Dopey slipped during the show's finale, falling under the railing on the top level of the steamboat down onto the level below. In falling, Dopey landed on Goofy, who broke the Snow White character's fall. A fan captured the incident and uploaded it:
Dopey almost fell off the boat at Fantasmic #DisneyWorld pic.twitter.com/2wzWtratRM
— chita (@MaagicConch) August 8, 2016
Obviously, the first concern is for the health of both character performers — not just Dopey for falling several feet but also for Goofy having to take the force of Dopey's fall. Fortunately, Goofy's presence helped slow Dopey and take some of the force of the fall, not to mention keeping Dopey from falling into the water. But I can't imagine what it would be like to be performing in full character head and suit and to have another character drop on your back unexpectedly. I also can't imagine that this incident won't prompt an enormous amount of discussion within Disney, as whatever the fall protection plan on the Fantasmic! riverboat is clearly didn't get the job done tonight.
The performer playing Chip immediately went to Dopey's assistance, and you can see in the video Dopey making a hand signal to Chip. Initial reports on social media said that both actors involved escaped immediate injury. They were checked at the scene by paramedics and released.
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I can't help but to see the funny side though. It had to be Dopey, didnt it. Did Doc run right up to help too? And was Chip just checking if Dopey had any acorns in his pockets? I can imagine Grumpy will be the occupational health and safety rep to take this to management.
Sorry, my bad imagination and worse humour getting away with me.
In any event, expect more horizontal rails on the Steamboat Willie.
Based on the video, I blame Sneezey who clearly is taking his time and holding up the line.
I also have to say that the person playing Dopey is quite the pro keeping the head on at all times!
Dopey just missed falling in the water. Goofy was definitely in the right spot to save him. I think had he gone in the water its more likely it would have been serious. Injury by the boat movement and the weight of that costume wet. Thankful it was not any worse and I'll be watching for the updated railing when I go in 3 weeks.
I can't stop laughing out loud when I watch this video, but all kidding aside, I'm relieved to hear that no one was seriously injured.
I respond: Can't recall any instance where a Disney fanatic has claimed safety measures shouldn't matter if there were no accident." So "many times?"
That's the serious answer. The easy, sarcastic one is to never put Dopey on the upper deck. Keep him close to the ground, where he can't hurt himself, anyone or anything. And don't give him anything to wave, either. We know his track record.
The Castle drawbridge received extra fencing to prevent people from falling over. They removed the seating from the drawbridge so guests cannot climb on top and inadvertently fall off the bridge. The drawbridge can no longer easily be lifted with the extra fencing.
Want more examples or is this enough?
Here's another one nonetheless. They hate the new revised Alice In Wonderland ride where when you go to the outer portion, they installed new wider leaves with extra fencing. Why must they do that for a ride that never had an accident? No guest was ever evacuated and fell more than 10 feet to their death. So now, the look has changed and the ugly barrier remains.
That chicken wire is the only thing you could think of to fix this is simply a lack of imagination. Any appropriate safety fencing material would work. Glass would be fine, but may cause reflections. More layers of ballustrading would work, but may block view. A simple and effective method would be running high tension wire around the balustrade, cheap, effective, safe (used in commercial and residential use frequently) and low visibility.
I think I saw the Evil Queen leave a banana peel out for Snow White to slip on. Poor Dopey
I suggested chicken wire as a possible solution. That you think I could imagineer a solution is ridiculous.
Glad nobody got hurt but I have to admit a guilty chuckle that it had to be Dopey...
Learn from the mistake, add some additional safety measures, if necessary take a couple days off in a couple of weeks to make more permanent changes and let the show go on. While prepping the changes, review the emergency plans, especially for dwarf overboard, starboard side.
GG
:-/
PS Did they really Suspended the Show because of that minor incident?
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