Orlando Firefighters Used Ladders to Rescue About 70 Guests From a Stalled Universal Studios Florida Ride After a Power Outage

A power outage at Universal Orlando on Saturday afternoon left about 70 guests sitting inside a stopped attraction, and getting them out took a ladder rescue by the Orlando Fire Department.

Everyone came out fine. No injuries were reported and nobody was transported to a hospital, according to WFTV.

File photo of Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon, the attraction WDW News Today identified as the one evacuated. Image credit: Universal Orlando Resort

What happened

Universal confirmed the outage in a statement given to FOX 35 Orlando: "After a power outage affected parts of the resort today, Orlando Fire Department assisted in helping guests to exit an attraction that was stopped due to the outage. We defer to OFD and OUC for other details."

That is where the public account stops. OUC is the Orlando Utilities Commission, and as of Sunday afternoon neither Universal nor OUC has publicly explained what caused the outage or how much of the resort lost power.

Conditions on board were at least not punishing. FOX 35 reported that the stranded riders "remained upright inside an air-conditioned section of the building," which in central Florida in July is not a small detail.

The rescue

Firefighters went up with ladders and brought guests down one at a time. WFTV described it this way: "Each patron was individually placed in a safety harness, assisted down the ladders, and removed from the ride within 30 minutes of rescue operations commencing."

That is roughly 70 people brought down one at a time, in harnesses, off ladders, inside half an hour. News 6 reported the whole operation wrapped less than an hour after the department arrived.

Which ride was it

Here is where it gets murkier. None of the three Orlando television stations cited above named the attraction. News 6 was explicit about it, reporting that it was not immediately clear which ride was affected.

WDW News Today identified it as Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon, the motion simulator attraction that Universal bills as a flying theater, in the New York area of Universal Studios Florida. WDWNT drew on WESH 2 News coverage, which carried the Orlando Fire Department statement and an interview with a rider, and separately on a guest video of the ladder evacuation posted to TikTok. WDWNT does not say where the ride identification itself came from, and it still traces back to one originating newsroom rather than two independent ones, so treat it as reported rather than confirmed until Universal or OFD says so directly.

The attraction does fit the description. Race Through New York uses platform-based motion simulator theaters that raise and tilt in front of a large screen inside an air-conditioned show building. All three Orlando stations reported that the ride stopped in an elevated or raised position, which is why ladders were needed at all, and a stopped show would leave riders exactly where the reports describe: upright, indoors, and too high off the floor to simply walk out.

Promotional art for the attraction. The "Tonight Rider" is the car Jimmy Fallon drives against guests in the ride's on-screen race, not a vehicle anyone boards: riders sit in a theater mounted on a motion base. Image credit: Universal Orlando Resort

What we still do not know

The open questions as of Sunday: what caused the outage, how far it reached beyond the one attraction (Universal said only that it affected "parts of the resort"), how long guests were on the attraction before the evacuation call was made, and whether any other rides were affected. Universal has not issued an update beyond Saturday's statement.

If you have a Universal day booked this week, nothing in the reporting so far points to an ongoing problem, though no cause has been disclosed. Check the Universal app for attraction status before you head out. What the reports do establish is the outcome: roughly 70 people brought down safely, no injuries, and nobody requiring transport.

Sources

• FOX 35 Orlando: 70 people rescued after ride stalls at Universal Studios, officials say
• WFTV: Orlando firefighters rescue 70 patrons from disabled Universal Orlando ride
• News 6 ClickOrlando: 70 rescued from stuck Universal Orlando ride, Orlando Fire Department says
• WDW News Today: 70 Guests Rescued From Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon

Image credits: All images courtesy of Universal Orlando Resort.