Worst Accident ever seen at park

[Tiffany]

Originally posted by TRAPPED-PARENT
This happened many years ago (8-10 yrs??)-- a local family had been on vacation at WDW and were staying at the CR. They were walking back from the MK when the 9 yo son stepped out in front of a WDW truck (or something) which was not speeding or anything ... he didn't make it. There was some sort of a quiet settlement.

Disney has since changed that area so you do not have to cross traffic to get to the resort.

I am not sure what area you are referring to but when you walk from the CR to the MK you do still have to cross traffic. There are two service roads that lead to the backside of the MK.

 

[Mike]

I was on It's a Small World about four years ago. In the back of the boat was a young family (Mom, Dad, and two kids). We were about halfway through the ride when the Mom handed me their camera and asked me to take their picture. I was too close and I couldn't fit them all in. I told them that they needed to move back a little so I could fit them in. The two kids were leaning back and I finally had a good shot. I said "on the count of three say cheese - one, two, ...." and just then I heard a loud splash. The little boy (about 6 years old) on the end fell out of the boat!!!! His mother was freaking out. Fortunately, he was able to swim and he swam over to the side. He then climbed up one of the platforms and we thought he was safe. But just as he stood up - tragedy struck. He must have been too heavy and the floor gave way. Both of his feet broke through and he was stuck there. That was four years ago. I was there last year and he is still there - in the Eskimo section. Don't feel bad - he actually looks happy to be there. And he knows all of the words to that cute little song

 

[BongoBetty]

Mike.

I am appalled by what you obviously think is a humourous matter.

I just hope a kind CM goes by every so often to feed that poor young boy.

BB

 

[AKASnowWhite]

oh! So THAT'S how they get those little children to stay put in IASW!

 

[Emy'sMom]

My DH's aunt & uncle visited WDW in Feb 1994 ... they were staying at POR. One evening they were getting cleaned up to go out to dinner (they had been golfing all day). My DH's uncle came out of the bathroom after taking his shower, sat on the bed and said "I don't feel well". Then he slumped over and died from a massive heartattack.

So, so sad. But DH's aunt said Disney was wonderful about the whole thing and helped her so much.

Debbie

 

[katerkat]

Right before I started to work at BB, a man stepped across the bottom of Summit Plummet -- stepping INTO the slide, ONTO a person. The man stepping in severely broke his leg, the other man was also badly injured (he sued Disney). That summer we were extra careful about clearing the area around SP before the next person could go down the slide.

 

[macs4us]

We were on Tom Sawyer's Island, and all of the sudden all these helicopters are swarming over us. I thought they were taking pictures of the Christmas Eve crowds. Nope - they were taking pictures of the Columbia dock because a metal cleat went through a guy's head. Later on the monorail we were talking to a guy who was 10 feet away from they man who was killed - he said you wouldn't have know it was a human anymore, the damage to his head was so bad. How awful...all he was doing was waiting to go on a ride.

My eldest sister was at the 1980 grad nite when the guy died on the People Mover. She was in Tomorrowland when it happened. It was pretty bad.

Quite a few cast members will tell you about ghosts on the Peoplemover track, especially those that work at Star Traders or who worked on Rocket Rods. The lead at Rocket Rods (right before it closed) was telling us that they had guests report seeing a boy on the track in the tunnel by Star Traders several times, and that a pair of safety doors that were very heavy would fly open for no reason and shut the whole ride down. Don't know if that is true, but it makes for an interesting ride through that tunnel...

 

[ptrbryant]

Oh my gosh, macs4us! That sounds really horrific! I'd never heard of the Christmas Eve incident before---how did he get a metal cleat in his head???
Karla B.

 

[macs4us]

The poor man was waiting on the dock with his wife. A CM was not following proper procedure and secured the rope from the cleat to the dock before the Columbia had reached a full stop. Unfortunately, DL has also slashed maintenance budgets, and the wood on the boat around the cleat was rotted out. The rope pulled too tight on the cleat, and the wood gave way, sending the cleat flying. It sliced the CM's foot, hit the guy's wife, and went thorugh his head. The guy that I talked to that was near him when it happened said there was blood everywhere, which explains the barriers they put up after it happened. I was just shocked it didn't kill him instantly - he and his wife were in the hospital, but she made it.

It always amazes me that the "harmless" rides are the ones where most people get killed or injured (Peoplemover, Monorail, Tom Sawyer's Island, Roger Rabbit, Alice in Wonderland, etc).

 

[shakespear]

Quite a few cast members will tell you about ghosts on the Peoplemover track, especially those that work at Star Traders or who worked on Rocket Rods. The lead at Rocket Rods (right before it closed) was telling us that they had guests report seeing a boy on the track in the tunnel by Star Traders several times, and that a pair of safety doors that were very heavy would fly open for no reason and shut the whole ride down. Don't know if that is true, but it makes for an interesting ride through that tunnel...

Is this at WDW or DL?

 

[Safari Steve]

A CM was not following proper procedure and secured the rope from the cleat to the dock before the Columbia had reached a full stop.

Actually, when the Columbia was coming around to dock, it was going too fast. The CMs operating it decided that it would be best to send it around again rather than try to dock it at the current speed. A manager from another area saw that the boat was coming in and the dock CMs weren't going to moor it, so the manager threw the rope onto the boat, which caused the accident. In the event that the boat fails to stop, the rope is supposed to break, but apparently the rope was stronger than the cleat.
The problem wasn't that the boat was moving, it was the speed at which it was moving. All mooring cleats are checked daily before any boat-based attraction can open. I'm sure that speed and someone overstepping the boundaries of their authority (without knowing the situation) are more to blame than "disney slashing maintenance budgets." If the cleat had not been secure/the wood around the cleat had been obviously rotten, the boat would not have opened.
In any event, yes, it was horrible. Very sad no matter when, but especially during the holidays. Very sad no matter where, but especially at Disneyland.

