News Story - CNN.com - Woman dies a day afer riding Mission Space

[boomhauer]

Sorry, but this comment is inappropriate.

Why is it inappropriate? I'm not trying to be mean - I'm just being honest. I think the most important issue here is that 2 people tragically lost their lives. I'm not blaming Disney. I can't do that, as I've never been on Mission:Space. I'm simply making a comment that if people were affected by something so tragic, surely, they would have good reason to fault Disney - Right or wrong.

 

[3kidsmommy]

Had to add my thoughts here...we just returned from vacation and my 10yo, 7yo son with autism, 6yo and myself rode MS and loved it. It really was more tame to me than the graviton type rides, which they also love! I HATE the graviton and loved MS. Takeoff for me felt much like taking off in an airplane. (only I wasn't as terrified because I knew it was a ride) I do feel so sorry for the people's family who are dealing with deaths, but that death could have occured anytime...anyplace. You just never know...My dh who has multiple sclerosis did NOT ride this ride because he READ the warnings and knew he shouldn't...he didn't ride most of the rides for that same reason.

 

[eliza61]

I've been on mission space, along with my 2 DS (13 & 15) and my DH. We love it and think its no more intense than any thing at the Great Adventure theme parks (But then again, we bungee jump so our tolerance may be a bit higher).
I do think I will wait until after the investigation is complete to decide whether or not I let my kids ride again.
My prayers go out to the womens friends & family.

 

[jann1033]

Why is it inappropriate? I'm not trying to be mean - I'm just being honest. I think the most important issue here is that 2 people tragically lost their lives. I'm not blaming Disney. I can't do that, as I've never been on Mission:Space. I'm simply making a comment that if people were affected by something so tragic, surely, they would have good reason to fault Disney - Right or wrong.

maybe i misunderstand what you are saying here but why do they have good reason to fault Disney? was Disney negligent.?..we know the answer is "no" in the first case, the 4 yr old ,so how or why could they be held accountable? a while back an acquaintance's child was killed at a carnival...there was a trial, the carnival was found negligent...if Disney was at fault the same would happen here...instead i have to agree, if it happens at Disney it makes the papers...just the slant of the "air sick bag" comment shows the slant of that article,,,it's not "news "it's "sensationalism". which imo really is an unfeeling attitude toward the family who lost a loved one( similar to the way the media shows accidents over and over, or pulling someones family member out of a river dead or what ever)

 

[PKS44]

Proximity and Correlation do NOT equal cause and effect...I am not talking about the possibility that there is a small chance that the ride causes death --I am talking about the fact that there may be NO RELATION to the ride whatsoever...we DO NOT know.

Almost 9 million people rode this ride before that little boy died--and obviously many more have ridden it since--so we have two people who have died and what? 12 million who have not?--I cannot look at that and point a finger at the ride and say it definitely is the cause and should be shut down. YOu can't say there is a 1 in 6 million chance that the ride causes death---all you can say is that two people have died and the last thing they did was Mission:Space. The relation between the two remains unclear.

Instantly assuming cause and effect is a mistake. Using such logic one could stop a lot of things.... I can be fairly certain that yesterday two people died who also ate chicken as their last meal---Should we stop serving chicken? Could it be that chicken is TOO DANGEROUS--

the numbers argue that either the SPACE ride has a small chance of causing death...or NOTHING at all to do with these deaths. If it turns out that there is a small chance--of course there is no reason that any ride needs to run with that kind of risk...shut it down--but let's get the facts

 

[jdmccol]

LOL! The Gravitron is WAY more intense than Mission Space. I think Mission Space is totally tame.

I'm sure we will find out that this woman died of some health problem, not because of the ride.

My family and I rode MS several time and I really wasn't that impressed. I thought that it was over hyped and was dissapointed in it. I also felt the ride was tame, Rockin' Rollercoaster is more intense - at least that is how I fell about it. The only one in my family who really likes MS is my 8 year old - 7 at the time he rode it. I guess some people are more sensitive to it than most. OTOH, I get upset when I ride the teacups at the Mad Tea Party!!

 

[wdwguide]

I think the whole point is, this isn't a Disney Family ride.

