Boy dies after riding Rock 'n' Roller Coaster

[Braves323]

The park was not closed. Just the ride.

 

[wdwishes2005]

I'm shocked at some of the responses that this story is generating. Keep in mind that a family on vaction just experienced a tragedy. A mother and father just lost a son and a child just lost his older brother. All a lot of you can seem to do is throw insults and accusations around. What if this family was a visitor on this board and logged on to see statements of compassion and they saw accusations that they were at fault because they are idiots. That's deplorable.

Even the thougt that a competitor park had something to do with this is absolutely insane, insensitive, irresponsible, and uncalled for. Keep your unfounded conspiricy theories to yourself.

As for the news media. They are in the business to make money. Getting a scoop on competitors is part of the business. The Sentinal's initial report stated that details were scarce and they reported what they knew at the time. This is a newsworthy story and should be taken as exactly what it is, a tragedy. It's not some conspiricy by the news media or a competitor to hurt the company's reputation or profits.

Grow up and show some compassion.

My deepest condolences go out to the family and friends of this child.

You actually took that seriously?

 

[Piebald]

My local news just reported that they closed the whole park today. I e-mailed them to tell them that it was the ride that was closed. Not the park.

The park did not close. We were informed of what had happened early in the morning and we were not to tell guests what had happened and to instead say RNRC was down for "technical reasons". A lot of guests seemed curious and/or worried at the amount of helicopters that were circling and hovering over the park today. I have heard from many people that he suffered a heart attack.

 

[wdwishes2005]

First off, definite condolances to the family for the loss of their young one.

I'm curious as to whether Disney will be selective when creating a "thrill ride" in the future. While the deaths so far (not including this recent one) have not been Disney's fault, most people would think the nature of the rides is too intense and life threatening. (Heaven forbid people actually find out if it was Disney Maintenance fault or just time for the person's life to end, premature or not. I would not be surprised if we do not see another "intense" thrill ride built on property.

I'd hope not. I go to cedar point for my extreme rides, but I miss the theming. I love Disney thrill rides and I hope they build something that actually makes me nervous sometime

 

[erasure fan1]

My local news just reported that they closed the whole park today. I e-mailed them to tell them that it was the ride that was closed. Not the park.

And this just adds to my point in my last post. Closing the park sure sounds more dramatic than just a ride.

 

[Horizons1]

My news just reported the death. Apparently, RNRC now pulls and sustains 4 G's :lol:

Boy, nobody seems to be able to get the facts right on this one.

 

[wdwishes2005]

That's sad... I don't mind the media reporting Disney deaths, but I hate the slant.

 

[pinkrose]

The park was not closed. Just the ride.

Yes, I know. That's why I e-mailed the station.

 

[ScrapIron]

I can't even read anymore of this. I expected faulting the ride or the parents after all the MS stuff that has been posted 'round here, but blaming the media:veryconfu

Some of you folks are really TFM:kiss:

Cheers.

 

[Blizz]

To clear something up that the media does not get!...

I'd hope not. I go to cedar point for my extreme rides, but I miss the theming. I love Disney thrill rides and I hope they build something that actually makes me nervous sometime

Coaster is not an "extreme" ride. It is just an enclosed version of the same ride that has been in opperation with Six Flags for the same amount of time.

Six Flags Holland has Superman: The Ride which is identical to Rock n Roller Coaster.

Both rides where sold at the same time to both parks by Vekoma.

These two rides are no where near the level of other Six Flags coasters like Kingda Ka.

So as far as thrills go... RnRC is still a wuss ride.

This is why I am so angry at the media, because the ride is not that violent and I hate how they slander Disney everytime they get the chance.

I mean heck, Valleyfair had an entire coaster de-rail just a month or two ago, and it injured a ton of ppl badly, but you dont hear that nationally...

Its like ppl just cant wait to make Disney and their staff look bad. They do all they can to create a great guest experience and the media does everything they can to create ratings and twist things around. I mean heck, when CNN cant even get the name of the theme park correct... ugh... its just poor media ethics.

