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Archive through July 17, 2005

The TVClubHouse: General Discussions ARCHIVES: 2005 Jun. ~ Aug.: GOING TO DISNEY! ~tips needed~ (ARCHIVES): Archive through July 17, 2005 users admin

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Zachsmom
Moderator

07-13-2000

Sunday, June 12, 2005 - 3:57 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Glad you had a great time Ddr! I love Epcot. You could spend a week there and not see everything. I am hoping to take Zachary in 2 years.

Reader234
Member

08-13-2000

Sunday, June 12, 2005 - 4:52 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
HOw wonderful for you Ddr, and you found a secret way in to avoid traffic!! WTG!! Awesome!! I truly love the magic of Disney! I didnt know you went during Star Wars - I heard it was really crowded with 'hunters' too - they have a special Darth Mickey, and pins, that are of course being sold on ebay!! lol, Disney is now selling them too, I ordered 2, they should be here in September (dont know why it will take till Sept!! lol)

We lucked into that spot of Tink too, its still amazing, I read somewhere how much she makes, and how many are trained to do that stunt!

I cant wait to see the castle in gold... were you able to ride Soarin - in Epcot, they have it in Disneyworld, but its new to DisneyWorld, you are in front of a screen, and feel like you're hang gliding? Since its new I hear the lines are very long!!

I've never done RnR cant wait to try that too!!

Glad you had a great time!! :-)

Ddr
Member

08-19-2001

Sunday, June 12, 2005 - 6:00 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
I opted out of Soarin due to the fact I usually get really sick & dizzy on that particular type of ride. The last one I did a few years ago, I was terribly dizzy and nauseous. The others enjoyed it though! If I remember right they used the fast pass on that one. I found the lines weren't terribly long, we used fast pass on a few of them.

Reader, had I known about the Darth Mickey, I would have loved to have got one for you!!!!

Reader234
Member

08-13-2000

Sunday, June 12, 2005 - 6:29 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Ddr, I almost posted about that motion sickness, but I thought since you talked about both the roller coaster, and MISSION SPACE - that you had no problems with motion!!

You are too kind!! Bless you D!!

Ddr
Member

08-19-2001

Sunday, June 12, 2005 - 6:34 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
LOL, isn't that strange that I get sick on that particular type of ride? A rollercoaster can flip me over 20 times, I'm fine. Watch a film flying over something, blech!

Not1worry
Member

07-30-2002

Monday, June 13, 2005 - 11:15 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
How rough was Mission Space? We didn't ride it last year because we'd heard the motion sickness was terrible. My kids, now 9 & 7, think they might want to try it this year, but I'm afraid it will be too much for them. They loved Test Track, but that was mostly flat.

Good tip on the shuttles and the islands! My kids love the look of the pool there, so I think that is going to be our choice. We'd have to win the lotto to stay at the Polynesian I guess.

Ddr
Member

08-19-2001

Monday, June 13, 2005 - 11:34 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Mission Space was fine for me. The only part that scared me was the barf bags provided, lol.

Deesandy
Member

08-12-2003

Tuesday, June 14, 2005 - 7:49 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Boy, 4, Dies After Going on Disney Ride

By MIKE SCHNEIDER, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 26 minutes ago

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - A 4-year-old boy died after a spin on a Walt Disney World spaceship ride so intense that some riders have been taken to the hospital with chest pain.
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Daudi Bamuwamye lost consciousness Monday aboard "Mission: Space," which spins riders in a giant centrifuge that subjects them to twice the normal force of gravity. The boy's mother carried him off the ride, and paramedics and a theme park worker tried to revive him, but he died at a hospital.

An autopsy was scheduled Tuesday to determine the cause of death.

The sheriff's office said the boy met the minimum 44-inch height requirement for the ride.

The $100 million ride, one of Disney World's most popular, was closed after the death but reopened Tuesday after company engineers concluded that it was operating normally.

Disney officials said in a statement that they were "providing support to the family and are doing everything we can to help them during this difficult time."

The ride recreates a rocket launch and a trip to Mars. A clock counts down before a simulated blastoff that includes smoke and flame and the sound of roaring rocket engines. The G-forces twist and distort riders' faces.

An audio recording and a video warn of the risks. Signs advise pregnant women not to go on the ride. Motion sickness bags are offered to riders. One warning sign posted last year 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."

