Boy who died on Mission Space update

[kdibattista]

Turns out he had a heart condition.... so sad!!!

http://www.nbc10.com/news/5330235/detail.html

 

[jbdreamer]

I have riden that once, and that is enough for me.
That ride is pretty brutal for any person, especailly a 4 year old. How sad.

 

[boomhauer]

Odd - The report of the young girl who died at Typhoon Lagoon also was released today.

 

[Chicago526]

I'd read that the parents requested that Disney change the height requirement to prevent such young kids from riding such an intense ride. While I totally sypathize with the parents on the loss of their child, I do feel that it is a parents responsibility to keep their kids off of rides that are that intense. I wouldn't let a 4 year old on that ride if he was 5 feet tall! They are just too young to handle it. Heck, I don't know if I'd let a 4 year old on Space Mtn. for that matter.

 

[Maleficent13]

Odd - The report of the young girl who died at Typhoon Lagoon also was released today.

Link?

 

[Beth76]

I'd read that the parents requested that Disney change the height requirement to prevent such young kids from riding such an intense ride. While I totally sypathize with the parents on the loss of their child, I do feel that it is a parents responsibility to keep their kids off of rides that are that intense. I wouldn't let a 4 year old on that ride if he was 5 feet tall! They are just too young to handle it. Heck, I don't know if I'd let a 4 year old on Space Mtn. for that matter.

Yeah, but they may not know. My 4yo was tall enough to ride one of the big roller coasters (old, wooden) at 6 Flags this summer. I know that that isn't a good ride for him, but someone who goes to the park for the first time may not know that. I don't see why it would hurt to change the height requirement.

 

[belleandthebeast]

Link?

 

[boomhauer]

Link?

http://www.wftv.com/news/5330063/detail.html

 

[cardaway]

Very sad for the family.

As much as people say it ruins the theming, there is a huge benefit to being able to see ride in action. Each trip through I see many people in the M:S queue totally clueless to the what they are about to experience.

This isn't an issue with other Disney "thrill" rides.

 

[laurie31]

It is horribly tragic that the child died, but I don't think Disney could have prevented it. If he had not been allowed on Mission Space, another ride or experience (at Disney or anyplace else) could have caused his death.

Prayers for the family.

Laurie

 

[RadioNate]

Thanks for the updates on both deaths.

I'm 1/2 tempted to send them to my local news stations who were quick to hype the 'death at Disneyworld' stories. Of course they won't run a followup citing the medical conditions.

 

[chris1gill]

Does anyone know what happened to the British girl who died after getting off TOT?? These are all tragic losses for the family, unfortunately I don't know how Disney could prevent them

 

[agotta]

This just goes to show you that most of the time with these guests deaths, it was a previous condition. I am not taking about ride accidents, but the sudden deaths. I wish the media wouldn't hype it up so much. I feel very sad for these families, but again it wasn't Disney's fault.

 

[belleandthebeast]

Thanks for the updates on both deaths.

I'm 1/2 tempted to send them to my local news stations who were quick to hype the 'death at Disneyworld' stories. Of course they won't run a followup citing the medical conditions.

I would send it to them. Even if they didn't run it, maybe, just maybe, they wouldn't be so quick to "blame" next time.

 

[ziggystardust]

I was thinking the same thing. I really doubt that I will see any of these stories on tonights news. Though when they happened, every channel had a full story on it. I wish they would follow up, and inform the public.

 

[RyMickey]

While I feel bad for the parents, they knew of their son's heart troubles before they got to the park. Having been sick since birth, it is their responsibility to be aware of what may cause their child harm. Numerous signs are posted and all throughout the pre-ride spiel they talk about the intensity of Mission:Space. It's obviously very unfortunate, but I think there is a need for parental responsibility. Oftentimes in our litigious society, we're always willing to blame, but never willing to accept any responsibility...

 

[kidshop]

I'd read that the parents requested that Disney change the height requirement to prevent such young kids from riding such an intense ride. While I totally sypathize with the parents on the loss of their child, I do feel that it is a parents responsibility to keep their kids off of rides that are that intense. I wouldn't let a 4 year old on that ride if he was 5 feet tall! They are just too young to handle it. Heck, I don't know if I'd let a 4 year old on Space Mtn. for that matter.

What do you think they want the height changed to? I think they determined what height was safest for the restraint system....40" is the minimum. There are plenty of signs warning of the intensity. I might be heartless, but parents have to take some responsibility....just b/c you *can* do something at 40" tall doesn't mean you should. He could just as well died at 6 y/o or at 10 y/o because the ride was too much for him....what would they want changed if he was older...?

It's just sad all around.

 

[Chicago526]

Yeah, but they may not know. My 4yo was tall enough to ride one of the big roller coasters (old, wooden) at 6 Flags this summer. I know that that isn't a good ride for him, but someone who goes to the park for the first time may not know that. I don't see why it would hurt to change the height requirement.

Given the bazillion warnings that are one the park map, the entrance, and the queue, I don't know how anyone would figure it isn't an intense ride! Those warnings were almost enough to scare me off the ride, and I'm an experianced thrill ride junkie!

All a height requirement is designed to do is to say "it's physically safe for people who are "this" big. It has no bearing on if a ride is appropriate based on age. It doesn't absolve a parent from being responsible for what their child rides and doesn't ride. If a parent isn't sure, they can ask a CM or ride it themselves once to try it out, and then allow (or not) their child to ride too.

The ride didn't cause this poor childs death, and the child's age in relation to the ride had nothing to do with his heart failing. Any intense ride could have induced his heart to stop, including rides that people routinely take 4 and 5 year olds on, like Slash Mtn or Space Mtn, or even Goofy's Barnstormer. I don't see how raising the height requirement on MS will prevent deaths like this in the future. The same thing could have happenend to a 14, 21, or 55 year old with the same medical condition.

 

[Chicago526]

What do you think they want the height changed to? I think they determined what height was safest for the restraint system....40" is the minimum. There are plenty of signs warning of the intensity. I might be heartless, but parents have to take some responsibility....just b/c you *can* do something at 40" tall doesn't mean you should. He could just as well died at 6 y/o or at 10 y/o because the ride was too much for him....what would they want changed if he was older...?

It's just sad all around.

I think I read that they wanted it changed to 51". Their child was 46".

 

[jbdreamer]

Yeah, but they may not know. My 4yo was tall enough to ride one of the big roller coasters (old, wooden) at 6 Flags this summer. I know that that isn't a good ride for him, but someone who goes to the park for the first time may not know that. I don't see why it would hurt to change the height requirement.

Even if it was their first time to a theme park, that ride has Warning signs all over it saying how extream it is. You can't miss them! The height requirment shouldn't matter at all. A young child should not be riding such an extream ride. Instead, they should have an age requirement.