Yet another reason not to ride MS

[Onceler]

I did say in my above post that I haven't ridden the ride and that I am not exactly sure how it is, BUT I can say that I think they should get rid of it due to the fact that two people died (one who was only 4) and that people constantly come off that ride sick to their stomachs.

The problem with your argument is that you seem to be assuming that nearly everyone who rides MS gets sick. But that is not necessarily true. MS is ridden by at least tens of thousands of people every year. But how many actually get sick? It may seem like a very large number of people get sick based on what you read on these boards but the actual number may really be a tiny percentage of the people who ride it. Even if MS is worse than other rides, that alone is not a good reason to make the ride less enjoyable for the majority of riders.

The problem with incidents like this is that there are people who overreact and start saying that something needs to be done to protect people from all of these dangerous rides. Unfortunately, sometimes politicians (Congressman Markey of Massachusetts being the worst example) listen to the overreactions and try to pass legislation to make rides less intense. So the overall experience is cheapened for everyone because of a tiny percentage of problems.

 

[jjarman]

Well, if we have to make every ride so everyone can enjoy them then we need to turn MS into a sort of carousel with gentle twirling through space. While we are at it, RnR will have to be made into a straight, 2 mph tour through a not very dark building (someone might be afraid of the dark and those hills and loops, please!!!), Tower of Terror, a gentle elevator ride is sufficient and it has to be lighted as well and the cast members have to smile (they might frighten my child). Space Mountain will be identical to RnR. Splash better get rid of that drop and don't spray any water on me. I might get a chill. Same on the rapids ride at AK. We can't have people getting wet. They might catch cold. The teacups are out all together. HM, forget that. Someone will get scared and we want everyone to enjoy every ride.

 

[Brad&Kryssi]

Well don't you think that if there are some who can't ride it or don't enjoy it it should be torn down? What's wrong with you I personally can't stand the Tea Cups so I hope they get rid of it next

Love that sarcasm Alice!

 

[BTown]

I think all this backlash about M:S is getting a bit out of hand. Statistically, when you have the sort of traffic, and the sort of diversity that Disney has, people are going to get sick or injured at some point. Things happen. Now, whether it was coincidence, or the ride's doings, I dont know. All I know is that I've ridden it several times and never experienced the slightest hang ups from it, and I can think of many many many others the same way.

Besides, take a look at Disneyland. So far, they've had deaths on America Sings, two seperate deaths on the Matterhorn Bobsleds, the monorail, two seperate deaths on the people mover, two seperate deaths in the rivers of america, and big thunder mountain railroad.

http://www.snopes.com/disney/parks/deaths.htm

Some were caused by ride malfuctions, some by stupidity. But, more or less, all of those rides remained operational and unchanged. It may, or may not be something people like to think about, but things do happen. Every time you walk outside, you take the chance of a plane falling from the sky and landing on your house. Sure, it's unlikely, but I would assume that the odds are probably about just as good of that happening as they are of dying on a Disney attraction. Any attraction.

Didnt someone die on Body Wars many years ago? And it's just now closing.

Untimely deaths are a serious matter. And this ride is intense, but there is fair warning that if you have any doubt in your mind that this ride may not be suitable for you, dont go on. At that point, there is nothing anyone can do.

Furthermore, about all this talk that Disney makes too many thrill rides, the fact is, that though most anything is fun at Disney World, thrill rides are the best. I would be willing to bet, that if you asked 100 random people about thier fav ride, they'd tell you RnRC over IASW. But if Disney made only rides for everyone to enjoy, they'd have a park filled with things found in Fantasyland. The idea is that there is something for everyone, but perhaps not everything is for all of us. Disney Imagineears have always strived to push the envelope on cutting edge technology, ride machanics and innovative, creative fun. At this juncture in our society, that happens to fit the bill for thrill rides pretty well, just as it fit the bill for animatronics back in the 70's and 80's.

That's just my two cents. I hope M:S doesnt go anywhere anytime soon, as I cant wait to get back on it. And, I hope to see Disney continue making these sorts of rides for years to come.

 

[Sleeping Jedi Beauty]

I think the M:S bashing is also getting out of hand. There are lots of people who love the ride and think it's one of the best things they've ever done. 2 deaths in comparison to the scores of people who have gone on the ride since it opened is not an indication that the ride is a "killing machine." I think Disney has done their part by warning guests that the ride is intense and may cause problems for visitors who have certain conditions. I can't help but think of the statement by the mother of the 4 year old who died that he looked "stiff" before going on the ride. I think if Disney starts shutting down E-tickets because they're intense and people have died on them, they're really going to see a drop in attendance and that will have a negative affect on Disney's bottom line. If they shut down M:S because it's a thrill ride that has negative effects on people with certan conditions, they'll soon be shutting down every E-ticket in the park. If Disney needs to shut down M:S because deaths have occurred, than they need to shut down all their rides because accidents can and have occurred on every ride in the parks.

