News Story - CNN.com - Woman dies a day afer riding Mission Space

[dbhpsu]

Woman dies a day after Disney World ride
'Mission:Space' subjects riders to 2 G's

Thursday, April 13, 2006; Posted: 6:50 a.m. EDT (10:50 GMT)


LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida (AP) -- A woman died Wednesday after going on a ride at Walt Disney World so intense that it has motion sickness bags.

The 49-year-old woman became ill after riding "Mission: Space" on Tuesday. She was taken to a hospital, and died a day later, park spokeswoman Kim Prunty said in a statement.

No more information on the woman was available Wednesday, Prunty said. Nor was the cause of death immediately known.

Meanwhile, the ride has been closed, and a state agency will monitor an inspection, Prunty said.

Disney officials told state inspectors Wednesday that the woman felt dizzy and nauseated after the ride and may have had high blood pressure and other health problems, said Terence McElroy, a spokesman for the department that oversees the ride-monitoring agency.

The $100 million ride, one of Disney World's most popular, was also closed in June after the death of a 4-year-old boy who passed out while aboard.

An autopsy concluded he died of a heart condition that a medical examiner said can cause sudden death in stressful situations.

The ride reopened after company engineers concluded it was operating normally.

"Mission: Space" spins riders in a centrifuge that subjects them to twice the normal force of gravity. Some riders have been taken to the hospital with chest pain.

Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

 

[boomhauer]

Zipping up flame suit...

This may very well come back as having NOTHING to do with the ride, however, this time, something will come out of this. Granted, thousands, maybe closer to millions, have rode this without dying obviously, but this is the 2nd in less then a year. I don't know. This will either be a huge boost for the ride's popularity, or the changing of the system in which it runs.

 

[eeyoreiscool]

The media seems out against Disney. I feel sorry for the family but I have a feeling that something else was wrong just as in the last case.

 

[boomhauer]

The media seems out against Disney. I feel sorry for the family but I have a feeling that something else was wrong just as in the last case.

I don't think that's the case. They're just reporting what happened. Woman goes on ride, gets off, throws up, goes to hospital and dies.

No doubt, something else may have been wrong, but just as in the last case, it's THIS ride that's doing people in. Of course it's going to be reported. I'm glad it is. I won't go near Mission:Space because of what I've heard about it.

 

[Soichiro]

CNN doesn't seem quite as venomous this time.

If you're not physically able to ride MS, don't ride it. Bah. I wonder what her official CoD was.

 

[Lorix2]

I agree boomhauer, but even before the deaths, especially for kids, I think it's way too intense and it has proven that. I've never let mine on it.

 

[boomhauer]

I agree boomhauer, but even before the deaths, especially for kids, I think it's way too intense and it has proven that. I've never let mine on it.

Absolutely. I refuse to ride it, and NO WAY would I let my 5 year old on it.

 

[Bill From PA]

Mission Space is nothing more than a well-themed version of that old carnival ride Gravitron and its kind. Any looping rollercoaster has to exceed 2 Gs just to keep the rider in the seat at the top of the loop, Mission Space is tame by comparison. As for deaths in WDW in general, in any typical week there will be several hundred thousand guests of all ages and fitness levels touring Disney parks. If your city or county has that population, read your newspaper's obituary section for a few days. Throw out the car accidents and violent crimes and you'll see that in a population of a few hundred thousand, some people just die. Old, young, sick and seemngly healthy, a certain percentage just keel over. Unless they're someone close to you, you never find out the apparent cause and you never question these deaths. The surprising thing to me is, given the crowd levels at WDW, the heat, the stress a vacation can bring, that things like this story aren't every other day occurences. I haven't read the story, but if this person died THE DAY AFTER riding Mission Space, this is a total non-story. It's probably the day after she flew to MCO, or drove 12 hrs on I-95, or did any number of things that an enterprising reporter could link the death to on a slow news day.

Bill From PA

 

[boomhauer]

Mission Space is nothing more than a well-themed version of that old carnival ride Gravitron and its kind.

Not sure about that as I've never been on Mission:Space. I've been on the Gravitron before though, and that ride never made me sick. I'd be shocked if the Gravitron, a carnival midway ride, compares in intensity to M:S, an attraction that Disney spent $100 million on.

Also not sure about the G's on a looping coaster, but I have yet to hear about anyone dying or being taken to the hospital after riding Rock N Roller Coaster.