It is for this family, certainly more so than Dinosaur or Space (Spine-snapper) Mountain. My daughter has been riding it since she was four years old and continues to enjoy it. The only time that any of us have gotten sick on it after a combined 60+ rides was when I played guinea pig and rode with my eyes closed or looked off to the side.

But if there is something wrong with the ride that causes people to get seriously sick despite following all instructions, than something will need to be done with it, no question about it. I just hope that the corporate lawyers won't take this is an excuse to limit WDI's creativity any further.

 

[isyt]

My middle child has been riding MS since she was 4. She was tall enough and we explained to her to make sure she watched the monitor, not us. The ride is not for me but I do think it is a great ride!! I love the theming. I don't like spinning rides (can't even do the tea cups) so MS does ruin me for a few hours , but my dh and dd love it (dh can't handle ToT, I can). We should all know our limits, but accidents still happen. I still beleive in Disney's saftey and think we should always take responsibility for ourselves. It also is way too early to point fingers until after all the investigating is done. I will keep the family in my prayers!!

 

[ChrisFL]

seeing these replies about how tame it is there must be 2 things...either they toned down the ride or some experiences are more intense than others, maybe certain centrifuges are turned up a notch? I don't know but I do know that when I rode it about 2 years ago, I didn't use "tame" to describe it at all

 

[tubachick]

I thinks its a shame that anyone has died (regardless of MS or not)

but as for the MS ride,We've be on over 10 times and we did it 3 times in a row with no problems. (and I am slightly overweight which means I have a TON of hidden health problems). I could tell from all the signs walking in that if you were aware of your health problems, this ride was not for you.

As for the gravitron rides at carnivals, I have never ridden them. I could SEE that it was something That I wouldn't do, and there was always someone throwing up, so I have never done it.

I am glad that I didn't know that MS was like a gravitron ride because I wouldn't have had the GREAT experience!!!

as far as the Making MS into an "exhibit" ride, I think there are too many of those at EPCOT anyway.

Just my opinion.

 

[Mission Disney]

I have been on MS a few times and probably consider it one of my favorite rides at Disney. I did ride it shortly after it opened, and again last summer after the 4 year old's death. I thought that the ride had been toned down quite a bit. I agree with many of the people on here when saying that I don't think that they should shut MS down. In no way do I want to make insignificant the fact that two people have lost their lives after riding this, but there are millions of people who have been on the ride and not experienced any problems. Obviously, my heart goes out to both victim's families, but I don't think closing the ride is the answer.

 

[brivers222]

I am hoping the ride will be up and running for our trip next month. I have been on it several times and have only been slightly nausiated once. Space take off is extreme so I feel the extreme nature and sensation of the ride is pretty darn realilistic feeling. I have always wanted to Take off into space, and I am glad Disney game me the chance via a simulator.

It is unfortuante that this happened, I feel for the family. On the same note, I hope they don't shut down this ride as it is extreme and has all the necessary signage to support the health risks.

 

[black562]

A few points:

1. The boy last year didn't die BECAUSE of Mission Space, so asside from the recent incident, it has a perfect record. I think you'll also find that the current incident was unrelated as well. However, someone did die a few years ago on the Haunted Mansion....anyone care to explain that one?

2. The Gravatron IS far more intense; in fact, spinning fast on the Teacups makes me sick but Mission Space never has...even when I rode it multiple times in a row. In addition, the Kennedy Space Center has a ride just like Mission Space that IS far more intense...so why aren't people dropping like flies on that one?

3. The barfbags are only there because its an enclosed space and there's nowhere to throw up. On the teacups or a coaster, you can just lean over the side and throw your guts out...not the case here. Personally, I think the barfbags add a psychological factor to the ride that makes the anticipation far worse than the experience...face it people, 2gs is way way safe.

4. More people are injured each year on "Small World" than any other ride and many people die at Disney each year from heat stroke. They said the boy who died on Mission Space last year was a ticking time bomb and could have died at any moment. What would have happened if he would have been riding the boat ride in Mexico at the time???

5. Many people who ride Mission Space and hate it are people who never ride roller coasters. They ride Mission Space because they think its not going to be intense and get very sick in the process. If you don't like coasters, teacups, freefalls, etc....stay away from this ride.

