Part falls off Disneyland parade float

[KeithS]

The following is a news article from a Japanese newspaper. I saw the video of this incident on You Tube (I'll post a link, but I'm at work at the moment and I don't have You Tube access) and I have to say that Tokyo Disneyland was VERY lucky someone wasn't seriously hurt...



CHIBA--A 300-kilogram part of a parade float fell off in front of spectators at Tokyo Disneyland in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture, on Tuesday.

No injuries were reported, and the parade resumed after five minutes.

According to Oriental Land Co., Tokyo Disneyland's operator, this was the first time since the amusement park's opening in 1983 for a parade float to have such a malfunction.

The float was the 11th of 17 in the parade.

When the parade was about halfway through its 730-meter course, near Cinderella's Castle, at about 2:20 p.m., the metal pipe supporting the ornament began to buckle, Oriental Land said. The plastic ornament was an artistic rendering of planets.

The accident occurred in front of many visitors who were watching the parade.

Katsutoshi Matsumoto, 39, a company employee, said: "The ornament leaned to the right on the pipe, and remained there for about 10 seconds. Then it broke and fell."

"The audience gasped. Characters paused for a few seconds, but soon began dancing again," Matsumoto added.

An Oriental Land spokesman said: "It's not known exactly why the accident happened. We'll conduct an investigation to find out the reason."

Oriental Land on Wednesday canceled all parades at Tokyo Disneyland after the accident.

The company said it would conduct emergency checks on all 46 floats, and that it would resume parades after safety has been confirmed.

It is the first time in the amusement park's history for parades to be canceled for a reason other than bad weather, the company said.