Santa goes for a wild ride in Disneyland parade mishap

December 16, 2018, 9:05 PM · So, who's bringing Santa a new sleigh for Christmas?

Part of the final float in Disneyland's A Christmas Fantasy parade collapses on the route yesterday, throwing Santa Claus from his sleigh in one of the more awkward (and frankly, a bit scary) moments in Disney parade history.

On the float, Santa rides in a sleigh that is suspended between two supports, one on either side. That suspension apparatus appears to have broken, rotating the sleigh forward — and pitching Santa from his perch.

Santa was strapped to the float's chassis by a safety harness, so he was not thrown from the float, though he was left hanging until he could removed by parade personnel. The float continued down Main Street to complete the parade route, since the unit can't be removed easily mid-route.

Santa returned in today's Disneyland Christmas parade, though he was riding on a different float.

Here is our video from earlier in the season of how the Disneyland "A Christmas Fantasy" parade is supposed to run.

Replies (6)

December 17, 2018 at 1:11 AM

Well, these things happen when your diet only consists of milk and cookies.

December 17, 2018 at 3:19 AM

I hope the cast member is alright. A shame Disney's safety record is going downhill.

December 17, 2018 at 3:15 PM

OT, there is nothing here that strikes me as Disney’s track record in safety going downhill. There are just some things you just can’t anticipate.

December 17, 2018 at 4:08 PM

Not much you can do about a guy like OT, James. Obsessed Disney hater is gonna hate.

December 17, 2018 at 5:34 PM

Perhaps it just seems that way since they have had a recent rash of events ... Santa falling forward on the float, 2 buses colliding at Epcot, a man getting his arm caught in the conveyor at their water park ...

So it is conceivable to think this way as of late.

December 19, 2018 at 5:10 PM

What I am finding is that incidents are happening everywhere because of the booming economy there are a lot of new younger (inexperienced) workers out there and also many skilled employees are working a lot more hours because of shortages of skilled people. It didn't look like Santa was injured too much if at all. He probably did have to change his shorts though.

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