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40 Comments
- saxman13ga, on 10/12/2007, -0/+24^ they have those signs up on every coaster you'll ride.
- NSMike, on 10/12/2007, -1/+25There should be no blame here at all. It's a tragedy that the boy had heart defects, and they were aggrivated to the point that it killed him. No one is to blame. Sometimes these things hang under the radar until something triggers them. Who knows the circumstances.
- matx, on 10/12/2007, -1/+24They just put a sign saying that you cant ride if you have bad hearts like they do on some rides ;)
- shad0w, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12It's a completely random event, just like that kid that got hit in the chest with a baseball and died instantly because he had a heart defect. It was nobody's fault.
- mecole21, on 10/12/2007, -8/+18blame the parents not disney...
- glsunder, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9I was on that coaster just a few years ago. My family went on it several times. I wouldn't consider it any more intense than any other coaster I've been on. It's a horrible incident for the family, who most likely had no way of knowing their son had any problems. Sometimes bad things happen and no one is to blame. I think this is one of those times.
- Moscube717, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9Man how awful. I don't really think anyone is to blame, it's just one of those things that happens. My condolences to the family. Maybe this will inspire parents to get more thorough physical examinations, just to make sure these heart defects don't go undetected, although sometimes there is no way to tell until it is too late. How awful.
- Frank_the_Tank, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8Yeah, no one should be blamed. Just sad, is all. =(
- 5h1th34d, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5An awful tragedy. No need to make it worse by ridiculous comments here, correct?
- arnott7, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I went to Walt Disney World for the first time in April and had a great time. The new Everest ride was my first ride and I got scared after the ride as I was sitting too tight during the whole ride, & I did not scream, I had to sit for few minutes after the ride . And I did not want to go on another ride. My friends encouraged me to relax and have fun. I started screaming and breathing during the next rides and had more fun later.
Disney-MGM's Rock 'n' Roller Coaster was the first big ride I did without fear. the next day we did the Epcot's Mission Space which did not affect me at all. Magic Kingdom's Space Mountain ride is where i screamed more. but the slide drop at Blizzard beach was the scariest.
The rides are fun if u can relax and have fun. it also helps if u have a strong heart.
The German woman died the day after we were on Mission Space . - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5Must sign this waiver in case you keel over dead suddenly and you must be this high to ride this ride.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -8/+11i blame the parents :)
- Thuktun, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Often the kinds of tests that can detect these things are very expensive. Without no evidence of any problems or some kind of significant family history, I wonder if health insurance would even cover them.
Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome is an example of the kind of condition that can lurk in a child and suddenly kill with hardly any warning. (I'm not saying that this was what the boy had, it's just an example I've become acquainted with.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolff-Parkinson-White_syndrome
http://www.c-r-y.org.uk/wpw.htm - rekrapt, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I knew it couldn't have been that coaster. It has to be the smoothest riding coaster I have ever been on. I'm horribly sorry for the family...
- Kericr, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4The source of those signs BTW: http://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/stories/1996/06/24/weekinbiz.html
Read the 2nd paragraph down. I actually went to middle school with the girl. (Oh, and she was a bitch. And her sister died 2 years later, THE SAME EXACT WAY. Stupid ass parents.) - warfang, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4In the break room at my work people were talking about rollercoasters and the dangers. We're mostly Engineers here so it gets really technical. One of my coworkers conducted tests on some rides at Disney World and found that the acceleration to the neck and head on a lot of the rides is higher than the legal limit for a test pilot.
Disney has medical examiners because they do not let paramedics or ambulances, or any outside medical personnel into their park to treat a patient without first going through their medical department. That article makes all these rides seem pretty scary, but when you put 36.6 million people through a ride, something like this bound to happen. Although I do believe these parks need to be regulated by federal standards. - dknightbatman, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I have been on that coaster and I could see how that could kill someone with a weak heart muscle.
My condolences goes out to the family. - Pwelborn1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Federal Regulations??? Are you serious? If you look at this statistically, a day at an amusement park is one of the safest things you can do with your family. These places really are doing an amazing job of creating a fun, safe, exciting experience for people WITHOUT GOVERNMENT REGULATION. Now form some department for creating federal regulations for roller coasters and they are all going to end up with a top speed of like 25 miles an hour in a straight line. Perfect example of a place where there is absolutely NOTHING to gain by creating yet another GOVERNMENT AGENCY.
