Wednesday fatality was second in a year linked to intense...

[Fantasrick]

I honestly feel that Mission Space isn't as big a threat as everyone makes it out to be. If it was really dangerous, I don't think Disney would have introduced it in the first place.

[js3901]

Maybe in addition to a height requirement, the ride should have an age restriction, the reasoning being that as a child gets older, the chances increase that these pre-existing conditions have been diagnosed. It's not foolproof, but it could help.

But, that didn't help this woman. She was 49 years old, and would have had plenty of time to have any conditions diagnosed.

[SysFail]

ORLANDO, Fla. — A German woman who fell ill after going on a ride at Walt Disney World died of bleeding of the brain, the medical examiner's office said today in a preliminary report. The report did not mention any connection between the ride and the woman's death.

Hiltrud Bluemel, 49, also had severe, long-standing high blood pressure, said Dr. Jan Garavaglia, Orange-Osceola chief medical examiner, in a statement. There was no evidence of bodily injuries.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/3794671.html

severe long-standing high blood pressure...

[kgmadorin]

severe long-standing high blood pressure...

She obviously had to have some medical concern before boarding the attraction. A perfectly healthy person wouldn't keel over and die after riding Mission: Space.

The question is: Because she was German, could she read the warning signs advising her not to ride because of her high blood pressure? In my mind, that brings us right back to issue of improved signage.

[AKLRULZ]

The 49 year old woman who died this week after experiencing Mission Space died as a result of a massive bleed out in her brain (stroke). She suffered from long term servere high blood pressure and suffered no trauma from the ride. She chose to blatantly ignore the 13(!) warning signs telling guests with high blood pressure not to ride - or perhaps being from a foreign country she couldn't read the signs (and there is a whole new debate there). An awful tragedy nonetheless, but one of her own doing with Mission Space having no role whatsoever in her death other than perhaps raising her blood pressure (a normal occurrence on any thrill ride).

An autopsy shows that the German woman who became ill this week after riding one of the attractions at Walt Disney World died a day later from bleeding in the brain.

The medical examiner's office in Orlando says the woman had severe and long-standing high blood pressure.

The statement says there was no evidence of trauma.

But it will be several weeks before the official cause and manner of death is made available.

State officials say the 49-year-old woman felt dizzy and nauseous after riding "Mission: Space" on Tuesday. She was taken to a hospital, where she died a day later.

Disney reopened the attraction Thursday after engineers found it was operating properly.

The $100 million Epcot space ride, one of Disney World's most popular, was closed in June after the death of a 4-year-old boy, the son of a United Nations worker from Uganda, but reopened after company engineers concluded it was operating normally.

An autopsy found he died of an irregular heartbeat linked to natural causes.

One warning sign posted in 2004 in front of the ride read: "For safety you should be in good health, and free from high blood pressure, heart, back or neck problems, motion sickness or other conditions that can be aggravated by this adventure."

"Mission: Space" spins riders in a centrifuge that subjects them to twice the normal force of gravity, and is so intense that some riders have been taken to the hospital with chest pain.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/04/ ... 1129.shtml

[kgmadorin]

She chose to blatantly ignore the 13(!) warning signs telling guests with high blood pressure not to ride - or perhaps being from a foreign country she couldn't read the signs (and there is a whole new debate there).

Thank you! Finally! That's the question I've been trying to raise this entire time: Could she understand the warning signs? If not, THAT is a problem. Does anyone know if there are warnings in German?

An awful tragedy nonetheless, but one of her own doing with Mission Space having no role whatsoever in her death other than perhaps raising her blood pressure (a normal occurrence on any thrill ride).

The difference between Mission: Space and "any thrill ride" is that you cannot see what happens on the attraction. I was having this same conversation with sysfail in the chat room yesterday. You can't see loops or corkscrews or huge drops or hairpin turns. If people cannot understand the mechanics of what they're about to ride, is it any surprise that high-risk candidates continue to queue up for the attraction?

Look, I LOVE Disney. I worked at Walt Disney World for four wondeful years. My happiest childhood memories are from visits to Disney parks. That's the reason I believe this attraction has to be scrutinized. I do not want to see it closed, torn down and turned into another 100 acre wood (i.e. 20,000 leagues). There is obviously something that needs to be tweaked in order to ensure only qualified guests experence the attraction.

