Parasailing safety???

[Minnie&Mickey]

Just curious as to how safe and regulated the parasailing is at CC. My oldest daughter parasailed two summers ago when she went on a vacation with her boyfriend (now ex) and his parents. I didn't find out about it until it was over with, and I'm still not sure how she was allowed to do it at age 17 without my consent, but she loved it and wants to do it again at CC. My 16 year old wants to do it to. Monday is the first day that I can call and book excursions, and I was going to sign them up for it until I saw the news last night. Two girls down in Florida for Spring Break were parasailing and the rope broke and they ended up being rescued by a bunch of people on the beach. The Atlanta Journal Constitution newspaper had a big story about it in today's paper because they are local girls (from Marietta...Dave's hometown) and after reading it, I am a bit hesitant to sign them up. Does anyone know if they are regulated in any way at CC?

 

[dclwdwlover]

I don't know if they are regulated or not - Disney does not own the company that does the parasailing - it is a co. that comes over from the main island nearby. I have been under the impression that since Disney is allowing it at their island that they make sure that safety is a priority. Since I am afraid of heights & still went parasailing last November (& LOVED IT, btw), I held that assumption before, during & after. All went excellently.

 

[dancermom]

My dd and I went parasailing on our 1/24 cruise and absolutely loved it. As mentioned before Disney does not own the company, but since they contracted with them for CC I'm sure they had them checked out. I don't think they would chance safety. I did think about safety once when we were up in the air, but I decided if the rope broke we were attached to a parachute so we would sail down into the water, you're wearing a life jacket, and the boat would be right there to get you. Accidents happen, and you can't always prevent them, but I would throw caution to the wind and go again in a heartbeat.

 

[jgalecpa]

My wife is very nervous about these kind of things and she had no problems with the care and concern shown by these people.

They seemed to be a first class group, and in the UNLIKELY event of a mishap, a soft landing in the water would be the worst you could experience and as noted, you don't go up unless your wearing a life jacket.

Para-sailing is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience, at least it was for me.

Once I did it, while it was cool, I probably won't do it again. NOT at all because of any fear factor, but once you are up there it's like "Ok this is cool, but a little boring" after a few minutes.

My two cents

Jim

 

[Minnie&Mickey]

Originally posted by jgalecpa
in the UNLIKELY event of a mishap, a soft landing in the water would be the worst you could experience and as noted, you don't go up unless your wearing a life jacket.

According to the newspaper article, that isn't necessarily the case. It said that three years ago two parasailers were killed when their harness broke and they fell 250 feet and landed in 3 feet of water.

For the two Atlanta girls, it took over 30 minutes for the people on the beach to be able to pull the girls to safety because of high winds. All the while, they were sailing closer and closer to power lines and buildings. They both thought that they were going to die (they are 15 & 16 years old). The article doesn't say what the owners of the parasailing boat were doing during the time that the people on the beach were trying to rescue them.

I guess if they really want to do this, we will allow them to, but not without us really checking the harness and tow rope.

 

[rae519]

IF verandahman can do it, anyone can do it.

Rae

 

[Verandah Man]

Originally posted by rae519
IF verandahman can do it, anyone can do it.

Rae

Amen to that Sister Rae!!!

 

[KYCruiseCrazy]

DW went parasailing on our last Disney Cruise and absolutely loved it. DD was disappointed because she was to young to go up, you have to be 8yrs old. On our cruise coming up DW and DD are going to go up tandem and they are both looking very forward to the experience.

 

[sillysmom]

We just got back and my 8 year old did the tandem with her dad, she absolutely loved it, I did not worry at all!

 

[potterpixieprincess]

It was my understanding (and I could be totally wrong) that the girls' lines broke because the high winds caused more tension than they were capable of handling and then those winds also slowed the rescue effort. It makes sense--if you have, essentially, a parachute behind you and the wind is knocking the parachute around, that would be way more weight than the weight limit for parasailing. So I think it's probably safe if you're smart and not going out in high winds. And a company that really knew their stuff (i.e. the kind you'd want to parasail with anyway) most likely wouldn't go out in such hazardous conditions.

 

[KaitlinsMom]

I just wanted to note that I was suppose to parasail (I was motivated by verandah man) only to have it cancelled due to high winds -

So they do look out for the safety of the passengers -

 

[Minnie&Mickey]

Originally posted by KaitlinsMom
I just wanted to note that I was suppose to parasail (I was motivated by verandah man) only to have it cancelled due to high winds -

So they do look out for the safety of the passengers -

That is exactly what I was wanting to hear. With these two girls, the high winds were definitely a problem. The article said that you shouldn't parasail if the winds are more than 17 mph and I think it was more like 25 when these girls went up.

I'm sorry to hear that your parasailing trip was cancelled, but it does make me feel a lot better to know that they are concerned with safety.

 

[WDWCrazzyCunninghams]

Questions.....So you only have to be 8 to sail alone? That would mean DSColton could go...and he has expressed an interest in it. What is the weight limit? DH is a "pooh sized guy" as I am a "pooh sized gal". DSConnor would go for sure, but if together we exceed the limit, then we can't, since he couldn't sail alone. Thanks!

 

[KYCruiseCrazy]

I believe the weight limit for parasailing is 350lbs. It might be a little less than that, I'm trying to remember the exact limit. You have to be 8yrs old to parasail at all...even tandem.

 

[WDWCrazzyCunninghams]

Thanks Neighbor! (we're in WV) If that weight limit is correct..and I have done my math right, then we should be able to go!

 

[Verandah Man]

I have my excursion booklet in front of me. This is what it states: Guests must be at least 8 years of age and weigh more than 90 lbs., but not exceed 375 lbs. Children under 13 must be accompanied by an adult.

 

[WDWCrazzyCunninghams]

VM...thank you. I think I missunderstood the posts before. Since Connor will be 7, and under 90lbs, he can't go up at all. Colton will be 9, so he can go up WITH an adult...as long as he is 90lbs...which he is close now. That means that I would have to take Colton up and Steve could go alone. Connor is stuck on the ground. hhhmmm, that might not go over so well with Connor! We may have to forgo this excursion this time and do it next time.

 

[inkkognito]

Disney is very, very safety conscious and communicates that to their vendors too. Since hubby was the only person on the jet ski tour, he was able to chat a lot with the guides and they repeatedly told him that Disney is very strict about having and enforcing safety guidelines. He has parasailed, too, and loved it; I haven't, but if I ever did, it would be on CC. They offer it on the public beach in Nassau, but after a terrible jet ski experience there (hubby's jet ski died in the middle of the ocean and he was stuck there until he drifted to shore far, far away from the beach), I would never use those vendors again. They are totally unregulated. Disney makes sure they deal with good vendors and drops them at any hint of a problem. Look how quickly they dropped the Key West beach excursion after getting complaints.
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[Minnie&Mickey]

Originally posted by inkkognito
Since hubby was the only person on the jet ski tour

Is the jet ski tour offered on CC? My daughters both love to ride jet skis!

 

[inkkognito]

Minnie&Mickey, here's the link to my thread with details of the CC jet skiing:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=546096
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com