Child's Death at Epcot

[disneyholic family]

how very very very tragic.....what a thing to happen when you're on vacation....terrible.....

I've never been on MS (my 18 year old son goes alone). Is there a way to get up once the ride starts? Could the boy have become scared and tried to get up to go to his mom?

also, aren't there instructions that continuously tell you to look straight ahead and not to lift your head or turn it side to side? Would a 4 year old necessarily understand those instructions?

Of course it might have had nothing at all to do with any of that. Could be heart as others have said. Or a brain aneurysm. Or a million and one other possibilities.

how very very sad.

 

[matthewsmom1]

My first thought is that there HAS to be more to the story..... My 5 (almost 6) year old rode MS in January w/no problems. I also think that there's a huge difference in a child that just turned 4 years old vs. almost 5. The story doesn't differientiate where this child fell on that scale. I can't imagine blaming the parents @ this time. I guess if that's true myself and TONS of other parents on dis are neglectful for letting their young children ride rides like MS, the Mountains of MK, etc.....

 

[zdesiree]

oh my god I'm so affected. One of my kids is 4 years old and we are planning to go on Nov. 29, but the rides I'm scheduling must be extremely safe for him. I always thought that if the height requirement is 44' and my kid is 45', I won't let him go to the ride because he is too close to the height requirement.

All my prayers are with the family

 

[civileng68]

Well if we thought people didn't like Mission Space before, we can just forget it now.

This bad rap can ruin an attraction, but because of the money put into it, it's not going anywhere.

I wonder if lines will be much much shorter.

 

[hokiefan33]

How very sad, my heart goes out for this family.

However, we cannot yet jump to conclusions about the cause of death. We know that the sheriff's office said he DID meet the height requirements, so it wasn't an error on Disney's part letting someone on the ride who shouldn't be. We don't yet know if the boy had any kind of heart or other medical condition that could have been aggravated by this type of ride.

I personally didn't find the ride bad at all when I went on it in July '04. My DD5 also rode it, and she loved it, but she's perfectly healthy, too. I'm curious to see what information eventually surfaces in this case...

 

[disney0928]

My prayers are with this family, and the CM's who were on site at the time of this tragedy. Just makes me hug my 2 DS's that much tighter today

 

[icelady]

This is tragic. I am also from Pa. but thats neither here or there, its sad no matter where the child was from. We are taking our 3 yr. old grandson down in Oct. and it makes you rethink everything from the rides to the heat and the effects it can have on everyone, especially children. My heart goes out to the family and they are in my prayers.

 

[calena]

What a horrible thing to happen for that poor mother. My heart goes out to her and the sibling on the ride.
I took my DS,5, when he was 4 on Mission Space and I had no idea how intense it would be. He had seen it on the promo tape and really wanted to go. Sometimes you read all the warnings in the world but you still think it will not be that bad because it is Disney and it is "safe". Well... DS, as well as big brother, 7 and big sister, 9, were fine and I was sick as a dog on that ride.
What a terrible tragedy.

 

[agnes!]

My prayers go out to the family. What a tragedy for them! Also, thoughts & prayers to the guests who were there at the time & to the CMs working the ride at the time.

My M:S experience...
I went on it December 20, 2003. I followed all directions to the letter. I was having some feelings of nausea when my screen went 'out of phase'. (That's the only way I can describe it - my video screen shifted towards the end of the ride.) I was severely nauseous for several hours afterwards & experienced episides of vertigo for about two days.

My DH & DD went on at the same time & loved the ride. My DH got off & was thinking "Is that it?!?"

agnes!

 

[Toni300z]

This is sooo soo sad. My prayers go out to the parents and family of that little boy.

 

[CrzyforPiglet]

This is a horrible situation and I can't imagine what that family is feeling.My thoughts are with them. I too believe the child had a pre-existing condition...perhaps even one his parents were unaware of. As far as being afraid to ride M:S or other thrill rides now....we all need to remember that hundreds of thousands of guests have ridden this ride with no more incident than some motion sickness. These rides are developed and tested for years in advance for safety. Sometimes things like this happen with no prompting at all, this one MAY have just taken place while on M:S. Thousands of people lose their lives on the freeways of our country, yet we all continue to get out there and drive as opposed to just avoiding it all. I think writing off M:S because of this lone incident is just as illogical.

