Mission Space

[stal]

A woman died after going on Pirates of the Caribbean, aparently but lots of people still ride it,

 

[Azune]

Anyone who has ridden Mission Space will be overwhelmed by the amount of warnings and opportunities to leave the ride before you actually begin the experience. The only reason I can say this for certain is that I was concerned about feeling motion sick and was looking at all of the warnings as I queued. In fairness I think that it is quite an extreme experience compared to some rides and you do feel the G. I don't think it is a ride for the very young because the overall warning they gave was, KEEP STARING AT THE SCREEN. Little children might not do this, and therefore feel ill!

 

[heatherbelle]

This is very sad news.

Myself and my son (6) rode this ride only 4 days before this tragic accident.

However, having been on the ride, it is very intense. During the ride, it felt like the air was being sucked out of my legs and face. Probably the G force.

After I came off the ride, I noticed that the veins in my legs were pertruding.

It was a great thrill, but this is one ride you only do once in a life time. I am not surprised some people have fainted etc, it is a unique experience.

My son was fine and wanted to ride again. Mum and Dad didn't and we did soarin twice instead.

 

[Andrea B]

Having also ridden this ride 5 days previously i have to agree with all the comments above. The first time i rode it i went as a single rider to see if it was suitable for my 9 year old (and husband!!). Over the next 2 weeks i rode it 8 times. On our last day i went to Epcot on my own and rode it 3 times in a row. I have to say though it is very intense and i still got nervous waiting even for the 8th ride.

 

[BONZO]

A woman died after going on Pirates of the Caribbean, aparently but lots of people still ride it,

Yes, but....


In February, a 77-year-old woman died after going on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. The woman was in poor health from diabetes and several ministrokes, and the medical examiner said her death was "not unexpected."

 

[BONZO]

The signs for Mission:space clearly state the following: -

"For safety you should be in good health, and free from high blood pressure, heart, back or neck problems, motion sickness or other conditions that can be aggravated by this adventure."

Signs also warn pregnant women not to go on the ride.

Height, not age is the current criteria, as this is how the seats and safety arrangement are made.

 

[Disbabe]

Just to add a little spin on this subject - every death is very sad and my heart goes out to any family who loses someone dear.
It is very easy to get caught up on the excitement of a holiday like this as for some people it is a holiday of a lifetime and they want to experience everything they can. I was recently diagnosed with a heart murmur and I'm awaiting an echo on my heart to determine the cause. I have just come back from WDW and even with my condition in mind, I did not want to stop it from letting me enjoy myself and prevent me going on the rides. I did Mission Space twice with my husband and all 3 kids (11, 9 and 6) and we all loved it. It was the kids who made us go on a second time!
I'm also a nurse and you're probably thinking I ought to know better, but I can understand the excitement of experiencing something new, as I hadn't done this ride before. I can say that it did not affect my heart in any way, but the ride does make you feel a little lightheaded after, which is why we did the ride twice on 2 seperate days. We can all say 'what if' to everything in life - not just going on a thrill ride and I'm sure that all theme parks worldwide have had a death or two at some point.

 

[Kevin Stringer]

Mission Space IS a very intense ride, if it were not, then nobody would ride it.
It is the general public's demand for such rides that sees the building of taller and faster roller coasters.
Where are the big lines in all the Disney parks? TOT, RnRC, Space Mountain, Test Track etc, etc.
Even so, these rides have an amazing safety record. I read on RADP that 8.6 million people have ridden MS since it opened. I can't vouch for the accuracy of this figure, but whichever way you look at it, one heck of a lot of people have ridden and no one has felt anything worse than sick.

The death of the child is a tragedy and I must admit that I would probably think twice before allowing a 4 year old to ride, but still the most likely scenario is that there was something physically wrong with the child and the intense spinning nature of the ride triggered something that caused his death.
Couldn't the same thing have happened on the tea cups? Or on an aeroplane? Or in a car?

If it turns out that Disney was some way responsible for his death, I'm sure that they will rightly be held accountable, but these seems an unlikely scenario to me.
Every few years someone dies on a ride at a Disney park and it is nearly always down to either some foolish action on their part or due to a congenital disease.

Kev