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From Local 10, Miami:

Child Dies On Epcot Ride

ORLANDO, Fla. -- A 4-year-old boy on a family vacation died Monday afternoon after he passed out on an Epcot Center ride.

The incident happened around 3:30 p.m. on the Mission: SPACE ride, according to Disney officials. The ride spins passengers on a multi-armed centrifuge to simulate a launch into space. It exerts twice the normal force of gravity on occupants.

Daudi Bamuwamye, 4, reportedly passed out on the ride and paramedics responded. Witnesses reported seeing the child's mother carry him outside to a nearby bench, where paramedics were able to briefly revive him. But the child died on the way to the hospital, according to officials.

Officials shut down the ride for the rest of the day. It's not certain whether it will reopen today.

The ride has a minimum height requirement of 44 inches. The local sheriff's department said the boy met the height restriction.

The boy was on vacation from Pennsylvania with his family. He was on the ride with his mother and sister. A cause of death could not be immediately determined and an autopsy is expected to be performed today.

Disney released a statement saying, "We are providing support to the family and doing everything we can help them at this time."

Riders Have Been Hospitalized Before

During an eight-month period that ended last year, six people over age 55 were taken to the hospital for chest pain and nausea after riding Mission: SPACE, a $100 million attaction that is one of Disney World's most popular. It was the most hospital visits for a single ride since Florida's major theme parks agreed in 2001 to report any serious injuries to the state.

Updated figures were not immediately available. Although the 2004 reports showed no major injuries or illnesses from Mission: SPACE, the hospital visits came up in discussions with state officials who consult annually with park officials about safety.

Mission: SPACE opened in October 2003.

Scary. Usually when people die on Disney rides, it's because they don't follow safety guidelines (removing restraints, too big/small, etc) but this one seemed to be "by the book"

It is sad when events like this happen. It does question the safty of the ride,
I personaly feel that disney rides are very safe. I will go on the Mine Train.

viewtopic.php?t=746

It just means that the ride will be closed for a while for investigation and
possibly made tamer, for the safty of the public

I am willing to bet that the rider had an unknown medical condition. Had there been some other evidence, such as restraint failure or the boy slipping out somehow, I think we all would have heard about it by now.

Club33Hopeful wrote:I am willing to bet that the rider had an unknown medical condition. Had there been some other evidence, such as restraint failure or the boy slipping out somehow, I think we all would have heard about it by now.

That's exactly what I thought when I read the article. We'll have to wait and see the results of the autopsy.

What a shame My guess is that the child had a pre-existing medical condition. Aneurysm may have been the cause of death? In my opinion 4 years of age is to young for such a radical ride like Mission Space.

Tragic. It sounded to me like he just got scared, & went into shock. Poor little guy.

My 4 yr. old thought she was lost for maybe 30 seconds at the store the other day, and sobbed like you wouldn't believe when I "found" (turned around) to get her.

Everything is sooo real for little children (which is why make believe games are so enjoyable fdor them, but not for adults -- I think recapturing that feeling within the immersive world of Disney is so appealing to grownups).

The ride is back open, with no apparent malfunction, so I suspect they will add age restrictions to the ride.

kronk's angel wrote:
The ride is back open, with no apparent malfunction, so I suspect they will add age restrictions to the ride.

Im suprised it has opened so quickly, Most likely that age restrictions will
be added and even update the minimum height.

WOW! I have yet to ride this and I have heard that it is very intense. I heard they even added barf bags. Any truths to this?

I agree that Disney rides are very safe, and the poor child must have had a heart condition. It's a terrible loss, but what's even worse is the child will be dragged through the mud as the parents will sue everyone and try to get their hands on everything.

I'm assuming there are signs that say not to ride if... blah blah blah..

Blackie Pueblo
www.newlineagefilms.com

Yeah there are signs. I dont think they were there when it opened, but started to appear soon after opening. And yes there are sick bags


E-Ticket, YAY

Blackie Pueblo wrote:WOW! I have yet to ride this and I have heard that it is very intense. I heard they even added barf bags. Any truths to this?

You know, it's weird but even my wife was talking about how intense it was. The local news repeatedly showed people screaming when they were on it, and talked about how it was one of the most intense rides ever made, but I actually never go on the thing anymore because I find it so... "eh, whatever". It's a neat feeling the first time, but I've definitely never heard anyone scream on it. And most the people I know go on it once then rarely go on again. It's nowhere near the fun of ToT, or any of the Mountain rides. Of course, all the screaming video footage proves that it's probably just me and my stupid opinion. And everyone should go on it at least once.

I can't think of anything more horrible than what happened. I've ridden Mission Space once, and I think that'll be enough for me. My daughter is almost 1 and my husband and I decided last night that she'll just never know Mission Space is a ride. It'll be the place where you can touch the planets and see Astronaut Mickey.

That poor mom... I imagine everyone is right in thinking the little boy had a undiagnosed condition. I hope they do increase the height or age minimum to ride...

Interesting. The Disney ride pulls "2 Gs". The G-force trainer centrifuge at the Kenedy Space Center takes guests on a jet fighter training run, where they can pull up to “4 Gs”.

I thought I read somewhere online that Mission Space has been tamed down since its CM and soft openings. Can anyone verify that the intensity used to be greater, pulling more Gs?

That's a real shame. I can't even imagine what the family is going through. I shudder at that the thought that on our last trip to WDW we took our 4 year old on MS, somewhat reluctantly, but thought we'd try it out. He was scared out of his mind, as was I. I agree, the child may have had an existing condition they were unaware of, but will still keep my kids off of MS until they're much older. It's VERY intense--even for adults!