Disney Cruise Bus Explodes

[IndyandMarion]

No, Im not joking on this. Yesterday (Thursday) while a Disney bus was on route to the port on the beeline, the driver saw and smelt smoke. Instantly he pulled over and got everyone off the bus and apparently, the small fire hit the gas line and the bus exploded (Into a fire). It was small though and no one was hurt thanks to the quick action of the driver.

Ch. 2 news only had a little bit on it but Ill look for more info in a moment.

Note: At the time, not much was known and Ch 2 only did like a minute thing on it. What came across to me was that the fire started and the bus had a small explosion. Anyways, the article from ch 2 website is below.

[IndyandMarion]

Ok, here is the article.

The bus caught fire near Dallas in east Orange County. Eastbound lanes of the Beeline Expressway were closed as fire crews extinguished the fire.

The fire was started by a flat tire. When the tire blew, the driver pulled to the side of the road to change it. The driver and all 52 passengers got off the bus and were moved a safe distance away before the bus erupted in flames. No one on the bus was injured, according to a Disney spokesman.

The bus is owned by Mears Transportation. Other Disney buses, which were heading westbound after dropping other cruise passengers off, stopped when they saw the fire and picked up the passengers from the burned-out bus. The passengers were all taken to the Disney Cruise Line terminal at Port Canaveral and boarded the Disney Wonder ship bound for Castaway Key.

Most of the luggage for cruise passengers had already been sent ahead to the port. There were only a few pieces of luggage and some small personal items on the bus with the passengers that were lost when the bus caught fire, according to a representative of Disney Cruises.

In the ensuing traffic jam, three cars collided, and helicopters airlifted two people to nearby hospitals.

Police said traffic was backed up for about eight miles after the fire. About 30 minutes later, there was a second secondary accident. Two cars collided in that accident, leaving two people with minor injuries.

Police said none of the four injuries were considered life-threatening.
http://images.ibsys.com/2004/0826/3684559.jpg

[IndyandMarion]

Few more photos

http://images.ibsys.com/2004/0826/3684539.jpg

This is what it looked like after they put the fire out
http://images.ibsys.com/2004/0826/3684041.jpg

Aeril view from the Ch. 2 chopper
http://images.ibsys.com/2004/0826/3684056.jpg

[hulkcoaster]

Shit!

[Grumpy]

Shit!
Couldn't say that better. First word that came to my mind

[willynate1978]

So the news report said they were heading towards the port which means the folks on the bus hadn't even started their vacation yet.

How awful to see your vacation and half your wardrobe go up in smoke.

This'll be costing Mickey a few bucks . . .

[hulkcoaster]

^DID YOU ACTUALLY READ THE STORY! It said that the luggage was sent ahead.

[Zazu]

^DID YOU ACTUALLY READ THE STORY! It said that the luggage was sent ahead.
Probably referring to carry-on luggage: Cameras, eyeglasses, prescription medications, jewelry, laptops, perhaps bathing suits and a spare set of clothes. The sort of thing you might not bother to dig out of the overhead if the bus were filling with smoke. Gonna end up costing Disney more than loosing the main luggage, probably, as that's just clothes.

[willynate1978]

Sorry for the lack of clarification.

Despite the fact that their clothing/suitcases were sent ahead, there was still probably tens-of-thousands of dollars of electronic equipment/baby supplies/backpacks/travel gear that people typically don't put in their suitcases.

While I'm sure the situation was handled well, it's still got to be rather inconveniant for all parties involved.

[CujoSR]

Great story Indy! But I you have to quote the website source! Give credit where credit is due.

[GMC]

Gulp! I was on one of those types of busses and a tire blew right under me! we sat on the bus for three hours while the tow truck came! Glad i didn't blow up... i knew i didn't trust our driver.

[DLSweeper]

At least no one was hurt that bad. That's good news.

[BRWombat]

So the news report said they were heading towards the port which means the folks on the bus hadn't even started their vacation yet.

Do we know if the bus was coming from WDW or from the airport? Not a big deal, but if it was from WDW (and I suspect it was, since their luggage had already been transported), they were 4 days into their vacation, as part of the land/sea vacation package.

Either way, not a great thing to have happen to you.