 

[DISNEYROCKZ]

there should be 4 intencites (1 for each room)

 

[youngdizluva18]

I personally did not like MS. For me, the ride did not seem like Disney at all. I felt like I was in an cheap amusement park that cost you ten bucks to get into. The gravitational part was cool, but they could have designed this ride to be a lot better. First of all, it doesn't even matter if you do your job. If you don't push the right button at the right time, it just does it for you. How cool would it be if you didn't turn the right direction or didn't push the right button and the ship started to smoke? They should have at least designed it so that there were a few different paths you could take instead of the same eact scenario everytime. I doubt Disney will do anything to this ride anytime soon, but MS is not a ride I will ever put on my "Must-See List" again.

 

[pgjam]

Since the woman was German I wonder if she could not read the warning signs regarding certain health conditions. Does anyone know if they are posted in various languages?
pgjam

 

[mjgruber]

FYI--the ride has been toned down. The little boy had a pre-existing health problem and he could have died at any time. No one knows what the woman's cause of death is, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't Mission:Space. Also, the ride is fn, IF you don't get motion sickness...if you do, its not the ride for you...The ride is probably 5 times less intense now than it was when it opened...Disney payed over $100 million for this ride--its not going anywhere.


also, above posters, you have not ridden Mission:Space....you don't know what its like so I really don't see how you can say Disney should get rid of it

There are over 1000 ride in the Orlando area and 2 people die on the SAME ride...doesn't take a Genius to figure this out..lucky for Disney they are big enough NOT to be regulated by the state

 

[kaytieeldr]

however after two deaths in the past year I can not expect many people will continue to ride. Just my two cents

Forty thousand people die in car accidents every year, but nobody's closing down or banning cars...

I totally agree with you on either toning this down or removing it entirely. I won't ride it. To many people have gotten sick and had the entire day ruined because of this ride. Not worth it for a lost day.

Disney offers MULTIPLE warnings to potential riders - it's on the park maps, there's signage at the attraction, the preshow warns you... if, after all that, a Guest chooses to ride anyway well, that's the Guest's decision. BTW, this Guest chooses to ride, knowing full well I may need to sit for a few minutes afterwards to get my bearings

Well don't you think that if there are some who can't ride it or don't enjoy it it should be torn down? What's wrong with you

Well, since you put it THAT way... I think Disney should kick it up a notch or two - the more Guests they can scare away from this fun attraction, the faster the rest of us can ride!

I did say in my above post that I haven't ridden the ride and that I am not exactly sure how it is, BUT I can say that I think they should get rid of it due to the fact that two people died (one who was only 4) and that people constantly come off that ride sick to their stomachs.

The four year old had a previously undetected and not caused by Mission: Space enlarged heart. The cause of death for the woman who died this week has not been released (or determined) yet, but chances are excellent she had some preexisting condition that indicated she should not have chosen to ride the attraction. And MOST people do not exit the ride sick to their stomachs (actually, if that's going to happen it's going to occur IN the ride vehicle) or even nauseated, queasy or dizzy.

Unfortunately, sometimes politicians (Congressman Markey of Massachusetts being the worst example)

(and I can 'say' that because I'm from Massachusetts )

Didnt someone die on Body Wars many years ago? And it's just now closing.

AND it should be noted, the closing is due to a lack of sponsorship for the entire pavilion - nothing to do with any single attraction.

I personally did not like MS. For me, the ride did not seem like Disney at all. I felt like I was in an cheap amusement park that cost you ten bucks to get into. The gravitational part was cool, but they could have designed this ride to be a lot better. First of all, it doesn't even matter if you do your job.

It used to matter! But I guess during the toning down, Disney removed this 'requirement' since probably a LOT of Guests didn't realize they were supposed to DO something!

Since the woman was German I wonder if she could not read the warning signs regarding certain health conditions. Does anyone know if they are posted in various languages?

I don't think the signs are, no (I think they're only in English ) but Epcot provides park maps in about eight different languages - ANY warning would be on every map, in the appropriate language.

 

[wdwdavem]

I first want to say that my prayers go out to the family.


