Several Walt Disney World attractions were temporarily unavailable Monday afternoon after a rare earthquake near Cuba was felt across Central Florida.
Guests visiting Magic Kingdom noticed a number of popular attractions suddenly go offline, including Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, TRON Lightcycle Run, Space Mountain, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and The Barnstormer, according to the Disney site BlogMickey.
The attraction closures came shortly after tremors were reportedly felt throughout the resort around 2 p.m., according to the blog.
Some rides later reopened throughout the afternoon.
These included Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Space Mountain and TRON Lightcycle Run, while others remained temporarily unavailable for a longer period.
It was not immediately clear whether the ride closures were directly related to the earthquake or were part of standard operating procedures.
The disruptions followed a magnitude 6.1 earthquake near northwestern Cuba that was felt in parts of Florida hundreds of miles away, according to FOX Weather.
Officials said there was no tsunami threat associated with the earthquake.
The quake was unusual for the region and was the strongest recorded within Gulf waters since 1959, FOX Weather reported.
The ride interruptions quickly became a topic of discussion among Disney fans online.
“I didn’t feel anything, but there [are] a ton of rides down right now,” one Reddit user wrote. “Most coasters.”
Another guest reported experiencing the shutdown firsthand.
“We are in line at Big Thunder Mountain, and they just suspended operations,” the user wrote. “So much is down around the park!”
Others speculated that Disney was conducting precautionary safety checks before reopening attractions.
“I would imagine it’s [standard operating procedure] to double-check the tracks and everything before letting guests back on,” one commenter wrote.
One Disney fan suggested the cautious approach made sense given the unusual circumstances.
“I guess if it’s the first quake in a very long time, it makes sense to check every ride out before resuming,” the commenter wrote”
