Disney Urban Legends

[Lou Mongello]

It is true that a worker was killed while working on the Skyway during the mid-90's. From what I understand, he was not a CM but an outside contractor who fell from one of the towers (?). While Disney does not cite this as one of the reasons for the closure of the attraction (look for an article from me about the Skyway soon), clearly it had an impact.

[JLTraveling]

It is true that a worker was killed while working on the Skyway during the mid-90's. From what I understand, he was not a CM but an outside contractor who fell from one of the towers (?). While Disney does not cite this as one of the reasons for the closure of the attraction (look for an article from me about the Skyway soon), clearly it had an impact.

I would be really cautious and skeptical about believing any rumors about anyone falling out of the Skyway. This whole thing smells suspiciously like a situation I was involved in at Universal.

I worked for Universal, on Kongfrontation, off and on from 1992 to 2001. In '92, there were not many safety measures in place for employees. There were lap bars to restrain the guests, but the tram drivers were expected to be responsible enough not to fall out. We had to stand for most of the ride due to the nature of the performance. For those who never experienced it, the ride was an aerial tram 30 feet in the air.

Anyway, one day we had a very minor station accident. My tram was in front position, fully loaded, about to depart. For some reason the tram behind did not stop upon entering the station, and bumped mine from behind. Very low speed, very minor bump, no injuries, no property damage, just a whole lot of paperwork.

Fast forward eight years, to my last rehire in 2000. Over the years various new safety measures had been implemented, primarily due to changing OSHA regulations. I had been there during the safety evolution process. Anyway, every time I was rehired I had to re-do tram training.

My trainer, who hadn't been working Kong for very long at all, turned very serious when explaining the harness system...by that point employees were required to wear a waist harness while on tram. She explained that back in 1992 there was a serious collision on the load platform when one tram rear-ended another....and the young female tram operator fell from the tram, crashing 30 feet onto the concrete below. Of course, she died instantly.

You should have seen my trainer's face when I debunked that rumor! I told her I was the girl in question, and I swear she thought I was a ghost! This minor accident had snowballed into a full-fledged death rumor that became part of company lore and accepted as fact.

So the point of this very long story is that the alleged skyway death seems to be in the same vein. My guess would be that there was some very minor accident that happened shortly before Skyway was closed. The two events likely had nothing to do with each other, but because Skyway is an aerial ride, and the circumstances surrounding its closing are suspicious, they have now become connected in the legend of the Skyway death.

I could be wrong, but to me that seems the most plausible.

[Lou Mongello]

I dunno.... I mean... you ARE a ghost after all.

[tiggerguy]

As Lou said a worker was killed while working on the skyway. He was on one of the platforms doing maintenance when the ride started up. Startled by this he apparently grabbed onto a moving car but couldn't hold on and fell off.

[JLTraveling]

As Lou said a worker was killed while working on the skyway. He was on one of the platforms doing maintenance when the ride started up. Startled by this he apparently grabbed onto a moving car but couldn't hold on and fell off.

Is there actually documentation for this? Not to say I don't believe you, but for the reasons I gave above it seems like an urban legend to me. Just my opinion.

[20K]

I really wished I'd seen your trainer's face, JLTraveling! It would have been great.
That's also interesting to hear about a harness being worn by the tram operator in the ride's dying years. I'd always assumed you guys and gals just held on for dear life whenever 'Kong' dropped you.

[tiggerguy]

Is there actually documentation for this? Not to say I don't believe you, but for the reasons I gave above it seems like an urban legend to me. Just my opinion.

I believe it was reported on the news. I heard the news from local to WDW people I know

[JLTraveling]

Brian - Well, anything's possible...I never say never.

20K - In actuality, there was no reason at all for us to have harnesses. OSHA just changed their regulations over the years...we also had the great earplug debate, sometimes OSHA required them, other times not. There was actually very little movement on the ride, it seemed like a lot more because of the effects. We never used the harnesses when we were cycling the trams empty in the mornings, and we didn't have them at all for many years. It was a lot more dangerous being on opening crew and having to get into the tram that maintenance had left at third position the night before... that one was about five feet back from the load platform, so the only way to get into it was to go to the very edge of the platform and sort of trust fall forward to grab the tram wall and clamber in. Fun times, fun times.