How safe are the rides at WDW

[heath-and-javens-mom]

Just wondered if anyone knew how often these rides are checked for safty? Has anyone been hurt or injured on any of the rollercoasters? I am just concerened for my childrens safty....I know,,, I am a worry wort when it comes to my kids....but who isnt right?

 

[nbodyhome]

The rides are extremely safe - it is rarely that someone gets hurt on one. I am sure it's much safer than being in a car.

 

[dreamergirl78]

Oh stop stressing lady!

Of course there's a chance something could happen, but the same is true if you are crossing the street or riding in a car. Disney seems to have a pretty good safety reputation!
Do you ever take your kids to those traveling carnivals? Those are like mobile death traps! Yet, we still go to those! Nothing that flips us upside down.... the big slide is more our speed!

 

[mkycrzy1971]

Hello fellow Hoosier (I am in Greencastle...too funny)!! Florida has one of the most strict policies for amusement parks...not like Indiana at all (we all remember the Old Indiana accident several years ago...not to mention all of the carnival nightmares in our state). Usually when you hear of an "accident" on a ride at WDW it is to do with a pre-existing medical condition....I do not worry when I am at WDW at all...most certainly safer than being on the road with all of the meth addicts around our area. Have fun!!

 

[Hannathy]

I always want to answer these threads with oh they're terrible there are people getting hurt and killed everyday BUT they are just the largest money making most visited theme park in the world in spite of this!!! Do you really think they would be in business and have millions and millions visit and ride everyday if they were not safe? With the media just waiting on someone to get a paper cut so they can report it, think about how few injuries you ever hear about compared to the mass quantity of people there. Even a man who happened to die from a heart attack at the water park made news like it was their fault. the only safer place you could vacation with your kids would be in their protective bubble but that would be more risky cause they could smother if it collapsed on them. Relax and have fun you child is less likely to get hurt at Disney than riding their bike.

 

[Thematic]

The Magic Kingdom alone gets around 16 million visiters a year. Accidents are so rare that there's a subculture devoted to memorizing them.

You'll be fine.

 

[heath-and-javens-mom]

Hi dreamergirl!!!! And fellow hoosier!

I know I am a little over protective when it comes to my kids, exspecially this year cause my oldest son can ride the big rides this year and couldnt out last 2 trips. I had heard that a little boy died on misson space a few years ago-could be a rumor but It still worries me cause I know my son will want to ride all those fun rides with DH. I however will not be able to ride those bigger rides cause I will be wating with our 4 year old and that is okay with me.

Just wanted to make sure they check the rides often and I am relived to hear that they have strict safty guildlines!

 

[mkycrzy1971]

Hi dreamergirl!!!! And fellow hoosier!

I know I am a little over protective when it comes to my kids, exspecially this year cause my oldest son can ride the big rides this year and couldnt out last 2 trips. I had heard that a little boy died on misson space a few years ago-could be a rumor but It still worries me cause I know my son will want to ride all those fun rides with DH. I however will not be able to ride those bigger rides cause I will be wating with our 4 year old and that is okay with me.

Just wanted to make sure they check the rides often and I am relived to hear that they have strict safty guildlines!

This was a medical condition....nothing to do with the ride...same thing happened on Rockn' Rollercoaster a few years ago too...all pre-existing conditions...don't worry...again, you are in far more danger everyday driving on the roads with all of our hoosier meth addicts.

 

[dqpowell]

Disney has had some incidents that had nothing to do with pre-existing medical conditions. See:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incidents_at_Disney_parks

However they are also the most-visited theme parks on Earth, so the per-capita danger is extremely low. You have a greater chance of being hurt traveling between the airport and your hotel than you do of being hurt on one of the rides.

David

 

[kathie859]

It seems to me that WDW has a stellar safety record given the number of visitors. I think it's important to be aware of your surroundings and to obey the rules and everything will be fine. I worry, too, but you can't let worry overshadow the experience. What a downer that would be

 

[mkycrzy1971]

Disney has had some incidents that had nothing to do with pre-existing medical conditions. See:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incidents_at_Disney_parks

However they are also the most-visited theme parks on Earth, so the per-capita danger is extremely low. You have a greater chance of being hurt traveling between the airport and your hotel than you do of being hurt on one of the rides.

David

I realize this...I am just saying that the MAJORITY of problems have been with people having pre-existing medical conditions (knowingly or not) and riding rides/attractions they should not have rode on due to these conditions. With the # of visitors each year and the very few incidents, we can assume it is as safe if not safer than riding in our car each day...and I do not believe everything that I read on Wikipedia....this info may be true (not sure), but (as an educator, I know) Wikipedia has been banned as a source of info from some college campuses because of some false info published....as I implied before....WDW is one of the safest amusement parks in the U.S.

 

[ChrisFL]

Disney has had some incidents that had nothing to do with pre-existing medical conditions. See:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incidents_at_Disney_parks

However they are also the most-visited theme parks on Earth, so the per-capita danger is extremely low. You have a greater chance of being hurt traveling between the airport and your hotel than you do of being hurt on one of the rides.

David

The most important quote on that site:

"...the majority of incidents were due to negligence on the guests' part rather than the park's."

although thats referring to Disneyland, often times its the cause of problems on rides.

I'd ride all of the rides 100 times a year and feel safer than 1 trip on I-4 to get to Disney!

 

[dqpowell]

I do not believe everything that I read on Wikipedia....this info may be true (not sure), but (as an educator, I know) Wikipedia has been banned as a source of info from some college campuses because of some false info published....as I implied before....WDW is one of the safest amusement parks in the U.S.

