Disturbed by Disney Death

It was disturbing to me too when I heard it. I took my kids to Disney last year but not to Epcot. My daughter told me that the space ride might be stressful to people with heart or respitory problems. Because of what happens on the screen or something like that. (I've never been there, nor she, but her friends have). Apparently you experience the same things an austranaut would. I'm wondering if the excitement of it was too much for him and he had a heart or respitory problem that the parents didn't know about? I haven't hear what kind of health condition he was in, if there was any problems though. It is scary to think about though. A sad thing to have happened.

amazing what 20/20 hindsight shows us, huh jill? I would bet you will not put yer treasures on that ride or one like it now, will you?

amazing what 20/20 hindsight shows us, huh jill?

The freaky thing is, it seemed like one of the safer ones.  After all, you are just sitting ther in a simulator.  You aren't zipping along a track, bouncing around or anything else.  Just sitting there with a shoulder harness on and a video screen in front of you.  I saw the warnings about motion sickness but none of us suffer from that so felt there wouldn't be a problem.

I remember my eyes watering during the intense Gs and it felt like you were actually launching into space.  My little guy was talking the entire time so I knew he was okay.  He didn't get upset until we left the ride.  I was carrying him and he started shaking and crying and told me he didn't like it and didn't want to go on it again.  I thought it just freaked him out but maybe it affected him physically more than I realized.

They closed the ride and I imagine it won't be going back up until they reduce the Gs and do some extensive testing.  Even then, I doubt anyone who heard of the death will want to go on.  I bet they will install an emergency buzzer or something too because currently you are trapped for the duration of the ride with no way to communicate outside the simulator.

I have ridden it. I was in Orlando in January. Mission Space is a centrifugal ride. You are spun around at high speed much in the same way as the popular carnival ride. There are 4 people in a car and they have the ability to control the pitch of your car. When it starts you are staring at a screen and you are pushed back pretty hard in your chair. I wouldn't call it painful but it was a good bit of pressure. Then, as you break into space from your take off, you almost go weightless (still spinning). It takes you on a bumpy landing sort of space flight.

I don't think that the ride was the only reason the child died. He had to have had a pre-existing condition. Out of all of the rides you really have to pay attention to the warning labels on Mission Space. Too bad the rides that don't seem like they would cause any issues carry almost the same warning as this one. It is a real shame that this had to happen.

I bet they will install an emergency buzzer or something too because currently you are trapped for the duration of the ride with no way to communicate outside the simulator.

great idea. a fast stop the ride I wanna get off NOW! buzzer.

Mission Space you say?...Scary. I went on that ride just this last Feb....

~Zoo

Well Zoo, I think you'd probably be able to withstand G2 forces. You're a little bigger than 44 inches tall.

Peace,

Beebes

Well Zoo, I think you'd probably be able to withstand G2 forces. You're a little bigger than 44 inches tall.

I don't know about that. Most of the people who had problems with it were over 55yrs old.

Wow, that's really sad. I can understand your concern after the fact.

Do you guys know that Disney reopened the ride as of yesterday without changing one damn thing?

A friend and I went to Disneyworld a couple years ago when the ride was still new. I didn't go on it, though and stepped out when they asked "if you don't want to go on the ride, leave now." I did.

However, the ride should be tested. By not reopening the ride the next day, DisneyWorld is showing they are not taking the little's boy death seriously. If the complaints that have followed are nausea, etc., A news story from the Palm Beach Post reads: " Since 2001, Disney has reported 37 incidents associated with rides at its four major parks in which people were hospitalized for at least 24 hours, according to reports filed with the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Those included four deaths. Mission: Space's eight reports are more than any other ride."

The eight reports are jarring. They need to stop thinking about the bottom line for a second or so and study the ride.

#11 by Dusk411 Wednesday, June 15, 2005 A friend and I went to Disneyworld a couple years ago when the ride was still new. I didn't go on it, though and stepped out when they asked "if you don't want to go on the ride, leave now." I did. However, the ride should be tested. By not reopening the ride the next day, DisneyWorld is showing they are not taking the little's boy death seriously. If the complaints that have followed are nausea, etc., A news story from the Palm Beach Post reads: " Since 2001, Disney has reported 37 incidents associated with rides at its four major parks in which people were hospitalized for at least 24 hours, according to reports filed with the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Those included four deaths. Mission: Space's eight reports are more than any other ride." The eight reports are jarring. They need to stop thinking about the bottom line for a second or so and study the ride.

Supposedly the ride "was" tested and found to be functioning normally! The child just could not handle the 2g's the ride has. There "are" disclaimers and warnings posted.

Speaking of gut wrenching, Disney has gone to great lengths throughout the queue to warn guests prone to motion sickness or sensitive to spinning and motion simulators that Mission: SPACE may not be for them. Is it for you? Only you can decide, but it is a breakthrough attraction with an experience unlike anything you've ever encountered. If you're on the line, you may want to consider popping a Dramamine to give it a whirl.

Guests with health considerations are strongly advised against riding Mission: SPACE -- in fact there are numerous warning signs posted at many locations before you enter and all along the queue. One of the warning signs reads: "For safety you should be in good health, and free from high blood pressure, heart, back or neck problems, motion sickness or other conditions that can be aggravated by this adventure." Another sign states, "CAUTION! You may experience motion sickness on this adventure! Mission:SPACE is a realistic and intense simulation of space flight. It is unlike anything that you have ever experienced." The attraction can leave you feeling disoriented, woozy and even, as some riders report, with a headache for the rest of the day. You are given multiple chances to change your mind about riding Mission: SPACE and are asked repeatedly if you're sure you want to continue. Just before you step into the seating area, the cast member asks you to give a "thumbs up" sign, if you're still ready to go.

