Gangplank on Disney Wonder

[FortheloveofStitch]

My SIL said she heard that the gamngplank fell into the water when docked in rough seas recently. Is this true? I was surprised that if it did happen that i couldn't find it on here.

Mods: If it is not true please remove post, I don't want to spread untrue rumors.

[ElenitaB]

As a matter of fact, it is true. Recently there were very rough seas and high winds and the passage way collapsed. No one (passenger or CM) were on it at the time. The ship was moved to a different section of the port and embarkation took place there. Below is a report (http://www.cfnews13.com/News/Local/2008/11/30/storm_causes_cruise_ship_passageway_to_collapse.ht ml) from December 1, by Channel 13/Central Florida News:


Disney Cruise Ship Passageway Collapses
Severe weather in Port Canaveral caused the main gangway for guests and crew members to get to the Disney Wonder Cruise ship to collapse into the water.

Several guests were on board the ship when the passageway collapsed, but no injuries were reported.

The ship had to be moved to a cargo pier to load the remainder of the guests.

The cruise ship was an hour late pulling out of port Sunday.

Guests now board the Disney and the Wonder directly from the pier onto Deck 1 until the passageway is repaired, which should take around 5 weeks.

[wendy*darling]

The news is that the gangplank is already fixed and back in use again! Way ahead of schedule.

I am thrilled, since we sail on our first DCL cruise in 15 days. :party:

[Ed]

I did a little more digging on this and learned that what happened was very strong winds from a powerful storm that day were hitting the starboard (right) side of the ship while it was docked. The wind, hitting directly on the side of what amounts to a 10-story high building that is 964 feet long, created enough strain on the dock lines to cause a few of them to snap! If you've ever seen those dock lines, they are about 2" in diameter, so you can imagine the force it took to snap them. :eek: When the lines snapped, the stern (rear) of the ship was no longer held tightly against the dock and started swinging away from the pier, causing the gangplanks to fall into the water.

No injuries, thankfully, and the ship itself was not damaged other than losing a few dock lines which, I'm sure, were quickly replaced.

[Donald_Quackers]

I was on the Dec 7-11 Mousefest cruise, and I boarded from Deck 1 fore, but debarked from deck 3.

When I debarked, only half of the gangway was connected.

It was a beautiful cruise.

[Pixie Power]

Guests now board the Disney and the Wonder directly from the pier onto Deck 1 until the passageway is repaired, which should take around 5 weeks.

It is already fixed! We were on the 3-Nighter that left on Dec. 11th and boarded as usual onto Deck 4 straight into the Lobby Atrium. :mickey: