What happened to little boy on Mission Space?

[DIS~n~JAN]

Hi everyone,

I was wondering if anyone has heard why the little boy died on Mission Space? Did he have heart trouble? Should a person be concerned about riding this ride?
Very sad to hear about this tragidy.

 

[sleepyone]

I don't know but, I'm subscribing to this thread to read the responses.

 

[maryliz]

I think the news reports said that it could be weeks before the autopsy results come out. And Disney is pretty good about keeping stuff like this quiet. My guess is that this little guy had some sort of a heart condition that the parents never even knew about. Very sad.

MaryLiz

 

[pxlbarrel]

Hi everyone,

I was wondering if anyone has heard why the little boy died on Mission Space? Did he have heart trouble? Should a person be concerned about riding this ride?
Very sad to hear about this tragidy.

I rode this ride two years ago and I think it was still kinda new at the time. I remember the night before, we were watching the news and it kept talking about how many people were getting sick on it...and how the Disney janitors were having a field day cleaning up vomit. This made us a little apprehensive but my brother, who had had open heart surgery 7 months earlier, and I both went on the ride. I loved it and so did my brother. I didn't think it was that intense but he said it was. We both hate roller coasters and those type of rides. (I even have trouble with the little dip in Pirates.) But I just loved this ride.

Would I ride it again? Yes. Does my mom not want us to ride it again? Darn tootin she doesn't want us to ride it again. Will I ride it in December? Yes...if it's running.

 

[Goofy's apprentice]

We were at Epcot last November (Food and Wine) and this April (Garden Show). Both times some of our party rode Mission Space. All loved it except my wife. She left the ride with little feeling in her hands and feet! We went to guest services to see if they would take us back to the resort. She wasn't functioning well enough to take the bus ride. They suggested we try resting at First Aid. When we arrived they knew exactly which ride we were coming from. She rested in the cool peaceful dark and was just fine after an hour. Nice blanket...gatorade and crackers.... Actually the peacefullness of the First Aid Center was one of her fondest memories from the trip!!!

When we returned in April, they had improved the warnings and now provide videos so that you understand how the ride works. Had she seen those the first time she definitely would have passed on it!

 

[tone.def]

From what I understand - this kid was 4 years old - 4!!! Some teenagers and even young adults cannot properly handle this ride, how is a 4 year old with less developed motor skills supposed to handle it???

I'm a huge thrill seeker and I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE roller coasters and rides and getting flipped around and I have a pretty strong stomach, but I honestly felt queasy on this ride last February (FYI - I'm 26) and I'm not so sure I will take the time to ride it again - I'll go to MGM for Tower of Terror and Rock N' Rollercoaster.

IMHO, I do not think that ride is anywhere near suitable for any child under the age of 8 or 9... maybe 10... I'm no expert on children, but you have to think of their tiny bodies. I have 2 nephews - they will be 6 and 4 when we all go in December and I would never dream of taking them on Mission Space. No way, even before this incident.

 

[pxlbarrel]

Well, I hate roller coasters and those type of rides but I loved and tolerated Mission Space with absolutely no problems at all. Some people can ride rides like roller coasters but cannot do spinning rides. I know people at work who would ride Space Mountain or the Aerosmith one at Disney MGM but would get sick on the Tea Cups.

As for age...personally, I think 4 was a bit too young but it's up to the parent to know their own child. I've read other kids go on the ride at 5 years of age and have absolutely no problem whatsoever. I just hope the child wasn't forced to go on it. I still remember, with disgust, the parents who forced their kids to ride Alien Encounter and watching the traumatized kids coming out of the ride afterwards...always crying and wailing away. <sigh> Know your kids!

 

[kellyla]

My son(12 at the time)and I haven riden it.I was a little apprehensive about letting him go by himself(we did single rider line)We both loved the ride and never had any ill effects from it.They tell you numerous times while waiting what the ride is about and to keep your eyes straight ahead to keep from feeling ill.You have right up until the time they close your pod doors to leave the ride.I believe they will find this boy had some underlying condition they didnt know about.But I would definately not take a child so young on this ride despite that they are tall enough to ride.

 

[CharlesTD]

In 2003 our then 6 year old daughter rode it she didn't care for it but she rode it so did her cousins who were 7 and 4 at the time and they loved it. They rode 4 more times each.

 

[calena]

I think you have to remember that Disney advertises all this stuff to everyone. When we went in 2004 those promos you see at the condo (10 things not to miss at Disney) which my kids kept watching repeatedly had Mission Space on it so DS, then almost 4, wanted to go on it when we were there. I wanted to go too. I had no idea how intense it would be. I had been on the simulator at Kennedy Space Centre and loved it. Mission Space (which DS did go on) made me very sick. I'm just glad a tragedy did not ensue. And no one told me as we were approaching not to take DS on it. (He met the height requirement). When we were at Universal this year (IOA) and preparing to enter Poseidon's Fury (I think that is what it is called) the CM pulled me aside and said it might be too intense for DS, then 4 going on 5. He was right! As an aside, I found when DS was 3/4 he wanted to ride everything. This year at 4/5 he was MUCH more cautious, so he did not ride many rides, and that was fine too.

 

[highland3]

I know all the original threads on this incident got locked down and people were sent to the general forums. The moderators indicated this was not appropriate discussion for trip planning.

I think it is... but that's just me.

My DS (was was almost 5 at the time), my DD 8 and I rode MS in March and we all loved it. Would we ride it again??? Absolutely. You can't let an isolated incident (in this case what appears to be a pre-existing medical condition) scare you away from a ride. How many thousands of people have been perfectly fine after going on this totally amazing ride?

In terms of rides and ages... it's a parent's perogative to decide what is or isn't appropriate. My DS is a tough, rugged fearless guy who wanted to ride MS as much as I did. WDW puts the height restrictions on rides for a reason.

Don't mean to rant... but I always worry about knee-jerk reactions to unusual incidents.

 

[Skywalker]

My one son (5) rode it and loved it. Second son (4) was scared to go on and the CM kept trying to egg him on to go! He kept saying to me "He meets the height requirement, he'll be fine." And to my son he was saying "Come on, be a big boy! It'll be fun! You're tall enough!" I didn't like that too much and of course I did not take him on it. I can't help but second guess myself now for letting my five year old go on, but then, I always thought any kind of simulator would be safer than the real roller coasters that send you two hundred feet in the air and upside down!

 

[pxlbarrel]

My one son (5) rode it and loved it. Second son (4) was scared to go on and the CM kept trying to egg him on to go! He kept saying to me "He meets the height requirement, he'll be fine." And to my son he was saying "Come on, be a big boy! It'll be fun! You're tall enough!" I didn't like that too much and of course I did not take him on it. I can't help but second guess myself now for letting my five year old go on, but then, I always thought any kind of simulator would be safer than the real roller coasters that send you two hundred feet in the air and upside down!

Oh dear...that's surprising and a bit disappointing that the CM was trying to persuade your young one to go on the ride. I can understand if it was Peter Pan or Pooh's ride but this one? Something's wrong with this picture. Somebody needs to go back for some training.

 

[Susan--Ontario]

The preliminary results indicated that the child did not suffer trauma from the ride. I guess that means that something went wrong inside. He wasn't crushed or hit his head.

I'm sure that we won't hear anything else about this anytime soon. I've had extensive ear surgery so I've never attempted Mission Space as I'm sure I would be using more than one bag on that trip. My DH went on it and he won't be going back on again. My DS (well, he won't go on Splash unless I drag him kicking and screaming) oh yeah, he's ten.