[Park Hopper]

The Associated Press is reporting that state theme park safety records reveal that six Mission: Space riders have been hospitalized since the ride opened last summer. Three were hospitalized with "chest pains," two with "nausea," and one who "didn't feel well." Disney said all six had pre-existing medical conditions, and all six were over the age of 55.

Considering that an estimated 3 million people have ridden Mission: Space since it opened, I don't think this is particularly out of line.

Perhaps more interesting -- and more revealing of Mission: Space's intensity -- is the fact that Ripsaw Falls at Universal's Islands of Adventure is the only other Florida theme park ride to cause more than two hospitalizations. Three riders have been hospitalized.

[MerlinMatt]

Originally Posted by Park Hopper

Perhaps more interesting -- and more revealing of Mission: Space's intensity -- is the fact that Ripsaw Falls at Universal's Islands of Adventure is the only other Florida theme park ride to cause more than two hospitalizations. Three riders have been hospitalized.

I wonder if people have a false sense of security when they ride "thrill" rides at Disney. If all six of these folks had pre-existing conditions, then what were they doing on the ride to being with?

To some degree, this does bring up my argument from a couple of weeks ago that perhaps thrill rides don't belong at Disney, or perhaps the thrill rides should be confined to MGM. There are more creative ways to make Epcot more attractive and profitable.

[Dana]

All six didn't read the warning or didn't take them seriously..when will people learn?

[MerlinMatt]

Originally Posted by Dana

All six didn't read the warning or didn't take them seriously..when will people learn?

I learned a long time ago that most people don't really pay attention to what's going on around them.

I watch people put themselves into stupid positions and I have to laugh. Otherwise, I might go crazy thinking about it.

[karliebug]

I'm not surprised. My DD had an asthma attack on the ride, luckily I had her emergency inhaler with us. After sitting down and drinking water, she calmed down and was fine, but I doubt she'll ever want to go on again.

[dznygrl]

I guess I'm not surprised either. Especially when you consider the age of those who were hospitalized...I feel uncomfortable at the mere *thought* of senior citizens on M:S! I know what it did to me... and I'm only 19!

[Amneris]

The problem w/ warnings on the rides is that they LIE. I get dizzy and slightly ill on car rides at times. Now, I know enough not to try the tea cups again. But even body wars didn't make me feel any different than normal. How many rides would I be missing if I listened to the people who can get motion sick shouldn't go on the ride? My mom has back problems, now I wouldn't take her on BTMRR, but she went on Star Tours and only complained about not being able to touch the floor. The severity of the illness -- e.g. I don't always get sick, my mother's back doesn't "go out of place" or anything, so we aren't that "ill" in these factors -- is not taken into account in the warning. If you have mild forms of some of the things they warn again, some rides are fine. Others aren't. But there's NO WAY TO TELL from the warnings as they are all the same. E.g. Dinsosaur has one of those cars that makes you feel as though it's being jerked around a lot even thought the wheels stay perfectly fine, but the warning says "sudden drops". There is ONE down hill in dinosaur. The one at the end. The car moves no faster or "sudden" than it does in the rest of the ride. It is a slight hill, no feeling of gravity going wonky in your stomach. That is NOT a sudden drop and certainly not a sudden drops. Pirates HAS a sudden drop. I screamed (yes, I'm a big baby) the last time I went on it, even though I knew right where the drop was and knew it was coming I felt I was "still" falling, and my stomach did that flippy thing that happens on sudden drops. Pirates is a sudden drop that makes my stomach flip. Dinosaur does not. Dinosaur has a warning about sudden drops. Pirates does not. Now, if I've got this all wrong, please correct me and I'll just call this whole tirade off! :) But my point is how the heck am I supposed to know what warnings *I*, me personally, need to follow and which ones aren't "right"??? I know I don't like roller coasters, so I know to stay away from RNR, but if I just followed warning signs, I'd be missing out on Dinosaur (one of my fav rides) as well. So these "pre existing medical conditions" may not be real big serious things that the people on MS had. So the people may have NOT foolishly NOT headed the warnings. Are we condemining karliebug for taking her daughter who had a preexisting condition that could be aggrivated by the ride for taking her on it? No, of course not! That would be silly because obviously her daughter does not usually have life-threatening attacks from going on the rides that they go on. People have to make their own decisions about the severity of their conditions and the severity of the rides, which can be really hard to do when you haven't been on the rides and ALL the warnings (to cover Disney's legal self) are soooo extreme. So it's *possible* that this pre-existing condition thing with the MS people is not exactly their fault because the conditions weren't so bad and they didn't realize that this time Disney really meant it. OR it *could* be that they are insane morons who had very serious conditions and ignored or never bothered to check out Disney's warnings.

