Slinky Dog Dash Has Now Gone Three Days Without Opening, With One Train Stopped at the Second Launch and a Panel Standing Open

Slinky Dog Dash has now gone three days without opening at Disney's Hollywood Studios, and as of Wednesday morning there are finally photos from the scene. One of the coaster's trains is sitting motionless on the track at the second launch, and an electrical panel is standing open in the block wall nearby.

Blog Mickey photographed the stranded train on Wednesday and reported that it is stopped "further back in the launch than where a car normally comes to rest." The outlet read that position as pointing to a possible emergency stop, explaining that "an E-stop is a safety feature that halts a ride vehicle wherever it happens to be on the track the moment a fault is detected."

Three days, and no reason given

The coaster did not open at all on August 31, did not open on September 1, and had still not reopened as of Wednesday morning, September 2. That is three consecutive days without what Blog Mickey calls one of Hollywood Studios' most popular attractions. WDW News Today notes the coaster had also racked up several hours of downtime across the days leading into this closure.

Disney has not said why. Blog Mickey reported that on-site Cast Members could not give a reopening estimate, and that Disney has not responded to the outlet's questions about what went wrong or when the coaster might run again.

WDW News Today visited the same day and came away with a slightly grimmer detail. Its report says Cast Members "could not tell us the reason for the closure or when it will reopen," and that "they expect it to still be closed tomorrow."

The open panel

The second thing worth looking at in the photos is that panel. Blog Mickey described it as sitting open among the colorful blocks that theme the launch area, housing what appears to be ride control and communication equipment, which is the sort of hardware Disney would need to get to when tracking down a fault.

WDW News Today saw the same thing, reporting that past the stopped train "we could see an open electrical panel, possibly indicating work in the area." Blog Mickey was more cautious about what that means. It noted the site did not appear to be active during its morning visit and added that "it's unclear if there is an active fix being worked on, or if there might be a reason for a prolonged downtime."

Everything else in the land is open

This is a Slinky Dog Dash problem, not a land-wide one. Blog Mickey reported that nothing else in Toy Story Land has been affected, with Toy Story Mania! and Alien Swirling Saucers still running.

There is at least something happening out front. WDW News Today reported that Cast Members were set up outside the coaster with oversized Pixar balls and hula hoops to keep guests entertained.

If you have a Hollywood Studios day this week, the sensible move is the one Blog Mickey suggested: check the ride's status in My Disney Experience before you build a morning around it. Three days in, with no cause announced and no reopening estimate offered, nobody outside Disney knows whether this is a matter of days or something much longer.

Sources

• Blog Mickey, "Slinky Dog Dash Enters Third Day of Downtime"
• Blog Mickey, "UPDATE: Slinky Dog Dash Ride Vehicle Stranded on Tracks Following Apparent Electrical Issue"
• WDW News Today, "PHOTOS: Slinky Dog Dash Closed Indefinitely, Ride Vehicle Stuck at Second Launch"

Image credits: Stranded ride vehicle photo by Blog Mickey. Open access door and Toy Story Land walkway photos by WDW News Today.