Amusement Park Apocalypse???

[Darth Tater]

What the heck is going on?

Here are the top latest news stories on Screamscape (no joke)

-7/21/13-

Breaking News: Fire burns down Camden Park attraction

Breaking News: Alton Towers' The Smiler Closed as Bolt Breaks and Gap in Track Appears.

-7/19/13-

Breaking News: Accident on Texas Giant kills one rider tonight at Six Flags Over Texas.

Breaking News: Cedar Point's Shoot The Rapids flips boat, trapping riders underwater before dramatic rescue.

Apparently not a good weekend in the amusement park business.

 

[Nemo14]

Busy season since most (all?) of those parks are seasonal?

 

[wdwstateofmind]

The Six Flags incident seems to be both Six Flags, and the lady, not caring that she wasn't really latched in...she had brought her harness to their attention and still decided to stay on the ride after they just kind of shrugged it off...I wouldn't be surprised if the resulting lawsuit forces some hard times on Six Flags...

 

[StarWarsGirl]

Great, now I'm going to have one of my recurring boat flipping nightmares tonight. Except mine takes place on either Pirates or Splash

 

[PUSH]

*Insert Sharknado comment here*

 

[Taylor]

And the worst news of all. An unexpecting family went on Stitches Great Escape today.

 

[Darth Tater]

*Insert Sharknado comment here*

How did I not see that one coming?

 

[Darth Tater]

Busy season since most (all?) of those parks are seasonal?

But doesn't all that seem a bit much for one weekend?

 

[Nemo14]

I'd say I blame Meg, but that might be in poor taste.

 

[PUSH]

I'd say I blame Meg, but that might be in poor taste.

I thought about making that joke, too.

 

[lazyboy97o]

The Six Flags incident seems to be both Six Flags, and the lady, not caring that she wasn't really latched in...she had brought her harness to their attention and still decided to stay on the ride after they just kind of shrugged it off...I wouldn't be surprised if the resulting lawsuit forces some hard times on Six Flags...

If you some some of the threads in which this is being discussed or the better researched articles you will see that the reason there was no concern over the "latching" is because the Texas Giant utilizes hydraulic restraints that do not make any sort of "click" noise. The witness story about the clicking and the lack of three clicks for the deceased's restraint is clearly in error.

 

[Taylor]

If you some some of the threads in which this is being discussed or the better researched articles you will see that the reason there was no concern over the "latching" is because the Texas Giant utilizes hydraulic restraints that do not make any sort of "click" noise. The witness story about the clicking and the lack of three clicks for the deceased's restraint is clearly in error.

They completely refurbed the ride in 2011. Why didn't they update the restraints to what modern thrill coasters are doing now? That is most new thrill coasters now have it that if all restraints aren't locked in the ride can't go out.

 

[lazyboy97o]

They completely refurbed the ride in 2011. Why didn't they update the restraints to what modern thrill coasters are doing now? That is most new thrill coasters now have it that if all restraints aren't locked in the ride can't go out.

They are all new trains with contemporary restraint designs. I think the theory that her body shape created a poor fit that could be moved around sounds the most likely.

 

[Did Knee]

Article on the Six Flags debacle on nbcnews.com linked to this page http://www.amusementsafety.org/park_safety13.asp I thought it was interesting which rides at WDW had injury reports. Also notice the ratio of total significant injuries to disproven injuries. It is much lower for Disney than for most other park operators. This was cool stuff.

 

[Master Yoda]

But doesn't all that seem a bit much for one weekend?

Out of the statistical norm...A little. Sign of something bigger...not likely.

Our primitive human brains like to find a pattern even when none exists.

 

[mickey2008.1]

Yeah thats a lot for a weekend. It's good to see WDW parks have relatively low significant injuries according to the report.

 

[flynnibus]

I'm starting to think you will see some movement against pelvis only restraints and a regulatory push for a return to chest/shoulder systems

 

[DznyGrlSD]

As a P.O.S. myself - the lady that "fell out" was also "fluffy" - i forsee new regulations for P.O.S. and restraints.

 

[NYwdwfan]

Like I wasn't scared enough to go on thrill rides to begin with.

These types of incidents thoroughly freak me out. I'm very interested to see what went wrong.

 

[Uncle Orville]

Im scared to go to Disney in a week after all of this (not really). I did knock over salt yesterday and I wonder if that will affect my trip? Maybe I will have an evac after never having one even though I have gone 11 times (I hope)