Let me tell you a story: It was the summer of 2000, and I was working at City Hall. We were about an hour away from park closing when we got the call that an alpha-unit (ambulance) was being dispatched to Space Mountain for guest injuries. My manager sent me to the Space Mountain loading dock with the Guest Relations van to do a transport to Celebration Hospital for the guests' family. I couldn't believe what I saw when I arrived. Two men were being loaded into ambulances with lacerations covering their faces. They were vacationing from Italy and spoke almost no English, but I did the best I could to comfort the family members and load them into the van for the ride to the hospital. When we arrived, they were already being treated in the emergency room. As is standard practice, I stayed at the hospital with the family until contacted by the park duty mangager or a representative from compliance (Disney's legal dept.). About thirty minutes after we arrived at Celebration Health, one of the family members asked me in broken English if Disney was going to pay for the treatment. A huge lump formed in my throat, because I knew I was never supposed to promise anything in this sort of situation. If I said yes, it could be construed as an admission of guilt on the company's behalf. I motioned to the woman that I was going to call and find out, so I excused myself and called MO-7 to reach the duty manager. When I was finally connected, he told me what had happened: The guests were riding Space Mountain when some glass tumblers another guest had brought on the ride fell out of a rocket above them and shattered. They just happened to pass underneath the falling shards at the exact moment that could cause the most injury. Then the duty manager hit me with it--the company would not be paying for the hospital treatment, because Disney was not at fault. My heart fell into my shoes. How the hell was I supposed to go back in the waiting room and tell the guests that Disney wasn't paying for anything, because neither the attraction nor a cast member caused the injuries?

That was one of my most difficult nights being a Guest Relations cast member. There is a vast difference in this world between legal responsibility and doing what is right. Paying for those guests to be treated that night would have been the right thing to do, even though Disney wasn't legally bound to do so. The bottom line is they wouldn't have incurred those injuries if they didn't ride Space Mountain. Sure, they could be walking down the street and the same thing could happen. But that day it happened on a Disney attraction, where people shouldn't have to worry about such things.

Could the German woman have died at any time from her high blood pressure? Could the little boy have died at any time from his heart condition? Sure. But they didn't. They died after riding Mission: Space. I think Disney has a responsibility to do what is right and ensure the chances of this happening again are drastically, drastically reduced.

[rudekick]

Thank you! Finally! That's the question I've been trying to raise this entire time: Could she understand the warning signs? If not, THAT is a problem. Does anyone know if there are warnings in German?

...

There is a vast difference in this world between legal responsibility and doing what is right. Paying for those guests to be treated that night would have been the right thing to do, even though Disney wasn't legally bound to do so. The bottom line is they wouldn't have incurred those injuries if they didn't ride Space Mountain. Sure, they could be walking down the street and the same thing could happen. But that day it happened on a Disney attraction, where people shouldn't have to worry about such things.

I understand and respect your instincts here, but can you see how your argument is a little ridiculous?

First: Were there warning signs in German? I doubt it. But should we have signs in dozens of different languages so we can warn every possible person of every possible thing? The entire queue would be one big disclaimer then, and research has shown that at a certain point, once you add too many disclaimers to something, adding more makes people LESS likely to read them. So adding more warnings to the already warning filled queue of M:S would probably have no effect, and would possibly have a negative effect, on informing guests.

Second: Disney should pay because it happened at Disney World??? What if I choke on a hot dog at the Magic Kingdom? Get sunburn flying on Dumbo? Get mowed down by a stroller by Spaceship Earth and break my leg? I'm sure there are dozens upon dozens of non-fatal injuries that occur at Disney theme parks every day that are not Disney's fault (so they don't pay) yet require some expenditure by guests to treat them. There's a reason why the law doesn't require Disney (or any other company) to pay for these things. First, it reduces the incentive for guests to take their own precaution, and guests are probably in the best position to prevent such accidents since they are the only people who are actually WITH them at all times. Second, it owuld be ridiculously expensive for Disney to do this. Think tickets to the parks are expensive now? Well, imagine implementing a "Disney pays for all boo boos that happen in the park" regime and watching ticket prices skyrocket to well over $150 per day. Sure, Disney would be a "magical place" where people don't have to worry about paying for bad things that happen to them once they are inside, but no one will go!

