12-year-old boy dies on Disney's Rock'n'Roller coaster at Disney-MGM studios!!!

[HollisterSweetie]

My heart goes out to Michael's family. Especially his father, I can't even begin to imagine how hard it must be to perform CPR(which IS a good thing to know) on your own child only to find out a few long minutes later that they have passed away .

 

[Twende]

I am so sorry for this family and everyone who was there when this happened. How very horrible for all involved.

It is true that RnR is tame compared to some of the coasters in other parks.

Anyone can die, any time, any where. We are not guaranteed a second more of life no matter what condition or state of health we have. Live every day as if it is your last.
Pray that you never live to have to bury your own children!

 

[The Sweetness]

I wonder how many tragedies it will take before WDW (and other theme parks as well) DO put a defib at the exit of each ride, and show the employees how to use it (since its so easy).Not that it would stop accidental tragic deaths alltogether, but now we will never know if the boy could have been helped, or not, if it hadn't taken so long for the paramedics with the defib to reach the boy

 

[boomhauer]

The father of the boy said he was perfectly healthy and had no pre-existing medical conditions. Sadly, I think the father is going to be in for some surprising news after an autopsy is performed.

Prelimanary inspections (to no surprise) report that the ride was running normally.

 

[mjkaferle5]

.......aaand i bet he had some sort of pre-existing condition. don't you just love how guests don't pay attention to the warnings?.........

If he or his family didn't know he had a pre-existing condition......then how are you supposed to pay attention to the warnings??

 

[pperfectmom]

I agree that this is a horrible tragedy, and to blame the family for something they probably knew nothing about, is heartless. I concede that you cannot blame Disney for every bad thing that happens on property, but I find it unbelieveable that they do not have AED's available on all rides. I have noticed them in every airport, mall and other public places where large crowds congregate,so why not at WDW. I was a certified ARC first aid and CPR trainer for years and I know for a fact that the AED's are simple enough for anyone to operate and coach you through the whole process. Granted, one may not have saved this child's life, but we'll never know that for sure.

 

[WantToGoNow]

Bottom line...........people don't ride these rides knowing they have heart problems or medical concerns. They do read the warnings! It is those who are undiagnosed who ride these rides.

Most don't but some do. It scares me everytime my dd22 goes to Disney or any other amusement park. She loves coasters and other thrill rides and the faster/rougher the better. That being said, she was diagnosed 8 years ago with a heart condition after passing out several times turning band practice her freshman year of high school. She takes medicine that helps somewhat but she still has a lot of issues with blood pressure (too low and drops suddenly), body temp regulation, etc. Does she still ride the rides -- yes. Does it worry me -- yes. But in the end, she is an adult and I can do nothing about it except harp at her and that does no good whatsoever.

 

[Plutofan1]

If he or his family didn't know he had a pre-existing condition......then how are you supposed to pay attention to the warnings??

I totally agree with you. The family obviously didn't know he had a condition and maybe he didn't. we'll find out soon because the autopsy is being held today. You can't just say it is their fault because they didn't pay attention to the signs! You think that the fmaily would let the kid go on!!!

 

[Fitswimmer]

It's a horrible story-but it is always a horrible story when a child dies. I think part of what fuels the reaction about deaths or injuries at Disney is that in our society nothing is an accident. Someone must be to blame. A person with an undiagnosed condition could die at any time, any place. One of the articles in the Sentinel after the autopsy of the 4 year old on MS said that the G force on the airplane could have caused the same thing to happen. If the child had died on the plane, would we have seen discussions about not taking children on airplanes? A number of young men have died playing basketball from previously undiagnosed heart ailments. Do we hear discussion about boys not playing ball anymore? Of course not, that would be unreasonable given that millions of boys play safely. The same rationale applies to Disney or any theme park, millions of people ride these same rides safely. While the deaths are tragic and everyone's heart goes out to those families, the CM's involved and even the other people on the ride with that person; the answer is not to try and remove all element of risk. You can't. Every life, every day is a risk.
Society needs to grow up and realize that we cannot control everything. Tragedies occur and there isn't always someone to blame.

 

[tinkerbell1967]

My heart goes out to the family, I cannot imagine what they are going through.

 

[Scot-n-Michelle]

What a sad tragic at WDW. My thoughts and prayers go out to the family. I just got up this morning at caught this on the news. For those that have said things about the family - how would you feel if it was your child? Each parent needs to make the decision if they want to allow their child to ride. This past April we were there and I choose not to ride it while my fiance, sister and here boyfriend rode it. Unfortunately deaths like this happen all the time. While I am in no way justifiying it, I believe that it becomes "bigger" news when something like this happens at WDW. I hope that this makes Disney step back and realize that they need to take more steps towards keeping their rides and employees trained when a situation like this arises. I hope this family does not come on this board and read what some have wrote - it would break their heart even more.
Michelle

 

[CaipiraBob]

Prayers for the family. This sounds like a random yet tragic set of circumstances coming together at the wrong time. The recent news reports still don't identify any pre-existing condition with the child. Had to be something so subtle where the right (in this case wrong) circumstances occured for the condition to trigger his death.

