Ohyah/Ohno Lifeguard Rescues

[GrnMtnMan]

I was at VB two weeks ago. While I was waiting for my wife and kids to come down Ohno, I watched the lifeguard have to jump into the water to rescue someone at least 8 times in 15 minutes. One lifeguard was a little more zealous than the other, but quite a few of these people were starting to sink and didn’t look like they knew how to swim. It was more often on Ohno, but the Ohyah guy had to jump in once or twice too. There was one family of three (in a row) that each had to be rescued.

Anybody else witness this? Its' gotta happen every day. I bet they close it at the next refurb….dumb people are why we can’t have nice things. There are many, many signs that say you have to be a strong swimmer and describe the plunge and water depth at the end.

 

[tink1957]

That's why I intend to skip both ...bring on the lazy river

 

[slford00]

When we went back on Father's Day, the line for this slide took FOREVER (without a ton of people in line) because of this very problem. After watching a 40+ year old man in front of me have to be rescued, I asked one of the lifeguards if this happened a lot. She flashed an amused/knowing grin and said "it happens sometimes." She then went on to say the problem seems to be that people freak out when they hit the water, plunge/sink, and then realize they can't touch the bottom. For some reason, even people who know how to swim seem to panic and flip out.

 

[TheConsciousness]

I bet they close it at the next refurb….dumb people are why we can’t have nice things.

I don't think that's fair to say. One shot of water up your nose mixed with the already dizzy feeling you get from the ride, plus being plunged 10 feet to the bottom of a pool with a waterfall over your head and you're likely to be disoriented. Better for the lifeguards to be overzealous, because at best it saves a life and at worst it keep riders moving out of the pool quickly.

 

[GrnMtnMan]

I don't think that's fair to say. One shot of water up your nose mixed with the already dizzy feeling you get from the ride, plus being plunged 10 feet to the bottom of a pool with a waterfall over your head and you're likely to be disoriented. Better for the lifeguards to be overzealous, because at best it saves a life and at worst it keep riders moving out of the pool quickly.

I don't want it closed, I loved it. So did my kids (6 and 10) who are both strong swimmers.

But let's say a member of the Comcast board of directors is at the park with his/her family and witnesses what I did...lifeguards having to save someone's life multiple times in a 15 minute period. The potential for a fatal accident is just too high....

That family that I mentioned were quite big. The confluence of events that could lead to a guard being incapacitated by a panicked guest, and both of them getting lungs filled with water, is just too easy to imagine.

 

[mjhtvchick]

I don't think that's fair to say. One shot of water up your nose mixed with the already dizzy feeling you get from the ride, plus being plunged 10 feet to the bottom of a pool with a waterfall over your head and you're likely to be disoriented. Better for the lifeguards to be overzealous, because at best it saves a life and at worst it keep riders moving out of the pool quickly.

Thanks for the heads up! My daughter is a strong swimmer but I could easily see her getting disoriented as you described!!

 

[HHMcG]

I am debating this right now for my 6 year old. We have been practicing (as best we can) at our pool this summer. He can jump off the diving block and swim/doggy paddle 20 feet to the ladder, no problem. This is as close as we can get to real conditions. I don't know if he will get disoriented by those real conditions. It will be a 'game day' decision for us once we see/try it in person. I'm happy to hear the life guards are ready to go just in case.

 

[robl45]

Do they allow lifejackets on the drop slides?

 

[GrnMtnMan]

I am debating this right now for my 6 year old. We have been practicing (as best we can) at our pool this summer. He can jump off the diving block and swim/doggy paddle 20 feet to the ladder, no problem. This is as close as we can get to real conditions. I don't know if he will get disoriented by those real conditions. It will be a 'game day' decision for us once we see/try it in person. I'm happy to hear the life guards are ready to go just in case.

Here's the standard I'd suggest: how comfortable is your child body surfing a 2-3 foot wave at the beach? If someone can't handle that, don't do these slides. The drop from these slides is similarly 'disorienting' (though that's too strong a word).

 

[GrnMtnMan]

Do they allow lifejackets on the drop slides?

Not on Oyah or Ohno:

 

[keishashadow]

You have to protect some people from themselves. IMO even considering ESL, un-informed guests, etc., the park has done it's due diligence via the above notification. The signage is clear as to there being a 6 foot drop into 10 feet deep water in addition to specific notice being stated you need to be a strong swimmer.

