Boy dies after spin on Disney ride

[Jessterw]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/disney_world_death

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - A 4-year-old boy died after a spin on a Walt Disney World spaceship ride so intense that some riders have been taken to the hospital with chest pain.

Daudi Bamuwamye lost consciousness Monday aboard "Mission: Space," which spins riders in a giant centrifuge that subjects them to twice the normal force of gravity. The boy's mother carried him off the ride, and paramedics and a theme park worker tried to revive him, but he died at a hospital.

Very sad. I feel for the family, but I can't help but think that there was some extremely poor judgement on the part of the mother. That said, I can see where there was likely little thought that the ride would be too much for the little boy, as he did meet the height requirements.

Hopefully the family won't try to blame Disney for this and Disney will reevaluate the height and/or age requirements for the ride.

[xortam]

The posted warnings are pretty alarming so I agree that it was poor judgement on the part of the mother. I wonder if they make people sign waivers when they take such a ride?

[Jessterw]

Not likely, at least I've never seen that take place at Disney and similar theme parks. The problem as I see it is that theme parks are keen on pushing the limits with new rides, but parents still want to be able to take their kids to these theme parks and let them ride the majority of the rides. I can personally attest to the fact that the later is becoming harder and harder to do. Those of us with kids know it's hard to deal with a child who has become intent on doing something; many parents are unable to say no and give in. There's also the parents that are so intent on doing something themselves that they ignore the possible risks to their kids. I don't know which kind of parent this lady was, and it could very well have been that she just didn't understand the risks that such a ride could entail. This is highly likely as damn near every ride has the same sort of warnings just so the theme parks are in the safe legally.

[Lizzard[MPE]]

i kinda think a ride like that shouldnt be available to 4 year olds. sometimes illnesses kids have arent found out til later in life. later then 4 years old anyway. he might have a had a problem and they just didnt know about it because the situation hadnt been pushed.

[Kurt]

I find it weird that the kid was allowed onto the ride. Didn't they have anyone checking?

[TransformX]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - A 4-year-old boy died after a spin on a Walt Disney World spaceship ride so intense that some riders have been taken to the hospital with chest pain.

Daudi Bamuwamye lost consciousness Monday aboard "Mission: Space," which spins riders in a giant centrifuge that subjects them to twice the normal force of gravity. The boy's mother carried him off the ride, and paramedics and a theme park worker tried to revive him, but he died at a hospital.

Something is a bit fishy with the bold word..

[Gurm]

Parents need to be more responsible. I cannot COUNT the number of times I've seen a parent DRAGGING their pre-teen onto the "Tower of Terror". They have gate guards there telling parents "no, we're about to accelerate you downwards from 13 stories up, we won't let your terrified child on the ride, I'm sorry".

Same thing happens with ALL the thrill rides. The parent has waited in line for half an hour, or even an hour, to ride on something that either the kid doesn't want to or that the kid DOES want to but shouldn't.

We would never take Logan on something like that until he was much much older, even though he DOES meet the height requirements. I even balked at Test Track in Epcot Center, which only goes as fast as a fast car, because of the G-Forces. We did do Thunder Mountain though, and I held him tightly the entire time... not sure if it was really a good idea. Turns out he loved it. But that's the point - the judgement call ought to be on the marginally scary not-gonna-kill-you ride, not on the "perfectly healthy adults pass out on this all the time" ride.

[GT98]

Something is a bit fishy with the bold word..

In the article I read it was older folks that had heart and nasua problems on the ride, because it makes you pull 2G's

[Kurt]

@Gurm: amen. Disney should stick making things for kids + parents and buy sixflags for the ride-to-vomit attractions...

[Gurm]

The problem is this - just about everyone has already BEEN to Disney. They're trying to attract repeat customers. It used to be that 90% of the country hadn't been yet. Nowadays, everyone you talk to has been to Disney World at least once. And not everyone is like me & Julie - we'll go every couple years just on principle.

