11 year old dies after riding space mountain

[airforcewife]

My husband just spoke with someone who was at WDW just after us. He told himon 12/30 or 12/31 an 11 year old boy rode Mission Space 4 times and got in line again and collapsed and died. Now I don't think he was an eyewitness, just happend to be at Disney during the time frame. so I don't know anything else..I didn't hear anything on news about this. Did this happen? Does anyone know??

I'm concerned because I too have an 11 year old boy who rode it 3x in row, but we made him stop after that. I thought he needed to take a break from all that spinning. What if I had let him go again??
So, I guess I'm asking if anyone knows if this really happened or if it is just a story. But I do trust where I heard it from.
Robyn

It was space mountain. Someone posted that I need to go back and change this for the good of mission space. Happy?

 

[jordanyosh]

From what I read on another Disney site, it was girl who rode Space Mtn 4x. She had a pre-existing condition. I think she was from South America.

 

[MikeWazowski]

I have not heard or read anything about this. If this did happen it is probably a one in a million chance and you should not worry about your a 11. There is probably much more to the story then just riding mission space 4 times.

 

[airforcewife]

Yes, I think there must be too, but how sad for the family!

 

[DepCor0311]

I just checked the Orlando Sentinel website and there is no mention of a death at WDW.

 

[RyMickey]

I read this on the web, but now I can't find the news article. It was on SPACE MOUNTAIN, not MISSION:SPACE and the girl did have a pre-existing condition. She died while waiting in line to ride SPACE MOUNTAIN for the the fourth time.

If I can find the article, I'll post it here.

RyMickey

 

[Immelman]

The launch on The Hulk at IOA is equivalent to an F-16 leaving an aircraft carrier. the launch on Rockin Roller Coaster is about 3.8 G's, similar to the space shuttle leaving earth. I'm alive after HUNDREDS of times on these rides. MS is a walk in the park. relax, millions of people ride these very same rides every year. they don't take guests out in stack after stack of body bags. Immelman is a fighter jet movement simulated by roller coasters.

 

[Regina]

Sadly, it is true:

GIRL, 11, DIES AFTER GETTING SICK ON RIDE
Orlando Sentinel (CENTRAL FLORIDA) - January 01, 2005 - p B3, LOCAL & STATE, CENTRAL FLORIDA\ The Area\ In Brief
An 11-year-old girl from Brazil who was "throwing up and passing out" in the line to ride Space Mountain at Walt Disney World on Christmas Eve died early Christmas Day at a hospital, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Office.

Almediacesarde Marcela Pinto of Sao Paulo had ridden the ride three times and was waiting in line to ride it again shortly before midnight when she started getting sick, the sheriff's report said.


She was rushed to Celebration Hospital, where she died at 12:45 a.m. The girl had pre-existing respiratory and pulmonary health problems, according to the report.

The family, who had been staying at a vacation home in the Dr. Phillips area, could not be reached for comment.

"Our hearts go out to the family," said Bill Warren, a Disney spokesman. "We offered our assistance to make them as comfortable as possible during this difficult time; however, we have not heard from the family since that night."

Copyright 2005, Orlando Sentinel. All Rights Reserved.

 

[mariethecat]

Our cab driver told us about it on our way back to the airport on Jan 2nd. He was right about all the details except he said it had happened the day before.

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

Ugh..."pre-existing respiratory and pulmonary health problems"? And riding Space Mountain? So sad but so avoidable. The parents must be devistated.

 

[liznboys]

Ugh..."pre-existing respiratory and pulmonary health problems"? And riding Space Mountain? So sad but so avoidable. The parents must be devistated.

That's exactly what I thought...

 

[Aimeedyan]

Ugh..."pre-existing respiratory and pulmonary health problems"? And riding Space Mountain? So sad but so avoidable. The parents must be devistated.

What I was thinking too. Very sad Christmas, and vacation, for them.

 

[SnoWhiteRabbit]

Ugh..."pre-existing respiratory and pulmonary health problems"? And riding Space Mountain? So sad but so avoidable. The parents must be devistated.

I thought the same thing. And, I was wondering if a language barrier played a role in them not understanding that people with heart problems should not ride...no matter what, very sad.

 

[WDSearcher]

I thought the same thing. And, I was wondering if a language barrier played a role in them not understanding that people with heart problems should not ride...no matter what, very sad.

If they had a park map or guide book, it would have likely been in their native language, and warnings are listed there. Disney does the maps in various languages specifically for that purpose.

 

[SAWYERMAW1]

During this past summer my 28 year old daughter was diagnosed with a hole in her heart and it has been surgically repaired. The heart doctor paled when we mentioned all the roller coasters, bungee jumping, etc. she has done the last several years. She is a big fan of Space Mountain, Rockin Roller Coaster, TOT, etc. We have a trip planned to WDW this May. She will be released by the heart doctor in April but she doesn't plan to test the heart fix yet or so I hope!!

 

[WillCAD]

What a shame.

But this also prooves that "I heard it from a friend!" is not a reliable source of information, since airforcewife's friend got the ride wrong, the gender of the kid wrong, the day wrong, and left out the part about the pre-existing health problems.

That's why I don't really give much credence to those who constantly scream, "I heard that Mission: Space is making 50% of the people who ride it sick!"

 

[SnoWhiteRabbit]

If they had a park map or guide book, it would have likely been in their native language, and warnings are listed there. Disney does the maps in various languages specifically for that purpose.

Thanks. I forgot about the park maps available in all the languages. I didn't mean to imply that Disney would be at fault, just that language barriers make things harder for people. I would imagine that the parks are pretty overwhelming to many tourists whose native language is different than English, even with guides and such. A small grocery store can be overwhelming when you don't speak the language...and who knows made their English was perfect, I was just trying to guess how this could happen. So sad no matter the circumstances.

 

[SnoWhiteRabbit]

During this past summer my 28 year old daughter was diagnosed with a hole in her heart and it has been surgically repaired. The heart doctor paled when we mentioned all the roller coasters, bungee jumping, etc. she has done the last several years. She is a big fan of Space Mountain, Rockin Roller Coaster, TOT, etc. We have a trip planned to WDW this May. She will be released by the heart doctor in April but she doesn't plan to test the heart fix yet or so I hope!!

This is always scary...I think about people who may have conditions that they don't even know about! That's what I though when I first heard this story -- maybe the child had a condition that the parents didn't know about...then I thought maybe they knew but had trouble with the language and warnings....always hard to make sense out of a sad tragedy.

Glad to hear your daughter's surgery went well. My DD 6 is being monitiored for a minor heart defect, but should not need surgery.

 

[JRawkSteady]

That is really sad. I couldn't even begin to imagine what the parents must be going through. My deepest and most sincere condolences go out to them. This is one of those things you can't blame on anyone since we don't know all the facts.

 

[KarenNYC]

I have to agree - this is such a sad story but that is exactly why all the rides have health restrictions posted in several locations. It is just such a bummer as thos could easily have been avoided!