Since the attraction opened in 2003, seven people have been taken to the hospital for chest pains, fainting or nausea. That is the most hospital visits for a single ride since Florida's major theme parks agreed in 2001 to report any serious incidents to the state. The most recent case was last summer, when a 40-year-old woman was taken to a hospital after fainting.

"Two Gs is not that big a deal," said Houston-based theme park consultant Randy King, a former safety director at Six Flags, which operates 30 amusement parks.

The boy from Sellersville, Pa., was on the ride with his mother and a sister. During the ride, the mother noticed that Daudi's body was rigid and his legs were stretched straight out. She told detectives that she thought he was frightened, so she took his hand. When the ride was over, he had gone limp.

One other death was reported at Disney World this year. A 77-year-old woman who was in poor health from diabetes and several ministrokes died in February after going on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. A medical examiner's report said her death "was not unexpected."

Florida's major theme parks not directly regulated by the state, and instead have their own inspectors.

Karuuna
Member

08-31-2000

Tuesday, June 14, 2005 - 8:55 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Oh my! That poor family! I'll be skipping that ride!

Ddr
Member

08-19-2001

Wednesday, June 15, 2005 - 4:29 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Cast Member that was with us commented several times prior to us riding that ride how intense it was and how nauseous it had made her. Cast members will go on new rides prior to it opening to the public, kind of like guinea pigs. She didn't come on the ride with us. So, after we had rode the ride and didn't find it too strenuous, she thought maybe they had slowed it down some since they had ridden it. Guess not. How sad for that family.

Also, I'd like to mention, on Space Mountain, always keep your hands to your sides and never stand up in that ride. You don't want to know what can happen if you don't.

Froggiegirl621
Member

02-14-2003

Wednesday, June 15, 2005 - 8:00 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Ddr - I've seen the inside of Space Mountain with the lights on. Holy crap! 'Nuff said.

My heart breaks for the family. And all I had to read was that they provide "barf bags" for the riders and that was it for me. I get car sick just going to Walmart!


Twiggyish
Member

08-14-2000

Thursday, June 16, 2005 - 2:16 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
That ride made my husband and I very sick when it first opened. It took us literally hours to feel better. It throws your head back and you are pinned to your seat. You can't close your eyes because the dizziness and vertigo do not go away. I totally agree that it is a very intense ride. (not for everyone)
I know this family had no way of knowing that it would affect their son. What a very sad tragedy!!

Sherbabe
Member

07-28-2002

Thursday, June 16, 2005 - 5:21 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
I went on that ride last year. Somehow, I was seperated from my husb/son. They disembarked fine. I had to sit on seats immediately getting off ride. Could not get focused, felt absolutely terrible. Would never go on that ride again. That attraction is certainly not for 4 yr old children.

Colordeagua
Member

10-25-2003

Friday, June 17, 2005 - 7:14 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Froggie, What does the inside of Space Mountain look like? I've only been to Disney World a couple times and rode Space Mountain once each. Got the idea you get way high up with what I sense is not a lot of support / protection around you? I am afraid of heights. So even though it was very dim, I kept my eyes shut mostly.

Reader234
Member

08-13-2000

Friday, June 17, 2005 - 7:53 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
CNN, or the Headline News Cable in Muncie IN did a wonderful informative special on this - think of an arm, your hand, and fingers... at the end of your fingers there are "pods" that seat one person, in an over the shoulder harness... The NASA ride that the Astronauts use is just one "arm" and one "capsule" that spins, the Disney Imagineers used that to model this ride, according to the special, and they had an astronaut that said the ride is very, very comparable to the ride he had at NASA!

Also, on the special, they showed an African American family of 5 getting ready to ride this (I dont know when this was filmed!) The mom stopped and read all the cautions, the Cast Member measured her youngest son (age 5 or 6, very skinny) the family was mom, dad, 3 kids - one ten ish, one teenage ish, one young...

The scarriest thing I ever saw was they showed this young boy appear to "black out" momentarily mind you, but it was very disturbing! Afterwards, the family talked about how awesome the ride was, how exciting, etc, the young boy, well he was always 'shy' for the camera, he had the cutest smile... after the ride, he literally hid behind his mom! His mom was sitting next to him, so the pods arent independent, but the diagram they showed the easist to explain is think of the end of your fingers as the "pods"

hth

Reader234
Member

08-13-2000

Friday, June 17, 2005 - 8:00 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
oops you want Space mountain...

somewhere on this site there is a video download

http://www.geoffreynease.com/download.php



Deesandy
Member

08-12-2003

Saturday, June 18, 2005 - 3:54 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Oversight Sought After Disney World Death

ORLANDO, Fla. - If state inspectors who regulate Florida's thrill rides want to look into why a 4-year-old boy died this week after going on "Mission: Space" at Walt Disney World, they're going to need permission from the theme park. That's because Disney World and the state's other big theme parks are exempt from most Florida laws governing carnival and amusement park rides.

