Boy, 4, Dies After Riding Epcot Ride @ Walt Disney World — Page 3

Sorry to be harsh but... None of us really wanted to hear that. You put me in an upset mood. Even though this is a place to display news, I really didn't need that ruining my day. Well, I'm going to Disney in August so thanks for the heads up about that dumb ride. I almost went on it a couple years ago... gosh.
Glad I didn't go on it. It sounds horrible! Well, does anyone know if that ride will be closed or if Disney will be sued or if the minimum height is raised or anything?

I feel bad for the family, but I don't think a four year old should go on a ride as intense as Misson:Space even if he's with an adult. Do they have one of those height rulers before you get on the ride?

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Terrible. Just terrible.
But I would think really hard before taking a four year old on Misson:Space. It is very intense, and younger kids shouldn't ride it.

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If there are any repercussions of this accident, the least they'll do is raise the height requirement. But considering how prominant the warnings already are, there's only so much more the park can do, short of requiring a doctor's note before riding.

This is just a tragic accident, and trying to decide who is more to "blame" is not what's important right now. Save the comments for when someone tries to sue Disney World over this.

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You really have to wonder about the reasoning all around. This is a very intense attraction and is described quite well in all of the current Disney-related guidebooks and web sites(I write for one, so I've been following this). The G-forces are so strong that they would not be permitted for a ride located in most other countries, and parents really should use some common sense when they take small children on rides of any kind. That being said, I have seen perfectly sane and sensible people turn into complete idiots when at Disney World. They seem to break down the ratio of dollars to minutes and are determined to get their money's worth! Almost all of the large rides that might not be suitable for children have a "child swap" provision whereby one adult can ride while the other waits with the kid and then they just change places without having to go to the back of the line. That works well, but may not have been clear to this family.
It is a tragedy for everyone, but I don't know what more the folks at Disney could have done. Health warnings are posted, but if there is an undiagnosed ailment, it is just waiting for something to trigger it.There is always a certain amount of risk when you ride anything,even at your local fireman's carnival and you need to check things out for yourself.
And yes,it is true that no one is ever pronounced dead in the "World"-keeping the illusion of the "Happiest Place on Earth" intact.

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Iflit - the combination of your post with your icon is amazingly . . . impactful.

Morosco - as Stonewall pointed out, this is WELL discussed in various sources completely available to the enquiring tourist. However, as many tourists show up wherever they are going completely ignorant of even the climate of their destination, this may be asking a bit too much.

"How are we ever to know..."

My heart goes out to the Bamuwamye family

Bucks County boy dies after ride at Disney

The Pa. designer of the attraction had been in litigation with Disney. Safety was one issue.

By Walter F. Naedele, Larry King and Christine Schiavo

Inquirer Staff Writers


A 4-year-old Sellersville boy died Monday at Walt Disney World after collapsing while riding a space flight simulator that has caused chest pains and nausea in older riders.

The ride, Mission: Space, is at the center of an ongoing federal lawsuit between the Bucks County company that originated the design and Disney - a suit in which public safety is among the issues.

Daudi Bamuwamye, son of a U.N. financial official from Uganda, was pronounced dead two hours after boarding the attraction at Epcot Center near Orlando, Fla.

The Orange County Sheriff's Office and Medical Examiner's Office were investigating.

Steve Hanson, chief investigator for the medical examiner, said a cause of death might not be known for weeks. An autopsy found no broken bones or other signs of trauma.

Hanson said there was no way yet of knowing whether the ride might have contributed to the death. Further tests will not be completed for several weeks.

The boy was at Epcot with his mother, Agnes, 40, and his sister, Ruth, 8. They were riding Mission: Space together when he became rigid and had to be carried off by his mother, a sheriff's office report said.

Designers have described the ride as "a multiple arm centrifuge which simulates space launch and reentry." The boy, at 3-foot-10, fulfilled the ride's 44-inch height requirement.

Ronald J. Tusa, a neurologist at Emory University who is not connected with the investigation, said yesterday that the child might have had a seizure while on the ride. The rigidity the mother described seeing in her son is typical of seizures, he noted.