 

[CommandoDisney]

ok i read through most of these posts but after a while, everyone was saying the same exact thing...
-we all believe it was probably due to a pre-existing unknown medical condition
-we all agree RnRC isnt extreme enough to kill a person under normal circumstances
-we all are upset about how the media has reported about the story
-we all feel very deeply for the family

and i DO feel very deeply for the family, my prayers go out to them. but a lot of people are missing the point. a boy died. yes people die all the time and yes millions of people enter the park every day so the odds are, death will occur. doesnt make it any less sad. i dont care who you are, when most of us hear a story like this, we like for a second JUST A SECOND, about if we want to go on rides like this again, maybe not for the saftey of the RIDE but because of our own unknown health conditions that we may or may not have.

lets keep in mind, that disney has given itself the title "Happiest Place on Earth"... of COURSE its gonna get attention when someone dies there. people dont die in the happiest place on earth, they are happy there! everyone is getting angry at the media as if they were personally offended by a mistaken fact about some part of the ride. yes its unprofessional on the writers part, but who cares? i personally didnt see anything wrong with most of the reporting. all the did was say what they knew. if they had done anything they would have been leaning on the side of disney, but im sure no one would have complained about that.

we all love disney here, no one is blaming disney, so theres no need to preach to the choir. we should just do what many people have suggested and just wait until the story develops and hope that the media will straighten out any misreported facts.

oh, and to criticize foreignors for being stupid... thats just ignorant. many people on these boards are foreignors. you may not realize this but even Canada is considered foreign. that kind of statement should be apologized for.

 

[Monty]

oh, and to criticize foreignors for being stupid... thats just ignorant. many people on these boards are foreignors. you may not realize this but even Canada is considered foreign. that kind of statement should be apologized for.

To say nothing of the fact that Steve, who operates the boards is in the UK...

Being rude to the head honcho - not the brightest move.

 

[Blizz]

[INSERT LONG POST HERE

I'm sorry, but were you reading the same ethicly poor story I was?

I am a member of the media myself, I pride myself in media ethics. Something not found in Orlando media...

Let me give you a few lines not needed (for ethics) that slander Disney:

"Though Disney has portable heart defibrillator units stationed throughout its parks, there was not one available to use on Michael until the paramedics arrived, according to an audiotape of the 911 call."
Slants it so that Disney sounds at fault for not providing equipment that would not have helped the boy in the event that it was anything outside of a heart condition.

"At its peak it produces a pressure on the body that is 5 times that of gravity, a rate considered high but not unusual for roller coasters. Ride safety consultant Ken Martin of Virginia said 5 Gs is sufficient to cause some people to lose consciousness."
G forces are exerted on the human body everyday. The level on the coaster is enough to maybe make someone black out. A normal and healthy rider who follows guidelines should not be effected at all.

"This breaks my heart. It really worries me now about roller coasters," said Rene Boylan, 41, of Easton, Pa., whose 7-year old son had ridden the roller coaster and wanted to ride again. "I might start rethinking some of these rides for him. The roller coasters seem to be going to extremes now. I might be more cautious as to what I let him go on."
While I will say this is an interview, I would have held back, because the cause is unknown, one can not assume that the coaster was at fault. This goes against the ethics I have had instilled in me as a reporter.

The article also goes on to discuss previous accidents at Disney to make it sound like Disney has had many accidents. This is unrelated and old news. Old news is bad news. I find it distasteful to even include it.

I could go on but thats all for now...

 

[allee]

I'm shocked at some of the responses that this story is generating. Keep in mind that a family on vaction just experienced a tragedy. A mother and father just lost a son and a child just lost his older brother. All a lot of you can seem to do is throw insults and accusations around. What if this family was a visitor on this board and logged on to see statements of compassion and they saw accusations that they were at fault because they are idiots. That's deplorable.

Even the thougt that a competitor park had something to do with this is absolutely insane, insensitive, irresponsible, and uncalled for. Keep your unfounded conspiricy theories to yourself.

As for the news media. They are in the business to make money. Getting a scoop on competitors is part of the business. The Sentinal's initial report stated that details were scarce and they reported what they knew at the time. This is a newsworthy story and should be taken as exactly what it is, a tragedy. It's not some conspiricy by the news media or a competitor to hurt the company's reputation or profits.

Grow up and show some compassion.

My deepest condolences go out to the family and friends of this child.

Thank You...

I love WDW, and defend it a lot, but I also understand what this type of loss is like, and for people to be calling the parents or people involved "idiots" I think is just a little too insensitive. Lets reserve that kind of judgement until we know all the facts.

 

[Dr Albert Falls]

Unbelievable. So many who are criticizing the media about this incident seem to have THEIR facts wrong.

Many have mentioned "slant". What's the slant? Seriously. Give me examples. Direct quotes from news stories on this tragedy. I haven't seen anything but the hard facts about the incident, along with a few opinions (both positive and negative) from park-goers (and if it's a crime for the media to share varying opinions, then somebody really needs to call the cops and shut down this web forum! You all have a lot of opinions!)

Yes, there have been a few minor factual errors, and that's inexcusable. But please, show me ONE example of the media BLAMING Disney for this incident. Sure, the media may quote a park safety advocate who says this is one more example of why parks must be regulated. But that doesn't BLAME Disney. It just raises an interesting debate. (On a sidenote, many pro-regulation folks say that would actually PROTECT Disney because an independent party reviewed their work).