"We don't have the authority to close the park down or close the ride down," said Rob Jacobs, chief of the Bureau of Fair Rides Inspection.

Given the theme park industry's political clout in the state, there's little chance Florida's lawmakers will undo the 1989 law that protects it. But the death on Monday of Daudi Bamuwamye has led to renewed calls for federal oversight of the industry.

Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., has been trying for years to end a 1981 loophole created for the nation's amusement park industry that lets the
Consumer Product Safety Commission regulate rides at traveling carnivals but not at fixed theme parks.

Last month, Markey introduced a bill that would restore the federal agency's oversight of permanent rides. State regulation has been insufficient, the congressman said in an e-mail after Daudi's death, adding that the industry "is in denial."

"States are only responsible for their own jurisdictions, so rides get fixed only one state at a time even when there are similar rides in dozens of states," Markey said.

Currently, the nation's theme and amusement parks are regulated by a patchwork system of state and private inspectors. Eleven states do not regulate rides, and 13 states don't require public reporting of amusement park accidents, according to Saferparks, a California-based group that is pushing for greater ride safety.

Theme park industry leaders said there is no need for federal oversight.

"Under the current system of state and local oversight, we've produced an exceptionally safe record," said Beth Robertson of the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions. "The likelihood of being injured on a ride ... is 1 in 10 million. The chance of being fatally injured is 1 in 790 million."

Daudi, a boy from Sellersville, Pa., died after going on a huge centrifuge that simulates a rocket launch. The ride is so intense that it has motion sickness bags and several riders have been treated for chest pain. Investigators have yet to establish the cause of death.

Despite a renewed focus on safety following the boy's death, Floridians should not expect any changes to the state law that exempts large parks, said Democratic state Sen. Steve Geller.

"It wouldn't pass," he said.

The state's major theme parks are some of Florida's largest private employers and represent a major contributor to the state's $57 billion tourism industry.

In 1989, following a carnival ride death in his district, Geller pushed vigorously for state inspectors to examine thrill rides, but was met with fierce opposition from Disney officials who argued that only their inspectors had the expertise to evaluate the resort's sophisticated rides. A compromise was reached that exempted parks that had more than 1,000 employees and their own ride inspectors. That elite group now is made up of Disney World, Universal Orlando, Sea World and Busch Gardens.

As a result, the 15 inspectors at the Florida Bureau of Fair Ride Inspection can at any time enter smaller amusement parks and carnivals, inspect a ride and conduct tests. They cannot do so at the large parks.

Smaller theme parks and carnivals are required by Florida law to report to the bureau a death or serious accident within four hours. The larger parks are only required to make quarterly reports about such cases, and even that is voluntary, a result of an agreement reached in 2001.

Across the nation, states have a hodgepodge of regulations.

States that don't regulate rides include Alabama, Arizona, Kansas, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah and Wyoming. In Nevada, rides are regulated at the county or city level. In Delaware, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon and Vermont, rides are inspected by the parks' insurance carriers.

On Thursday, the California Supreme Court made it easier to sue amusement parks for injuries by ruling that operators of amusement park rides must be held to the same safety standards that apply to buses, planes and other forms of transportation. The case arose from a 23-year-old woman who sued the Walt Disney Co. over a brain injury she suffered on a ride at Disneyland.

The ruling will hold ride operators more accountable, said theme park consultant Dennis Speigel in Cincinnati.

"With the nice little publicity it got on the heels of the death at Disney, it certainly will be looked" at by other states, Speigel said. "Not a good week."

Deesandy
Member

08-12-2003

Wednesday, July 13, 2005 - 5:50 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Disney World on Wednesday reopened a thrill ride that was closed when a 16-year-old British girl almost died of cardiac arrest after riding it.

Disney had invited an official from the state Bureau of Fair Rides and Exhibitions to monitor a Tuesday night inspection of the "Twilight Zone Tower of Terror," which the park does not typically do, in an apparent effort to calm any public anxiety caused by its second medical emergency involving a child in a month.

