Accident on Pirates

[cw1982]

Some people (especially tourists) choose ignore safety warnings, this is what happens. IE the guys getting out of the seat belts on TOT.

OMG those videos had me scared to ride ToT lol! I had never been on it until last month, and I was literally having panic attacks in the line to board because I was thinking of those guys unbuckling their seat belts.

Of course, if one of them got hurt, I'm sure they would be suing Disney for not making the seat belts in such a way that they only unfasten when the ride is unloading... it's ridiculous to me that others can be held liable for such idiocies. Thankfully that hasn't happened on that ride (to my knowledge), but who among us would be surprised to see it play out that way?

ETA: those comments are specifically in reference to the ToT videos and are in no way meant as any speculation about the topic of this thread. Sorry for veering!

 

[Polydweller]

Does anyone have a source for the info? It's been a while now and nothing on any news source or elsewhere with definitive info, just a couple of tweets on twitter. Even those tweets are single tweets with no follow. This seems unusual given the length of time. It would be nice to see something verified before starting to draw conclusions.

 

[seascape]

I see the ride is open now with a 60 minute wait time. I still can't find any news on it.

 

[psherman42]

If Disney would actually monitor and enforce rider safety policies these accidents wouldn't happen.

I've never actually worked attractions but I can say with quite a bit of certainty, having friends that HAVE worked attractions that safety is a very big priority. There's a reason they have warnings all over the queue, load area, etc. telling people to keep their hands, arms, feet, and legs inside the boats at all times. What would you suggest Disney do to monitor guest safety on a boat ride like PoTC? Someone sticks their hand in the water, CM says over the PA keep your hands, arms, etc. in the boat again, what else could be done? At some point, it's the parents responsibility to watch their children and I've seen first hand that a lot of parents don't. Not everything is Disney's fault. They can't control everything.

All that said, I feel bad for the child and it's awful that this happened.

 

[ABQ]

Pure speculation, but if a child was hurt on the ride, and if it were as badly as it appears from the duration of the ride halt, that the privacy of the family would be a very high priority and possibly a reason that nothing concrete has been released outside of a few random tweets.

 

[DisneyMagic27]

I mean, it makes sense, someone sticks their hand in the water and the boat makes a turn or descends the drop, poof... no more finger. But, it could have just been a dropped item, if something is lost, Disney is sure to find the item. And Disney certainly wouldn't let anything like that get leaked if it were true.

 

[Yensid1974]

If Disney would actually monitor and enforce rider safety policies these accidents wouldn't happen.

Let us not judge too quickly, this could easily be an example of riders doing what they were instructed not to do. We just don't know at this point. I will tell you as someone who works at WDW, guests routinely ignore our safety warnings. Sadly, it is becoming more if an issue as the years go on.

 

[danlb_2000]

Pure speculation, but if a child was hurt on the ride, and if it were as badly as it appears from the duration of the ride halt, that the privacy of the family would be a very high priority and possibly a reason that nothing concrete has been released outside of a few random tweets.

Disney and Universal do put out a quarterly report of injuries in the park, so even if this doesn't make the news it will eventually show up in that report.

 

[Tigger1988]

If Disney would actually monitor and enforce rider safety policies these accidents wouldn't happen.

Oh you have some inside info on the situation? Do tell!!! /sarcasm

 

[seascape]

Disney and Universal do put out a quarterly report of injuries in the park, so even if this doesn't make the news it will eventually show up in that report.

If it doesn't make the news it was not a bad injury and should not have been confirmed by someone who claims to know. The rumor is a child and lost fingers. That is horrible but some posts have made it seem worse. I'm hoping for the best and praying for a good outcome.

 

[KingdomofDreams]

All I can say is:

Theres a reason why 1.) They want you to keep your hands and arms inside at all times, and 2.) You seat your kids on the INSIDE (this incident apparently involved a child)

Sincerely hoping this turns out to be nothing serious, especially if it's a child, but I totally agree with @NowInc above. Not saying it applies here, but how often do you see parents completely ignoring their children and letting them run wild in the parks with no apparent regard for their safety, let alone out of consideration for others. Theme parks and rides are great fun, but this is still the real world and there is also great potential for accident and injury. I may get a "look" from the kids, but I always double check their lap bar/restraint and remind to keep all body parts inside the ride vehicle, and when they were little, my arm was around them. Park mgmt. and CM's can only do so much. Personal responsibility has to occur at some point.

 

[olinecoach61]

Ouch, losing a finger would be unpleasant

 

[DGRYAN1977]

On a facebook group someone posted there was a serious "incident" outside of the magic kingdom. They were told by their bus driver that they weren't allowing anyone into the park and to expect to be delayed. The bus driver would not elaborate. Not sure if this is related and some how became a "Story" that spun out of control..

 

[Stevek]

Very sad if true. Let's hope Disney legal does not overreact and mandate significant changes to the boats i.e. rails, mesh (ala JC at Disneyland).

Speaking of safety we were riding TOT a few weeks ago at DCA and the eagle eyed CM that makes sure you are seat-belted looks over at a young boy, extends her hand and says, "You can either give that to me or I'll have to ask you to get off the attraction." Kid was holding a penny in his hand, was going to play the zero g game and see if the penny would float during the drops.

 

[Grumpy4196]

Not going to speculate on what may or may not have happened but my prayers go out to the child and family if this turns out to be true.

 

[ChrisFL]

Some people (especially tourists) choose ignore safety warnings, this is what happens. IE the guys getting out of the seat belts on TOT and Hoot and Chief (RIP) from Mesa Verde.

Crap I didn't know Chief died....sad


(sorry to go off topic)

 

[PhotoDave219]

Anybody know if the rumors of someone losing a finger on the ride today are true?

I had not heard that but I heard that the ride was down starting mid morning and was not operating when I was there. We left shortly before 4PM.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Rides been closed for the past almost 5 hours now. Could be nothing, but I've heard otherwise. Was wondering if anyone else did or not.

I did hear from guests that the ride was operating normally earlier, first thing in the morning.

 

[PhotoDave219]

If Disney would actually monitor and enforce rider safety policies these accidents wouldn't happen.

How would you enforce them? Just start tresspassing people left and right for not following the rules?

 

[Mania4]

Pirates is now back 102!