It used to be something that theme park fans would consider a comical cliché. How you’d board a Disney theme park attraction and then … Something would go horribly wrong!?
I mean, think about it, people. Isn’t this the exact same story point that drives the action in Disneyland’s “Star Tours” and “The Indiana Jones Adventure” as well as the now-closed “Alien Encounter” attraction at WDW’s Magic Kingdom? That things initially start out seeming safe … but then something untoward happens. And then that’s when the fun begins.
Well, in the wake of the September 5th Big Thunder tragedy (where something actually DID go horribly wrong, resulting in the death of 22-year old Marcelo Torres as well as the injuring of 10 other Disneyland guests), now much of the humor has gone out of that Disney theme park cliché. Particularly given some of the rumors that have been circulating about this awful accident.
“What sorts of rumors?” you ask. Well, I know that a number of JHM readers were somewhat taken aback when they saw this headline back on Friday: “Police find no sabotage in Disney ride crash.” If you’d like to read the Reuters story that actually went along with this sensational headline, you can do so here.
“So was that Reuters report right, Jim? Was sabotage ever actually seriously considered as a possible cause of the Big Thunder tragedy?” you continue. Well, based on copies of the official Anaheim Police Department report that JimHillMedia.com has been able to obtain, I’m sorry to say that the answer to that question is yes.
Now — before we go any further here — I want you to keep in mind that this sabotage story was one of many theories that were initially floating around as a possible cause of the Big Thunder Mountain accident. And that it was the responsibility of the AHD officers who were investigating this tragedy to make sure that they followed every lead. To leave no stone unturned, so to speak. So it was in this spirit that the Anaheim Police Department began its investigation. Which was why they had at least to look seriously at even the possibility that the Big Thunder Mountain accident was the result of sabotage.
“But why was the idea of ‘sabotage’ even brought up in the first place?” you persist. Well, let’s remember that we live in post-9/11 America, people. Where terrorism — particularly at a place like Disneyland (which in the past has reportedly been considered by Al Qaeda operatives as a possible target for terrorist activities) — must at least be taken into consideration.
But — given the very nature of the Big Thunder accident (and the fact that Disneyland guests have extremely limited access to the ride vehicles, not to mention that all guests entering the theme parks nowadays must have their bags checked before they’re allowed to go through the turnstiles) — the possibility of terrorist activity being the real cause of this tragedy was fairly quickly dismissed. But not the notion of sabotage itself.
Instead, the Anaheim Police Department turned its attention to Disneyland’s own employees. Thoroughly investigating the possibility that this accident could have possibly been caused by a disgruntled cast member.
“But why would a Disneyland employee want to cause an accident on Big Thunder Mountain?” you query. Well, how many of you recall that story that David Koenig did for MousePlanet back on August 12th? Which detailed how unhappy many Disneyland employees were with a new staffing policy that was about to go into effect at the theme park which would keep them “land locked.” (I.E. Prevent them from working on multiple attractions in different parts of the theme park. Rather, locking them into one specific area, so that these cast members can only work the rides and attractions located in that land.)
Given that this new staffing policy was reportedly wildly unpopular among Disneyland employees, it’s been suggested that — in an effort to get this policy repealed — that some cast members may have taken matters into their own hands. And what better way would there be to get this “land locking” system repealed than to be able to show that it adversely effected hourly ride capacity at the park?
This is the story that we had been hearing repeatedly here at JimHillMedia.com over the past few weeks. That the Big Thunder Mountain accident may have actually been caused by an employee who was upset with Disneyland’s new staffing policy. That this cast member allegedly took this action with the hope that it would shut down this Frontierland attraction for a few hours (thereby lowering the theme park’s ride capacity for a few hours with the hope that doing something like this might eventually result in Disneyland’s “land locking” system being repealed). Never realizing that this action might result in tragedy.
“So why has JimHillMedia.com been sitting on this story ’til now?” you ask. Because — in spite of how popular this story may have been among Walt Disney Company employees — we suspected that this oft-told tale was just a rumor. What was particularly troubling was — whenever we tried to pin down someone down, find out who the real source of this story was, it was always the same refrain: “I heard it from a friend of mine. Who heard it from a friend of his. Who knows somebody who’s close to the investigation and/or works on the attraction.” You know the drill.
So anyway … given that FOAF (AKA “Friend of a Friend”) stories always make me nervous, we opted to sit on this info. Sure, it would have been nice for the site to break a story like that. Grab some headlines. But — given the immediate negative impact that an article like this would have had on the Walt Disney Company’s reputation — it just didn’t seem right or responsible to rush this sensational information into print. At least without having some sort of corroboration that this alleged sabotage had actually occurred.
So — over the past few weeks — Chuck Oberleitner made some discreet inquiries. Talking with Anaheim Police Department public information officer Sgt. Rick Martinez, as well as members of Disneyland’s own publicity department. In both cases, while no one was willing to go on record, both Martinez as well as the Mouse’s spokespeople poo-pooed the sabotage idea. Which at least made us feel better about not rushing to put this sensational-sounding story up on the site.
But — given that both Reuters as well as the Los Angeles Times both published stories last week that touched on the possibility that cast member sabotage was initially thought to play a part in the Big Thunder Mountain tragedy — it’s clear that Chuck and I weren’t the only people who had been hearing these rumors.
