Mission Space, is it safe?

[missmun52]

"For the second time in less than a year, a person has died after experiencing Mission: SPACE, the mock space flight to Mars located in Epcot. On April 11, 2006, a 49-year-old German woman was taken to Celebration Hospital after falling ill after riding the attraction. She died later on Wednesday, April 12. A preliminary autopsy by the Orange-Osceola Medical Examiner's Office showed that the woman died from bleeding in the brain, a result of long-term high blood pressure. The ride was closed for inspection Wednesday evening and was deemed to be operating safely. It reopened when Epcot opened at 9 a.m., Thursday, April 13."

(quote from allearsnet.com)

What do you all think, will this deter you from riding?

 

[KelnRon]

I rode it last year and became sick. So when we return next month I wasn't planning on riding it again anyway! That being said I would still let the kids 7 & 8 ride it again with DH. They loved it!

 

[LeCras]

We rode it on our last visit and will be riding it again next week. Love it!

It will be interesting to see what the queues are like though.

Charlotte

 

[dbenlee]

The deaths that have occured on this ride do not deter me from riding. I have ridden it several times over the last 2 years. I have found though, that as I get older, the motion sickness is getting worse and that is what will deter me from riding in 7 weeks when we return. But like others, I am curious what the lines will be like.

 

[plutolovr]

What do you all think, will this deter you from riding?

People just need to be rational about these incidences. This woman should not have ridden this ride. That being said, I love Mission Space, in fact I rode it during testing and ride it at least 2 or 3 times each visit. I also get motion sick on some rides, but this one doesn't bother me.

If you follow the directions, and read the warnings, you should be okay. It's not that big of a deal. As far as the G-Forces go, I believe you feel the same forces when you take off in a plane. I've ridden in a stock car at 165 mph and that is intense. I'm still alive to talk about it.

 

[jswalker1981]

I rode it on Saturday during Easter weekend, and I went on the single rider line, it was a whopping 5 minute wait! I got put with a mother and her two kids, I would have to say they were 6-7 yrs old. We got right up to the point where they open the doors and you get in the ride, and they got scared and didn't want to do it, so the three of them left! I was left to fend for myself. So I sat in the pilot chair, and did three out of the four positions from that seat, I couldn't reach the engineer's buttons. The first time I rode it, I felt a little nausea when I got off, this past time I didn't feel anything, in fact, I finished the rest of my girlfriend's pretzel after I got off the ride.

 

[dkostel]

I love it and will ride it again (and again). Lets face it, some people drive for a day or more to get to WDW, compared to that MS is a safe as napping at home in your cozy warm bed.

 

[BankBunny]

I rode it on our last tirp and will ride it again. I love thrill rides and have no problem with. DH did not and will not ride with me only because he does not like enclosed places, but he loves thrill rides too. If it weren't for the enclosed space he would be on it in a heart beat. I have to agree with dkostel-DH and I drive from PA to WDW and back again. I think there is morerisk in that trip then there is in riding MS.

 

[agnes!]

JMO...I know many/most have ridden M:S without any ill effects. That being said, I can actually *never* ride it again because I got SO sick the first and only time I went on it.
We were at WDW when the German woman died last week after riding Mission:Space. The news reports in Orlando said that more people go to the hospital as a consequence of experiencing this attraction than any other amusement/theme park ride in the entire state of Florida. My family & I discussed it & they've decided not to ride Mission:Space until Disney does some safety changes.
My DH actually isn't that impressed by it. The one and only time we rode it, he got off saying "That was *it*?", our DD loved it - they both felt fine afterwards.
In my case, I DID follow every single safety instruction(thanks, Captain Dan ) but my monitor went out of phase towards the end - and already feeling poorly, that just put me over the edge. I was violently sick for about three or four hours and then had episodes of slight vertigo for a couple of days.

I think in the short term many will avoid Mission:Space. But even before this latest fatality, during our week(from Palm Sunday weekend to Good Friday), the M:S lines were *never* as long as Soarin'.

agnes!

 

[goofy4tink]

We rode it the day it 'officially' opened. It was a hoot. Dh found that he couldn't ride it twice in a day...got a horrible headache. However, it didn't affect dd or me. We have ridden it about 20 times since then, with no ill effects. But, at this point, we don't feel the need to ride it again for awhile. Not because we are nervous or afraid, but just because we feel like 'been there, done that' in a way. There are other things we would rather do. Maybe if we take a year or so off from riding we'll feel like doing it again.

 

[jann1033]

i think it's as safe as any other ride. accidents happen, both of the deaths were due to health problems that from the sound of it could have happened anytime( if you want to apply the "2 people died theory" to prove the ride is unsafe, my grandmother had a stroke and died lying in bed, my uncle had a fatal aortic aneurysm lying in bed so beds must be dangerous...but how many people don't die when they go to bed?)

will i ride it again?.i really enjoyed the ride and did not consider it intense but i have some serious cardiac and neurological problems and probably shouldn't have ridden it in the first place if i had listened to the warning signs. so i don't know if I'll ride it or any of my other favorites again( rnr, tot) but might mention it to my Dr before we go and get her opinion on what i should do..it's gotta be an individual thing imo but if i had good health i'd be on it in a flash

 

[Elysiannn]

I have ridden it at least 20 times and enjoyed every minute. I feel if it wasn't safe, they would close it down. Lucky for me I don't suffer any motion sickness but my nephew who is going to ride it in 24 short days has a motion bio-band to help him and he can't wait. Ely

 

[PlutoLuvr]

I don't ride it, but DH has in the past without any ill effects.

