Girl Critical After Riding Disney's 'Tower Of Terror' Ride

[ReggieB]

This is terrible. I do hope she pulls through.

I hate ToT, I am petrified of it. I would not ride it again. I have ridden drop rides before and have had no problem. I cannot deal with the theming. I have a phobia of elevators. I was in one when it dropped floors, I was pretty banged about, nothing major. I had been in elevators since, little bit apprehensive but nothing I couldn't cope with. I went on ToT in 1999, a year or two later, I thought I was having a fit, it was almost like I went into shock. I shook uncontrollably as we dropped, almost like a fit. When the ride stopped I just couldn't believe what had happened, my husband took me off and we sat down for a bit and I was okay, just shaken, but honestly I just could not believe my reaction. As it was happening I was sat there thinking why am I doing this stop it! I have never experienced that again, I just know I cannot go on ToT again. I'm even less thrilled with taking an elevator now too. I guess what I am trying to say is that your brain might think it's got it under control, but your body is sort of like no, we are not happy about this, we can't cope.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

when someone on these boards asks about TOT, we should always tell them how much we love it, but we also should, as responsible people, let them know that it isn't something that everyone may like.

We are guests of the park--not the safety patrol. Signs are clearly marked. We as a community are not responsible for guest injuries.

 

[RadioNate]

they said it was because i wasn't drinking alot but i was having a drink every few minutes so whats the matter??

could depend on what your were drinking. soft drinks, sports drinks, alcohol can all play a role. those types of drinks may not actually hydrate you as much as people believe they do. the high sugar and sodium content can also do harm to someone who is already starting to dehydrate.

I feel bad for this girl and her family but until we know more I can't really form an opinion.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

they said it was because i wasn't drinking alot but i was having a drink every few minutes so whats the matter??

If you made it from Soarin' all the way to Mexico--then you probably were feeling the affects of not enough hydration.

You can be having problems and not realize it with hydration.

I worked a festival on 4th of July--was drinking bottles of water....it just got into one point in the day where the temps were causing more than my body could handle. TMI--but I never went to the bathroom all day long.

So you could be chugging water--and still having hydration issues....that's when going indoors or resting becomes necessary.

 

[DisneyAddict_M]

How sad. I hope she pulls through this.

I will most likely never ride ToT. The theming is right up my alley, but I have a huge problem with freefalling. I would honestly feel like I'm dying. When I freefall, I get extremely dizzy, shake, hyperventilate and cry hysterically. If I went on that ride, I'd probably need to be carried off on a stretcher. I don't know what I'm getting at. Just babbling, I guess.

 

[grinningghost]

Sounds to me like something else was going on with her and it was just by sad coincidence that she got ill right after riding TOT.

They say she's critical. Dehydration is easily treated and she would most likely be on her way to recovery right now if that's all it was.

Way too early to blame the ride, which IMHO, is a pretty tame one.

 

[srfrgrl07]

Updated as of 6pm newscast: The young lady is in critical condition at Celebration Hospital and undergoing surgery on her brain...apparently (according to the medical expert at the local news station) the girl may have had an aneurysm that ruptured during the ride. Sadly, that is how my grandmother passed away as it is fairly undetectable. Hopefully this girl pulls through this soon and please keep her and her family in your thoughts

 

[iwannabeminnie]

The update said they were looking at a preexisting medical condition that she had. Also, the neighbors of the little boy who died on Mission:Space told news reporters that he had suffered from medical problems all his life.

 

[WaltD4Me]

I read in one of the updated links that the girl went into cardiac arrest, would that be from the anuerysm (sp?) --- how terrible and incredibly sad. I feel even worse for the family because they are from England...so far from home and family and friends.

 

[moohammy]

I agree with the above wholeheartedly. Isn't it true however that Disney doesn't have to report accidents on property, that the state can't even investigate without Disney's permission? I mean, that is just nuts! I can't understand how that can be possible at all, no matter how powerful a company Disney is.

My prayers go out to the girl and her family! Civileng68, very well said.

Disney does indeed have to report accidents on property. But they do their own investigations. I don't have a problem with them doing their own work- they're a respectable company and the ride engineers take safety quite seriously.

 

[momof3disneyholics]

Well honestly,
I'll give my honest opinion, and please dont flame me for this.

TOT is among my top 2 favorite rides. However, as Disneyholics and with as much as we know, when someone on these boards asks about TOT, we should always tell them how much we love it, but we also should, as responsible people, let them know that it isn't something that everyone may like.

i've seen people on here talking it up as no big deal. I did that as well until now. I was one that even told my 52 year old dad last week that it was nothing, no big deal. I really didnt think it was. My dad was having trouble breathing after it was over and was seriously concerned for his health, and he's healthy. He said he really started worrying that if the ride didn't end before it did that he was going to have some big problems. I think he would have serioulsy had a heart attack.