- Pwelborn1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I honestly believe if they form a government agency to regulate theme park rides places like Disney World will become about as fun as a day at the dentist's office.
- eliasg, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I go to Disney often and they always give tons of disclaimers, both in writing and in the presentation videos, saying not to ride if you're pregnant, have health/heart problems, etc. etc. etc.
Unfortunately, it was really nobody's fault this happened. Unless they took their kid to a cardiologist (or similar), they wouldn't have known. And most people don't take their kids to a cardiologist for the hell of it. - LayZ, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I'd just like to say here that Rock'n'Rollercoaster is my favourite coaster ever.
Someone died on Mission Space last year, and I can definitely see how that could kill someone in poor health, scary stuff. - kosansh, on 08/05/2009, -0/+1I think there could have been better clear signboards to not allow patients with such ailments to take risky rides.
- saxman13ga, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4You dont have to sign a waiver..thats one of the stupidest things ive heard...
You woulnt ever have to sign one..thats just not how it works.
Your safer on a coaster, than in a car - Cerberus047, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3blame canada
- borgib, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1A great coaster indeed. I grew up here in Orlando and have been there many many times. Hell in High School my g/f's dad worked there and we got in whenever we wanted for free. We road the Rockin' Rollercoaster and the Tower of Terror back to back 26 times one slow day. What a great day!
- LexisNexis, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Relax BlackToothX, that was obvious sarcasm.
- geoboy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I have to agree, Pwelborn1. Government regulation of amusement parks isn't really necessary. Anytime a ride malfunctions and people are stuck on the ride for hours, or are injured or killed, it's incredibly bad PR for the company. Owners of amusement parks want to make money, and having the safest park possible is a part of the business model. Who would want to visit an amusement park that has the country's highest injury and death rate? I don't own an amusement park, but I sure wouldn't want to be the owner of one that is considered to be one of the country's unsafest.
- mac4xbox, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1No one to blaim.
- spotty, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Disney slipped the M.E. lifetime tickets to Disney World....
- DOCKAUF55, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0It's ***** that Disney gets blamed for some stupid parents not paying attention to what a ride acctually does.
Hey my kid has a heart problem should he ride a roller coaster that goes around 60 mph? NO!!!! - BlackToothX, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0@SpyderMann
That was the dumbest comment I have ever read... Examine every kid for heart defects?!?! Did you even think before you posted that?! What your proposing is that Amusement parks need to scan every child for every imaginable disease before they allow them to ride a roller coaster ahha.
People need to watch Fight Club more often - if the cost to pay off lawsuit (A) plus the cost to fix the ride (B) is less than the cost of scanning a million kids a day for problems (C) than the problem wont be fixed. However if A+B>C then mebbe my irritated left nostril will prevent me from screamin my head off on the Tower of Terror next year :( - xipotec, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1How is this news? poeple die all the time. What a lame story, somebody explain why this is news.
- andygravity, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1dr. gibbons the bank has called regarding a wire transfer from Disney?
- dclowd9901, on 10/12/2007, -5/+1It's a joke, people.
- dclowd9901, on 10/12/2007, -5/+1Funny. I didn't know Disney employed medical examiners...
- Vlatro, on 10/12/2007, -12/+3Wow, died from a Disney roller coaster. Never heard of anyone suffering heart attack or stroke on a Disney ride before. I believe several have been lost to old age while waiting in line, but this is a first.
Don't Blame Disney, or the parents. The kid is to blame. What a whimp, those rides get your blood flowing about as fast as a long nap would.
Straying a bit off topic
pseudojd: Gotta digg+ your last comment for using the word "Smote". I recently lost a game of strip scrabble because the girls insisted that smote wasn't a real word. God bless this site where the common reader is more intelligent than your average drunk 20 year old party skank. - missflibbles, on 10/12/2007, -10/+1Yeah, and of those 46 fatalities since the 80's, I wonder how many of them were due to health problems? Did the rides fall apart, or did these people have heart attacks? Way to leave out important information.
No digg. - pseudojd, on 10/12/2007, -13/+4God Smote him down.
- SpyDerMann, on 10/12/2007, -21/+3I think this will have a detrimental effect (or cost) on future rides, requiring children to be examined for heart defects. Just imagine the cost of this.
- RexKwando, on 10/12/2007, -21/+3I wonder how much Disney paid the doctors off to say it wasn't their fault?
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