Some have suggested "the media should wait to know ALL the facts before publishing the story" and "they media shouldn't report this UNLESS the ride is proven to be at fault."

Imagine opening the newspaper tomorrow and reading an article like this: "Two months ago, 500 children in Yourtown, USA died after eating Snickers candy bars bought at 7-11 convenience stores. However, as a responsible news organization, we wanted to make sure these children didn't have pre-existing medical problems. Now, two months later, doctors have finally confirmed the children were, in fact, poisoned. Doctors hope no one else ate a candy bar purchased at 7-11 over the past two months."

That's crazy. The media reports the news when it happens. Thank God they do, or I might still be wondering if a man could land on the moon.

There seems to be this belief that the media is "out to get" Disney. Why would they? Seriously. That doesn't make much sense. The media isn't out to "get" Kool-Aid or the Grand Canyon or jumper cables. *Maybe* a controversial politician or pop star who drives with her baby on her lap. But a Fortune 500 corporation that makes movies and theme park rides?

"The media is out to get Disney because nothing is supposed to go wrong there."

If you believe that folks, you're nuts. Cuz things do go wrong at Disney. There are seven caskets buried over the past few years by grieving families who don't buy into the "Happiest Place..." marketing anymore. They left behind a loved one at Disney. Ain't so happy to them.

So the question becomes, is a death at Disney "newsworthy"? You gotta admit, it's a pretty freak thing that someone dies after getting off a theme park ride.

It's even more freak that it has happened MULTIPLE times in a VERY SHORT time period to a SINGLE theme park company. And those theme parks are NATIONAL ICONS, right up there with the White House, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the Empire State Building.

If a young child tripped and cracked his head on a table in Lincoln's bedroom, THAT would make the news. If a person somehow slipped and fell off the Golden Gate Bridge, THAT would make the news. And if elevator operator at the Empire State Building opened the doors and found a dead kid lying on the floor, THAT would make the news.

So why is it so unreasonable that the media would cover multiple deaths of young people at the WORLD's most popular, most visited, and most respected theme park? I bet everyone who picks up a paper or watches CNN tonight has either been to Disney World, or knows someone who has.

 

[Blizz]

Unbelievable. So many who are criticizing the media about this incident seem to have THEIR facts wrong...

Are you serious? Read up like 2 posts.

People outside of the as I call it "good media" don't get it. Readers seldom get it, because they are brainwashed by slander.

Little, often subtle things, can skew the view of an entire event. Which is why I pointed out the few parts that I did. News is not news if it is done to report a story and create panic (of any size).

I see all too often these poor ethics, mainly in smaller papers. CNN was right on with their story. They didnt overstep their bounds. (They also didnt send reporters sneaking into the theme park like the Orlando Sent. does when Disney asks them to respect their wishes and wait for a press release.

All I am saying is act more like Joe Friday... Just the facts!

 

[Dr Albert Falls]

"Though Disney has portable heart defibrillator units stationed throughout its parks, there was not one available to use on Michael until the paramedics arrived, according to an audiotape of the 911 call."
Slants it so that Disney sounds at fault for not providing equipment that would not have helped the boy in the event that it was anything outside of a heart condition.

THE MEDIA DIDN'T DREAM UP A "CONTROVERSY" ABOUT THE DEFIBRILLATOR. WHOEVER CALLED 911 FOUND IT IMPORTANT ENOUGH OF AN ISSUE TO MENTION WHILE A CHILD'S LIFE WAS AT STAKE. THE NEWSPAPER MERELY QUOTED THE 911 CALLER. I BET IF THE 911 CALLER DIDN'T MENTION THE DEFIBRILLATOR, THE NEWSPAPER WOULD NOT HAVE EITHER. THEY REPORTED THE FACTS.

"At its peak it produces a pressure on the body that is 5 times that of gravity, a rate considered high but not unusual for roller coasters. Ride safety consultant Ken Martin of Virginia said 5 Gs is sufficient to cause some people to lose consciousness."
G forces are exerted on the human body everyday. The level on the coaster is enough to maybe make someone black out. A normal and healthy rider who follows guidelines should not be effected at all.

IN THESE TWO SENTENCES, THE NEWSPAPER SHARES BOTH SIDES OF THE ISSUE OVER G-FORCES. THEY SAY THAT 5 G IS "NO UNUSUAL" BUT ALSO THAT A SAFETY EXPERT HAS CONCERNS. HOW IS THAT SLANT? THE NEWSPAPER RAISES A QUESTION THE AVERAGE READER WOULD HAVE ("HOW WILD IS THIS RIDE") AND ANSWERS IT IN A SCIENTIFIC WAY, QUOTING AN EXPERT, NOT THEIR OWN OPINION.

