Does anyone else worry about this? Please say yes

[Ursula]

This is my biggest fear for our upcoming trip! I have a DD (7) who can't wait to go on TOT. She is a very slender girl and I know the lap bar will not get anywhere close to her. I'm afraid she will pop right out! Someone please tell me this can't happen

 

[sha_lyn]

Originally posted by Ursula
This is my biggest fear for our upcoming trip! I have a DD (7) who can't wait to go on TOT. She is a very slender girl and I know the lap bar will not get anywhere close to her. I'm afraid she will pop right out! Someone please tell me this can't happen

My dd rode tot last yr at 4 1/2 and 34lbs. I'm a Pooh sized lady so dd had plenty of room between her and the bar. while she did get some air time (boy I wish I could) she was safe. BTW I think they added seat belts to the ride when they put the new drop program into effect.

 

[cruisnfamily]

Ok, can I share my irrational fear?

Mine is hitting your head on something...you know when you come down that big slope at the end of splash mountain it looks like you're gonna ram your head into that shack(or whatever it is) that you go under....on space mountain you're constantly looping around, under, next to other track....even at the county fair, on those spinning things it looks like you could easily bang into something....Anyway, silly as it is, that's my fear and I CANNOT get over it and it prevents me from enjoying most coaster type rides.

And on the "keep your hands inside the car" thing....most people don't!(I do of course 'cause I'm scared)...and I worry about DD riding with friends and putting her hands in the air and losing an arm as you pass by something...

Can anybody help me with this one?

 

[KickTheSky]

Sonya-

Rides are purposely designed that way to make them more exciting. These ride elements are termed headchoppers. More often than not, they are placed at such a distance that it is impossible for you to actually hit them with your body. That said.... On Space Mountain, there are two occaisions where there is the remote possibility of hitting your hand IF you are raising your hands. You have to be tall to do it and they have them padded so you wont get hurt. I managed to hit one on my last stay and it didnt hurt at all, though I was a bit startled for a minute.

Remember one thing though, the parks make these rides as safe as possible. They have just as much interest in making sure your ride is as safe and injury free as possible. If they didnt, Disney would be deluged in more lawsuits than it would know what to do with and they would be out of business. The cruel hard facts are that your kids have more likelyhood of getting injured on the numerous playgrounds on Disney property than on a ride. (just as my friend whose daughter shattered her arm while playing in the boneyard at AK)

Hope this alleviates some fears out there....

Cheers,

Bob Hansen

 

[Ronda93]

Originally posted by Ursula
This is my biggest fear for our upcoming trip! I have a DD (7) who can't wait to go on TOT. She is a very slender girl and I know the lap bar will not get anywhere close to her. I'm afraid she will pop right out! Someone please tell me this can't happen

This can't happen. There's no popping on ToT. For all the hoopla, it's very gentle.

Really, if it could, it would have by now. As KickTheSky said, the lap bars are to keep the riders from standing. It just positions the riders for safety.

Someone with a small, yet mature child should try the following. With the lap bar pulled down on ToT, tell your child to stand up (I threw in the maturity hoping that they don't extend this type of behavior to the Indy Cars).

Just remember, "The Mouse wouldn't hurt me, the Mouse wouldn't hurt me"

 

[madonna31]

You people DO know that it's a fact that your odds are better of being struck by lightning then dying on a roller coaster right???

Still not convinced?

Its a fact that you have a better chance at winning the lottery then dying on a roller coaster...

IMHO - your worrying about nothing, that is unless you are all won millions in your State lottery's last week...

 

[wdwoldtimer]

Of course there WAS that movie Roller Coaster...anyone remember that one? A "terrorist" went around the country sabotaging the safety mechanisms and putting explosive charges on the tracks of roller coasters. I think you're better off worrying about that, than your safety harness failing.

If you're really into roller coaster destruction, go buy the great PC game, Roller Coaster Tycoon. Create a shuttle launch loop coaster and make the end of the track a little too short. Whoops...all those little cars filled with guests go flying into the air before crashing into a fiery mess.

 

[Geoff_M]

Here are some facts to remember...

1) The rides are very safe. Injuries are very, very, very rare.

2) When injuries do occur, it is often the result of the rider doing something improper like standing up, or something to deliberately defeat a safety mechanism. Ironically two of the most deadly attractions in the DL/WDW line-up would seem very benign. They are "The River of the Americas" (two kids seperately tried to swim across it and drowned), and "The People Mover / Tomorrowland Transit Authority" (two people seperately fell while trying to climb from car to car).

Other recorded fatilities include:
"The Matterhorn" - One person stood up in the car and was thrown, another didn't have her seat belt on and was thrown.

"The Monorail" - One person tried to sneak into DL and was hit by the Monorail train.

"Columbia" - One person was killed when a rope snapped on the ship and sent a metal cleat flying at people waiting to board. This was the first death that couldn't be attributed to the behavior of the victim.

