Ride changed due to fear?

[disnut8]

If I remember correctly the death on Mission: SPACE was of a young boy (i think he was 4...way to young for that ride in my opinion). Anyways, I believe the mother talked her young son into going on it and it was too much for him to handle. I could be mistaken...this is just what I remember hearing. And this could be the reason the CM's are so diligent on making sure a child (or any other rider for that matter)...is doing ok. They wouldn't want another tragedy like that to happen again.

That child had an undiagnosed heart problem. His death had nothing to do with him wanting or not wanting to ride Mission:Space. He did not die ON Mission:Space but after he exited. Unfortunately, there was absolutely no way for him, his family or Disney World to know of his medical condition.

 

[SueM in MN]

If there is anyone crying before the ride (any ride) is launched, the ride operator will ask if they want off. And the person who is doing the crying needs to answer, NOT a parent. The Cast Member was not being rude. Yes, maybe a parent sometimes knows what is better for a child but sometimes they don't. Disney World has to look out for the welfare of every single guest. They can't let a hysterical person of any age go through an attraction. Could you imagine the lawsuits due to "emotional trauma" that could be filed against Disney World?

We've had the start of Twilight Zone delayed because a child was crying. SHE told the Cast Member (who only talked to her) that she would be OK if she could sit next to her mother. All our safety things were released the she moved next to her mother. Then the Cast Member made sure the girl was OK and said "we can't let anyone ride who is crying so I need to make sure".

Disney errs on the side of caution. And the only person who trying knows if they are OK to ride is that person themselves.

There are also situations where the parent doesn't really know about the ride, think it's not bad and think their child will calm down, so are trying to encourage them to ride it.
The CM does know what that ride includes and if the upset person says they don't want to ride, they will be scared even on a tame ride.

To second that you can actually test it yourself at home. Basically it's the principal of centrifugal force. All you need is a bucket or something similar tied to a string you can swing in a 360 degree motion. Fill the bucket with water and spin the bucket at full speed through a 360 degree loop and no water will spill as the force will keep it in the bucket. Slow the rotation though and the bucket won't make it through the 360 degree loop, instead the bucket and it's load will fall at the apex of the loop and you'll have a wet floor. So had the coaster ever stopped when you were at the top of a loop and you hadn't been secured you'd have fallen but as long as the coaster makes the run as it's supposed to you have no danger of falling out.

I'd suggest trying that outside.
Never tried it inside myself.
No, no.
But, did read about it as a child.

 

[Dmcuth]

This happened to me on my last trip. Right before the green light launch I put my hands and arms inside the arm restraints in order to make some funny pose (I think I was holding up my dream fast pass I won). I noticed a delay and then a CM came up and asked me (very nicely) to put my arms back in the correct position. My Bad!!!!! I didn't know they could see me at that point, but I absolutely complied!

As I remember though the ride rode as normal.

 

[Timmy Boy]

^Yea there's a camera right above your head.

For people complaining about the ride seeming slower, the ride has to hit a certain speed in order for it to complete the ride circuit. I used to work at Hulk at IOA, and the launch does the same thing. If the train goes too fast on the launch, it will estop itself. If it goes too slow it will estop itself. It has to hit a certain speed in order to safely complete the course, and if it's too fast, the forces on the ride will be unsafe.

 

[WDWguru]

We've had this happen too. Someone in the front car was trying to video tape the ride and had to be told three times to put the camera away. They then had to do a ride reset, which took what felt like forever, and when it finally did go, we were on a "test loop" where we didn't get the countdown or music. When we pulled back in, they anyone who wanted to ride again just stay on. The second time it was normal.

Regarding the "slow" feeling - it can also depend on where you are sitting. For example, if you are in the front few cars of BTMRR, it feels like it is practically CRAWLING, as the front goes over the hill and kind of waits for the back to catch up. (Hence, we try to get the back car on BTMRR!) On RnR there are spots where it is similar. While the launch feels fast when you are in front, the rest of the ride can feel draggy as you wait for the back of the car to crest a hill to give you the full momentum.

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

Yes.


Yes.

Slow the rotation though and the bucket won't make it through the 360 degree loop, instead the bucket and it's load will fall at the apex of the loop and you'll have a wet floor. So had the coaster ever stopped when you were at the top of a loop and you hadn't been secured you'd have fallen but as long as the coaster makes the run as it's supposed to you have no danger of falling out.

Thank you so much for your information.

So if it had stopped, or even severely slowed, I would have been toast, or spilled all over the wet floor. Now, should I be willing to ride an inverted coaster if my fears are legitimate? Hmmm... I wonder if I could get the attendant to personally check my harnass?

RnrRc would be a great ride for me to overcome my fears. I may even buy the picture!

 

[DisneyMagicMommy]

That child had an undiagnosed heart problem. His death had nothing to do with him wanting or not wanting to ride Mission:Space. He did not die ON Mission:Space but after he exited. Unfortunately, there was absolutely no way for him, his family or Disney World to know of his medical condition.

My mistake...I did not know all of the specifics for sure. I just knew what I had heard. Thank You for informing me of what really happened.

 

[Jedi_Galvatron]

Thank you so much for your information.

So if it had stopped, or even severely slowed, I would have been toast, or spilled all over the wet floor. Now, should I be willing to ride an inverted coaster if my fears are legitimate? Hmmm... I wonder if I could get the attendant to personally check my harnass?

RnrRc would be a great ride for me to overcome my fears. I may even buy the picture!