Tusa, who runs a dizziness and balance center in Atlanta, and who has been on Mission: Space, said the G forces experienced on the ride are too low to cause harm.

Mission: Space opened to the public on Aug. 15, 2003.

In its first eight months of operation, six people were hospitalized for at least a day after riding the launch, according to the Florida Bureau of Fair Rides Inspection.

All were older than 55, and suffered nausea and chest pains. None was seriously injured.

That was the most hospital visits for any ride since 2001, when Florida's large theme parks agreed to report such incidents to the state. Disney began distributing sickness bags and posted additional signs warning that the ride was intense and riders should be in good health.

Only one hospitalization has occurred since early 2004. Some riders have speculated that Disney tamed the ride; company officials have said no "material change" was made.

Disney spokeswoman Jacquee M. Polak stated in an e-mail yesterday that "8.6 million guests have enjoyed Mission: Space without incident since the attraction opened in 2003."

She added: "We are saddened by this highly unusual event. Our first concern is for the family and we are doing everything we can to help them during this difficult time."

Florida requires no state inspection of parks, such as Disney World, that employ more than 1,000 people, said Jim Barber, a spokesman for the National Association of Amusement Ride Safety.

Florida also does not require theme parks to report injuries, said Robert Niles, founder of Theme Park Insider, an online consumer guide to amusement parks. Disney voluntarily has reported accidents, but tends only to report the most serious, Niles said.

Mission: Space warns riders of its dangers in writing, by video, and in an audio recording that plays in several languages to those in line, Niles said.

The ride was originally designed by a subsidiary of Environmental Tectonics Corp. of Upper Southampton, a company long immersed in flight-simulation technology.

In January 2000, the company signed a contract with Disney for more than $25 million. But well before the ride opened, the subsidiary - Entertainment Technology Corp. - sued Disney, alleging it had failed to fully pay for the design and construction of the ride.

The complaint included allegations that Disney had breached its contract by failing to let the designer do a final check on its safety. "If ETC is prevented from using its years of experience with human centrifuge systems to participate in the safety testing... then there are increased risks of injury to the public at large, and the associated increased risk of irreparable damage to ETC's reputation," the complaint said.

In August 2003, Disney filed counterclaims, alleging failures in Entertainment Technology's performance and design. Disney sought damages in excess of $65 million.

In court filings, Disney says it grew displeased with Entertainment Technology's work and by November 2001 had assumed responsibility for final engineering and approval of Mission: Space.

Disney said its engineers, whom it described as "some of the world's most experienced professionals in the area of ride safety," completed "exhaustive safety testing and hazard analysis of the ride," according to court records.

The case is pending in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia, tentatively scheduled for trial in September.

William F. Mitchell Jr., vice president of contracts for Environmental Tectonics, said yesterday that the company would have no comment on the boy's death or the lawsuit. Lawyers for Disney did not return calls seeking comment yesterday.

At the Bamuwamyes' home in Sellersville, Bucks County, yesterday, a neighbor described the family as religious and careful with their children.

James Nicholas, 45, who lives in the other half of the twin where the family of Moses and Agnes Bamuwamye reside on East Park Avenue, said the father often stayed in an apartment in Secaucus, N.J., during the work week to be closer to his office in Manhattan.

U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq said Moses Bamuwamye, 41, is "a financial management officer in the office of the controller, who handles the U.N.'s financial affairs."

The Bamuwamye family was "very religious," Nicholas said, and "the mother was very protective of the boy."

Daudi "seemed very thoughtful," Nicholas said. "He had these moments of solitude," sitting outside, alone and silent. "He was a thinker."

The incident report from the Orange County Sheriff's Office states that the mother, daughter and Daudi boarded Mission: Space at 3:14 p.m. Monday.

On the ride, Daudi sat between his mother and his sister, and "toward the end of the ride, [the mother] noticed her son's body was rigid and his legs were extended straight out," the report said.

"[She] thought that the ride was frightening her son and she grasped her son's hand to reassure him. When the ride ended [Daudi] was limp and unresponsive in his seat."