 

[Samirella]

Originally posted by Simba's Mom
Boy, was I surprised that someone else remembered that. It was in fall of 1992, shortly before the Top of the World closed to become the California Grill. We were at WDW at the time, but didn't hear about it til a couple days after it happened. Disney really hushed it up. We were at the MK that day too, and yet never knew anything had happened that day.

Actually, it happened again last year.

 

[macs4us]

Originally posted by shakespear
Is this at WDW or DL?

Again I don't know if it's true....makes for a good story.

Originally posted by Safari Steve
Actually, when the Columbia was coming around to dock, it was going too fast. The CMs operating it decided that it would be best to send it around again rather than try to dock it at the current speed. A manager from another area saw that the boat was coming in and the dock CMs weren't going to moor it, so the manager threw the rope onto the boat, which caused the accident. In the event that the boat fails to stop, the rope is supposed to break, but apparently the rope was stronger than the cleat.
The problem wasn't that the boat was moving, it was the speed at which it was moving. All mooring cleats are checked daily before any boat-based attraction can open. I'm sure that speed and someone overstepping the boundaries of their authority (without knowing the situation) are more to blame than "disney slashing maintenance budgets." If the cleat had not been secure/the wood around the cleat had been obviously rotten, the boat would not have opened.

This is NOT what I was told by a CM that was there. Yes, it was CM error, and I have heard some stories that it was a lead who does not normally work that attraction (but it begs the rhetorical question why was the boat at the wrong speed in the first place...). I am sure that the truth is somewhere in the middle of the various stories given by everyone who was a witness to the accident. And the Columbia is in very bad shape - I have looked at it when moored by the "new McDonald's Fry stand." The holes from what appears to be where "the cleat" in question was are still visible. I disagree about the CM being "more to blame" than the slashed maintenance budget - I would say it is pretty evenly TDA not wanting to spend money on proper training or maintenance. Just take a look around DL - I was in a Small World boat that the several of bolts that hold the benches in were missing. I was afraid the family in front of me was going to end up in my lap!! That should not be allowed. But, this is not the debate board - everyone has the right to their opinion. I was just relaying the most common version of the story as I have heard it from witnesses I talked to that day.

 

[Safari Steve]

I agree (and I posted) that it was a combination of events (speed and overstepping authority -as reported by a DL CM who was there- not being the least of which).

 

[Kimberlyfamilyfv]

my boss went to the annual taping of the children's miracle network taping at disneyworld a couple of years ago. The ate from a buffet provided to them and got food poisoning. Their were two food lines. The one's that ate at the one buffet got sick the ones that ate at the other did not. My boss not a happy camper as she was not one of lucky ones that did not get sick.

 

[Lisa AF]

The worst we saw was our own!!! It wasn't horrible. My 11 year old daughter broke her foot in the park. She was doing nothing wrong and it wasn't Disney's fault. We did not even report it. We got her patched up at the hospital (4 HOURS, that was the worst!!). The up side. We rented a wheel chair for her the next day and got great seats at the shows. She was such a trooper she didn't complain at all.

My girlfriend and her family were eating at one of the restaurants with her husband and 2 DDs. It was probably 5 years ago. The waitress dropped the pitcher and the glass cut her 4 year olds hand badly. Disney took her right to the hospital for stiches (inside and out, it was a nasty cut). A character, I think Jasmine, visited her at the hospital. They also got to be in a parade (can't remember which one).
Seems when Disney knows an accident is their fault they go to extremes to make it right.

 

[DisneyCP2002]

I was working Grad Night last year at Small World Photo Op(WDW). A group of kids were getting off the ride and the girl was unbalanced and fell into the water. The E-stopped the ride immediatly. I know they rushed her out of there and had us clear the area immediatly. Kids were mad because we had to close up shop but I'm glad they did because all those teens didn't need to see this.

 

[Wilma Flintstone]

After reading the various and sundry horror stories, the one that sticks in my mind is the one posted earlier by TLinden16 (Karen).

A common nightmare of mine is flying down a roller coaster and having the harness come apart, with me hanging on for dear life. Dreams can feel so real, so I KNOW what she felt on Big Thunder Mountain. Accidents are a part of life, and unfortunately, they can happen at a magical place like DL or WDW.

At the very least, this thread hopefully has alerted the "high-flying" types to keep their appendages inside the rides; the Moms and Dads aware of their children's movements and for all of us to have a "heads-up" attitude when visiting a national theme park.

 

[MouseClubMom]

When I was a CM we were trained that Safety was the most important aspect of the Disney experience. So many people feel like WDW is such a magical place that they often dont think that anything bad can happen to them there.

As for the "no one dies at WDW", that goes back to the legalities within the state of Florida about who can officially "pronounce" someone as dead. If my memory serves me it has to be a certain level of medical personnel or a coroner. Safari Steve - do you remember this from Traditions? The exact phrasing escapes me.

The medical personnel at WDW are top notch and have an average response time of just a few minutes to any location on property.

During my days as a CM, I remember some of those incidents mentioned as well as the guy who jumped out of his car at Spaceship Earth (thus the reason for the added lighting to the dark entrance tunnel) and got his leg caught in the track and the man who had a massive heart attack in line for the Living Seas (I was working in the VIP area where they brought the family).

Good rule for everyone is - have fun and be careful. Pirate Mickey hit the nail on the head - use your common sense!

MCMom

 

[BabyMo]

Many of these stories are confirmed as real or fake here: http://www.snopes.com/disney/parks/parks.asp

That page will also lead you to interesting urban legends about the parks, not just tragic events.