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News Guest dies, found unresponsive after riding Stardust Racers

Vegas Disney Fan

Well-Known Member
The warning signs are too vague and too routine to be of any real help to most guests. They're really just there so the park can say "We told you so." If anything actually happens, whether that's on the guest or the park isn't for us to decide. We aren't members of a court.
They really have become cover your a$$ signs, most guests likely never even look at them. Reminds me of the Prop 65 signs that are plastered on every inch of CA, no one pays attention because they are everywhere.
 

mkt

When a paradise is lost go straight to Disney™
Premium Member
Original Poster
Agree, additional questions.
Do you take them aide for additional questions to allow boarding to continue?
How may different questions do you ask?
In this case, if the rider did not specify a spinal cord injury, would you let them ride?
Lets say the guest convinces you they are OK to ride and the worst happens. Are you responsible?

We already KNOW Universal will be paying out for this tragedy.
They’re not diagnosing anything - they’re confirming whether or not the guest meets the posted requirements. That’s the difference. The rules are in black and white: maintain upright posture, support torso/neck/head, have at least one natural arm, and both natural legs below the ankle.

If a guest doesn’t meet those requirements, they don’t ride. It’s not medical judgment, it’s enforcing the posted standards.
 

mkt

When a paradise is lost go straight to Disney™
Premium Member
Original Poster
Not unless those questions pertain to your ability to transfer into the vehicle. They have no business prying into a guest's medical history just because they see a wheelchair.
And they wouldn’t be prying.

The questions are only to confirm compliance with the posted requirements.
 

cjkeating

Well-Known Member
I’ve seen some people questioning whether the deceased did have a spinal problem as opposed to just being in a wheelchair, just wanted to share this news report to clarify.

IMG_0003.jpeg
 

mkt

When a paradise is lost go straight to Disney™
Premium Member
Original Poster
Why would you not ‘redesign’ and rebrand?
This is fair. A rebrand and retheme would definitely be the easier route.

Old but relevant example: ValuJet bought another airline (AirTran) and used that brand to shake off the stigma from their Everglades crash. It worked - they stayed successful until Southwest acquired them.
 

JT3000

Well-Known Member
And they wouldn’t be prying.

The questions are only to confirm compliance with the posted requirements.
It would be prying. You're also singling out people just because they're in a wheelchair, the potential reasons for which are innumerable. Someone walking around with a prosthetic limb is less likely to meet the posted requirements than someone in a wheelchair.
 

Disstevefan1

Well-Known Member
They’re not diagnosing anything - they’re confirming whether or not the guest meets the posted requirements. That’s the difference. The rules are in black and white: maintain upright posture, support torso/neck/head, have at least one natural arm, and both natural legs below the ankle.

If a guest doesn’t meet those requirements, they don’t ride. It’s not medical judgment, it’s enforcing the posted standards.
It seems a rider can meet the requirements and the worst can still happen.

I have no idea what happened in this case.

It would be terrible for the low paid, untrained CM to go to prison because he missed a point on a checklist.
 

flynnibus

Premium Member
It would be prying. You're also singling out people just because they're in a wheelchair, the potential reasons for which are innumerable. Someone walking around with a prosthetic limb is less likely to meet the posted requirements than someone in a wheelchair.
Again, not prying to verbally confirm someone can meet the requirements. It's their responsibility.

Just like they do seat belt checks. If you see something that has the potential to be non-compliant, you need to confirm compliance. The person doesn't need to get into their history, they just need to confirm they can meet the requirement and if sure, the Ops should deny the rider.
 

flynnibus

Premium Member
That’s treading dangerously close to Hippa regulations and likely illegal, an employee has no right to ask anyone about their disability beyond asking very general question like if they can transfer and if they feel they meet the rides health requirements. Anything beyond that is likely illegal.
No, because
1 - safety usually trumps 'privacy' and that applies in accessibility too
2 - your trailing thought is really what it is about. No one is going to get into interpretation of personal details, they would check for key points that are non-individualized and either visually check or make the guest verbally confirm.

Asking for any specifics, like why are you in a wheelchair, do you have neck problems, etc is 100% illegal.
Your examples here cross between different things. The first 'why are you in a wheelchair' is problematic. The second, is not if it were related to the safe interaction of the person and the ride.
 

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
There have also been reports that he rode the ride six times, the first five with no issue. If we choose to believe every unsubstantiated report that comes out, it paints a more complex picture than some are describing.
That’s why I brought it up response to a definitive statement that he had no health issues that would prohibit riding. Nominally, that isn’t true. Whether or not it was actually a factor is still unknown.

The multiple previous rides could have all been without incident but it’s also possible that they all contributed. Whatever happened could have happened on each ride until it was one too many.

The warning signs are too vague and too routine to be of any real help to most guests. They're really just there so the park can say "We told you so." If anything actually happens, whether that's on the guest or the park isn't for us to decide. We aren't members of a court.
They are also vague out of necessity. There’s no way to list out every possible diagnosis. Not to mention that what may be too much for one person may not be the case for another.
 

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
That’s treading dangerously close to Hippa regulations and likely illegal, an employee has no right to ask anyone about their disability beyond asking very general question like if they can transfer and if they feel they meet the rides health requirements. Anything beyond that is likely illegal.

Asking for any specifics, like why are you in a wheelchair, do you have neck problems, etc is 100% illegal.
HIPAA is not a blanket law that applies to every business. It is actually quite focused and only applies to certain entities.
 

VicariousCorpse

Well-Known Member
Exactly what “spinal injury” did he have that disqualified him from riding? Oh, you don’t know because nobody knows yet? Then stop blaming the victim.
The man is in a wheelchair and has his legs strapped to prevent them from moving around. Can you explain how assuming he has neck/back problems is jumping to conclusions?
That’s treading dangerously close to Hippa regulations and likely illegal, an employee has no right to ask anyone about their disability beyond asking very general question like if they can transfer and if they feel they meet the rides health requirements. Anything beyond that is likely illegal.

Asking for any specifics, like why are you in a wheelchair, do you have neck problems, etc is 100% illegal.
This isn't HIPAA, but rather ADA regulations.
 

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