[FlatlandMounty]

Without sounding like a bigot. People really need to learn English before coming to America. Its one thing to live here and not know it, but its to the point now where you need it to vacation. Here's the thing. I've traveled all over the world, and I have been able to speak a combination of the native language using a translation book, plus English to figure out certain things. English is taught in elementary school WORLD WIDE. English is very slowly becoming an international language. Maybe I sound evil saying everyone should speak my language. I think everyone should speak 1 universal language, and right now that language is already English. I've met 4 year old Russian orphans in the outskirts of civilization in Druzbha, Russia that could read and understand simple English. So, I'd have to say if the sign was in English, Spanish, and French...Disney covered the three national languages of all the countries boardering the United States, and should be absolved of all blame.

[Cheshire Cat]

I agree with FlatlandMounty, Disney can't print warning signs in every language on earth. They should probably only be required to use the national language of the country they're in (but Spanish wouldn't hurt either), however, Disney should inform international guests that there are ride warnings posted in English and incapability to understand them rests on the liability of the guest

The difference between Mission: Space and "any thrill ride" is that you cannot see what happens on the attraction.

In the Mission:Space queue line there are videos showing exactly what the ride does and how it works, but these are probably overlooked by many people anyway. Instead of increasing the amount of warning signs, maybe they should make a more clearer description of what the ride actually does and how G forces can be a health risk to some people

[js3901]

It's been my experience that a good sized majority of Germans can understand/read English. I've been there personally and spoken to many of them who had a better grasp of the language than most Americans I know. I even went into one of the local high school English classes which was taught by an Englishman. We watched Forrest Gump that day too, so the kids could get a batter grasp of the accents and dialects of areas.

Now, could THIS woman read the language? We'll never know. If she could, she was properly warned. If not, it brings up a whole new debate which begs the question - she's visiting the US, where the vast majority of people speak/read English - should she have learned at least the basics before traveling? Plus, we need to look at the international language maps, which I believe may hold some basic warnings. Was she with a travel group where there was SOMEONE who could speak/read English and could have properly warned her/the group in their native tongue?

Something like this raises more questions than answers. And as far as who SHOULD pay vs who DOES pay... In the end, it comes down to insurance. Believe me, it's the insurance companies. I deal with it EVERY DAY. Sometimes, depending on the specific plan the member chooses, the member may end up owing something.

And, just because it's a DISNEY park, does that mean that you can let your guard down? I feel, because it IS a Disney park, the guard needs to be RAISED, not LOWERED. There are more people who visit Disney Parks than any other park in the world. With the more people, comes the higher possibility that something will happen. Could Disney have prevented the glass from hitting those Italians in Space Mountain you speak about, or the 4 year old and 49 year old from getting /dying on M:S? I highly doubt it.

[Cheshire Cat]

Question: How were they allowed to bring glass onto the ride?

[js3901]

it was probably in a gift bag that someone was holding.

[Cheshire Cat]

People shouldn't be allowed to bring anything on a ride...I think Disney should have paid for that one for letting them bring unsecure objects on (glass of all things)

[AKLRULZ]

Well there are brochures at Guest Relations in other languages that depcit the ride warnings, so really the argument that she couldn't read the signs might be valid but doesn't excuse her lack of understanding. If I'm in a foreign country I sure as heck do my best to try to acclimate myself and get a dagone interpretation of anything I'm unaware of.

And if you've ever waited in line for Mission: Space you CLEARLY understand what you're going to experience even though the attraction is hidden. You'll see video of exactly what happens and you are totally warned about spinning and high G-forces. So the excuse of not knowing what is going to happen really doesn't excuse high risk candidates - the warnings in and of themselve really should deter people with medical conditions.

I'm very sorry for this woman's family, but it's time people took accountability for their own actions and idicoies

[Lion Sleeps Tonight]

Wow, I just heard about this now from a roommate of mine. My father emailed me about some tragedy in WDW, but had no clue. My friend and I went on Mission Space on Wed- the day after. Sad to hear about incidents like this, no matter what the cause.