I couldn't agree more - I've been on M:S several times as well as my husband without any problems. However I do think the ride is better for older children and adults. I always wondered with younger children if they could understand how important it is to face forward and not try to turn their heads. I would think a younger child especially one who got scared would try and look to their mother or father for comfort and get sick. I think if you have have young children you should ride M:S first to see for yourself what it is like so that way you'll be better able to prepare your child.

In any case this is a tragedy for the family and something very unfortunate they'll always remember. My thoughts and prayers for all of them.

 

[AdventurerKat]

So very sad. I can't imagine how this family feels.

I also suspect the boy had some unknown condition however, heart, aneurysm, something, that the g-forces in this ride aggravated.

 

[Aneille]

You know, after reading your post, I realize, it's true. I forget sometimes that not everyone knows as much about Disney attractions as some of us do.

I guess that being said, someone who KNOWS about these rides and has read so many different opinions about Mission:Space, I would think, would be hesitant to take a 4 year old on it. I know I sure as heck was.

I don't know. I took my step son on Splash and Thunder Mountain. Didn't take him on Space. Maybe I was wrong for that. I just had never read about any cases of people being sick getting off of either of those rides. I've read (and heard) and seen for that matter, many having a bad experience on M:S.

I had a reponse written up and then noticed this post.

This is part of what I was trying to say. We all make decisions based on our kids and our familes. And we all, including our kids can handle different things. Just like adults, some people can ride MS and love it, others hate it. I rode it and will not ride it again because I don't like to spin. I went on it because I did want to experience it though.

If my daughter wanted to ride it and met the height requirement I would be a little nervous about her reaction but if she wanted to I would take her. Actually I would send her on with my husband since he loved it. She doesn't mind spins and she loved Thunder Mountain so even though I knew others got sick many others didn't so I would probably trust the height requirement since I don't think she would be frightened by it.

I really feel for this family. I can not imagine losing my child especially unexpectdly like that.

Sorry for the run-on sentences but I was in a hurry!

 

[gingermommy94]

This just breaks my heart. My thoughts and prayers are with the family. I cannot even imagine what they are going through right now.

 

[Cass]

What a heart breaker this is

I love Mission Space and go on it with my daughter whenever we have the chance.

I can't imagine what this Mom was going through poor little boy. I wonder if he had a medical condition, we will have to wait for the autopsy results.

 

[ZIPBAGS]

How sad. I had taken my DD who was 6 at the time on the ride and she enjoyed it.

 

[Terry S]

My heart goes out to this family. My thoughts and prayers will be with them.

My kids first rode this ride at 5 and 6 and have ridden it many times since. I however am afraid to ride it.

 

[kaylie&laurensmom]

I wonder if lines will be much much shorter.

by civileng68

WHAT A TERRIBLE THING TO BE THINKING OF!!!

My heart goes out to this family.

 

[LoriZH]

Very shocked, but to be honest I can not see if being Disneys fault if he met the height requirements. More to the point he prob died of shock 4 years old and on that ride

I feel very sorry for the family and I hope they manage to find out what happened for there sakes.

Very sad

Why is it NOT Disney's fault? This is shameful and Disney is 110% responsible! If this attraction was too intense for adults, then little children should not be allowed on it at all. They need to shut it down all together! I let my 6 year olds ride it, NEVER EVER EVER again! If this is going to cause deaths, they need to SHUT IT DOWN!

 

[mamaprincess]

That is so tragic. We know that families go to Disney because they love it and they want to see the looks on their childrens faces... They want to give them the best memories of their lives. For something like that to happen at a place you love, that is probably as much a part of the fabric of your lives together as anything else you do or are, (I know it is for us) it's just to sad for words. I know they are forever changed. I will pray that they will be given the strength to make it through this, changed I'm sure, but whole and sane. God bless and keep them in his protective and healing embrace.

I do also share the opinion that there was possilbly a pre existing condition that went undiagnosed. He was so young that something that wouldn't show up under normal conditions could possibly have shown up for the first time under the conditions that are created in MS. My heart goes out to them.

My girls went on it when they were 6 and again twice when they were seven. We alternated who would go on with them. They enjoyed it and actually thought it was a little to tame. They live for thrill rides. I enjoyed MS and so did my husband. I don't think it's time to place blame because there is not enough information right now.