Personally, I won't go on this ride. I know how I am with "spinning" rides, so I avoid it. Something tells me that this ride will be shut down permanently now....

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A 49-year-old woman from Germany died Wednesday after riding Walt Disney World's Mission:Space ride, the second death in less than a year associated with the signature thrill ride.

The woman died at Florida Hospital Celebration Health, where she was taken Tuesday after becoming sick following the mock space flight at Epot, according to a statement released late Wednesday by the theme park.

"We learned today that her condition had become very serious, and this evening we were notified she passed away," the statement said in part.

About midday Wednesday, Disney officials called the state Bureau of Fair Rides Inspection to report the woman's condition.

They said the woman got off the ride and was dizzy, nauseated and generally not feeling well, said Terence McElroy , spokesman for the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, which oversees the fair rides bureau.

Disney also told state inspectors that the woman may have suffered from high blood pressure and other health problems, McElroy said.

About 4:45 p.m. Wednesday, Disney officials called the state agency again to say the woman's condition was grave, and the ride was going to be shut down immediately. It had been operating normally, Disney officials told the fair bureau.

A department field inspector was sent out about 7 p.m. Wednesday to observe Disney's routine checks of the ride, McElroy said.

Florida's largest amusement parks, including Walt Disney World, are exempt from state regulations that require mandatory reporting of injuries and give the state authority to shut down and inspect rides. Disney voluntarily submits to safety inspections.

A report on the status of the ride would not be available until at least Thursday McElroy said.

Disney did not release the German tourist's identity or other details about the incident.

"I don't have permission from the guests to release any information," Disney spokesman Bill Warren said Wednesday night.

Up to 160 customers at a time can ride the giant centrifuge which spins them at 2 G-forces, or twice the force of Earth's gravity, on the fantasy flight to Mars. Numerous signs advise anyone suffering from heart disease and other illnesses not to board the ride.

Concerns about the safety of the 4-minute ride were first raised when it opened in August 2003 and some riders complained of dizziness and nausea.

In December that year, motion-sickness bags were added to the "capsules" to prevent cleanup-related delays.

The death in June 2005 of 4-year-old Daudi Bamuwamye renewed safety concerns when he collapsed while riding with his mother and sister.

An autopsy showed the child died from a rare, undiagnosed heart disease unrelated to the ride, according to Orange-Osceola Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Jan Garavaglia.

Bamuwamye's parents asked Disney to raise the ride's minimum height requirement from 44 to 51 inches to exclude young children, but Disney declined.

A review of ambulance records by the Orlando Sentinel showed medical attention was sought by only 143 of more than 8.6 million people who took the ride before Bamuwamye's death. Disney posts paramedics within a 2-minute golf cart ride of Mission: Space.

In its written statement about Wednesday's death, Disney stated, "First and foremost, our concern is for the guest's family. We offer them our deepest sympathies and assistance during this difficult time."

Shit. :( This really sucks. I'm so sorry for that woman's family.

I've heard lots of complaints about that ride from my groups. Even from the "invincible" teenagers, I've heard "I'm never getting on THAT thing again!!"

That pisses me off...The least they could do for the boys family was raise the height limit ! Just out of simple respect for the family ! :rant:

They need to shut that ride down NOW !

That pisses me off...The least they could do for the boys family was raise the height limit ! Just out of simple respect for the family ! :rant:
Devil's advocate here Sandy....but why are we blaming DISNEY for that boy's death???? Put the blame on that one where it most certainly belongs...on the PARENT.

The height limit is MORE than sufficient. There are warnings up the WAZOO on that ride. What on this green earth made that woman put a F*CKING FOUR YEAR OLD on a ride like that?

Okay, so the kid was big for his age and met the height requirement. As a parent, you have to say "okay...he's FOUR YEARS OLD." He shouldn't be going on a ride that has violent motion, which the ride CLEARLY states. The woman wants the height requirement raised to keep little kids off the ride. How about RESPONSIBLE PARENTING? Think about it, if you had a 4 year old, would YOU let him on that ride?

Shutting the ride down for good is ridiculous. 143 people out of 8.6 million who've ridden the ride needed medical attention. That's .0016%. Shut the ride down? Well hell, we better get all those cars off the road! Look at how many people are dying in them! It's a knee-jerk reaction whenever something bad happens. I'm not singling YOU out Sandy, just the general reaction when something like this happens.

Go look up the facts on roller coasters and rides around the world. You'll be surprised at how many people are killed or injured on them. All of these rides have HUGE warning signs that tell you to ride at your own risk. There's no way they should be shut down because people who choose that risk get injured.