Obviously the warnings went unheeded. And your figures are wrong it's 6, not 8. From the "Miami Herald"

INCIDENTS REPORTED In its first eight months of operation, six people were hospitalized for at least a day after riding the launch, according to the Florida Bureau of Fair Rides Inspection. All six were older than 55 and suffered nausea and chest pains. None was seriously injured. That was the most hospital visits for any ride since 2001, when Florida's large theme parks agreed to report such incidents to the state. Disney began distributing sickness bags and posted additional signs warning that the ride was intense and that riders should be in good health. Only one hospitalization has occurred since early 2004. Some riders have speculated that Disney tamed the ride somewhat, but company officials have said that no ''material change'' was made. Disney spokeswoman Jacquee Polak stated in an e-mail that ``8.6 million guests have enjoyed Mission: Space without incident since the attraction opened in 2003.'' She added: ``We are saddened by this highly unusual event. Our first concern is for the family, and we are doing everything we can to help them during this difficult time.'' Florida requires no state inspection of parks, such as Disney World, that employ more than 1,000 people, said Jim Barber, a spokesman for the National Association of Amusement Ride Safety. Florida also does not require theme parks to report injuries, said Robert Niles, founder of Theme Park Insider, an online consumer guide to amusement parks. Disney voluntarily has reported accidents, but tends only to report the most serious, Niles said. Mission: Space warns riders of its dangers in writing, by video and in an audio recording that plays in several languages to those in line, Niles said.

Well Zoo, I think you'd probably be able to withstand G2 forces. You're a little bigger than 44 inches tall.

Well, I can take the force...but it's still a bit creepy when you're riding a death machine.

~Zoo

Out of 8.5 MILLION riders since the ride open there has been one unfortunate death and seven complaining of nausua or chest pain; six of whom where over the age of 55. I hate to be the bearer of bad news but you put your love ones at a greater risk of fatality with dailiy driving than having them ride ANY amusement ride.

Roughly 40,000 people die each year in traffic accidents in the United States. That's 1.7 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles. Therefore, if you drive 10,000 miles per year, your chance of dying in a car wreck in any given year is something like one in six thousands.

Last year 300 MILLION people took 1.5 BILLION amusment rides. Your chances of sustaining an injury requiring overnight hospitalization is one in 10 MILLION. Your chances of sustaining a fatality injury is one in 790 MILLION.

Which odds are more appealing? 1 in 6,000 or 1 in 790,000,000?

The death is very tragic, but be rational.

The death is very tragic, but be rational.

I agree.  It isn't as if I will go to Disney again and avoid all the rides.  Like you said Wow,  it is more dangerous to put your child in a car and I do that every single day.  I would think that the child must have some health condition that wasn't known that contributed to his death.  Very tragic but I don't feel like a bad mom for having taken my child on the ride. 

I actually rode the ride this last few weeks while on vacation in the Disney area. I'm normally not a fan of thrill rides, but I've always said I'd love to be a pilot, and if given a chance to go to space, I'd take it in a heartbeat (even knowing of the dangers that befell the Columbia crew).

Mission Space was pretty cool. Honestly, it didn't seem much different than what one feels when taking off in a plane. There was a definite experience of force on my face, with my skin seemingly drawn back, but otherwise, not that much. I felt a bit queasy from motion sickness caused by watching the image on the monitor that simulates the launch. Your body knows you are moving in a different manner than what the eyes are telling you, and I am susceptible to that a bit. Still, I didn't lose my lunch, nor did my 12 year old daughter.

Though I feel very sorry for the loss of the child for the family of the 4 year old that died, I'd have to say that a 4 year old didn't belong on Mission Space. Nor would they belong on the Test Track ride, or a few others that would be more stressful than a younger child should experience. Kids need to be told no at times, and parents need to be smart enough to recognize the warnings that are posted in the various languages. Perhaps Disney's employers were a little at fault for not providing more stern warnings to the parent about letting the child ride, but I'm like others that believes that the child that died probably had other medical problems (a heart murmur or similar) that were not well known, and they may have made him more susceptible to problems. He also could have been standing in line in strong heat, making him dehydrated, which left him more vulnerable.


Meanwhile, about a week ago, a 12 year old girl from Virginia died at a Disney water park. Not from an accidental drowning, but apparently from heat stroke. The child was asked by a park employee if she was ok, and she reportedly answered she was fine and wanted to be left alone. Shortly after, she got up, and then collapsed and died. Park employees gave CPR, but it was unsuccessful. Again, how could someone hold Disney at fault for having a child at a water park die from too much heat? The child apparently sat in the sun most of the day, barely moved, and didn't make enough effort (or her parents didn't make enough effort) to keep hydrated. Check out Orlando Sentinel's archives for news on that issue if you want more info.

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Very sad, the parents must be broken up by it, taking their child out for a day of fun and it kills him, horrible.

It is - of course - a very sad event, of that there is no doubt, and anyone with any kind of heart has to feel for the parents.

These freak things happen. Checks and balances are in most places to prevent these kinds of incidents, but no honest person can ever guarantee they will not happen. There is a line of thought that we can go too far on safety at certain things (in a generalised sense), its an impossible quest to be deluded that everything can be made 100% safe. The latter will have a hollow ring to it for some, particularly when children are involved, but all we can do is take practical sensible precautions, to go further brings life for all to a grinding halt, its just not practical.

I doubt the parents of the child concerned would agree, and I certainly would hate to be in their shoes, but it is a reality.