[karliebug]

I agree that everyone is different and that different rides effect individuals differently. My daughter has done all the rollercoasters, body wars, splash mountain, etc. with no problem. However, the mission space and the TOT bothered her. We won't do those again. I would think that senior citizens with heart problems would be more selective, or maybe send a family member thru first to see what they thought? I certainly would not have taken my DD on the ride if I would have known the outcome, and to my recollection, asthma wasn't listed in the warnings.

[MerlinMatt]

OK. So, the real problem is that Disney has to cover its butt because there are always people out there ready to call a lawyer.

The fact is that some really mild rides will make someone sick and a thrill ride may not make that same person sick.

In the end, I'm glad I'm not a Disney attorney.

[lawwin]

Let's be realistic here, in all of the literature about M:S it states that is an intense ride that imitates a space capsule takeoff which pull 3g of force. Anybody who has problems or a pre-existing condition or is a senior citizen would have know that the clearly stated warnings at the beginning of the ride which said if you have heart problems, problems with motion sickness, or are pregnant, etc. You do NOT need to ride this ride would apply to them.

It is all over the place that this ride is intense. It is even in the ads on television, and for anyone to think otherwise is unbelievable to me. My mother has a motion sickness problem and read the warnings about motion sickness and that those with a fear of confined spaces should not ride and she did not ride. That is making the smart choice. If you ignore the warnings then you are making the choice of your own accord and you are divesting Disney of the liability that comes with the choice that you make. It is as simple as that. Those people ignored the posted warnings and their conditions and rode anyway. It was their choice and the outcome was their fault.

However, in Karliebug's case, that was not part of the posted warnings and some part of the intensity of the ride may have triggered her DDs attack, but as she stated now that they know about what happens on M:S and TOT they will not go on them again with her DD. That is making a wse choice. If something bad had occurred with her DDs asthma and it was not part of the warnings then it would be Disney's responsibility, because it was unplanned and unforseeable that this would happen. Gratefully, nothing did happen, but she taking steps to see that it does not occur again whether it is posted or not. That is acting like a responsible parent.

Those other people who ignore the posted warnings and go on a ride that they know is intense when they have a pre-existing condition are just asking for trouble and that is not Disney's fault. It is their own fault.

[MissDisney]

Caveat emptor. The signs are posted. If people choose to ignore them, they take the blame. And in M:S, the signs are posted so often and there are so many warnings from the start of the line to the moment you get into the capsule that it actually becomes annoying.
(And Disney DOES need the thrill rides in order to compete in today's theme park market. Without continuing to add thrill rides, the young people would simply begin to lobby their parents to go to Universal instead. But it is the theming that makes Disney special, and there ARE plenty of creative ways to make the parks really fun with non-thrill attractions. That said, I believe that with millions of visitors every year, it would be silly to think that none of them are looking forward to thrills. For many, especially the kids, the thrill rides are the best parts of the parks...)

[downsouthtigger]

originally posted by Park Hopper
Perhaps more interesting -- and more revealing of Mission: Space's intensity -- is the fact that Ripsaw Falls at Universal's Islands of Adventure is the only other Florida theme park ride to cause more than two hospitalizations. Three riders have been hospitalized.