So far two people have died on this ride. The first was too young to be on it in the first place and had a pre-existing medical condition. The second - mark my words - will probably be proven to have had a pre-existing condition also.

These rides are tested and comply with safety regulations. If the injury or death results from negligence or mechanical failure, then by all means shut it down and sue the park. However, when other circumstances beyond the park's control result in injury in death, there's no way they should be held responsible.

Amen, Alan. Well said. :thumb: I whole heartedly agree. There are TONS of warning signs at ALL of the rides, even the weenie ones.

I wouldn't put MY four year old child on a ride like that. No way. :tsk: Responsible parenting IS the key, there. As far as the adults go... if you have health issues, don't freaking ride! There are plenty of places to sit and wait for the rest of your party to ride, if they are able.

Language barriers are no excuse EITHER. Park maps/guides are printed in every possible language and are given out at the front entrances. When there are heavy warnings, the posted signs are also in multiple languages as well as the pre-recorded spoken warnings.

While I sympathize with these people's losses, I also want to smack them ALL across the back of the head and yell "DUMBASS!!" :irked: :6ohboy:

Don't get me wrong .. I think a post was also submitted here on the boys death and I posted that the parents were irresponsible dumbasses .. Still my point is, I don't want ANOTHER dumbass parent to let thier 4 yr old on that ride !

Don't get me wrong .. I think a post was also submitted here on the boys death and I posted that the parents were irresponsible dumbasses .. Still my point is, I don't want ANOTHER dumbass parent to let thier 4 yr old on that ride !
Couldn't agree with you more on that Sandy, but personally I don't think shutting the ride down is fair to the other 8,599,857 people who've enjoyed the ride. ;) :lol:

Well, Im not an expert on roller coaster rides but to have 2 deaths in less than a years time really needs to be re evaluated and adjusted for a safer ride or shut it down..

Shutting the ride down for good is ridiculous. 143 people out of 8.6 million who've ridden the ride needed medical attention. That's .0016%. Shut the ride down? Well hell, we better get all those cars off the road! Look at how many people are dying in them! :thumb: EEEEEEExactly.

Well, Im not an expert on roller coaster rides but to have 2 deaths in less than a years time really needs to be re evaluated and adjusted for a safer ride or shut it down..

I'm sure Florida is no different then Washington State when it comes to "fair" rides' safety. If the ride is proven unsafe, the state won't let the operator run them. The state also requires routine (Daily) safety inspections on ALL rides. California has multiple "theme parks" and is pretty much the same way, and Florida HAS to be what with Disneyworld and all.

Something NOBODY (To my knowledge) does that should be, is additions to the warning signs that on top of height there should also be an AGE limit and (if warranted) some sort of warning for those with medical conditions.

I'm sure Florida is no different then Washington State when it comes to "fair" rides' safety. If the ride is proven unsafe, the state won't let the operator run them. The state also requires routine (Daily) safety inspections on ALL rides. California has multiple "theme parks" and is pretty much the same way, and Florida HAS to be what with Disneyworld and all.Absolutely Florida does.

Something NOBODY (To my knowledge) does that should be, is additions to the warning signs that on top of height there should also be an AGE limit and (if warranted) some sort of warning for those with medical conditions.What do you think those warning signs say? They list all SORTS of medical conditions on these rides for people to see if they should ride or not. To me, it's just a lack of common fricken sense of some people. We can warn them in all ways possible and some asshole is STILL going to press his/her/their child's luck.

People just need to take responsibility instead of pointing fingers and blaming other people for their idoitic decisions.

Absolutely Florida does.

What do you think those warning signs say? They list all SORTS of medical conditions on these rides for people to see if they should ride or not. To me, it's just a lack of common fricken sense of some people. We can warn them in all ways possible and some asshole is STILL going to press his/her/their child's luck.

People just need to take responsibility instead of pointing fingers and blaming other people for their idoitic decisions.

Bear in Mind I have never been to Florida (Closest I came was Georgia during the Army), so I really can't say what the state does. I'm speaking from my experiences with Washington State and California. I couldn't agree more on the responsibility issue. Disneyworld has more "high tech" stuff then Disneyland. But even Disneyland has it's limits.

Well, Im not an expert on roller coaster rides but to have 2 deaths in less than a years time really needs to be re evaluated and adjusted for a safer ride or shut it down..
Sandy....dear....hun....did you read what I said? The ride is safety compliant. It is evaluated constantly. It is safety checked constantly. Do you really think a corporation as big as Disney, which could be sued for MILLIONS, doesn't make sure that all it's rides are safety compliant?