So they're facing STIFF competition from Universal and Six Flags. They have to have at least a FEW thrill rides.

But y'know what? I bet kids get sick and/or die every year on the Gravitron at local fairs, too. It's the same device. It's just that people so seldom get hurt or killed at Disney that it makes big news when they do.

[Wombat]

I went to Disney World 10 years ago, and I've been to Six Flags and tons of boardwalk rides. Disney has cool atmosphere for their rides. I've been on plummets before, but Tower of Terror is cooler. And I haven't been on anything else like the Alien Encounter thing.

[Kooldino]

That Alien Encounter thing was badass.

[Wombat]

It's just that people so seldom get hurt or killed at Disney that it makes big news when they do.

I don't think that's true. From what I've read, friends that have worked at Disney, and from other friends that live in the area, Disney does an amazing job of keeping incidents silent. They generally manage not to hit the news or anything. A few years ago there was a dead body found in one of their lakes, and it didn't even make the news.

[Gurm]

That Alien Encounter thing was badass.

Sadly, it's now been replaced with a "Stitch" ride.

All of Tomorrowland is now dominated by Buzz Lightyear and Stitch. Except for the TTA, Carousel of Progress, and Space Mountain.

[GT98]

@Gurm: amen. Disney should stick making things for kids + parents and buy sixflags for the ride-to-vomit attractions...

The only problem is that Six Flags (well the one in my town) is a F*UCKING Dump (compaired to Disney and Univerisal) and I get all the undesirables from NYC and Philly there. I nearly got into a fight because these "undesirables" where cutting the line for a stupid haunted hay ride there at Frightfest last October. Two days later they did have a riot there.

Dozens of police officers converge on crowded amusement park after several fights break out JACKSON, N.J. -- A series of fights involving dozens of people erupted at a crowded amusement park late Sunday, forcing authorities to seek assistance from more than a dozen area law enforcement agencies. At least one person was arrested at the Six Flags Great Adventure theme park, authorities said, but no serious injuries were reported.

http://www.nynewsday.com/news/local/ny-bc-nj--amusementparkbraw1101oct31,0,3382847.story?coll=nyc-regionhome-headlines

The link is dead though and the local paper doesn't have it online anymore.

Heres a comment about the incident from another DG I goto

Being I do stuntwork there, I know exactly what you're talking about. Believe it or not, since mid-season in 2003, you cannot enter the monkey area anymore anyway. There were too many lawsuits. Now you just drive by the monkey area with a big double barred electrified fence between you and the monkeys.

So the Safari is safe... too bad the park itself is about as dangerous as the slums of Newark. I was almost killed in a riot on Halloween there last year. Police from 17 districts came, two cop helicopters. Police in riot gear shut down the whole park. There was a shooting in parking lot that night as well as another violent incident at the McDonald's on Rt. 537 where many Six Flags "patrons" go to grab a bite to eat before heading back to NY.

If I were you guys, I'd be much more worried about my car being defaced/stolen in the parking lot than being damaged in the Safari, lol.

That place has become a hellhole. I would suggest anyone with a family go to another park, unless you want to get into a fist fight with some crapbag from NY who spit on your 4 year old kid (happened at Fright Fest last year) waiting in a que line.

But Six Flag's massive deterioration aside, I had quite a few fun memories from going through the Safari when I was a young child, back when Warner Brother's owned the chain

And I never heard about this one...then again I didnt live in town like I do now.

Published in the Asbury Park Press 4/23/01
By COLLEEN PLATT
and CHANDRA M. HAYSLETT
STAFF WRITERS

JACKSON -- At least four people were arrested during a weekend melee
after a concert at Six Flags Great Adventure, and police are looking for
six people involved in an armed robbery there.

Several other people reportedly were involved in minor fights and motor
vehicle accidents.

Sgt. John Siedler said yesterday that the theme park called police on
Friday and requested about 13 police officers to help staff a concert at
the park.

