The Worst Theme Park Clickbait (Ep. 21)

Lauren and Eric talk terrifying ride evacuations, Disney breakdown dreams, and the theme park news sites fans love, avoid, and side-eye.
Lauren and Eric talk through the nightmare scenario every theme park fan secretly worries about: getting stuck high above the ground on a ride. From a real-world roller coaster evacuation in Galveston to Disney attractions like the Skyliner, Space Mountain, Incredicoaster, and the monorail, they weigh which breakdowns would be terrifying and which might actually be kind of cool. Then they pivot to another theme park hazard: clickbait Disney news sites, including Hersheypark’s online clapback and the outlets fans trust most.
HIGHLIGHTS
- A Galveston roller coaster evacuation sparks a bigger conversation about the scariest possible ride breakdowns.
- Eric shares what it was like being evacuated from Space Mountain with the lights on.
- Lauren and Eric debate whether attractions like the Skyliner, monorail, Incredicoaster, and Pixar Pal-A-Round are worse in theory than in practice.
- Disney ride evacuations can feel more like behind-the-scenes adventures than disasters, depending on the attraction.
- Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, and Living with the Land all land on the “wouldn’t mind getting stuck there” list.
- Hersheypark calls out a misleading theme park news post, kicking off a discussion about Disney clickbait.
- Clickbait headlines, ad-heavy sites, and vague rumors make theme park news harder to trust.
- The fan community weighs in on trusted park news sources, from Disney Tourist Blog to BlogMickey and WDWMagic.
For this episode’s full show notes, click here.
HOSTS
- Eric Hersey – X: @erichersey | Instagram: @erichersey
- Lauren Hersey – X: @laurenhersey2 | Instagram: @lauren_hersey_
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PRODUCTION CREDITSEdited & Produced by Jenny Snyder & Eric Hersey – Strong Minded Agency
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