The child who died had a pre-existing condition. What is Disney supposed to do, have a medical examiner at the turnstyle to examine every rider? Disney's rides are inspected and maintained on a nightly basis. There is no place in the world that does more for visitor safety than they do.

If a zoo has signs all over the lion cage saying "DO NOT PET THE LIONS" and two people ignore those warnings and climb into the cage and get killed, should the zoo be shut down?

There comes a point where people have to be smart. When I go to Disney next month, I'll take a photo of the warning sign in front of Mission:Space. You won't believe how much shit they warn you about on that. It's been said that they believe the woman had high blood pressure. Now, you have high blood pressure and you go on a ride that CLEARLY states it has high g-forces??? Bottom line, a person who does that is a moron.

People are always quick to immediately place the blame on Disney. We know the first child died due to the parent being an asshole, and we don't know the cause yet of the second, although the high blood pressure thing seems the most likely cause.

Aren't we jumping the gun a little?

Sandy....dear....hun....did you read what I said? The ride is safety compliant. It is evaluated constantly. It is safety checked constantly. Do you really think a corporation as big as Disney, which could be sued for MILLIONS, doesn't make sure that all it's rides are safety compliant?

Just falls right in line with what I posted on State Laws or regulations regarding "carnival" rides (I would think Disney would be no exception to this).

Besides the laws, it's just common sense for the operator to check and recheck their rides from a profit standpoint. If you get right down to it, it costs the operator far less to have ALL rides inspected and thoroughly checked then it does for the potential lawsuits that could otherwise derive of failure to inspect them.

Just falls right in line with what I posted on State Laws or regulations regarding "carnival" rides (I would think Disney would be no exception to this).

Besides the laws, it's just common sense for the operator to check and recheck their rides from a profit standpoint. If you get right down to it, it costs the operator far less to have ALL rides inspected and thoroughly checked then it does for the potential lawsuits that could otherwise derive of failure to inspect them.
Exactly. And when you have a much to lose as the Disney Company does, you can bet your last dollar that's precisely what they do.

Exactly. And when you have a much to lose as the Disney Company does, you can bet your last dollar that's precisely what they do.

Here's an example to back us up Pagan:

Putting this into some perspective, I'll use Washington State as an example (It and California have the highest minimum wages...I'll get into that part later):

Carnie Average pay: $7.63 Per hour
That pay based on 40-hour workweek: $305.20
52 weeks (One year): $15,870.40

Okay, the figures above are the highest a carnival Owner will likely pay a "carnie" (Minimum wage). For the sake of Argument, I'll raise the inspector's salary to an even $10.00 an hour:

Inspector Average pay: $10.00 Per hour
That pay based on 40-hour workweek: $400.00
52 weeks (One year): $20,800.00

So, say a carnival hires 6 Inspectors, that's costing the operator:
$60.00 an hour, $2,400.00 a week, & $124,800.00 a year.

Keep in mind most carnivals don't operate year round. But Disney does. If Disney were in Washington, the above would imply. Now, let's take that highest figure and compare it with a "measly" $1 Million lawsuit:

$1,000,000 - $124,800 = $875,200

That means hiring 6 Inspectors for a full year can potentially save the operator $875,200 dollars or more A YEAR! If the lawsuit were multi-million, that savings would get even higher.

:clap: Excellent Diofan! :thumb:

I kinda have mixed feelings about this. Mission: Space is my FAV ride at Disney world (aside from Splash Mountain) and I just love it to bits, I can't imagine Epcot now without it. I don't want it to go.
As far as I know there hasn't been an autopsy yet so no one really knows what happened. The ride tells you about 100 million times not to ride if you are unsure, I know that this doesn't help if you have no idea that you have a condition that could kill you if you ride, but the warnings are there. It is a VERY intense ride that a lot of people just shouldn't attempt. Again, I know you can know this until you've done it.

I just hope that Disney can recover from this, i'm sure there were just as many people lined up for MS today as there were last week, but after the 4yo boy died and now this poor woman, I fear that the attraction may be on its last legs.

Pagan, you scared the $h!t out of me when I saw the thread because we are going to be there in less then 3 weeks! :laugh::laugh::laugh:

I personally would not go on that ride but with nearly 9 million riders you are bound to have an accident or something go wrong. I don't care how many inspections you have or how well you pay the operators or inspectors. Nothing is ever full proof. People just have to remember to read the rules of the ride CAREFULLY! They don't post them there for their enjoyment.

You also have remember that Disney has a reputation to uphold and doesn't want anything to tarnish it. I am sure that they take every precaution possible but like I said accidents happens and people are inpervious to bouts of stupidity.