As fun-lovers gear up to go on roller coasters this summer season, an incident at a Portland, Oregon-based amusement park has left riders and the internet weary. Footage from June 14 of 28 AtmosFEAR riders at Oaks Park showed them stuck upside down 99 feet in the air for nearly thirty minutes. According to the amusement park, the ride malfunctioned shortly before 3 p.m.
Riders were frighteningly stuck upside down while the ride was in its “apex position” when it abruptly stopped working. They were on the 360-degree cycling version of the ride — which also offers a “180-degree ride for a pendulum experience.”
First responders reportedly got to the scene around 3:20. The park claims riders were returned to the ground “within minutes.”
Oaks Park’s X account additionally revealed that those suspended in the air received assessments from the Portland Fire & Rescue and the American Medical Response.
“One rider with pre-existing medical conditions was transported to the hospital for further evaluation, out of an abundance of caution. All other riders were released by medics to go home with their families,” the park noted.
On Oaks Park’s website, AtmosFEAR is described as a “showstopping extreme attraction” that is its most popular.
— Oaks Amusement Park (@Oaks_Park) June 15, 2024
How Did Social Media React To The Terrifying AtmosFEAR Ride Gone Wrong?
In the comments of a June 15 post, a TikTok user who claimed to be on the roller coaster said, “multiple people threw up.” She also said she and the 10 friends she went on the ride with were all still coping with headaches and were very sore.
“We still had to finish the ride once we got out of the [upside] down position which was very hard on our bodies. Never go to Oaks Park!” she said.
TikTok users expressed tons of fear in the comments. One person said, “I would of started crying thinking I was on Final Destination.” Another said, “If the ride lost power I would be fearful the harness would unlock. Glad y’all are safe. Go get checked out and get scans done… Lawyer up.”
Another patron was audibly shocked when he heard the park was closing five minutes into the riders being suspended. Notably, he and his companion also seemed stuck up in the air on a Ferris wheel at the park.
One commenter said, “Imagine being upside down on this ride and watching everyone being evacuated from the park.” Another said, “Imagine this being someone’s first upside down ride. [I] hope everyone’s okay.”
A concerned commenter wrote, “How, HOW do modern rides not have redundant safety mechanisms that SLOWLY bring the ride down to its resting position at detection of ANY failure! Not freeze in place, omg.”
