People are calling 911 in Disney World…and not for the reasons you might think.
Magic Kingdom
Sure, actual emergencies can and DO happen in Disney World. But there are a LOT of accidental 911 calls happening in the Most Magical Place on Earth. Why is this happening so much? Let’s take a look!
Why are people calling 911 in Disney World?
According to KVUE ABC, smartphones and smartwatches have a habit of being accidentally activated on rides — especially rollercoasters. The combination of speeds, rapid change in direction, and aggressive stops can send signals to smart devices.
Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster
KVUE ABC shared that a county in Tennessee near Dollywood received nearly 16,000 accidental 911 calls between May and October 2021. Of those, 60% (nearly 10,000!!!) came from amusement park rides at Dollywood. Obviously, Dollywood isn’t Disney World, but the same situation can and has happened in any other theme park — including Disney World.
Space Mountain
So, why is this happening? Many smartphones have emergency functions such as the “Emergency SOS” service on iPhones and Apple Watches. These services activate a 911 call automatically when the side power button is rapidly pressed five times. Sometimes, the motion on rollercoasters can result in the necessary button presses.
The fastest ride in Disney World!
Similarly, some crash-detection apps like Life360 also trigger automatic calls to 911. These services monitor phones for sudden impacts like the ones that may occur during a car accident. Unfortunately, the changes in direction and brake systems on rollercoasters can trigger these apps as well.
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
Some of the more intense rollercoasters in Disney World such as Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad could result in riders accidentally calling 911. According to 911 dispatchers speaking to KVUE ABC, “It does increase our workload, it does increase the call volume of the [dispatch] center.”
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Of course, an overwhelmed dispatch center makes it more difficult for actual emergency calls to get through. So, this is actually a surprising problem that’s causing significant headaches for 911 dispatch centers near theme parks!
Click here to see some rides that Disney World fans could live without!
How can you stop your phone from calling 911?
Now, it’s better for dispatchers to not be overwhelmed by roller coaster butt-dials, so what can you do to keep your phone from accidentally calling 911 when you’re getting your thrill on in Disney World?
Expedition Everest
Luckily, you don’t need to disable your emergency functions every time you hop in line for a coaster. Instead, you can just pop your phone in airplane mode right before you board! That way, your smartphone won’t be able to use the emergency services while you’re in motion. You can also check your phone’s emergency SOS settings in your phone’s settings. Some, like iPhones, have various settings you can alter or disable for emergency calls, should you want to do that.
What an interesting and surprising trend! As always, keep an eye on DFB for the latest Disney World news, tips, and more.
Want to learn more about handling emergencies in Disney World? Watch our video!
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Lol when my sister and I were there in January her emergency thing got activated twice on Rock n Roller Coaster and the first time neither of us checked our phones for like an hour and our family was worried sick lol
Interesting and useful article, good job! Seven of us are taking a family trip to WDW next June, that’s 7 smart phones and now we can maybe reduce that to 9,993 accidental 911 calls….
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This is so true and I’m glad to know I’m not the only one this happened to! Not only did my phone call 911 on Big Thunder but it also texted my emergency contacts to let them know I was in distress!! My husband was with me but my little brother was panicked back in Chicago. Not good but needless to say, I will use airplane mode from now on!! Thanks for the tip!
I am sad to say that I am one of those who this has happened to. I had my phone in my pocket while on Test Track. They stopped the ride right before the big ending. Had no idea what was going on. I got off the ride and realized I had dialed 911 TWICE and my phone also alerted all my emergency contacts that I had placed a 911 call and my mother was freaking out! I will be utilizing airplane mode lol
Welllll…..let me just tell you…..I’m not sad when I see those handsome paramedics and EMT’s ! ?❤️??
If we did not have to carry a cell phone ALL the time at WDW there would be less 911 ride calls.
From an economic perspective, this is costing tax payers money. 10,000 calls in six months is 1,667 calls per month, 56 calls per day. Estimate at approx a minute to determine it’s a false call. So say 60 minutes of 911 staff time per day at $15 an hour. Which is $3600 a year. This is just for Dollywood’s one local 911. Can you imagine Disney’s?
Add in all the amusement parks across the country and that’s a lot of tax payer money that is being spent on a common problem that Apple should have found in its testing. For a $1000 product , that’s poor.
We should be demanding that Apple explain why this was not found during their “thorough” testing of such a high end product.
This is just dollars. Imagine the lives impacted by overwhelmed 911 services.
Given the billions Apple makes per year, they could certainly donate to local 911 services to pay for their mistake.