But now comes the really intriguing question: Who exactly was the person within the Disney organization who initially clued the Anaheim Police Department into this possibility? That cast member sabotage may have played a part in the Big Thunder Mountain tragedy? To date, Chuck and I haven’t been able to uncover that man or woman’s identity. But we continue to work on that aspect of the story.
Anywho … thanks to last Friday’s Reuters story — JHM is finally free to write about all those Disneyland sabotage rumors that have been coming our way. If only to say: “You know that rumor that’s been flying around the web about how a Disneyland employee supposedly deliberately caused the Big Thunder accident? Well, it’s wrong.”
Mind you, this doesn’t mean that the Mouse is totally out of the woods yet. There’s still the matter of the Disneyland employees who were manning Big Thunder Mountain on September 5th. Who — for perhaps as long as 45 minutes — noticed that Train No. 2 on this attraction was making an odd “clanking” noise, but opted not to pull that train out of service.
In the spirit of fairness, it should be pointed out here that (according to the APD reports on the BTMRR accident) — while Train No. 2 was making this odd “clanking” noise — the Big Thunder Mountain Railway cast members who were operating the attraction were reportedly actively debating what they should do. Should they leave the train running or take it out of service and see what was causing that noise? In the end, they allegedly made the decision that they’d pull the vehicle out of service once it had completed its next run. Sadly, it was during that trip around the mountain that Big Thunder Mountain Train No. 2 derailed. Which resulted in the death of Mr. Torres.
So — strictly from a liability point of view — Disneyland managers may have some awfully tough questions to deal with in the future. As in: Did the cast members who were operating “Big Thunder Mountain” on September 5th behave responsibly? Given that Train No. 2 is reported to have been making those odd “clanking” noises for as long as 45 minutes, wouldn’t the smarter thing to do have been to pull BTMRR ride vehicle out of service much earlier that morning?
Hey, hindsight’s 20/20, folks. So it’s always easy to say what should have happened after a tragedy’s occurred. But in this case, if the info that’s contained in those APD reports is correct … well, 45 minutes seems like an awfully long time to leave a train in service that’s been making an odd “clanking” noise. At least to me.
As for what’s been happening since Chuck first spoke with the Anaheim PD and what may have been causing that noise … why don’t I hand the story off to Chuck Oberleitner for a moment. He can fill you in on the particulars:
Last week I again spoke by phone with Anaheim PD media relations officer, Sergeant Rick Martinez. I reminded Sgt. Martinez that in a earlier interview with JimHillMedia and in remarks he made to the Los Angeles Times, he had said that the criminal investigation would stay open as long as the DOSH investigation continued.
“That’s right,” he said. “And when I was told our investigation was being closed (prior to the conclusion of the DOSH investigation) I asked our officers the same thing.”
Sgt. Martinez went on to say that the officers conducting the investigation, working closely with the DOSH investigation team had concluded that there was no evidence of criminal negligence or culpability. Therefore there was no reason to keep the criminal investigation open. “If new evidence were to come up,” he added, “we can always reopen the investigation.”
With the closing of the criminal investigation more information about the events of September 5, are coming out. Just a little over two weeks before the accident, state inspectors had examined Big Thunder Mountain. Nothing out of the ordinary was found.
Transcripts and recordings of the frantic 911 calls made by passengers on the ill-fated train have been released. They show an instant recognition by passengers that one of the train’s occupants was seriously injured in the accident.
This past week, JimHillMedia.com has learned that attention is now being focused on the metal pins used to link the cars of the BTM mine trains together. Investigators want to know how and where these pins are made.
Sources familiar with the history of Big Thunder Mountain tell JHM that at one point these pins and indeed all the major metal components of Disneyland rides were milled on site in Disneyland’s own “mill shop.” Now as part of cost cutting measures put in place by Disney management in the late 90s these pins are no longer produced by Disney craftsmen but rather by outside contractors who presumably produce them for a lower cost than Disney’s own maintenance department.
In an e-mail dated October 6 of this year Bob Tucker, Disneyland Resort Director of Media Relations had the following to say in response to questions about the operational status of the various wood and metal “mill shops” backstage at Disneyland:
“I followed up on your inquiry about the machine shop and sheet metal shop. Just like the mill shop, they also continue to be fully operational. As for contracting out work, we have always operated that way depending on the scope of the job.”
A key figure within Disneyland familiar with the investigation continues to insist that these pins and the relatively recent decision to acquire them from outside contractors remains a prominent part of the ongoing investigation. Furthermore, while the Walt Disney Company will in all likelihood end up paying out millions of dollars in legal settlements, it now appears that Disneyland Resort maintenance may bear the full brunt of responsibility for the accident.
DOSH investigators are on record saying that it could take another four to six weeks to conclude their investigation. In the meantime, questions still remain unanswered about the odd noises heard by BTM CMs prior to the train’s final run and the exact way in which the locomotive partially derailed and became detached from the rest of the train.
In the course of preparing this story Walt Disney Imagineering was asked for information regarding Big Thunder Mountain’s design. Because of the ongoing nature of the investigation they declined to comment.
So there you have it, people. One Big Thunder Mountain rumor put to rest. But there are still many troubling questions that continue to swirl around this tragic accident and its investigation. As we here at JimHillMedia.com learn more, we’ll be sure to pass that info along.
Your thoughts?