OT: Mission Spaced Linked to Another Death

[Dudezeke]

Well I feel for the victim and her family, but there are warnings like every three feet. So it is really her and her family's fault for letting her ride. I heard on the news she had high blood pressure. HELLO!!!!!! Isn't that like the first warning they give you.
Pirates rule

 

[tmaxpuppy]

Well I feel for the victim and her family, but there are warnings like every three feet. So it is really her and her family's fault for letting her ride. I heard on the news she had high blood pressure. HELLO!!!!!! Isn't that like the first warning they give you.
Pirates rule

i just kind'a said that

 

[Tishke]

I don't think anyone here should be blaming the woman There is only speculation that she had high blood pressure. She could have been having it treated, or thought that it was under control. Those warning signs do talk about a myriad of health problems, but most people do not expect a ride at Disney to kill them. Instead of saying that it's her fault, show a little compassion. She had a family and they are grieving for their loss.

 

[YoungCruiser]

Thats terrible . And thats my #1 ride.

 

[Shelbinator29]

I really hope they will not shut that ride down! As someone else said (sorry I cannot remember the name ) the ride is different for everyone, so it should not be one person or two people's fault that the ride gets shut down!

~Plus I haven't been on it yet and heard it was awesome!!! I'm excited just thiking about it!

 

[Olaf]

I tried this ride once and I was ever so glad to crawl off of it. The room was spinning as I exited and the CM immediately had me sit down. It was raining that day and I had a poncho on, which made matters worse. I was sweating bullets. I didn't actually lose it, but I sure felt like I was going to. The weird thing about it is that I felt terrible for the rest of the day. I do get car and air sick easily, but I was hoping I'd be able to handle this ride. DH and DS love it.

I'm betting we're going to find that there was some underlying health condition with this woman. Sad for the family.

 

[milkabum]

So sad The magic seemed to be lost that day, I also saw it on the news.

 

[J_boy914]

my family went to MK last year and went on MS, but none of us could remember that the ride even spun! it created an argument that lasted for a long time last night... :

 

[ThinkTink510]

i love mission space. my dad and i are the only ones who will ride it in my family though.

 

[DarkSideMoon]

I figured as much as snopes is hands down the best source to shoot down stuff circulating on the net.......

....but here is a little food for thought.....the last 3 or so deaths that were Disney related.....

1) Kid on BTM in Disneyland
2) 4 yr. old on MS
3) And I think there was a Heart Attack on MS if I am not mistaken

.

actually it was- Lady on MS-porbably a prexisting condition
Girl at TL wave pool-unrelated ot the pool
Boy on MS- prexisting condition
and the british girl who went on ToT who is in a coma.

 

[DarkSideMoon]

I liked Mission: Space, but don't see it being around much longer.
*sigh*

With the amount of money they spent on that thing?!? I doubt it.

 

[DarkSideMoon]

That ride is insane...I do not get any kind of motion sickness - but something about this ride got to me. The g-forces are really intense. They say to keep your head straight but I couldn't no matter how hard I tried my chin went down. My oldest DD (who was 10 when she rode it) LOVED it. She is very fearfull of the roller coaster rides, but adored this one and had no problem with the intensity. I honestly think it bothered me more than it did her. I really don't have a thought on the issue of the ride causing deaths, I think it is going to take a lot of doctors, attorneys and scientists to sort this out. In the meantime, my heart goes out to the families.

True, but not more than most rollercoasters, although for a slightly longer time.

 

[DarkSideMoon]

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Medical Examiner: German tourist died from bleeding of brain
The autopsy of Hiltrud Blümel showed 'severe, long standing high blood pressure,' Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Jan Garavaglia said in a statement released this afternoon.


By Henry Pierson Curtis | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted April 14, 2006, 3:27 PM EDT
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A German tourist who collapsed this week after riding the Mission: Space thrill ride at Walt Disney died from bleeding of the brain brought on high blood pressure, according to the Orange-Osceola Medical Examiner's Office.

The autopsy of Hiltrud Blümel showed of "severe, long standing high blood pressure," Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Jan Garavaglia said in a statement released Friday afternoon. There were no signs of trauma, she said.

The official cause and manner of death will not be determined for four to six weeks until results are obtained from tests on the victim's brain, other organs and blood, the doctor said.

Blümel, 49, summoned help at 1:19 p.m. Tuesday, shortly after completing the 4-minute thrill ride that spins up to 160 customers at 2 Gs, twice Earth's gravity, on a mock space flight to Mars, records show.

She died Wednesday at Florida Hospital Celebration Health, according to Disney spokesmen.

Garavaglia's initial findings of "a hypertensive bleed within the brain" confirmed the same diagnosis made by the doctors who treated Blümel.

The death is the second within a year associated with the $100 million ride at Epcot.

Last June, Daudi Bamuwamye, 4, of Sellersville, Pa., died while riding with his mother and sister. An autopsy showed that he suffered from a rare and undiagnosed enlargement of his heart.

Nothing to worry about unless you have extremely high blood pressure.

 

[AceAdventureBecca]

Bummer!! That poor lady....I hope her family is ok. At least she died at Disney, I wish I could do that!

Actually she died in the Celebration Hospital. Celebration is a town actually created by Disney, so I guess In A Way she did die at Disney. How very sad! There have been a few deaths connected to the ride but so far I think the people have been found with under-lying conditions. I will have to say for me, I have been on it 3 times. I don't know why but last time I felt sick & dizzy for several hours after riding it. My son, who was 11 at the time felt the same way. On the video screen before you enter it shows a simulation of the ride and WOW is it intense. You are enclosed and don't even realize how fast it is spinning. Not sure I will ever ride it again!