"Splash Mountain" - During a mechanical delay a rider decided to exit the boat and then crossed back over to the other side towards an emergency exit. The ride was re-started with he was half way across, fell, and then was pinned under a boat.

There have been a number of injuries at Disney parks too, and some of them were pure accidents or mechanical failures. A small girl was critically injured on "Roger Rabbit" when she fell from her car, nine people were injured whan a "Space Mountain" car derailed after a wheel broke, and a boy lost part of his foot on "BTMRR", and a girl lost part of her finger when she fell and her finger caught on a rifle trigger on "Tom Sawyer's Island". But the bottom line is that they are very rare given the millions of rides that take place each year and Disney's risk management staff no doubt does what it can to see that such accidents can be avoided.

 

[PatriciaH]

Originally posted by Sonya Francisco
Ok, can I share my irrational fear?

Mine is hitting your head on something...you know when you come down that big slope at the end of splash mountain it looks like you're gonna ram your head into that shack(or whatever it is) that you go under....on space mountain you're constantly looping around, under, next to other track....even at the county fair, on those spinning things it looks like you could easily bang into something....Anyway, silly as it is, that's my fear and I CANNOT get over it and it prevents me from enjoying most coaster type rides.

Don't go on the Downhill Double Dipper at Blizzard Beach then That is the one with the float that when you go down it it looks like you are flying right at the overhang.

 

[cruisnfamily]

Originally posted by PatriciaH
Don't go on the Downhill Double Dipper at Blizzard Beach then That is the one with the float that when you go down it it looks like you are flying right at the overhang.

Yes, this fear of mine does extend to water parks too! Has anyone ever flown off the sides of one of those slides? I always worry I(or the kids) will go flying off. However I am able to keep this one somewhat under control and I do enjoy most of the slides at water parks(except for those where you end up wearing your swimsuit inside your bottom by the time you reach the end)

 

[sha_lyn]

a boy lost part of his foot on "BTMRR",

Saw the mom on TV a couple of yrs back. The boy thought it was time to get off, but they were behind the train that was unloading. He stuck his foot outside of the car, trying to climb out. Many people saw him and yelled at the mother, but she didn't think they were talking about her son so she didn't check to see if his foot was inside the car. In her own words (or pretty close) "My arm was around him, so I didn't possibly think it was him they were yelling about".

 

[Miss Jasmine]

I like leaving extra space on my shoulder restraints for RnR, unfortunately I always forget that it likes to slam into my chest on the first inversion. Yikes, that hurts. It makes me dread getting a mammogram. Why do Space Mountain and BTMRR even have restraint systems? It's not like Splash does yet you are thrown over a rather large fall.

 

[Jaklackus]

As I explain to my 12 y/o step son before every ride... EVERY RIDE.... arghhh...
"Disney is not in the business of killing children..it is not profitable."
I always tend to get a little 12 y/o 'tude' after that..lol ...but it get's him on the ride and afterwards he is glad that he went on the ride and more often than not wants to ride again that day. Now getting him to go on the same ride 3 months later starts the process all over again...arghhh...although my 7 month old is showing signs of dare-devil-dom...loves to 'fly', loves to bounce, can't crawl yet but is trying to stand and walk on his own, loves to climb (headboards,laundry piles, boxes, mommmy and daddy)we're going to be spending alot of time on Goofy's Barnstormer until this kid is tall enough to ride the mountain range...lol.


Jaklackus

 

[cinmell]

I feel very safe on the rides.

 

[goofy4tink]

Don't do coasters as a rule, but love RnRC!!! However, someone please, make me feel better about Splash Mt. I know, in my brain, that it's safe. Could one of you tell me why it's safe?? I always feel like I'm gonna fly right out of that seat!! And I, too, am frantically holding onto my dd. Sure, I'm gonna be able to hold her in...NOT!! I do tend to double and triple check the restraints on her.

 

[wdwoldtimer]

I wouldn't worry about falling out of the log, if it happened you could easily grab onto one of the briars that overhang the track on the way down.

You have a better chance of getting dysentery from the disgusting, dirty-laundry-smelling water.

 

[HakunaMatataMan]

I always have a feeling that I'm gonna hit my head on something during Space Mountain! I'm pretty tall( 6'3") and always try to duck because it "feels" like my head is gonna hit something in there. Its soo dark that it makes me wonder, but thats what i love most about the ride. The thrill of not knowing whats next or if I'm gonna get decapitated. I know its just my imagination playing tricks on me

 

[cruisnfamily]

Originally posted by HakunaMatataMan
I always have a feeling that I'm gonna hit my head on something during Space Mountain! I'm pretty tall( 6'3") and always try to duck because it "feels" like my head is gonna hit something in there. ........... .......The thrill of not knowing whats next or if I'm gonna get decapitated.

This right here is me exactly....well, I'm not tall but DH is 6'5". And, there's no "thrill" in it for me when wondering whether or not one will be decapitated! It kind of ruins the ride for me but then I tell myself that zillions of people have ridden these rides and NOT been decapitated but it still gets to me.