News Guest dies, found unresponsive after riding Stardust Racers

[SplashJacket]

And the real estate Stardust Racers sits on could easily be repurposed - as an expansion to Wizarding World, Berk, or even a brand-new land. That flexibility makes a demo/rebuild option even more plausible.

It’s not accessible as a Potter plot and Berk is inaccessible except for the station area, which they would never use for Berk.

I’m not saying this will happen, just that it’s a real possibility given the circumstances. Normally you’d expect a fix and reopen, but this is a brand-new ride in a brand-new park, a fatality, and a ride name already tied to headlines.

It’s not a real possibility. If it’s one in 10,000, that’s not a real possibility.

 

[mkt]

It’s not accessible as a Potter plot and Berk is inaccessible except for the station area, which they would never use for Berk.

It’s not a real possibility. If it’s one in 10,000, that’s not a real possibility.

Fair, the footprint may not line up perfectly with Potter or Berk. But that’s not really the point.

I’m not saying demo/rebuild is likely, just that it’s a real possibility when you factor in the optics. This is a brand-new park, a fatality, and a ride name already tied to headlines. Even if it’s a one-in-10,000 scenario, Universal still has to weigh whether reopening is worth the PR baggage.

And given that the U.S. averages about four coaster deaths a year out of tens of millions of riders, one-in-10,000 odds isn’t out of line. The cheapest course of action in the long run might be to demo it, build something new, and market it as the “new attraction.”

 

[SplashJacket]

And given that the U.S. averages about four coaster deaths a year out of tens of millions of riders, one-in-10,000 odds isn’t out of line. The cheapest course of action in the long run might be to demo it, build something new, and market it as the “new attraction.”

It’s surprising, but we also have to realize

1) Stardust might be the highest capacity coaster in the world

2) Universal’s Guest demographics are wildly different from coaster amusement parks

3) Epic Universe is a capacity constrained park, Stardust may be the highest capacity attraction at the park. Epic Universe needs more capacity yesterday, not multiple years down the road. Stardust may be more valuable than Ministry to EU at this moment in time due to its capacity. Cost /= value. You’re hugely underestimating the value of stardust.

 

[mkt]

It’s surprising, but we also have to realize

1) Stardust might be the highest capacity coaster in the world

2) Universal’s Guest demographics are wildly different from coaster amusement parks

3) Epic Universe is a capacity constrained park, Stardust may be the highest capacity attraction at the park. Epic Universe needs more capacity yesterday, not multiple years down the road. Stardust may be more valuable than Ministry to EU at this moment in time due to its capacity. Cost /= value. You’re hugely underestimating the value of stardust.

I realize all three of those things. I've realized all three of those since before the park opened to the public.

 

[SplashJacket]

And to preface, any death on a coaster is too many, but it’s too premature to call for stardust to be torn down on what’s very likely a freak incident stemming from a pre-existing condition.

But your annual chance of dying in a car accident is about 1/8000.

Stardust has been open for ~120 days, so call it 1/3 of a year.

So your chance of saying in a car accident within 120 days is 1/24000.

Stardust probably carries about 24,000 Guests per day.

So they’ve had a chance of roughly 1/2,880,000 die adjacent to ridership.

We would expect ~120 people who’ve ridden Stardust in the last 120 days to die in a car accident within 120 days of their stardust ride. This is a high estimate that both ignores rerides, but still.

Again that’s too high, there shouldn’t be any.

It took steel vengeance 4 years to hit 1,000,000 riders. Stardust probably hit that in less than 2 months.

Again, this is likely a very freak occurrence, but the chance something like this happens is higher at Universal (through no fault of their own) because the demographics of Universal guests and a ridership that makes other flagship coasters look like flat rides.

 

[danlb_2000]

There are train designs you can order new that would definitely be a problem, like Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. We can also look at the incidents reports and see that someone completely passing out isn’t a common occurrence.

But these seats are padded clamshells. The lap bar support arms end up down and to the side. The lab bar restricts your core a bit. And unless you’re already in a bad position the forces should generally push you back towards the seat. It seems like you’d have to be a fairly tall, lanky and flexible person to be able to hit something unpadded. But, even padded surfaces can cause harm.

The parks are only required to report injuries that require at least a 24 hour hospital stay.

 

[Disstevefan1]

So they’ve had a chance of roughly 1/2,880,000 die adjacent to ridership.

Again that’s too high, there shouldn’t be any.

Nope. Nothing in life is guaranteed. I would take those odds any day.

Odds of dying walking in the street 1 in 471 ! See here