Disney Increases Crowd Control During Ride Evacuations

Disneyland and Disney World Guests have been behaving more and more poorly in Disney Parks, and it looks like Walt Disney World Resort has started expanding its efforts to control the misbehaving crowds!

This increase in Disney Resort crowd control forces was particularly noticeable during a recent Star Wars land ride breakdown in the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge area in the Walt Disney World Resort theme park called Hollywood Studios. There are only two rides in the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge area of the Disney Park: Rise of the Resistance and Millenium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run.

Millenium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run is a ride in the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge area within Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World Resort. Credit: Disney

When Millenium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run had to be evacuated recently, the Disney World Guests who had been passengers on the Star Wars land ride were evacuated from the premises. Evacuations can happen for a variety of reasons at Disney Parks, including malfunctions, but sometimes these evacuations are also caused by Guests who do reckless things such as jumping on or off of rides.

Holding the Line from WaltDisneyWorld

In the photo from the Reddit post shown above, you can see that a long line of Hollywood Studios and Disney World Cast Members are blocking the area between the line of Disney Guests (who were waiting to board the Millenium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run ride) and the entrance to the Star Wars land ride.

“Smuggler’s Run was completely evacuated when I was about to board the ship yesterday. It was eventually reopened, but this is what they were doing while things were being sorted out,” the Reddit user (who posted the photo) wrote in the post.

Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run Credit: Disney

This large amount of Cast Members might seem excessive for the line of Guests waiting to ride the Star Wars ride, but it may have been a prudent precaution on Disney World’s part.

After all, we have seen Disney Guests fistfighting, harassing Cast Members, abusing Cast Members, trespassing into restricted areas, and breaking a whole lot of Disney rules in recent months — so if Hollywood Studios were worried about some Millenium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run passengers yelling at them or rushing them, and tempers getting unstable as the wait got longer, then the extra crowd control does not seem unwarranted!

Do you find the increase in Disney staff members’ presence to be encouraging, or disturbing? Have you noticed an increase in Disney staff members’ presence in the Disneyland Resort and Disneyland Parks as well, or in other Disney World Resort Parks like the Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom, and EPCOT? Let us know on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!