Question about Ripsaw falls IOA?

[4tide1]

I have been reading about people complaining about this ride where they nearly came out of the flume or was slamed into the seat. Is this ride really that bad or are people over exaggerating this. I will be going to IOA in May of this year and have a 9 year old and she wants to ride but I don't want her to get hurt . Thanks for any comments

 

[rpbert1]

We went on this last July, and had read the reports you have probably read.
Me DW and DD10, was a bit worried ,but there was no problems with the ride ,Dw hates any rides with drops, and we all went on this quite a few times.
Go enjoy yourself and do not worry about it.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

I agree with rpbert1. We've ridden that ride several times & have never had any problems on it. I haven't seen those reviews. How were people supposedly being hurt? I guess it's possible, as it would be possible on any ride. I don't see it as a common problem though. BTW, I'm only 5' 1 1/2", so sadly I'm not much, if any, taller than most 9 yr. olds.

 

[cvjw]

It is a very big drop at the end, but nobody in my family has ever been hurt riding it. We ride it every time we visit.

 

[richvalle]

The drop

My 10 year old rode this twice and I did once. There are no seat restraints which I found... interesting. But we had no problems with the ride. As long as you don't do anything silly you should be fine.

rv

 

[kenban]

There have been problems with the drop in the past but around a year ago there was some MAJOR rehab work on the drop. The entire section of track was replaced and it is no longer as steep as it used to be. Since then I have not read any reports of injuries on Ripsaw. I would check the dates on any of those comments your reading and make sure they are current.

 

[bubba's mom]

DS rode it last year...quite a few times...he was 7.5yrs. at the time and 54" IN shoes.....not any problems...your DD will be fine

 

[Amity 3]

My 10 year old rode this twice and I did once. There are no seat restraints which I found... interesting. But we had no problems with the ride. As long as you don't do anything silly you should be fine.

rv

there are no seat restraints on Splash Mountain as well.

 

[F-L-A]

I have been reading about people complaining about this ride where they nearly came out of the flume or was slamed into the seat. Is this ride really that bad or are people over exaggerating this. I will be going to IOA in May of this year and have a 9 year old and she wants to ride but I don't want her to get hurt . Thanks for any comments

It's pretty much impossible for someone to unwittingly exit the vehicle unless they're doing something stupid (aka standing up.) The ride doesn't have restraints because it doesn't need any. The seating arrangement isn't the best though. Before they tinkered with the drop, the camel hump would be volatile enough to throw someone backwards if they had no one behind them.

 

[yaytezIOA]

The grade on this drop isnt any steeper than Splash Mountain is either. But, I do agree that the seating arrangement made for a slight jolt. The only bit of "coming out of the seat" was known as air time...just like on a coaster. Your butt briefly pops off the seat, but it is no way able to throw anyone off.

 

[kenban]

It's pretty much impossible for someone to unwittingly exit the vehicle unless they're doing something stupid (aka standing up.) The ride doesn't have restraints because it doesn't need any. The seating arrangement isn't the best though. Before they tinkered with the drop, the camel hump would be volatile enough to throw someone backwards if they had no one behind them.

The problem has never been that someone has come out of the ride vehicle. While your falling along with the vehicle you can still have a pretty sudden stop at the end if you come more then just a little bit off the seat. I have read reports of people having bruised and broken coccyx's (tailbone) from the drop on Ripsaw falls.

As of 2005 there were 10 known lawsuits against Universal over injuries on Ripsaw falls. To my knowledge they all occurred on the final drop.

 

[Amity 3]

The problem has never been that someone has come out of the ride vehicle. While your falling along with the vehicle you can still have a pretty sudden stop at the end if you come more then just a little bit off the seat. I have read reports of people having bruised and broken coccyx's (tailbone) from the drop on Ripsaw falls.

As of 2005 there were 10 known lawsuits against Universal over injuries on Ripsaw falls. To my knowledge they all occurred on the final drop.

that's pretty much what F-L-A alluded to.

you used to catch great airtime on Ripsaw, but if there was no one behind you the impact was hard on your butt.

in the 'old days' it was like riding a jet ski - flex your knees, lean forward, and catch great air. lawsuits lead to the retracking.

 

[F-L-A]

The problem has never been that someone has come out of the ride vehicle.

That's pretty much what I said.

As of 2005 there were 10 known lawsuits against Universal over injuries on Ripsaw falls. To my knowledge they all occurred on the final drop.

I've heard about all these tailbone injury complaints. I'm curious as to where you found these lawsuit figures, though? I don't remember any Ripsaw-related lawsuits making the rounds publicly.

you used to catch great airtime on Ripsaw, but if there was no one behind you the impact was hard on your butt.

I must be lucky because I've never gotten any airtime on this ride (which is interesting, since I strongly resemble a ragdoll on Mummy.) But I do vividly remember one time when the ride attendant insisted I sit in the back by myself (which is never a good idea.) I always sit in the front seat because it's really the only place on the ride where a single rider can feel secure and cozy (not to mention really, really wet.) I started freaking out a little when we got close to the drop because I wasn't sure what I was going to do. There was already water in the log, the handlebars were wet and I knew I'd slide forward if I sat all the way in the back. So I decided to sit all the way forward. Needless to say, the moment the boat hit the camel hump I was on my back. I'm almost surprised I didn't do a complete backflip. That was fun...

 

[bubba's mom]

Did they change the seats on the ride?? I'm confused? When we were there last summer, there were 3 seats in our log...we each had a "back" to our seat and held onto either 1)the seat in front of you or 2) the handrails..... did they used to have 1 "bench" seat w/ no backs at one time?

 

[keishashadow]

I'm not tiny & I got some interesting airtime on the drop; tons of fun .

Thought I read somewhere that they were testing lapbars recently (or was it wishful thinking ?).

 

[phamton]

As of 2005 there were 10 known lawsuits against Universal over injuries on Ripsaw falls.

Well, not according to themepark insider which keeps lawsuit and accident reports since 1990. http://www.themeparkinsider.com/accidents/list.cfm

 

[4tide1]

Thanks for the comments. It sounds like the ride used to have one long seat in it, but the photos i have seen show it with 4 individual seats withs backs on them. Is the correct? Maybe that is the change people are referring to when they said the ride was redone a year or so ago.

 

[kenban]

Well, not according to themepark insider which keeps lawsuit and accident reports since 1990. http://www.themeparkinsider.com/accidents/list.cfm

The figure came from an article (from 2005) about ride safety at amusement parks. It had some thing about the Orlando parks and one of the statistics it used was the 10 lawsuits. Which I believe the original source of the information was a lawyer who was in the process of suing Universal over Ripsaw falls. I would be happy to find a link to the article if you want.

 

[phamton]

I'd appreciate a link. Themepark insider lists only one lawsuit back in the 90's. They seem to be the most accurate information on themepark safety. They even list which are rumors and what is verified. As an original member of the snopes.com (an urban legend) community, I am very skeptical of things stated as "fact". Just because someone states something and it gets printed does not make it a fact. I certainly don't know if this is the case here though.

ETA: This is just my opinion as a guest who loves themeparks. I hear and read more rumors in the media and on the internet than actual facts.

 

[richvalle]

Thanks for the comments. It sounds like the ride used to have one long seat in it, but the photos i have seen show it with 4 individual seats withs backs on them. Is the correct? Maybe that is the change people are referring to when they said the ride was redone a year or so ago.

When we rode the ride a few weeks ago it was indeed with 3-4 seats with backs on them.



I have the video slowed down at the end... its hard to see but you can sort of make out the seats.

rv