That boils down to a personal choice of course but I'll throw in that I'm a lawyer who deals specifically with accidental injury and deaths and I've dealt with enough cases (none Disney related) to not ride any inversion type coaster as a personal matter of safety. That said, Disney has an excellent record of safety and it's to be mentioned that injuries and even death can and do occur even on "safer" ride types at various amusement parks throughout the world. Typically rider stupidity is a factor in those cases, but not always.

 

[inkkognito]

Secondly, others have told me that the inertia or force or something would have kept me in the seat and that I didn't have to hold on for dear life. Is that true? I was a chubby kid, and am now a chubby adult, and at the time felt like at the time that it didn't fasten because I filled the seat up too well. I now think that there was no click.

There is (was?) at least one Schwarzkopf-designed looping roller coaster that simply had lapbars. No over the shoulder harness, just a regular lapbar, even though it goes upside down in loops. I think that's a pretty graphic demonstration that what those people told you is true! I think the coaster I rode was in Texas but I can't remember for sure, but it was definitely a Schwarzkopf. Kinda freaky the first time you ride it with no shoulder harness when you head into those inversions.

 

[KatrinaJ91]

I just have to comment on the funny poses and gestures! My daughter is working at Disney right now and works at Rockin, Tower and Fantasmic. One of her jobs is to watch the photos. If anyone makes a gesture that is "unDisney-like" the CM's are to delete it immediately. It will not show up on the screens or be available for purchase. She actually was working Tower one day and had a group of high school students that couldn't find their picture after the ride. They complained to her and she told them about the deletion for those gestures and they ended up riding again to make sure they got a pic to buy! so watch your P's & Q's!!

 

[Jazzygirl72]

Thank you so much for your information.

So if it had stopped, or even severely slowed, I would have been toast, or spilled all over the wet floor. Now, should I be willing to ride an inverted coaster if my fears are legitimate? Hmmm... I wonder if I could get the attendant to personally check my harnass?

RnrRc would be a great ride for me to overcome my fears. I may even buy the picture!

If it makes you feel any better, I can't think of any harness type ride in any park I've been in (including non-Disney) where they don't check harness and seatbelts. The attendants always walk down the row and quickly push down on the harnesses and/or check seatbelts.
What someone else said is true...I remember years ago reading about a child dying on It's a Small World! They tried to get out of the boat too early and the kid fell between the boat and the wall/track.
It's one of the tamer inverted coasters I've ever been on. (See Cedar Point's website!) I think you should go for it! Rock On!!!!!

 

[OK!]

The guy came up to me once in the first car right before launching because I was holding my video camera (I didn't like to put it in the netting. And I was going to see if the night vision would work. But I guess that was a no-no due to the music playing (and maybe safety). I couldn't reach to put it down in the netting and he said that if they saw me using it, they would stop the ride (Not sure how they would do that in the middle of a corkscrew).

But his not-so-friendly attitude ruined the ride for me anyway.

But point being, they have many reasons to talk to someone on the ride.

I once had a CM do the same thing to me just before launch (but she was nice about it); she explained that the reason they forbid people using video cameras is because apparently there have been injuries due to people not being prepared for the suddenness of the launch and thus not bracing the arm & hand that's holding the video camera, which will often result in the camera smacking said rider in the face. Apparently, there've been lots of black eyes as a result. Yikes.

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

We were at RNR this past May when they had to shut down the whole system to get a crying child out. The cars were at the area right before the launch. The lights came on and we heard over the loud speaker they were having "technical difficulties". We could see everything. So, we knew it wasn't technical difficulties. However, it did freak my DS8 out because I had to repeatedly tell him there was nothing wrong with the ride even though that announcement kept playing. After waiting about 35/40 minutes in the loading area, we see a mainentance man appear. Come to find out, they had to get a maintenace CM to get the kid out. I guess for safety reasons to make sure the car doesn't take off while they are getting out, they have to turn the whole ride off. I did double and triple check w/DS8 before we got on to make sure he was going to ride. I know the people behind us wouldn't have been too happy if they had to shut the ride down again. We rode and DS8 loved it! He rerode w/DH (love those Rider Swap tickets!!!!!).

DD5 kept telling me she wanted to ride ToT. I was a little hesitant. But, she insisted. So, we get to the room with the little movie and I feel her crouching next to me. We get out into the waiting area and she was "okay" but not her self. After waiting for about twenty minutes, she looked at me and asked if we could leave. Now I honestly believe if we didn't have to wait and went straight to the ride, she would have done it. But, the anticipation and all the noise and darkness made her uneasy. I totally understood and we made our way out backwards toward the room with the movie and went out that way. Forcing her on the ride may have only traumatized her and annoyed the people around us. It also didn't help there were some teenage girls around us screaming and making matters worse. When she gets older and is ready, we'll try again.

- Jennifer

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

If it makes you feel any better, I can't think of any harness type ride in any park I've been in (including non-Disney) where they don't check harness and seatbelts. The attendants always walk down the row and quickly push down on the harnesses and/or check seatbelts.
What someone else said is true...I remember years ago reading about a child dying on It's a Small World! They tried to get out of the boat too early and the kid fell between the boat and the wall/track.
It's one of the tamer inverted coasters I've ever been on. (See Cedar Point's website!) I think you should go for it! Rock On!!!!!

Well I can think of one time when they didn't. Actually, if I remember correctly, the young teenager went through the motions of walking down and back, but paid no attention to me. I may not have been vocal ENOUGH for a zombied teenager making minimum wage...my sisters were very good to remind me that I didn't need to embarass them at about that time.