NEWS: 4 Yr. Old Dies at Disney's EPCOT Center

A 4-year-old Pennsylvania child died yesterday after riding the "Mission: Space" ride at the EPCOT theme park at the Walt Disney World resort near Orlando, Florida. According to the police, the mother carried him off the ride unconscious and employees and paramedics were unable to revive him. The ride simulates a rocket trip to Mars and subjects riders to gravity forces twice that of normal.



I've never been on this ride before, but it sounds from the report like it's quite intense. I used to live in that area and remember that accidents occurred on other rides such as Space Mountain and Disney was forced to alter the ride to make them safer and less intense. I feel really bad for the family, who could imagine a family dream trip like this turning into such a nightmare?

[edit on 6/14/2005 by djohnsto77]

The Truly sad thing is, American Parents tend to forget that our children are just that. "Children".

They grow up so quickly and look older than they really are, and people tend to forget that they are simply children. I remember a doctor at the office we "used" to take our oldest daughter to, who examined her once when our regular doctor was out of town, kept saying, "an eight year old should not act this way." My response was. "She's only five. She'll be six next month." It shut him up about complaining that she wasn't sitting still enough.

The Disney Corp did what they were informed to do, Limit the height restrictions. Probably at the time when 44" was the average height of a child older than four.

Parents still have the responsibilty of determining the viability of their childrens actions. We are Parents. That is OUR job. This is beyond sad, to lose ones child, is heart rending. To lose ones child based off a descision that you make is not only heart rending it is something that you have to live with for the rest of your life.

Phae

This certainly is a sad story but I find it a bit confusing... Typically, an average individual can sustain two g's without extraordinary action, such as an AGSM (anti-G straining maneuver)... Most individuals don't require the AGSM until they reach 3 g's for a significant period of time, 10 to 15 seconds... I can sustain a 6 g pull without the AGSM or a g-suit...

As a test pilot I was exposed to high g loads on a daily basis and developed a significant tolerance to g's...

I can only believe that the child must have had a physical problem that led to him blacking out... Is anyone familiar with this ride??? How long is the exposure to the 2 g load??? If someone has a physiological incident can the ride be interrupted???

The reason I ask is because if the child experienced g-induced loss of consciousness (blood draining from the brain due to g load) prolonged exposure would probably result in brain damage... If they were able to inter put the ride shortly after the child blacked out he should have been able to recover as soon as blood flow was restored to the brain... We saw this quite often in training or flying people not accustomed to pulling g's...

I wonder about

This kid was 4 years old, what are the parents doing letting them go on major rides?

No doubt Disney will get sued when yet again its a combination of the childs health and the parents that caused this.

I agree that doesn't seem right, I have been on that ride and remember thinking "wow, that was stupid, they should make it stronger or something"

There really must have been something wrong with the child's health for him to be effected that strongly.
I feel really bad for the family and for the amount of negative attention Disney is about to get... not to mention how much less fun it will probably be in the future when they dumb down half their rides because of it.

Yeah, I can't believe the parents would put a FOUR year old on ANY kind of rollercoaster or extreme motion ride? Cripes I was still riding the carousel until I was seven..

Disney should never have let this kid on, no matter how tall he was. But the parents should NEVER have let the kid ride in the first place.

eh? what are you guys on about? when I was that age, I loved going on those types of rides, bigger, faster the better. Yeah even as young as four. That ride I know of being particularly soft, so id have to go along with peoples comments of ill kid.

I've been on Mission: Space, and its not all that intense. My 5 year old sister went on it, and she was fine, even though she cried, but that was because of fear.

I agree with most of you. The parents should not have allowed the child to get on a ride like that. Disney is not at fault at all in my mind. They had their height restriction and the kid was above that.

At 4 years old you should be riding the Tea Cups...


Thats my 2 cents.



But i do feel horrible for this family's loss...

I've take four and five years old kids flying and performed aerobatic maneuvers with them in the plane... They all new what to expect and there was never a problem... And, yes, the children's parent had given their approval, in fact, in each case, the parents were present when we went flying!

I still think that the child must have had some variety of physical problem... That being said, I also think that if the operator had stopped the ride shortly after the child losing consciousness the outcome would have been different...