 

[AceAdventureBecca]

True, but not more than most rollercoasters, although for a slightly longer time.

I ride every roller coaster and so does my son. We don't feel the way we have when getting off of Mission Space. The difference is the spinning effect and the sustain G-force that it creates. Understand I am not against MS, many people ride it and are fine. I'm just saying it is an intense ride and people should be aware of that. Disney does have signs up as you are entering the building BUT so does every ride in every park. Even the smallest of them. So I think many people do not take the signs seriously.

 

[DarkSideMoon]

That's they're own fault. Disney can't make their warnings more obvious then 17 + signs, 5-6 tvs with warnings, and Lt.Dan himself saying so.....

 

[qruthie]

I ride every roller coaster and so does my son. We don't feel the way we have when getting off of Mission Space. The difference is the spinning effect and the sustain G-force that it creates. Understand I am not against MS, many people ride it and are fine. I'm just saying it is an intense ride and people should be aware of that. Disney does have signs up as you are entering the building BUT so does every ride in every park. Even the smallest of them. So I think many people do not take the signs seriously.

I ride tons of roller coasters too and usually don't have any trouble at all with the differing G-forces. I also didn't have trouble with Mission Space other than a slightly uncomfortable pressure on my chest. It is similar to that of the launch of the Rockin' Roller Coaster but lasts longer. In my opinion, Rockin' Roller Coaster's launch is more uncomfortable than riding Mission Space. In both cases, the pressure is strong enough to push air out of your lungs so it would be almost impossible to take a deep breath while riding. If that sort of sensation bothers you, don't ride. To me, it feels a lot like the way my chest tightens when I'm about to panic but not as strong. I don't plan to ride Mission Space again only because I found the ride to be boring. The G-forces are not a big deal to me. I have ridden the Rockin' Roller Coaster multiple times despite the uncomfortable launch.

On the other hand, I have had two really bad cases of being in pain after going on rides with strong G-forces. The worst was one of my many times riding the Turkish Twist at Canobie Lake Park in Salem, NH. It's essentially a centrifuge ride where you spin and then they lower the floor which leaves you stuck to the wall. They must have tuned up the ride just before the ride from Hell because I had been on it before and have ridden it since that time with no trouble. My ribs and chest area felt bruised and ached for about three days after that ride. My sister had the same problems from that same ride. To be slightly graphic, I was lactating at the time a the pressure was enough to cause some milk to come out.

The other very negative experience was on the Robin side of the Chiller roller coaster at Six Flags Great Escape in Jackson, NJ. The Batman side was fine. Both sides are the rapid launch, no chain lift style of coaster but have different track layouts. I was in a lot of pain for a day or so after riding the Robin side. My husband and kids were in pain too. My husband and I opted to try the Batman side a day or two later and had no problems with it.

My point? You never can know how your body is going to react to a specific ride, even if you have ridden that exact ride before or one just like it. Nevermind trying to figure out how you are going to react to a ride you haven't ridden yet. Thrill rides seem to have the same warnings wherever you go. I rarely have problems on a thrill ride so I'm not very likely to believe the warnings would apply to me. But sometimes I get taken by surprise like riding the Robin side of Chiller which by the way, I plan to never ride again.

My advice is, if you have had trouble on rides that mess with G-forces or are worried about feeling ill after riding Mission Space, don't force yourself to ride it even just to say you rode it once. The same advice applies to any other thrill ride. And don't ride anything because your friend rode it and didn't have any problems because your experience will probably be different. Waiting in line for a thrill ride is supposed to create a certain amount of anxiety and get your adrenaline going but at some point you have to determine if the anxiety you are feeling in line or expect to feel on the ride is more than you want to experience. If it's too much for you, don't ride. I doublt this advice would prevent any deaths on Mission Space but it may prevent a few of you from feeling very ill.

Feel free to ask questions. I'm sure many of us who enjoy various thrill rides can offer some comparisons to help you decide if Mission Space is for you.

qruthie (the 'q' is silent but ruthie usually screams in joy when she goes on thrill rides)

 

[maliboomer]

I love Mission: Space, but the actual ride part is not my favourite bit. Gary Sinese is so awesome!
And I love attempting to touch the Horizons logo on the gravity wheel.

 

[maliboomer]

Just gravedigging and saying they will be updating the ride by giving riders the choice of either being in a stationary or moving centrifuge.
Not moving capsules fails to excite me .

 

[Melp]

My heart really does go out to the families of the people who have died after riding this ride

I have been on MS about 3-4 times ever and liked it alot, which is odd since I hate the dropping feeling in my stomach on roller coasters and will often opt out of those ( I know I'm a wimp lol ). I love the spinning feeling ( I gauge a good teacups or tilt-a-whirl ride based on if I can walk after) and on MS have rarely felt any after effects though I know there is always the chance as each time can be different.

So far most/all of the people who died after riding were determined to have an unknown pre-existing condition which may have led to the death. My feeling on the matter is who knows if I do have a unknown condition or may develop one, but the fear of what-if will not stop me from going on a ride I enjoy. If I had a known condition I would definitly heed the warnings given by Disney and avoid a ride like this. Needless to say even though there have now been about three deaths associated with this ride consider how many go on it in any given day, week, month, year, and think about would you not get in a car because there is a chance you may be killed in an accident (which happens daily all over the world sorry to say)? All I am saying is don't base whether you will ride MS because of these 3 unfortunate events, because you never know also what led up to it. Maybe this was the top of a long thrill seeking day riding all the roller coasters among other factors that could have increased the probablity of a problem. I do not blame those who did die after riding since they probably did not know it would be their last thing they did or that the ride may cause them a problem.