurred on the Lumberjack ride at the popular amusement park, and the video was taken and uploaded by Jiashira Rivera who was witnessed the harrowing event from the ground.
The Lumberjack is described on the park’s website as a “swinging axe ride which propels passengers into the sky with their feet dangling through 360-degree loops.”
It continues: “The face-to-face seats let guests interact with one another and watch the terror on their friends’ faces.”
That took on an all the more literal meaning when those unfortunate guests were left looking at the terror of each other’s faces for over half an hour.
Rivera’s footage shows the ride become ‘inverted’ and get stuck upwards at a 180°C angle.
@jiashira_ After about 45 mins they were able to get everyone down safety 🫠😮💨 I’m definitely not getting on this ride any time soon! #canadaswonderland #canada #toronto #amusementpark #ridegetsstuck #scary #wtf #viral #fyp ♬ original sound – Shira 🦂
One passenger on the ride described how many of those on the ride started crying in fear, and that their tears streamed back into their eyes because of the ride’s positioning.
Spencer Parkhouse, 11, said he at first thought the ride grinding to a halt was part of the experience.
But when they looked down below to see ambulances pulling up dozens of feet below them, they knew something was wrong.
“[I was] just like feeling — when are we going to drop down? Are we ever going to drop down?” he told CBC News.
He added: “[I was] just like feeling – when are we going to drop down? Are we ever going to drop down?”
Even when the engineers got the ride working again about 30 minutes later, the attraction still had to carry out its cycle for safety reasons, so all of the terrified passengers couldn’t immediately get off.
Spokespeople for the park later confirmed that two riders were assessed for chest pain before being released.
They added: “Guests were unloaded safely and assessed by first aid staff before being released back into the park.”
“The safety of our guests is always our first priority.”
Some users on TikTok expressed their shock at the clip. One wrote: “This is torture basically.”
Another shared their own similar experience: “My mom was stuck upside down on one for 3 hrs in the early 80’s. I was born 5yrs later and she never once took me theme park my entire life!!”
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