Wikipedia's accuracy on most articles is as good as or better than Brittanica overall. An article can be edited by anybody, but errors introduced by a particular editor either on purpose or accidentally are very quickly corrected. Most articles also provide outside references that can be checked if one so desires. Scroll to the bottom of that page and you will see that 61 independent outside references are provided for the information in the article.

With the # of visitors each year and the very few incidents, we can assume it is as safe if not safer than riding in our car each day.

I agree... which is why I said you're probably safer on a Disney ride than you are getting from the airport to the hotel. I don't think the Disney parks rank as the absolute safest amusement parks in the U.S., but they're near the top of the heap.

David

 

[heath-and-javens-mom]

I realize this...I am just saying that the MAJORITY of problems have been with people having pre-existing medical conditions (knowingly or not) and riding rides/attractions they should not have rode on due to these conditions. With the # of visitors each year and the very few incidents, we can assume it is as safe if not safer than riding in our car each day...and I do not believe everything that I read on Wikipedia....this info may be true (not sure), but (as an educator, I know) Wikipedia has been banned as a source of info from some college campuses because of some false info published....as I implied before....WDW is one of the safest amusement parks in the U.S.

Hi again...I see you just returned from a recent trip to the world. Can you tell me if your DD (9) was able to ride all the bigger attractions at the parks? As I stated above I have a 7 year old son and a 9 year old neice going with us and Im pretty sure they are big enough for these rides but thought Id check with you.

 

[resol37]

You may also want to check www.snopes.com. Snopes is a website that debunks myths, rumors, and urban legends. They have an entire section devoted to Disneyana.

I can't pull the website up now because I'm at work and Snopes has popups (my work computer has a tendency to freeze up if more than one web browser is open at a time), but if I remember correctly, almost all of the incidents were due to either a pre-existing condition (as mentioned upthread) or guests not following rules (such as getting out of a ride vehicle while it is in motion).

As far as I know, all the info on Snopes in correct.

 

[heath-and-javens-mom]

Disney has had some incidents that had nothing to do with pre-existing medical conditions. See:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incidents_at_Disney_parks

However they are also the most-visited theme parks on Earth, so the per-capita danger is extremely low. You have a greater chance of being hurt traveling between the airport and your hotel than you do of being hurt on one of the rides.

David

Thank you so much for the link. I didnt relize that so many incidents occured at the parks. Im sure once were there I will be fine. I just need to take my kids to the doctor before we leave and make sure they are healthy enough to ride the more intense rides.

 

[SoonerGirl]

Hi again...I see you just returned from a recent trip to the world. Can you tell me if your DD (9) was able to ride all the bigger attractions at the parks? As I stated above I have a 7 year old son and a 9 year old neice going with us and Im pretty sure they are big enough for these rides but thought Id check with you.

I know this question was directed to someone else, but I thought I'd give you our experience. On our last trip my youngest DS had just turned 6 and he rode everything! He just met the 48" requirement for RNR and was trilled! Your DS and niece should be fine, I don't remember a height requirement taller than 48".

 

[dqpowell]

As far as I know, all the info on Snopes in correct.

Snopes is generally reliable, but not comprehensive. By that, I mean they don't address subjects that aren't related to an existing urban legend. Some Disney incidents tie in with urban legends or are legends themselves, and are reported on by Snopes. Some are not, and receive no mention from them.

Also, while I have found Snopes to be a generally reliable source of information about certain subjects, their articles are not sourced nearly as well as most of those on Wikipedia. With the majority of Wikipedia articles, including the one I linked to above, the reader can easily check each and every reference listed at the bottom if they want to confirm the information. Snopes provides some references on some articles, but I wouldn't rank them better than Wikipedia in that respect.

I would hope that all of the following are true:

1. That accurate information with references is more valuable and useful than unsourced speculation;
2. That reading the Wiki article completely would leave the reader less worried, as it makes it clear that the majority of the incidents at Disney parks are not due to faults with the rides themselves, but rather due to pre-existing conditions or bad decisions made by the park guests;
3. That WDW is overall a very safe place to be.

David

 

[flexsmom]

My DD has been tall enough for all of the major coasters since she was 5 - and she LOVES all of them. Our last trip was her first time on Space Mountain and we ended up doing it several times in a row. The only one she was not tall enough for was the Rockin Rollercoaster, but she easily makes it now, so December will be her first shot on it. (She's 8 now.)

I don't think she'd enjoy Mission Space yet, so we've avoided it, but now that she's a fluent reader, she's getting us to speed on everything that SHE wants to do based on the descriptions!

The one thing I do not worry about at WDW is ride maintenance - it is amazing to me how they can not do it in plain site of the guests to not disrupt the "magic", but it is clear that it is done on a regular basis. The onl times I've seen anyone out to "fix" something was during a temporary halt on a ride.

 

[mkycrzy1971]

Hi again...I see you just returned from a recent trip to the world. Can you tell me if your DD (9) was able to ride all the bigger attractions at the parks? As I stated above I have a 7 year old son and a 9 year old neice going with us and Im pretty sure they are big enough for these rides but thought Id check with you.

Yeah...I think she is about 4'5"-4'7" and I do not recall anything that she could not ride (although there were some that She would not get on). If you check Disney Parks site there is a list of rides for each park and the height requirements as well...If you cannot find it, let me know and I can get the exact link for you....Have fun!!!