'My worst nightmare': Canada's Wonderland ride stuck upside down for over 30 minutes

A recent ride malfunction at Canada's Wonderland in Ontario is forcing some to see their "worst nightmare."

On Saturday night around 10:40 p.m., the Lumberjack swinging axe ride at the Vaughn, Ont. theme park remained inverted while riders were onboard.

A clip of the incident filmed by Jiashira Rivera has since gone viral on social media, where she said the ride's malfunction lasted more than 30 minutes.

"It was terrifying, thank God nobody fell off," Rivera told Yahoo Canada via direct message.

"They kept telling everyone to clear up the area. Workers came in with safety harnesses, climbed up to the machine and tried resetting it."

In her TikTok post, Rivera said riders were able to get down safely after about 45 minutes.

"I'm definitely not getting on this ride any time soon!" Rivera shared in her caption.

A 14-year-old rider named Lukas Russo told Yahoo Canada via direct message on TikTok that after the ride came down from being inverted, it took roughly another 20 minutes for staff to get riders out of their seats.

"Me and my friends all felt the same effects and I'm pretty sure it's the same for everyone," he wrote. "But I was keeping everyone calm and just saying, 'Don't worry, we will get down' and just to breathe. I was pretty chill but again, I also had so much blood going to my head just like everyone else."

He explained that he felt like blood was going to come out of his nose, his eyes felt heavy, it felt weird to breathe and he thought his head was going to "explode." He added that since the ride had restraints on his thighs, he legs were also feeling numb.

"I was thankful that the workers there could get us down but it was just crazy," he shared. "I wonder how much longer if we were up there [if] we could've died."

Other social media users expressed their concern for the well-being of riders, with many sharing their fear over the incident.

"All that blood pooling to your head just can't be a good thing," someone commented on Instagram. "I just don't trust no rides no more."

"I was on this and it hurts so bad," a TikTok user replied to a post.

"This is why I don't go on rides like this," someone added.

"Apparently, Wonderland is more dangerous than driving in Brampton," someone else shared.

"I can't even bend over for more than 30 seconds with my head upside down...this likely would have messed me up," one person wrote.

"I am not a nurse but 'Grey's Anatomy' taught me that this can be dangerous," another person said.

"'Final Destination' vibe, hopefully everyone is OK," someone commented.

Canada's Wonderland director of communications Grace Peacock confirmed the incident occurred on Sept. 23.

"The park's maintenance team responded quickly and the ride was brought down by 11:05 p.m.," Peacock told Yahoo Canada in an email. "Guests were unloaded safely."

Peacock added that before being released back into the park, riders were assessed by first aid staff.

"Two guests reported chest pain and were attended to at the park's health centre before being released without need for further medical attention," Peacock stated.

It's not the first incident of a ride getting stuck at Canada's Wonderland.

In May, the theme park's roller coaster called Flight Deck also trapped guests for half an hour, leaving riders dangling at the top of an incline.

The Lumberjack ride became stuck while inverted another time on July 18, 2021 for a few minutes, but no riders were reportedly injured.