At Disney, Mission: Space spurs most complaints

[marni1971]

Not to change the subject. But what was the real reason it was removed?

Just drifting briefly, PotCs duel load was removed after a child didn`t keep his hand / finger inside the boat as instructed and the switch mechanism activated. I`m sure you can guess the rest.

If it wasn`t for the internet I wouldn`t know PotC had a duel load in `73, let alone an accident. How many more injuries or worse don`t we know about on not exactly white knuckle attractions? If we did know a lot of people wouldn`t leave the house. Sad events like this have been happening for decades - it`s only comparitively recent advances in news reporting that let us know.

 

[disney.co.nr]

I think all of the points were already covered in this thread but here is mine anyway...

Disney would never close the ride (anytime soon at least), the majority of the people that ride it like it, and out of the millions of people that ride it each year, 2 people have died due to POSSIBLY unkown health conditions or just ignored the warnings. and out of the millions of people that ride it each year only a small fraction get ill. its not like there is no other ride in the counrty that people get sick on, but because its DISNEY'S ride, and because they are held to a high standard, AND because Disney is the place where nothing is supposed to go wrong, it is shocking and appaling (sp?).

Mission: Space is without a doubt the best expierance i have ever had on a ride. and I would not be happy if for whatever reason the ride was closed!

thats just my opinion...

I also agree that the media blow this way out of proportion and it really is not as big of a deal as people think.

 

[PlaneJane]

Possibly a red flashing atmosphere with voice overheard saying "Warning Warning" with a 1 way glass showing the ride at the correct time.

If guests cannot understand that, then there is no hope for this world.

 

[MAF]

Just drifting briefly, PotCs duel load was removed after a child didn`t keep his hand / finger inside the boat as instructed and the switch mechanism activated. I`m sure you can guess the rest.

If it wasn`t for the internet I wouldn`t know PotC had a duel load in `73, let alone an accident. How many more injuries or worse don`t we know about on not exactly white knuckle attractions? If we did know a lot of people wouldn`t leave the house. Sad events like this have been happening for decades - it`s only comparitively recent advances in news reporting that let us know.

The freakiest story I've heard was the one where some metal rope buckle flew off and killed someone in Disneyland. Yikes...

 

[speck76]

The freakiest story I've heard was the one where some metal rope buckle flew off and killed someone in Disneyland. Yikes...

it happens......

it is kind of like driving down the road and having a sinkhole open up under you......

 

[mousermerf]

WDW trashcans no longer have placement nubs because of the Universe of Energy.

If you look on the ground around older attractions, you can either seen the nail holes in the concrete or sometimes still find the rare rubber nub. Think of them like the corner holders for photos in scrapbooks.

This was how custodials and everyone knew where trashcans were to be placed as designed, since their departure, the placement has been more erratic as a can gets moved and never quite returns to its original location.

Anyways - the story goes, a woman walked up to Energy after it was closed. The CMs, knowing that folks don't know attractions close, moved the trash can infront of the glass double doors. In Disney, this was a commonly used sign saying "we're closed" which until recently was used at Timekeeper to signify it's closure.

The woman had recently had extensive surgery on her arm/wrist, some reports say she was still wearing a sling or cast of some sort. She apporached the doorway to the attraction, going under the white queue ropes which seperated the area, and tripped on the now-exposed nub that would normally hold the trashcan. She fell, and did extensive damage to her operated-arm. No CM's were positioned in the area, as Energy had been closed for an hour or so.

The next morning, the Energy CM's came in to find the trash cans nubs all removed (which quickly spread to all attractions) and a document stating that under no circumstances were the trashcans to be placed in front of the doors. The regular queue ropes were to be used, in addition to new bright blue ropes with magnetic ends that go across the doors.

So, things do happen, and cause interesting changes at WDW.

 

[speck76]

the biggest problem (which I was trying to get to earlier before I decided to go to WDW and have a drink or 2) is that America is a society that feels if we are "wronged" we deserve money.

The trashcan nubs were removed because the lady that went WHERE SHE SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ANYWAY tripped and fell, and it was (in her idiot brain) "Disney's fault".

People in this country can not take responsibility for their actions.....if they mess up, they need someone to blame. Disney has to put huge medical warning signs on almost every attraction because if someone were to, by chance, be in the wrong place at the wrong time and have a heart attack while watching "One Man's Dream", they would file lawsuit on the company for "causing emotion to great for a weak heart" or some other BS.

Not that these people win the lawsuits....but companies typically settle out of court.......which is still quite expensive.

Now, MS might actually be a ride that warrents the warnings, yet we are so numb to them because they are EVERYWHERE that NOBODY pays any attention.

 

[dxwwf3]

Now, MS might actually be a ride that warrents the warnings, yet we are so numb to them because they are EVERYWHERE that NOBODY pays any attention.