That being said, we aren't forced to go on any ride. We each make our own desicions. Disney has plenty of warnings about their rides as do other parks. If your not someone who can handle extreme rides then you should not ride them. Many people say that they should tone it down. WHY? If it's to intense DON"T RIDE. I am a thrill junkie and I love thrill rides. I go to parks all over to ride rollercoasters. Many of them quite intense. Should they tone these coasters down because there are people who find them to intense. Of course not. Just don't ride them if you don't want to. It upsets me when peoples answer is to just tone it down or remove it.

 

[Luv2Roam]

People die in cars every day. So that makes them dangerous and we should crush all cars. Busses crash or catch on fire. Cross off busses too.
If we all worried what would kill us, we would live pretty dull lives and still die in the end.
Not to make light of this. I really feel for the family and all who are involved. But considering how many ride M:S with no ill effects. (Us included on that.)
There are numerous warnings all over. And I have seen it happen over and over again, people ride the rides anyway, even dragging others on with them, whether they want to go or not.
I think quite often the hype of the ride gets people so upset they get very tense and stressed out.
Tower of Terror is the perfect example. It's a great ride. But certainly not intense or dangerous. But every time I hav ebeen on ToT there is always a first timer totally freaked out, whether on their own or being kidded by their peers or family.
Is M:S for everyone? No. Just as there are few rides that are for everyone.

I don't see that this ride is dangerous. It did not malfunction.
Maybe now people (including myself) will stop and consider the warnings and restrictions on all rides and attractions, Disney or elsewhere. They are menat to be serious and are posted for a reason.

Again my thoughts and condolences to the family and those involved.

 

[TDC Nala]

If they removed every attraction that some people can't ride, they'd have the movies and the Hall of Presidents.

 

[jann1033]

There are over 1000 ride in the Orlando area and 2 people die on the SAME ride...doesn't take a Genius to figure this out..lucky for Disney they are big enough NOT to be regulated by the state

not an accurate statement as you can see from the quote from the article, italics added

"The state Bureau of Fair Rides Inspection has been notified and will monitor an inspection of the ride, Disney officials said.

"We have closed the attraction to reconfirm proper operation of the ride," Prunty said.

Messages left at Florida's Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, which oversees the Bureau of Fair Rides Inspection, and the Orange-Osceola Medical Examiner's Office were not immediately returned.

Disney officials told state inspectors Wednesday that the woman felt dizzy and nauseated after getting off the ride, and may have suffered from high blood pressure and other health problems, Terence McElroy, a state agriculture spokesman, told the Orlando Sentinel.

The park officials also said the ride had been operating normally until it was shut down Wednesday afternoon, McElroy told the newspaper.

One warning sign posted in 2004 in front of the ride read: "For safety you should be in good health, and free from high blood pressure, heart, back or neck problems, motion sickness or other conditions that can be aggravated by this adventure."

 

[jann1033]

If they removed every attraction that some people can't ride, they'd have the movies and the Hall of Presidents.

no no no I have a friend who gets "sick" in the canadian, french and chinese films so scrap those babies too! and some claim to get emotionally weepy in the hall of pres...so that might have to go...looks like all we have left to do at wdw is go sit on the benchs and watch the palmetto bugs

 

[tink1978]

I agree....we should not close every ride that cannot be ridden by everyone....there would be no rides...or attractions....or Disney World. There is always someone who cannot ride a particular ride. Mission:Space has soooooo many cautions before you ever get on....I was tired of listening to them. I get motion sickness too, but I went ahead and rode it, despite the warnings. I only got a headache and had to take some Advil. It was aggravating and I don't think I will ride it again. I want to enjoy my day. However, there are so many other wonderful things to do at Disney...not riding one ride will not ruin the experience.

 

[TDC Nala]

looks like all we have left to do at wdw is go sit on the benchs and watch the palmetto bugs

naw...some folks have bug phobias.

 

[MyGoofy26]

naw...some folks have bug phobias.

. . . and the benches hurt my back if I sit there too long

 

[Luv2Roam]

And guests have to stick their clean fingers in those dirty, germy knuckle scanners!

 

[Tigger22]

My thoughts and prayers go out to the family of this woman. It must be awful for them.

That said -
My personal philosophy of life is that when it's your time to go, it's your time. I know that all people can't handle these types of rides - personally, I love M:S. (For some reason, the only one I couldn't handle was Body Wars - go figure). And when it's my time to go, I'd rather be at Disney having fun than anywhere else in the world.

This is no way trivializes what happened - JMHO.