This is indeed a sad story. I expected it to be on page five of most newspapers, and newswires but thank heaven I was wrong.

Since the child did meet the minimum height requirements, one can only assume the child had an under lying condition that the parents were not aware of. With that said I am sure the legal begals are lining up at the doorstep of the parents wanting to lay the blame all on Disney

2 g's? That's a lot less than the deceleration of a fall of a bike, and not too much higher than a smaller passenger jet on takeoff. What is the approximate braking deceleration of a car in a panic stop or the same passenger jet slowing down?

Do we as a society spend all our efforts making everything safe for everyone of every possible condition? Or understand that tragedy and sudden loss can happen to anyone?

Yes, lawsuits or out of court settlements to prevent lawsuits will be made. And more mediocrity will result.

Originally posted by djohnsto77
A 4-year-old Pennsylvania child died yesterday after riding the "Mission: Space" ride at the EPCOT theme park at the Walt Disney World resort near Orlando, Florida. According to the police, the mother carried him off the ride unconscious and employees and paramedics were unable to revive him. The ride simulates a rocket trip to Mars and subjects riders to gravity forces twice that of normal.

 

www.sun-sentinel.com
LAKE BUENA VISTA -- A 4-year-old boy died after passing out while aboard Walt Disney World's ``Mission: Space'' attraction -- a ride that has caused previous concerns because of its intensity.

Daudi Bamuwamye passed out Monday afternoon while on the attraction, which simulates a rocket launch and trip to Mars. The Orange County Sheriff's Office said his mother carried him off the ride and employees helped her place him on a bench.

Paramedics tried to revive him, but he died about 5 p.m. at Celebration Hospital.

The sheriff's office said the boy did meet the minimum 44-inch height requirement for the ride at the Epcot theme park, which simulates twice the normal force of gravity.


Please visit the link provided for the complete story.

I've never been on this ride before, but it sounds from the report like it's quite intense. I used to live in that area and remember that accidents occurred on other rides such as Space Mountain and Disney was forced to alter the ride to make them safer and less intense. I feel really bad for the family, who could imagine a family dream trip like this turning into such a nightmare?

[edit on 6/14/2005 by djohnsto77]

This is truly sad. I just dont even know what to say. I wouldnt be surprised if this ride just dissapears some time soon.

Some more not so cool Disney facts www.anomalies-unlimited.com...

What is not revealed and probably won't is whether the child had any prexisiting conditions that may have contributed to his death. We always look at the largest target. Also, the parental negligence is at fault too. I never rode roller coasters till i was at least 10 or so. I don't care if he met the height requirement.

Wow... That is a most unfortunate thing to happen! I really feel badly for the parents. I suspect there will be investigations and law suits and Disney is, in all likelihood, ready for it already. unfortunately, stuff happens and people die, expectedly, and unexpectedly.

We just have to wait for the autospy results. Was it asphyxiation? Bad heart? Wait and see.

Does this ride have a of lot of motion grahics? I know small children have on occassion suffered from seizures when exposed to Video Game graphics. All of the lighting changes and movements evidently can trigger the seizures in certain people, especially young children.

I Guess that Disney can't make the claim that nobody has died on their property that I have heard get thrown around for years. It's extremely sad that it happened to the family that was probably going there for a dream vacation or something like that. At the same time, it sounds kind of negligent on the parents side. There should have been some sort of caution exercised. Now Disney is going to get sued beyond belief and they are going to get bad publicity all over again. I feel bad for both parties involved.

They just don't make kids like they used to.

I was on this thing on Saturday. Everyone in my party was sick nausea for a good 2 hours some even more after it. It is not intense like a roller coaster or even tower of terror but you do feel pressure and I was breathless a bit.

As for 2 g's and falling from a bike... a fall from a bike may last a few seconds were this thing you are feeling it for several minuets.

I would never get on this thing again all though the begging, were you blast up into the atmosphere, and into orbit was quite exciting. I do not think the nausea you get during and after are worth it.

You donty feel like your moving fast you just feel pressure. the only thing that makes you feel like your moving is the movie window you watch as you feel the pressure.

I would not dream of taking a child on this thing.

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