My wife has a heart murmur and has ridden this ride countless times...her doctor even told her it wasn't a problem at all (especially since she's ridden the most intense coasters out there all her life). My wife and I have ridden coasters near and far, we love thrill rides and both of us want to ride the one at the Space Center because frankly, we both feel that Mission Space isn't intense enough.

Note: We are both saddened to hear of a death of any kind and we offer our prayers for the lady's family.

 

[lark]

Instantly assuming cause and effect is a mistake.

No, actually it's exactly backwards. Not at least allowing for the possibility of cause and effect is the mistake.

We're talking about death here, balanced against doing more investigation into a single ride at a destination with hundreds of rides.

Could these events be unrelated? Yes. I'd even say probably or almost certainly. Are the ones at risk those with undiagnosed conditions that could be aggrivated in many other ways? Probably. Almost certainly.

But is it at least possible that there are some things we don't know about the human body? That there is something peculiar about this particular ride that all the experts here comparing it to other rides may not completely understand? That there is something (some combination of movement lights sounds whatever) about this particular ride that aggravates something that might not be an issue for 10 or 20 years for these undiagnosed conditions if these people were staying off or living their normal lives? Probably not. Almost certainly not. So unlikely as to be ALMOST unfathomable. I will grant you that the possibility is extremely small. But is it negligible? I respectfully submit that nobody here is qualified to say.

To not at least step back, take a moment, consider the possibility, and do what is possible to the limits of human understanding of physics and medicine to rule it out would be the reckless thing here, not the other way around.

I think a rule that says when a second person dies after riding a major theme park attraction, it may be time for a time out, is an incredibly sensible one.

 

[Tinker*Shell*Bell]

My mother will NOT ride rollercoasters, teacups, ferris wheels, gravitrons, movie based flight simulators or anything more "thrilling" than IASW. Watching the grandsons on Dumbo is enough to make her dizzy and need to sit down. All that being said she almost went to TOT and Mission Space.

Why? You may ask...well...she doesn't DIS. She has not read trip reports and had not asked for detailed ride descriptions. All she knows is that the ride is called "Mission Space" and that my son (her grandon) loves space and anything he loves is something she wants him to be able to do.

We of course didn't let her go on MS, but it really took a lot of talking to make her understand that it was not a ride for her. She is not a stupid womsn, she just believes that Disney is so safe that if the ride were really that scary they would so more than post a "little warning sign." And of course the "if it were that bad little kids wouldn't be allowed on it." Disney is known for their tame thrill rides, and sometimes a false sense of Disney magic makes people ride things they would not ride at their local fair.
JMHO

The TOT was because someone told her it was "JUST AN ELEVATOR !" and a lot like HM. I rode first so I could tell her and it was definitely not "Just an Elevator" Sometimes a tame ride to one person would scare a person beyond belief. I honestly could see my mother dying of fright if she were to ride one of these rides. NO JOKE!

 

[LaDonna]

I think Black562 and Lark make excellent points in the above posts. I would love to see an actual list of the pasts years accidents on which rides and the outcomes to compare.

 

[boomhauer]

I think the important thing that seems to get glossed over here is this:

How many people are defending M:S as being tame? Many. Well, clearly, many are also getting sick on it. So, what we know is, the ride effects different people is different ways. I think that's all the more reason to do some thorough investigating as to what is causing this. I've never read so many mixed reviews about the effects one ride has on them.

 

[eblack0409]

The most dangerous ride in Orlando is YOUR CAR!!!! The media shouldn't be bashing Disney...they created a ride for people's enjoyment...this event and the one last year with the little boy are sad, but I am sure that more information will prove once again, that Mission: Space was not the CAUSE of death...

My thoughts and prayers are with this woman's family.....

 

[DepCor0311]

I find it a little humorous that people refuse to ride MS because of the "risk of death." How many of you who won't ride the ride, drive your automobiles everyday...or put your kids in cars? Statistically you have a FAR greater chance of being killed (from a direct cause) on American feeways, than you do on Mission Space. The death is tragic, but the paranoia about the ride is purely media generated.

 

[coachyo]

May God bless this woman and her family and friends.



YO & Family