 

[YesYourMajesty]

Absolutely. I refuse to ride it, and NO WAY would I let my 5 year old on it.

EXACTLY!

I rode it one time. I hated the entire experience. I thought I was going to have a heart attack (and thats not a joke...literally I thought I would) the whole time I was on it. NEVER AGAIN. My husband does the single rider line. When we have kids, they will not get on this ride until they are of a certain age that I havent determined yet. A lot of people like this ride and more power to them...it is just not for me.

 

[beattyfamily]

There's already another thread on this subject HERE

 

[lookingforward]

It does make me wonder about the safety of it all. My concern is for those riders who don't know they have medical issues, like heart abnormalities, weak blood vessals, etc. The warnings are only good for those who are aware of their situation. I just rode Mission Space in March for the second and last time. For me it is an issue of closed spaces and darkness, I felt like crying the whole time. My kids love it but I am going to have them wait to ride it again until it has been completely investigated. One more thing, I have noticed the lines for this ride are about 1/4 what they used to be before that little boy died last year.

 

[NCHeel23]

The media seems out against Disney. I feel sorry for the family but I have a feeling that something else was wrong just as in the last case.

I have to disagree with you here. This is unfortunate but I don't think it’s the rides fault. Look at the thousands who ride this every week and month and yet manage to "survive". Many of these people who "survive" probably have health problems. I'm sure its a tense ride but some bodies just don't take pressure well at all. I know some people who can't take a Carousel because it goes in circles. Obviously this woman had complications which the ride effected in a adverse manner and her body couldn't take it. MY best wishes and prayers go out to the woman and her family. God bless them!

 

[Dopey420]

Not sure about that as I've never been on Mission:Space. I've been on the Gravitron before though, and that ride never made me sick. I'd be shocked if the Gravitron, a carnival midway ride, compares in intensity to M:S, an attraction that Disney spent $100 million on.

Also not sure about the G's on a looping coaster, but I have yet to hear about anyone dying or being taken to the hospital after riding Rock N Roller Coaster.

LOL! The Gravitron is WAY more intense than Mission Space. I think Mission Space is totally tame.

I'm sure we will find out that this woman died of some health problem, not because of the ride.

 

[boomhauer]

LOL! The Gravitron is WAY more intense than Mission Space. I think Mission Space is totally tame.

I'm sure we will find out that this woman died of some health problem, not because of the ride.

I don't know. As I said, I've yet to ride M:S. I didn't find the Gravitron intense at all. I always found it rather boring.

As for M:S being tame, I would venture to say the people that have gotten sick on the ride might tend to disagree with you.

 

[Bill From PA]

Quote: ' I'd be shocked if the Gravitron, a carnival midway ride, compares in intensity to M:S, an attraction that Disney spent $100 million on.'

I've done both, numerous times. Gravitron produces enough Gs to totally paste you to the wall to the extent that you can rotate yourself upside down without touching the floor in any way. In addition, the ride keeps you there far longer than the entire Mission Space, which only spins you up during the takeoff and landing parts.

Quote:'Also not sure about the G's on a looping coaster, but I have yet to hear about anyone dying or being taken to the hospital after riding Rock N Roller Coaster.'

My point exactly, looping 'coasters and many other rides produce more Gs, for longer times than MS without producing a line of body bags. BTW, a rider of ToT died after doing that attraction within the last year. To paraphrase the vulgar tee shirt, Stuff Happens.

Bill From PA

 

[Dopey420]

I don't know. As I said, I've yet to ride M:S. I didn't find the Gravitron intense at all. I always found it rather boring.

As for M:S being tame, I would venture to say the people that have gotten sick on the ride might tend to disagree with you.

If you have no prob with the gravitron, you can do MS. Gravitron spins much faster and you are exposed so you can see how fast you are going.

My wife gets sick if she rides in the backseat of a car, so just because someone gets sick on a ride does not mean it is intense. This one is not.

 

[micknpluto]

Here we go again

 

[DISNEYDUET]

Do people think that the ride precautions are just there for decoration! It is just the same for patients who don't follow doctors orders and then have something happen to them!! Sorry... already having a bad day.
Bill from PA-I think I would take a frontal lobotomy right now.

 

[kidd_freeper]

While I really doubt that the ride by itself was the cause of death (pre-existing condition), I almost hope that they'll close it down. I think the ride is kinda lame.

If they close it down, they'll probably re-open Wonders of Life as an alternative. WOL is the better exhibit.