"I think they felt, in an abundance of caution, they wanted to help the public understand they're doing everything necessary to make sure the rides are safe," said Liz Compton, a spokeswoman for the Bureau of Fair Rides and Exhibitions.

Florida's major theme parks are not directly regulated by the state, and instead have their own inspectors.

Leanne Deacon, of Kibworth, England, remained in critical condition Wednesday after suffering cardiac arrest Tuesday minutes after exiting the attraction, which depicts a haunted elevator ride that plunges more than 100 feet.

Compton said there have been three incidents on the Tower of Terror since the state began collecting reports — all requiring hospitalization but none serious. In 2003, a 47-year-old woman had claustrophobia and an anxiety attack. A year later, a 45-year-old woman suffered chest pains. In 2004, a 62-year-old man was hospitalized with the same ailment.

Compton said those figures were particularly low for a high-use ride. The tower opened in 1994.

Deacon's illness came a month after a 4-year-old Pennsylvania boy, Daudi Bamuwamye, died after riding another Disney World attraction, Epcot's "Mission: Space." That ride is so intense that it has motion sickness bags and several riders have been treated for chest pain. An elderly, diabetic woman also died in February after riding the Magic Kingdom's "Pirates of the Caribbean," but the medical examiner said her death "was not unexpected."

Officials did not release precise details of what happened to Deacon, and her family declined interview requests through a hospital spokeswoman, but police said she felt nauseous and dizzy after leaving the Tower of Terror.

She thought she would quickly recover, but park workers who noticed her called an emergency crew anyway. Before she got to the hospital, her condition deteriorated so rapidly that her heart stopped beating and she had to be resuscitated, Orange County sheriff's spokesman Jim Solomons said. A witness who called 911 said Deacon was shaking badly.

On the Tower of Terror, decorated as a haunted hotel, riders are placed in an elevator that shoots up 13 stories and then plummets back twice. Disney warns riders that they should be "in good health and free from high blood pressure, heart, back or neck problems, motion sickness, or other conditions that could be aggravated by this adventure." Pregnant women are advised not to ride.

In a written statement Wednesday, Disney officials said engineers deemed the ride safe and reiterated concern for the girl and her family. The company did not return repeated calls seeking additional information.




Not1worry
Member

07-30-2002

Thursday, July 14, 2005 - 5:38 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
I like Space Mountain exactly because it is dark. I can't see everything that scares me! That being said, I rode it with my then 8 yr old DS last year, thinking it wouldn't be so bad. Both he and I were a little shaky coming out, but then again we don't like coasters.

DH rode Tower of Terror last year and nothing bothers him. He's airborne infantry with over 125 jumps, so coasters and rides are nothing. Funny thing is, he can't swing in a hammock without getting sick.

It looks like we are going the beginning of October! DH got the time off from work, so now I just have to decide which resort to stay at. I can't wait.

Allietex
Member

08-16-2002

Thursday, July 14, 2005 - 9:49 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
I am very prone to motion sickness, but a dose of Dramamine every morning took care of all my problems for the day. I was there nine days a couple of years ago and rode every ride and roller coaster and had no sickness problems. You treat these rides just as you would motion sickness when you fly. And BTW I am in my 60's.

My youngest grandson was a tall four year old at the time and made the height requirements for all the rides and roller coasters except the Rocket. I think that is the name. The one that goes from 0 to 60 in like 10 seconds or so. He cried because they would not let him ride it.

I tell you this kid is absolutely fearless. He rode everything and went back for more. It was so funny in the Tower of Terror. A young man was going to opt out and take the panic trail back out unitl he saw my grandson and found out he was only four and going to ride. He couldn't let a four year old beat him so he hung in there and later when we got off, he told us how much he liked it and shook my grandson's hand.





Bob2112
Member

06-12-2002

Friday, July 15, 2005 - 7:07 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
My kids were 3½ and 5½ when they first rode the Tower Of Terror, back when it first opened. Back then the ride was pretty much just one big drop and the engineers have since modified the program to be more intense (read fun) and it seems to randomly change the drop/rise pattern between rides. The drops are actually accelerated, so you are falling faster than gravity would accelerate you.

My son and I have logged over 50 drops and the best seat is the one in the middle where you just have a lap belt and nothing in front of you.


