L.A. earthquake: Thrill rides and theme parks remain open

Was it the roller coaster or a quake? L.A.’s 5.4 magnitude earthquake that struck just before noon rattled amusement parks throughout Southern California, but rides are pretty much back on track.

Disneyland in Anaheim initially closed all its attractions to test and restart them. But by 1:20 p.m., Disneyland spokeswoman Lisa Haines reported that “we’ve already started to bring up attractions again… We hope to have them all up shortly.”

Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia reported that rides were closed for inspection for about 10 minutes after the quake, according to spokeswoman Sue Carpenter. The Hurricane Harbor water park next door is open.

“No damage was reported in the park, and all rides are open,” Carpenter said, noting that the larger roller coasters took longer to inspect and reopen.

The theme park at Universal Studios Hollywood was up and running again almost an hour after the quake, said Eliot Sekuler, vice president for public relations. Rides were operating and lines were forming again.

Sekuler said the park has evacuation plans in the event of such emergencies but said they were not used in today’s quake. He said the gentle, rocking quake lasted 20 to 30 seconds in Universal City, where average daily attendance is estimated at 12,000.

“This one was mild and it was quickly relegated to water-cooler conversation,” he said.

At Joshua Tree National Park, where scores of campsites are set next to vast boulders, a spokeswoman said the quake was felt, but said she’d heard no reports of damage.

The shaking was felt as far away as San Diego.

“It was a good roll,” said a spokeswoman for the San Diego Zoo. She said there was no damage reported, but added that zoo workers are evaluating animals and enclosures.

Amtrak spokeswoman Vernae Graham said the railroad has had no reports of damage but has cut passenger train speeds as a precautionary measure. While workers inspect tracks for Burlington Northern Santa Fe (which owns much of the track used by Amtrak in Southern California), Graham said maximum speeds would drop from 79 to 90 mph to a top of about 40 mph between Orange County and just north of Moorpark.

So far, Graham said, just two Pacific Surfliner trains have been affected, one northbound, one southbound, each running 14 to 20 minutes behind. If inspectors find no damage, Graham said, trains could resume normal speeds in as little as an hour.

–Christopher Reynolds, Chris Erskine and Mary Forgione, Los Angeles Times staff writers

[Photo: Merchandise lies on the floor inside a K-Mart in Chino Hills after a strong quake shook the area Tuesday morning. Credit: Rick Loomis/Los Angeles Times]

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 29, 2008 at 1:48 pm by Mary Forgione and is filed under California, Disneyland, Family & Kids, Los Angeles, Magic Mountain, News, Tips & Advice, Rail Travel, San Diego, Theme Parks, Universal Studios Hollywood, earthquake. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.