"This breaks my heart. It really worries me now about roller coasters," said Rene Boylan, 41, of Easton, Pa., whose 7-year old son had ridden the roller coaster and wanted to ride again. "I might start rethinking some of these rides for him. The roller coasters seem to be going to extremes now. I might be more cautious as to what I let him go on."

While I will say this is an interview, I would have held back, because the cause is unknown, one can not assume that the coaster was at fault. This goes against the ethics I have had instilled in me as a reporter.

JUST AS ONE SHOULD NOT ASSUME THE COASTER IS AT FAULT, A TRUE JOURNALIST WILL NOT ASSUME THE RIDE IS 100% SAFE, EITHER. REGARDLESS, THAT DOESN'T MATTER WHEN IT COMES TO THIS QUOTE. THIS WOMAN LEARNED ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED, HAS A GENUINE CONCERN, AND PLANS TO ACT RESPONSIBLY WITH HER YOUNG CHILD. ISN'T IT NEWSWORTHY THAT THIS DEATH IS CAUSING PARENTS TO ACT DIFFERENTLY?

The article also goes on to discuss previous accidents at Disney to make it sound like Disney has had many accidents. This is unrelated and old news. Old news is bad news. I find it distasteful to even include it.

IT IS RELATED. ALL THE INCIDENTS HAPPENED AT THE SAME PLACE. IT ALL HAPPENED AROUND THE SAME TIME PERIOD. DISNEY *HAS* HAD MANY INCIDENTS. MAYBE NOT THEIR FAULT. BUT THEY'VE CERTAINLY HAD MORE DEATHS RECENTLY THAN IN THEIR 50-YEAR HISTORY, AND CERTAINLY MORE THAN OTHER THEME PARKS. AND HOW IS THAT A MATTER OF "TASTE"?

I'M DYING TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR JOURNALISM BACKGROUND.

I could go on but thats all for now...

.....

 

[teamran]

Here in the Nashville area, it made our local news since the family is from Fort Campbell army base. The 911 tape was played with the castmember telling the 911 operator that she had no idea what the problem was but an ambulance was needed. She is asking someone what the problem was and there was no one who really was giving her adequate information as to how dire the situation was. She did not realize that CPR was being performed. The 911 operator was trying to let her know that the paramedics needed info as to what was happening. That 911 tape worried me a little. The lack of communication was uncalled for. I understand it is a tense situation, but please, someone with more knowledge of the situation should have been calling. The castmember also told the 911 operator that she was in another part of the park from the ride.

I hate to hear of anything negative coming from Disney. The lack of communication did not kill this boy, but they need to fix it so it doesn't kill the next person who needs emergency help.

 

[tirian]

^^ :veryconfu I'm not sure what the bold excerpts are supposed to imply, since statements are supposed to be considered in context.

 

[Dr Albert Falls]

Are you serious? Read up like 2 posts.

People outside of the as I call it "good media" don't get it. Readers seldom get it, because they are brainwashed by slander.

SLANDER IS TO IMPROPERLY DISCREDIT A PERSON'S CHARACTER. YOUR SENTENCE DOESN'T MAKE SENSE, JOE FRIDAY.

Little, often subtle things, can skew the view of an entire event. Which is why I pointed out the few parts that I did. News is not news if it is done to report a story and create panic (of any size).

I HIGHLY DOUBT THE SENTINEL SAID "A BOY DEATH ON A DISNEY COASTER IS NOT INTERESTING ENOUGH ON ITS OWN. LETS CREATE SOME PANIC!"

I see all too often these poor ethics, mainly in smaller papers. CNN was right on with their story. They didnt overstep their bounds. (They also didnt send reporters sneaking into the theme park like the Orlando Sent. does when Disney asks them to respect their wishes and wait for a press release.

SO IN OTHER WORDS, A GOOD JOURNALIST SHOULD WAIT TO BE SPOON-FED A DAMAGE-CONTROL PRESS RELEASE, RATHER THAN ACTUALLY DO SOME SHOE-ON-THE-PAVEMENT REPORTING? AND WHY SHOULD THE A JOURNALIST "RESPECT DISNEY'S WISHES"? WHO'S IS A JOURNALIST SUPPOSED TO BE LOYAL TO, THEIR READERS OR A POWERFUL CORPORATION? THE PUBLIC CAN BUY A TICKET AND GO INSIDE, RIGHT? WHY CAN'T A NEWSPAPER?

All I am saying is act more like Joe Friday... Just the facts!

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