Disney doesn't intentionally kill children, that's planned parenthood's job.

 

[mapmakerj]

Disney doesn't intentionally kill children, that's planned parenthood's job.[/QUOTE]
I don't think that this is appropriate place to make a comment like that. We are here expressing our condolences over the death of a child, not here to start a debate on abortion.

 

[jjarman]

Before we're too harsh on some of these unfortunate people we have to remember that some of them may not have known about their conditions and therefore thought they were safe to ride the attractions.

I do think its about time that Dinsey had trained medical staff and proper equipment at their more intense rides. I presume they're worried about being sued should something go wrong with any medical attention given but surely there must be a way round this if it helps save someones life.

I doubt Disney would ever do this. This would be admitting that the ride is dangerous, so dangerous that medical personnel are needed to be on standby.

 

[JRawkSteady]

<aaand i bet he had some sort of pre-existing condition. don't you just love how guests don't pay attention to the warnings?>


I wondered how long it would take for the first person to make a moric statement like that...Not long at all.It's never Disney. Thats why Disney is making tamer versions of these rides.....because they do nothing wrong.

**Epcot now offers a tamer version of the ride that does not include centrifugal force**

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13618240/

How is this Disney's fault? The reason they made a tamer version is so people could experience the ride withuot getting the horrible side-effects of nausea. Some don't have motion sickness but a LOT of people do. This has nothing to do with RNRC, which we all know is a rollercoaster.

If someone has heart problems, please heed the warnings. Don't just say "It's only a little ride." This is a shame for Disney as well because 3 people died in a little over a year. I wonder how THIS is going to affect attendance...and cutbacks.

 

[sunking]

Disney doesn't intentionally kill children, that's planned parenthood's job.

Wow...Now that is way out of line. You have no right to post something like that here. Not only is it totally off topic, it is uncalled for and unwanted on these boards. Take your political view elsewhere!

Back to the story:
Why can't we all call this what it is. A tragic accident. It is not the fault of the child or his parents. It is not the fault of Disney. Things like this happen everyday to other people in other places but it never see's the light of day because it didn't happen in a Disney theme park.

If you want to avoid tragedy, stay at home so you don't have to ride in the car, could get killed there. Keep the blinds drawn and don't go outside because you can get skin cancer and die. Move away from the City because the air is polluted and this can eventually kill you as well. Don't eat certain foods (meat, vegitables, sweets) because too much of any one of those can kill you. Better not watch the TV or play video games either because they can cause seziures in some people that might cause death.

C'mon people. It was an accident and a tragic one at that. I'm not suggesting that the family just get on with their lives but we need to. I'm heading to Disney in July with my wife and kids (15 & 16 years old) that I believe are in good health and I plan to enjoy all of the rides in all of the parks without thinking twice about this situation.

I don't think that Disney should not be "dumbing" down it's rides to make ensure that some small fraction of the visiting public does not have a "reaction" to it. Mission Space's tamer version is a bad step in a bad direction, in my opinion. Like someone else earlier wrote, maybe we should expect Disney to build a non-moving version of Rock-N-Rollercoaster. Wow, that would be fun, huh, but nobody will die.

What does concern me the most is the fact that the parents already have a lawyer involved. I hope that they will not try to capitalize on the tragic death of their son to find a payday.

 

[kddlm]

I agree with poster Fitswimmer.......my words exactly! It is a shame that the society we are in today always feels the need to blame someone for everything (I am not implying that this family is or will be doing this...it is just a general statement)! As the mother of a healthy, athletic 11 1/2 year old boy who at any given time is playing 3 sports at a time, I am not oblivious to the fact that something like this could happen to anyone, anywhere (whether it be on a little league field, soccer field, disney, etc....)! We just do not and cannot know what is going on inside of our bodies, regardless of how healthy we appear on the outside.

My prayers and condolences completely go out to the family during this unfortunate tragedy!

 

[micknpluto]

Disney doesn't intentionally kill children, that's planned parenthood's job.

You're a JERK to say that!

 

[CaipiraBob]

Come on. Waiting. You want a flame war, it's yours. I said nothing cruel, unkind or untrue, and offered sincere remorse for the family. You randomly insult me. What's it your beef? Did something hit a little too close to home for you perhaps?

 

[valandemmy]

INot that it would stop accidental tragic deaths alltogether, but now we will never know if the boy could have been helped, or not, if it hadn't taken so long for the paramedics with the defib to reach the boy

Everything that should have been done (according to what I have read) had been done. the NATIONAL average of survival of someone who codes and survives in a non hospital setting is 4%. that percent is only increased to 15% in a hospital setting, according to the newest data. and a 6 minute time frame for ems to arrive on scene is not bad, its rather quick actually.

My only question is if the ride went off at 11, why was ems not called until 20 minutes later?...I have never ridden this coaster on my trips, but I have never heard of a 20 minute coaster ride. at most the ride would have been over at 1103 thats still 17 minutes before ems had been called. I hope the time frame is off.


Charles,