The mother picked up Daudi and ran to the nearest Disney employee, who summoned paramedics, the report said. At Celebration Hospital, Daudi was declared dead at 4:52 p.m.

Yeah, my mom told me about this yesterday. We're going to WDW on the 24th for a week. I had been going back and forth between whether I should go on this ride or not...I know some people that said they were fine, others who were nauseous for days. I considered taking dramamine, but then someone reminded me it might make me tired. My cousins went to Disney in November, my cousin who is nearly 40 took his son who was 7 on Mission Space. The 7-year old loved it, but the 40-year old said he was sick for days. I was leaning toward not going, feeling that I'd be happier missing a fun ride then going on it and being sick for the next couple of days. Now I certainly won't go on it.

My mom's starting ot gvet really protective and my older sister was excited to go on it and my mom said she's gonna do everything she can to have her not go. Guess we'll see.

What really pisses me off is this is what they replaced Horizons with!! I loved Horizons!

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"And yes,it is true that no one is ever pronounced dead in the "World"-keeping the illusion of the "Happiest Place on Earth" intact."

According to Snopes, that's not the case:
http://www.snopes.com/disney/parks/declare.htm

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Parks set height limits to boost safety


By Christopher Boyd | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted June 15, 2005


For Orlando's famed attractions, finding a balance between excitement and safety is critical.

The death of 4-year-old Daudi Bamuwamye after a ride Monday on Mission: Space at Walt Disney World's Epcot immediately raised questions not just about the ride's safety -- but how to judge what thrills are right for young visitors.

Amusement-industry experts say that Disney, Universal Orlando and other parks spend years developing and testing rides, designing equipment that seldom causes problems.

"Everything they can anticipate, they anticipate," said Bill Coan, a president of ITEC Entertainment Corp. and a former Disney executive. "They consider the emotions and the physical sensations that one might experience. It's involved."

But as safe as rides might be for fit adults, there are people, including young children, who might suffer ill effects. As a safety measure, the parks set height restrictions for would-be passengers, and they post signs advising those with medical conditions to avoid rides that might pose risks.

Theme parks use height restrictions such as the 44-inch minimum imposed on Mission: Space passengers to prevent children from boarding inappropriate rides. Those limits weed out small children. But Coan said parents need to make judgments of their own.

Beth Robertson, spokeswoman for the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, said injury is rare throughout her industry.

"Last year, 300 million guests took 1.5 billion rides," Robertson said. "The chance of being injured seriously enough to require overnight hospitalization is one in 10 million. The chance of being fatally injured is one in 790 million."

Robertson said amusement-park-ride designers adhere to safety standards set by the American Society for Testing and Materials. She said safety standards include passenger-height limits, restraints and gravitational forces created when the ride is in motion.

In addition to those standards, Robertson said 42 states, including Florida, have laws pertaining to amusement-park safety.

"With the big theme parks, safety is the No. 1 concern," said Steve Baker, principal of Baker Leisure Group in Orlando. "Disney rides get daily safety checks, daily maintenance, daily everything. In the area of safety, they are the best in the business."

Jerry Aldrich, president of Amusement Industry Consulting Inc. in Orlando, said passenger-height restrictions are a key safety measure. He said theme-park engineers consult the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Society of Automotive Engineers for data that correlate height with age.

"If you decide that your ride is appropriate for a child of four years and nine months, you look at the data and find a height," Aldrich said. "Height is the best way to screen people. It's something a ride operator can see."

At Universal Studios, for example, the Revenge of the Mummy ride requires that passengers be at least 48 inches tall. Back to the Future The Ride sets a minimum of 40 inches, but demands that those shorter than 48 inches be accompanied by an adult.

"You start with a concept and decide where you want to go," Aldrich said. "You then decide how you want to tell the story. Then you design restraints to protect the people. And then you decide the minimum age of a person who will take the ride."

Aldrich said rides are tested extensively with weighted figures that represent the sizes of people expected to take the ride.

"It can take three or four years to develop a ride," Aldrich said. "Disney can easily take longer."

Christopher Boyd can be reached at cboyd@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5723.


Copyright © 2005, Orlando Sentinel

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