Why am I not surprised by this statement about Ripsaw?? Being only 24 I love thrill rides and love flume rides. I actually wish disney had more than just splash mountain. Anyways I'm the type of guy who puts his hands up at roller coasters and such. WHy did I have to hold on in this ride?? I tried putting my arms up, but the slope and speed at which you drop, I literally came out of my seat. I weigh 160, so I know I'm not light. This ride is one of the few that scares me to death as I hate drops anyways. Its just weird that I never heard anything and I thought it was just me.

Ok getting back on topic, warning signs do not always give the specifics and you never know what can trigger what. Still they are there to give you an idea. If the pre-existing condition was heart problems and this is a senior, what makes them think that M:S is a good idea for them?? It all comes down to common sense. M:S has confused many people since it opened. Nobody wanted to ride it since disney didn't really tell what it was about. The official disney line was,"Its a ride like no other you've ever experienced before." Thats true it was, now since no one has ridden it as much, they released footage of people (well adults) screaming their lungs out. So obviously it is an intense ride. Everyone is different and I had to ride it myself before I could make a decision. Still after riding it, I want to re-enforce the warning signs on that ride. Actually they don't tell you enough, every 5 seconds there should be a warning. Well that an every 5 seconds the ride is shut down cause someone got sick.
SO what I am saying is if you experience any kinda motion sickness or whatnot take heed. M:S is a small dark cold cramp ride. If your motion sickness doesn't kick in claustrophobia might, it also doesn't help when you get strapped in either.

[geeman]

I was all set to try this ride until I saw the commercial - on DIsney Tv- that constantly played at the resort. "I Can't feel my hand", cries a bewildered traveler. "What's going on?" - - I half-joked that they might as well continue the commercial with, "My heart! It's stopping! I'm having an attack!".
Being one possibly susceptible to stuff like that, I decided to forego my Disney spirit and let this one pass until it's well established. As a sci-fi and Space fan, I would LOVE to see what they've cooked up. But since I don't enjoy rollercoasters that speed up to several G's, I see no reason to do it right now, unless I really, really want to. So sadly, I'll have to miss this one until I feel it's reasonable enough to go on without having a seizure, heart-attack, or limbs go numb.
"I can't feel my hand', was a big turn off for me. I can't even watch Toy Story 2 again because Woody has no arm for most of it!
Just me.

[RowdyRAider]

Being a "thrillaholic" as I call it, I never turn down an intense attraction. The flow of adrenaline through my body gives me a high that'll make one never come down. M:S was the first ride we rode when we arrived at EPCOT in March. I've never seen an ad, never heard of it, seen pics of it, or anything. All I knew it was something unlike any other ride. It was while I was in line they were serious about it. Numerous exits, warning signs every few feet, even a last chance when your "role on the ship" is being assigned. When the word "claustrophobia" was used, that was all one lady could take, and she left our "ship." So I ended up covering her role as well as my own. I couldn't turn down this tempting offer, and I wasn't a bit dissappointed, so now I think I see why people sometimes disregard their safety. Many of WDWs attractions are legendary. Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, BTMRR, etc. are classics. They're world renowned. People come from all over to see these sites. I guess they're like the Queen of Sheba and just have to see what the big deal is for themselves, even if it means putting themselves at risk. If it's a danger to themselves, I guess they want to know why, and some people have to learn the hard way because of the choices they make. I just pray that day never comes to me. I don't know what I'd do if I wasn't able to bungee jump, sky dive, or ride a heart-pounding, adrenaline pumping thrill ride.

[zoey9797]

Hmmm.. Don't throw daggers here... but- I get horribly sick on the teacups ( I have to just close my eyes) and I thought Mission was actually boring and I didn't get a bit of nausea... I thought I might. We were transfered to a new capsule as we waited because of a liquid "spill" from the group before us... I was relieved to see the airsick bags .. just in case....But overall it was not half as dramatic as I expected. I think it was really hyped up. The themeing was awesome though...
I do agree... there are SO MANY warnings on that ride... it is posted every few feet and they announce it every thirty seconds or so.. ok maybe that is exagerating LOL but ...You can't NOT KNOW that you may get sick or injured ect... If you choose to ride and something happens( other than ride malfunction) .. it was your own choice to ride afterall ... just my humble opinion...
~Zoey