Halting the joys of a day at the park for nearly 12 guests the Rip Ride Rockit Roller Coaster at Universal Studios Orlando has been stuck at the top of its arch for nearly two hours as of this posting. The Universal guests stuck at a nearly 90° angle just below the peak of the ride’s first climb. Universal is working to release the cars of the ride or offload those guests.
At this point there is little information coming from Universal other than they are working to address the unnamed issue that caused the stop, and that the stuck guests are safe and in no additional immediate danger. This same roller coaster was recently closed for two days by the park after a different guest was hurt during its operation.
Both the fire department and Universal workers are on the scene and attempting to address the situation. Some signs point to their attempting to remove the guests from their seats. This will be difficult as those guests are basically laying on their backs and maneuvering into either a harness or with the help of specialists could be dangerous and potentially fatal, given the ride’s 167 foot (51 meter) height.
The ride has been stuck since approximately 7pm Eastern time, and specialists are claiming it may take 3-4 additional hours for them to either release the passengers of fix the ride to allow them off.
UPDATE: The rides’s cars have been moved up to the crest of the climb, but the passengers have still not been released, likely due to safety measures put in place by the park.