Incident at Typhoon Lagoon?

[GothMickey]

Did anyone hear about an incident in the Wave Pool at TL this past Monday. My friend was there and told me he saw a CM ran by shouting some emergency codes. Everyone had been asked to leave the wave pool. The paramedics tooka child out on a stretcher. I saw nothing on the AP wires, nor did I see anything posted on this site. I wonder what happened, and if everyone involved is alright.

 

[typhoonguy]

Did anyone hear about an incident in the Wave Pool at TL this past Monday. My friend was there and told me he saw a CM ran by shouting some emergency codes. Everyone had been asked to leave the wave pool. The paramedics tooka child out on a stretcher. I saw nothing on the AP wires, nor did I see anything posted on this site. I wonder what happened, and if everyone involved is alright.

I'm sure if you haven't seen anything on the news by now, everything is fine. Stretchers and backboards are used at the waterparks on a (literally) daily basis. This is mostly a precautionary measure due to the possibility of a spinal injury. Back in my days at typhoon lagoon, it wasn't uncommon to call EMS twice or more a day during peak times, and two or three times a week in the off-season. Which brings me to an important reminder:

The Typhoonguy waterpark tip of the week:
It's best to read the warning signs at the entrances of attractions at waterparks. This is something most people skip in the theme parks, because they always say the same old thing. Arms and legs inside, no pregnant women, attraction uses fog, yadda yadda. However at waterparks there are some very IMPORTANT tips. Such as not sitting in the wave pool. Many times, people are not aware of how strong the waves can be, and when in the sitting position, you can be knocked back, hitting your head and causing the possibility of a cuncussion (sp?).

As far as leaving the wave pool, if there is an emergency procedure in the wave pool, lifeguards have the ability to clear it out if they feel it necessary. One of those 'better safe than sorry'.

 

[GothMickey]

I'm sure if you haven't seen anything on the news by now, everything is fine. Stretchers and backboards are used at the waterparks on a (literally) daily basis. This is mostly a precautionary measure due to the possibility of a spinal injury. Back in my days at typhoon lagoon, it wasn't uncommon to call EMS twice or more a day during peak times, and two or three times a week in the off-season. Which brings me to an important reminder:

The Typhoonguy waterpark tip of the week:
It's best to read the warning signs at the entrances of attractions at waterparks. This is something most people skip in the theme parks, because they always say the same old thing. Arms and legs inside, no pregnant women, attraction uses fog, yadda yadda. However at waterparks there are some very IMPORTANT tips. Such as not sitting in the wave pool. Many times, people are not aware of how strong the waves can be, and when in the sitting position, you can be knocked back, hitting your head and causing the possibility of a cuncussion (sp?).

As far as leaving the wave pool, if there is an emergency procedure in the wave pool, lifeguards have the ability to clear it out if they feel it necessary. One of those 'better safe than sorry'.

I figure it wasn't to bad, or ended on a good note, especially with the way the media picks up on accidents in WDW.

 

[slappy magoo]

Aside from the "sitting in the wave pool" warning, I'd bet most of the concussions in the wave pool come from people knocking their skulls into each other. Unless it's a mighty dead day, you're bound to smash into someone sooner or later, probably sooner. Hopefully, you'll bang into softer parts of the body, but it's pretty easy to land on someone and crack your head on theirs.

 

[Cynderella]

I remember going to TL once and it was like 10+ years ago and I remember I sat down in the wave pool cause I thought it would be ok and the wave pushed me back and scraped up my hands and knees and the butt of my bathing suit which then gave me those awful fuzzies :fork: . It was awful. I couldn't believe how strong the waves still were in the shallow end. I learned my lesson quick. I want to go back maybe this year in Nov and there will definetly be no sitting in the wave pool!

 

[joel_maxwell]

hmmm, i was there tuesday and can say that i bruised my back and upper tailbone on the Humunga Kowabunga. i rode these as a kid a lot and never felt pain like this.

but back to the thread topic, nope, didnt hear anything while i was there.

 

[Thurp]

I'm always afraid of the people body surfing in the Typhoon Lagoon pool. I'm happily "soaking" only to have to make sure I'm avoiding people when the big wave comes.

 

[doctorcfjh]

I too was shocked the first time I dipped a toe in the massive wave pool at TL. The problem with spinal injury is that the consequences if it is missed can potentially be catastrophic... which equates to very bad publicity for the mouse (or any other company). It therefore necessitates careful precautions and assessment by a medical practitioner before the spine can be 'cleared'. 99% of spinal injuries will simple be soft tissue injuries or bruising... so there is nothing to really worry about.


:hammer:

Similar is true of head injury - most will have no problems, a few will have concussion and a tiny proportion with have a bleed inside the skull. If you have hit your head it is a good idea to see a doctor if you become very drowsy, have a severe headache that will not go away with simple pain killers, vomit more than once, have ringing in your ears, numbess or weakness of arms of legs, visual problems or slurred speech.

That all said the VAST majority of people will have no significant injury

 

[helliker]

I was actually there on Monday. I did see a lifegaurd jump in and helped float a kid that got too deep back into shallow water. The kid seemed fine though and I believe he stayed in the pool after he was safely back. They did not ask anyone to leave the pool or anything. However I was at TL between 12-4 and I was only in the wave pool for less half that time so this could have been a seperate incident.

I must be cursed though because during my trip last year I saw a similar incident in the wavepool. I didn't see exactly what happened last year but a lifeguard blew a whistle and dove in to save someone. They stopped the waves for a while but did not evacuate the pool then either. The lifegaurd got applause from the crowd for her efforts.

 

[typhoonguy]

I was actually there on Monday. I did see a lifegaurd jump in and helped float a kid that got too deep back into shallow water. The kid seemed fine though and I believe he stayed in the pool after he was safely back. They did not ask anyone to leave the pool or anything. However I was at TL between 12-4 and I was only in the wave pool for less half that time so this could have been a seperate incident.

I must be cursed though because during my trip last year I saw a similar incident in the wavepool. I didn't see exactly what happened last year but a lifeguard blew a whistle and dove in to save someone. They stopped the waves for a while but did not evacuate the pool then either. The lifegaurd got applause from the crowd for her efforts.

You're not cursed or unlucky, deep water saves in the Wave Pool at Typhoon happen on a daily basis, usually 2 or more times a day. The typical situation is a teenage boy thinks he's stronger than he is and won't swim in when he's tired, all for the sake of impressing his friends. Then a lifeguard or coordinator see's he's tired and jumps in to grab him. Before jumping in, the lifeguard or coordinator has to stop the waves with the E-stop as a precaution. The wave machine can take up to 20 minutes to turn back on. RARELY are these major instances. Just someone that needs to catch their breathe because they're getting tired. And since guests are not permitted to use the emergency stairs or hang on the side-walls for their own safety, the response necessary is e-stoping the waves and jumping in. Once they kid gets embarrased like that, you can guaruntee they won't be pulling that cr*p again...