Yep. Whenever you read the warnings that are present for Kilimanjaro Safaris, it really makes you wonder.

 

[mousermerf]

Most warning signs are for the possible problems - Test Track and particularly Kilamanjaro both have most of their warning for incase the vehicle has to stop suddenly. Operating normally, Kilamanjaro is not unsafe to ride pergnant, however if the vehicle had to slam on the brakes, there is no restraint. With Test Track, if it e-stops, you stop very suddenly.

The same goes for simulators like Body Wars and Star Tours, yes they both are very jerky, but the real danger is incase of a shutdown - if you stop Body Wars at 5 minutes into show (2mins of which are the pre-show) the vehicle will revert to "home" position quickly, causing a violent movement that is stressful to even the healthiest person. The CMs are trained to only stop the vehicle in movment during a certain time-code section of the ride in the most dire of situations.

 

[tirian]

Mousemerf is right. Unfortunately, this is why so many people ignore the warnings on attractions that warrant them, like M:S. Guests are familiar with legal warnings that seem to exist only because lawyers said so (e.g. the warnings on Soarin'), and usually ignore them because they "know it can't be that bad."

But forget about all these hypothetical discussions. The fact is that one of those who have died on M:S did not know about his medical condition, in which case his parents could have read the signs and been perfectly self-assured that their son was all right. Furthermore, M:S presents a greater risk than...say...It's a Small World in aggravating the unknown diseases. Don't get so caught up in demonizing or defending Disney and Mission:Space that you forget that people have died.

EDIT: Reworded for clarification; I typed this at 1 am... sorry.

 

[tirian]

One more thing: unfortunately, newspapers everywhere are now running sensationalist stories about locals who got sick on M:S. Never mind that people get sick on carousels, too. Death is much more serious.

 

[wdwishes2005]

Mousemerf is right. Unfortunately, this is why so many people ignore the warnings on attractions that warrant them, like M:S. Guests are familiar with legal warnings that seem to exist only because lawyers said so (e.g. the warnings on Soarin'), and usually ignore them because they "know it can't be that bad."

But forget about all these hypothetical discussions. The fact is that those who have died on M:S did not know about their medical conditions, in which case they could have read the signs and been perfectly self-assured that they were all right. Furthermore, M:S presents a greater risk than...say...It's a Small World in aggravating the unknown diseases. Don't get so caught up in demonizing or defending Disney and Mission:Space that you forget that someone died.

This lady would have to live in a cave to NOT know her blood pressure was that high.

 

[MrNonacho]

The fact is that those who have died on M:S did not know about their medical conditions

I know the boy had an unknown condition, but do we know that the woman was in the dark? Her hypertension was mentioned in some of the earliest news reports, so maybe she did know and told the emergency personnel.

 

[tirian]

Yeah, I was only talking about the boy. I've gone back and edited those posts so that they make more sense.

I'm typing this at 1 AM. Sorry!

 

[wdwishes2005]

No problem, I get a bit wacky in the wee hours of the night.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

Thats because when all is said and done its an experience rather than an andrenalin boost thrill ride like a coaster or a visual extravaganza like a dark ride or show.

 

[uklad79]

I would like to see the number of people that have ridden in that period on each of the rides to make a fair comparison. At the end of the day it's typical American dumb down media hype. Present half the facts with no real comparison and the people will believe it. The Universe Of Energy had a quarter of incidents of what Mission Space had and had half the deaths, you could say that this ride should be shut down. Why do people die on a ride that is so tame a baby can go on it? Because their time was up! The figures show nothing out of the ordinary. If 12 people had died on MS and 1 or less on all other rides something would seem to be wrong, as the figures show deaths happen all over. The media have just picked up on this one and certain people believe the hype of American media and it's unbalanced, uninformed, lazy, and sensationalist reporting. Always look at the facts not the fiction. If it was unsafe or the ride was killing people it would be closed, Disney lawyers would be all over this ride if they thought the company could be at risk from an expensive lawsuit.

 

[George]

Good point UKLad79. Within statistical error, all of these numbers are essentially zero, demonstrating that all of the attractions are very safe. Actually, the chart in the news article had me contemplating a "Should EEA be shut down due to all the deaths its caused" poll?

 

[mikeymouse]

I'd really hate to see them close it. I really love this ride.

 

[LudwigVonDrake]

What I *think* Disney will/should do is to EDUCATE the public as to what the ride is, what the ride does and what the ride can do to you. Maybe have the cast members hand out some sort of pamphlet at the beginning of the queue or have a rack of them with the booklets printed in several languages so people can't say they didn't "understand" the details.Disney really has no choice but to do something because the negative backlash will only get stronger. Plus, people should know their limitations. It's not like word hasn't gotten out about how intense and "different" this attraction is.

Looks like more warning signs.....

For the record, I have ridden M:S about a dozen and a half times and have had no problems but I understand where some people may be affected.