Some people do well on rollercoasters but may not do well free-falling. It's a totally different experience. Some people may do every single thrill ride, but some people's bodies react differently when they free fall. Some people's minds take over their own sense of control and go sort of into instinct mode and the body reacts differently.

I think the heat can have alot to do with overall reactions. People's bodies if not well hydrated and without proper nutrition can react harshly to even small effects on the body and mind.

It could be anything, but after this and after my dad's experience, I hope well all realize that anyone can react to things incredibly different than we do and we should properly give our opinion of the ride, along with reactions that others, different than ourselves may experience.

I am one of those people that have no problem on roller coasters but cannot handle free falling. We were at MGM on Sat night and we rode Rock and Roller coaster 3 times, and looked at TOT for a few mins and walked away. I knew I wouldn't be able to handle it. I rode Doctor Doom's Fear Fall at IOA and thought I was going to die, and in the same day rode Hulk 7 times and loved every second of it.

 

[HomeSweetDisney]

That sucks. I hope she's okay!

 

[jlcbshaw]

Although I feel very sorry for those families that have been effected by the sudden and tragic events that have taken place at WDW over the past several months, I hope that people do not mistake these events as having been caused by any ride or through the lack of attention by the staff of WDW.

It just seems sad that the news media pick up on these types of accidents and seem to "hype" them up just because they hapended at WDW, I first heard of this accident on CNN this afternoon. They had footage from a helicopter flying overhead at MGM.

I was at Six Flags over Texas yesterday and saw the paramedics make several runs with their "emergency" golf cart through out the day. The temp's were really bad and not sure if any of these runs yielded in anything as tragic as what is being reported from WDW or not, but then again, not sure if it would make the national news or not anyway.

* copy of post from a different post that is similiar to this and thought that I would post it here as well.

 

[Feralpeg]

I agree, it sounds like an aneurysm. My mother died of a ruptured aneurysm. There is usually no warning. My mom simply bent over to pick something up. The pressure change of standing back up, caused the rupture.

In this case, the change in the pressure due to the drops probably caused the rupture. If she had a bleed, it could most definately cause her heart to stop.

I am hoping that she recovers. I'm afraid that even if she makes it, she will have some brain damage. So very sad. If it was an aneurysm, there is no way any one could have prevented this. She was just a ticking timebomb.

 

[Poohbear123]

Her Heart stopped beating on the way to the Hospital, and that she MAY have had a pre-existing condition! She is I believe from England. They did revive her and she is in intensive care.

 

[Virgo10]

is this a good time to say i nearly fainted after rising soarin'???
after riding it (for the 2nd time) i was fee
ling dizzy and sounds were kinda echoey and we were going to Mexico to eat then when we went to the restaurant i had to sit down then i nearly fainted

they said it was because i wasn't drinking alot but i was having a drink every few minutes so whats the matter??

You're not alone. The first time I went on I was very dizzy when I got off. Made me think of something I read when they first did motion movies. Evidentally the movie and the movement of the seats were off by a nano second. The people who had invented this concept were riding and everyone of them got sick. And I mean... S I C K !

For me, there was no way this was hydration related. It was a cool day and I went on Soarin as soon as the park opened. This had something to do with the way your brain processes the imput from the ride. I took a break and went outside for a few minutes, then came back in and rode it again. I was fine and have not had another incident like that any other time I've been on it.

Let me add my hopes that the girl on the ToT makes a full recovery.

 

[moohammy]

What a horrible thing to happen so far away from home.

 

[Disney Doll]

Sadly enough there are many deaths at WDW. But most of the time they are covered up. On our last trip a man jumped out of his boat on Splash Mountain and was crushed between 2 boats. Someone here was telling how someone jumped from their CR tower room while they were on vacation. A woman died a few months ago on the PotC ride. Among many other incidents over the last number of years.

I understand their need to keep up the "magical atmosphere" but I find it scary that they are able to cover it up so much.

None of those were covered up. I read news articles online about all 3. The Splash guy got out of the boat before the big drop, and got crushed. The older lady in POTC had a fairly significant medical history and death "was not unexpected" meaning she died of natural causes and just happened to be at WDW. The Contemporary guy was a suicide...how much press would you want if your family member jumped out of a hotel at WDW?

 

[Disney Doll]

is this a good time to say i nearly fainted after rising soarin'???
after riding it (for the 2nd time) i was fee
ling dizzy and sounds were kinda echoey and we were going to Mexico to eat then when we went to the restaurant i had to sit down then i nearly fainted

they said it was because i wasn't drinking alot but i was having a drink every few minutes so whats the matter??

I haven't ridden Soarin' yet, so I don't know what it's like. My understanding (and I certainly could be wrong about this) is that it's a ride that simulates flying over California in a balloon/glider type thing.

Do you have difficulty with heights. Because if your brain's perception is that you are high, even if you are not, you will have the same reaction.

 

[MELSMICE]

Prayers for the girl & her family. I hope she is okay.