A ride on a Ferris wheel just screams summer fun — unless you’re as unlucky as the Riggs-Long family in Essex, U.K. — and end up screaming for a different reason.
Darren Riggs-Long and his wife, Lynzie, along with their three kids, claim that they were traumatized when they were left at the top of the Big Wheel at Adventure Island in Southend-on-Sea for what they say was a significant amount of time as employees were getting ready to go home.
The 38-year-old father said of the ordeal, “We couldn’t believe it. We were at the top of the wheel when the lights went out and staff started shutting the lights down on all the rides just before 10 p.m. We were calling out for about 15 minutes before a member of the public spotted us and went to get a staff member.”
The owners of Adventure Island counter that they apologized to the family but state that the family was stuck on top of the Ferris wheel for only a short time — under three minutes (two minutes and 58 seconds, according to security CCTV). The Big Wheel was refurbished earlier this year at a cost of $336,000.
To make up for the incident, the management team offered the family wristbands for entry to the park as well as free meals.
How would you react to being stuck at the top of a Ferris wheel? What do you think about the family’s reaction? Let us know in the comments below.
Night flight to Venus!