The two deaths in a year has deterred him from wanting to ride it. Whether they're related specifically to ride or not, frankly he doesn't care. We're theme park junkies, have been since we were little kids, are news hounds, and we just don't hear about two deaths in a year coming off other rides. Sure, there's inherant risk in our daily lives, but we do what we can to reduce that risk in our everyday lives, i.e., drive the speed limit, drive defensively, watch what we eat, exercise, use sunscreen.

FWIW, DH has a bad back, too, and he won't go on rides anymore that jostle him around too much like Dinosaur. It just seems like a no-brainer to us. If a ride might hurt you, don't go on it. Go get another beer in Germany or go on an "easier-on-the-body" ride an extra time or two. We've loved WDW since there were two resorts on property and only the MK. It's no love lost if we don't do a couple of the newer rides.

 

[snowbunny]

i have some serious cardiac and neurological problems and probably shouldn't have ridden it in the first place if i had listened to the warning signs.

Some (many) people who have health problems such as heart problems or an incipient aneurysm (which would cause bleeding in the brain if ruptured) are not aware of it. In your case, you chose to take the risk with full knowledge of your condition, more power to you I guess.

The news reports in Orlando said that more people go to the hospital as a consequence of experiencing this attraction than any other amusement/theme park ride in the entire state of Florida.

I predict that eventually this ride will be toned down, $100 million spent on it or not. Disney can't have a death attributable to Mission Space each and every year, regardless of whether blame can be pinned on the victim. Not good for business.

 

[Snowy]

yes, it's safe for people without the health risks in the warnings.
no, it won't deter me. This ride is imagineering at its best.

If someone with an underlying health problem knowingly takes the chance on a ride and assumes the risk, why should the ride be toned down?

 

[jason10mm]

Mission Space is not inherently unsafe. In fact, it is essentially nothing more than a big disc that spins around and tilts a little bit. It is a brilliant illusion when combined with the video, definitely one of the most immersive and intense attractions at DW.

BUT, it is in a tight space, there is a fair amount of G-forces imparted on you, and it has a "rep" that heightens the fear of the rider. You have to be really confident to ride it and very cognizant of your own abilities.

I love it and hope it does not change. As a side note, my sister and her husband rode it during beta testing and the video was not quite in synch with the motion. LOTS of nausea!!!!

 

[CarolA]

Well, since she had longstanding high BP and there are big signs telling you not to ride if you have BP it was a risk. I think that sometimes people think those signs are only there to protect Disney. While that is true they are also to protect yourself. (Kind of like the height requirements. I am always amazed when I seen parents fighting with the CM on height issues... Bet they would sue in a heartbeat if Junior fell out of the ride and was injured!)

That said, I have ridden it several times with no ill effects. (I actually have low BP so I guess that's not a risk for this ride) It actually has been tamed down. I talked to some CMs who rode it during previews and it was WAY up there!

 

[jann1033]

Some (many) people who have health problems such as heart problems or an incipient aneurysm (which would cause bleeding in the brain if ruptured) are not aware of it. In your case, you chose to take the risk with full knowledge of your condition, more power to you I guess.


I

actually i didn't know the extent of either till this past yr so i didn't know when i rode( just knew i had cardiovascular congenital problem and chronic illness) and it appears from some sources both the ms riders did know of their problems.... but my point was neither of them ( relatives) were aware of their problems and died from them but it would be stretching to say it was cause and effect as to their present location at the time they had the fatal occurances( his was aortic btw, so no brain bleed). someone had posted that the boy's mother thought he looked"sick" before he got on the ride...if that was true it destroys the" ms is dangerous" theory imo. like has been posted by many before , who knows what contributed to these deaths, the ME (as yet with the woman, didn't with the boy)hasn't linked them to the ride. who can say with any degree of certainty they wouldn't have died walking down main st or watching illuminations? they both had potentially fatal conditions

 

[brivers222]

Pretty good rule of thumb to follow on MS as well as many other amusement park rides... If you are healthy you have nothing to worry about.

MS is not killing people... Peoples existing health problems are what are killing people... The issues with their health could of had the same outcome on the tea cups... it was like playing Roulette and sometime you lose.

If you are healthy go on it, That is a sweet ride with an awesome rush.

 

[kaytieeldr]

The news reports in Orlando said that more people go to the hospital as a consequence of experiencing this attraction than any other amusement/theme park ride in the entire state of Florida.

Interesting thing about figures and statistics... while I don't know the number to which that news report is referring, if say ten people go to the hospital each year due to Mission: Space, while one person goes to the hospital each year due to EACH other theme/amusement park attraction in Florida, well, that's still 'more', but not unreasonable - given that over four million people ride it each year.

The two deaths in a year has deterred him from wanting to ride it. Whether they're related specifically to ride or not, frankly he doesn't care. We're theme park junkies, have been since we were little kids, are news hounds, and we just don't hear about two deaths in a year coming off other rides.

We ALSO don't hear about the 918+ days that there were NO deaths related to Mission: Space. Why is news always bad?

I predict that eventually this ride will be toned down, $100 million spent on it or not. Disney can't have a death attributable to Mission Space each and every year, regardless of whether blame can be pinned on the victim. Not good for business.

Why? As someone implied above, more people die in their sleep each night than have died on Mission: Space in its entire existence. Heck, more than have died in connection with Disney attractions total, over the company's 50+ years of theme parks. Should beds be toned down or made safer? Should we regulate sleep? "The government recommends getting the approval of your physician before you go to sleep each night".

And in response to the specific question asked by the OP: Mission: Space is 100% safe; it's the Guests riding it who are dangerous