Siedler said two incidents in which police were assaulted included a
fight at the main gate around 8:05 p.m. and another where New York
hip-hop station WQHT-FM (Hot 97) was conducting a live broadcast.

Two groups of people began fighting at the gate, and several Six Flags
security officers responded to intervene, but the crowd began to push the
officers, Siedler said.

Police used pepper spray on two people, he said. They subsequently
arrested and charged two people, Nkrumah Caldwell, 20, and Andre Kane,
both of Queens, with assault in that incident.

About an hour and a half later, the concert had just ended, and what
Siedler described as a "large crowd of several hundred people" gathered
at the radio station's broadcast site.

Two women began fighting, and when police attempted to intervene, a women
attacked the officers, Siedler said.

Shanelle Browne, 24, of Staten Island was charged with aggravated assault
on an officer and resisting arrest after she reportedly fought one of the
arresting officers, Trevor Crowley. He sustained a minor concussion,
police said.

Sharon Wladarczyk, 23, Staten Island, was charged with aggravated assault
on an officer and resisting arrest after police said she bit arresting
officer Sgt. Richard Wagner.

In addition, around 10:30 p.m., police took a report of an armed robbery.


Three people -- Charles Franklin, 19, Terance Franklin, 18, and Lorenzo
Moye, all of the Somerset section of Franklin Township -- told police
they were approached by six men, two of whom reportedly had handguns, and
were told to "hand over their stuff." Police said two gold chains, a
camcorder, and two wallets containing a total of $120 were stolen.

Siedler said the department also responded to a number of minor motor
vehicle accidents and fights as people left the park for the night. Road
work on Route 537, the main road into and out of the park, resulted in a
four-hour backup, Siedler said.

"People became frustrated with the delays, and it created confrontations
with some of the guests," said Kristin Kocher, public relations manager
for Six Flags Great Adventure.

Traffic has been entering and leaving the park "smoothly" since an
additional lane has been opened, Kocher said.

Of the incidents that happened inside the park, Kocher said they were not
typical.

"That is not the norm at the park. We regret anytime there is an
incident. It was certainly an isolated incident," she said.

Colleen Platt: (609) 978-4584 or at cplatt@app.com


Published on April 23, 2001

Found this on the Epions website

Fright Fest becomes "Fight Fest" on Halloween '04
Nov 01 '04

Author's Product Rating
Product Rating: 1.0

Pros
On the up side, there were good costumes on the Ghouls.

Cons
Lack of park security and safety were issues to be addressed

The Bottom Line
Avoid it if fights and traffic continue to be as much of a problem as they were for me.

Full Review
Overall, I love Great Adventure. I go every year, and had season passes two years in a row. This year, however, I was severely dissappointed. I went to Fright Fest on Halloween Sunday, and saw an overcrowded park, (36,000 people at one point as reported by News12 NJ), lines with a 2 hour or more wait, and little to no security. I was on line for Superman: Ultimate Flight when 7 fights broke out due to line cutting. Security was not there to deter the line cutting, and failed to respond promptly to the fourth fight I witnessed. Between frghts on line, a person ahead of me on line also smoked marijuana. The scariest part about Fright Fest was not from a ghoulish employee rattling chains, but a fear for my own personal safety. This always was a family oriented theme park, whose mascot was Bugs Bunny, of all characters! The dramatically changed atmosphere i experienced will greatly effect not only my decision to return, but of friends and family as well who had simmilar encounters earlier in the weekend. To add a bit of constructive criticism, Six Flags should consider modifying its admission policy to require chaparones for group trips and require children under 16 (who can't come on their own anyway, as they don't have licenses) to be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Six flags should also consider improving its line security to avoid altercations spurred by the cutters. Additionally, the penalty for line cutting should be raised from ejection from the park to barring any individual cutter for the season.

Best comment on the Epions website was this:

Great Adventure is the Getto with Better landscaping