Don't understand why people knowingly attempt less agressive water parks, let alone VB, if they can't swim (at all or poorly). Even with lifeguards in place, IMO an individual has to take a concerted level of responsibility for themselves & their family.

Going to assume there is a height requirement for all the attractions. Likely in terms of admission you accept the terms/dangers, etc. Yet, I'm sure U wants to avoid this sort of situation/bad publicity. If enough issues do happen & serious incidents ensue, a TM may have to verbally advise patrons & hand a card out, something to draw their attention to these extreme attractions.

 

[GrnMtnMan]

You have to protect some people from themselves. IMO even considering ESL, un-informed guests, etc., the park has done it's due diligence via the above notification. The signage is clear as to there being a 6 foot drop into 10 feet deep water in addition to specific notice being stated you need to be a strong swimmer.

Don't understand why people knowingly attempt less agressive water parks, let alone VB, if they can't swim (at all or poorly). Even with lifeguards in place, IMO an individual has to take a concerted level of responsibility for themselves & their family.

Going to assume there is a height requirement for all the attractions. Likely in terms of admission you accept the terms/dangers, etc. Yet, I'm sure U wants to avoid this sort of situation/bad publicity. If enough issues do happen & serious incidents ensue, a TM may have to verbally advise patrons & hand a card out, something to draw their attention to these extreme attractions.

I agree with everything you’re saying, but I still don’t think these slides will survive long. I wish it were otherwise.

In the eventual litigation, lifeguards will testify that in every other role at the park rescuing someone is a once-a-day or once-a-week event. At these slides its multiple-times-an-hour. I can easily see a jury deciding that these slides were unreasonably dangerous.

An analogy I’d use is diving boards…they’re all but gone from resorts everywhere, when they were a staple of a resort pool 25+ years ago. We don’t even have deep ends in resort pools anymore…..

Put another way, enjoy these slides while you can, because they might not be around that long.

 

[DLgal]

We used to live near a small local water park that has slides identical to these. It is called the Canon Blaster. In order for ANYONE to ride it, you must get a wristband by passing a swim test. They have part of the catch pool roped off and you must jump in, feet first, and swim the length of the pool (approximately 15 meters). Then you are given a wristband to wear. It is the only slide in the park with that requirement. I witnessed a LOT of people over the times we visited fail the swim test. I only witnessed a handful of rescues, like less than 5 over a period of four years we had season passes. It was one of my sons favorite rides so I spent a lot of time watching him (he was 7 the first time he rode it). My other son is the stronger swimmer of the two and he didn't like it at all. Did it once and never again. It's not for everyone. I thought it was too intense...the splashdown gave me quite a headache due to the pressure.

VB may need to restrict this ride to people who can prove their swimming ability first. Seems like it would be easy considering the wait times. You could take a swim test after you tap in.

 

[DLgal]

Don't understand why people knowingly attempt less agressive water parks, let alone VB, if they can't swim (at all or poorly). Even with lifeguards in place, IMO an individual has to take a concerted level of responsibility for themselves & their family.

Because people are stupid.

A 25 year old man recently drowned in a harbor here when he fell off a stand up paddle board. He was NOT wearing a life vest. His family said he could not swim. WTH?

 

[robl45]

When I saw this, I thought this was the body plunge slide. Honestly don't understand what the big deal is. This isn't the first park by a long shot that has slides that exit from being high up and honestly other parks are higher. Action park in New Jersey had one and another park I was at, don't remember the name had an enclosed tube that emptied out quite high up. Even river country had slides that dropped and they were like 7 feet up.

 

[HHMcG]

Here's the standard I'd suggest: how comfortable is your child body surfing a 2-3 foot wave at the beach? If someone can't handle that, don't do these slides. The drop from these slides is similarly 'disorienting' (though that's too strong a word).

DS is VERY comfortable with the ocean. We live there in the summer. He body surfs, boogie boards and is beginning to surf. His water awareness is excellent.
He does not have good swimming form. Maybe I'm just used to my older two who do swim team.

 

[GameDevLovesDisney]

The wave pool is more dangerous than this to be perfectly honest...its a lot easier to guard one or two people at a time than it is hundreds.