Pamy
Member

01-02-2002

Friday, July 15, 2005 - 7:16 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
I got tricked into riding the TOT!!! I had no idea what it would do, you can't see the ride cuz it's inside. Friends said it was cool like Haunted House , I about shit my pants when it went down...just when I thought it was over we went down AGAIN! and this time faster and longer!!!!! I shoulda bought the pic they took of us on the ride, I am hugging my then 5 yr old with my head burried in his chest...he was sitting there looking strraight ahead with a smile!!!!! LOL

Happymom
Member

01-20-2003

Saturday, July 16, 2005 - 5:13 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
LOL Pamy!

We went to Disneyland and CA Adventure a few wk ago, very fun! TOT seemed to be the most popular ride! I do not like that dropping sensation, my kids and husband loved the ride! I did go on it, it wasn't too bad. I think Disney does a superb job of all the little details with everything especially in the hotel lobby part of this ride. All the dust, cobwebs, old fashioned keys behind the desk...etc.

I recently saw a show on Disney thrill rides in Fla. I would LOVE to go on the Mission Space ride!

Here's a tip for CA Adventure to ride TOT...be in line to get into the park right when the gates open. Rush immed. to the TOT and get a FastPass. We did this, so did everyone else there! The park opened at 10 am. The Fastpass return time continually kept changing because they were going so fast. We rode the ride around noon or 1pm. By then, there were no more fast passes being distributed for the day, which means... that they ran out very early. The park closed at 8 or 9 om that day. As we rushed with the crowd to the TOT at opening, by the time we got to the ride to get the Fastpasses, the line to actually ride the ride right then was past an hour wait.

For Disneyland and CA Adventure in general, we did not stand in any long lines. (We did have 4 full days there, although, we spent one afternoon at the Disneyland Neverland Pool and the Paradise Pier Hotel pool.) We did all the big rides except Splash Mountain. We got fastpasses for everything we could. We rode Pir. of Carib right after Fantasmic and had almost no wait. We semi planned things and were very flexible, which meant changing our plans at a moment's notice depending on lines and Fastpass return times. We also did no rushing around! (The four things we didn't get to do that we really wanted besides Splash Mountain were Tom Sawyer's Island, the Snow White Musical, and Innoventions, and the Electrical Light Parade. But, with more scheduling, less shopping and a little rushing, we could have done them. We did choose to forgo those to go on some things twice or more, Pir of Carib, Maliboomer, CA Screamin.)

If you like roller coasters, CA screamin is VERY smooth. I went on it once. I don't like roller coasters. However, for those who do, they'll love this!

Must sees/dos:
1. Fantasmic except for the young kids, it may be too scary. We camped out, got there 2 hr early and it was very worth it. We had a big blanket and cards, pens and paper. We set up right near the lights that shine across to the island where the stage is. Hubby and I took turns taking kids to get food and bring it back and to go to the restroom. Because we set up near a small roped off walkway right by the huge lights, we didn't have to crawl over many people to get back to our blanket. We stayed right there for the best fireworks show I've ever seen. We saw the fireworks 5 nights, but to sit and listen to the story was awesome.

2. CA Adventure Grizzly Run rapids raft ride (I got completely soaked, we wore our bathing
3. CA Adv. Soaring Over CA
4. CA Adv. Redwood Play area ... a must for younger kids, do it first before kids get tired and before it gets too hot. We did it right after getting FastPasses for Grizzly run which we did right when we walked in the park from CA Adv. hotel entrance which we could use because we stayed at the Paradise Pier Disney hotel.
5. The Aladdin play in CA Adv. It is awesome! Excellent! Very funny too! Very entertaining!

Those are the things that stick in my mind. Space Mtn. was still closed. I love It's a Small World, it was closed last time we went to Disneyland, so it was really nice to see it again.

Wargod
Moderator

07-16-2001

Saturday, July 16, 2005 - 6:41 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
LOL Pamy, he sounds like Dakota! We did space mountain last weekend and Darren and Dakota got to sit in the front row. The two of them were so funny, they were so excited both of them were almost bouncing out of the car! And then talked the rest of the day how awesome it was to be right up front. The picture was so funny, cuz both of them are just laughing, and poor Caleb sitting next to me looks like he's ready to puke. (Picture is funny cuz of Darren and Dakota, not Caleb!)

Pamy
Member

01-02-2002

Sunday, July 17, 2005 - 10:26 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
LOL War!!!!

Cool update Happy!!