Annual Injury Report

[Cheshire Figment]

Orlando-area theme parks rack up 9 injuries in quarter

Jason Garcia | Sentinel Staff Writer
January 15, 2009

A broken leg, loss of consciousness and seizures were among nine significant injuries reported by Florida's major theme parks during the final months of 2008, according to filings released Wednesday by the state.

Florida's big parks -- Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando, SeaWorld Orlando and Wet 'n Wild, along with Busch Gardens in Tampa -- are exempt from state ride-safety regulation. They only submit reports every three months containing basic details of significant injuries, which are typically defined as any requiring an immediate hospital stay of at least 24 hours.

The list of injuries from October to December included a 68-year-old man who suffered chest pain after riding Universal's The Simpsons Ride on Nov. 1. It was the first injury reported on the popular attraction, which opened last spring, and the only injury mentioned by Universal.

Walt Disney World reported seven injuries. They included a 41-year-old woman whose right leg became numb after riding the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror; a 61-year-old man who broke a leg after falling while attempting to board Splash Mountain; and a 79-year-old woman who lost consciousness after complaining of being dizzy and hot after riding on Tomorrowland Speedway.

There were also seizures on Peter Pan's Flight, It's a Small World and Kilimanjaro Safari, and a complaint of becoming dizzy and disoriented on Space Mountain.

Wet 'n Wild reported a 53-year-old man who suffered a head injury on The Storm. Neither SeaWorld nor Busch Gardens reported any injuries for the quarter.

For all of 2008, the parks reported a combined 42 injuries: 30 at Disney, six at Universal, four at Wet 'n Wild, two at SeaWorld and none at Busch Gardens.

[hobie16]

It's a good thing the hotels in West Maui don't have to report the mid-50s-year-old-out-of-shape-man-found-floating-in-the-water category. We'd never see any middle-aged tourists again.

[mechurchlady]

I love the way they make it 24 hour stay in a hospital to qualify. For guests who check in and leave that day they are left out. So what is the real number of injuries? considering the amount of people in the Orlando area parks you would think there would be more strokes, heart attacks, and stuff reported.

The parks are safe as you can see. ;)

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

It's a good thing the hotels in West Maui don't have to report the mid-50s-year-old-out-of-shape-man-found-floating-in-the-water category. We'd never see any middle-aged tourists again.

Is that after thirty years behind a desk, then going on vacation and (last words heard) Hey, I used to body surf when I was twenty!!

hehehehehe

should stayed on the beach and.....

had some RUM!!!!

[BRWombat]

I love the way they make it 24 hour stay in a hospital to qualify. For guests who check in and leave that day they are left out. So what is the real number of injuries? considering the amount of people in the Orlando area parks you would think there would be more strokes, heart attacks, and stuff reported.

The parks are safe as you can see. ;)

Better yet, if they die within 24 hours of arriving at the hospital -- hey, no significant injury! :p:

[DisneyMom]

Actually, I think it may still be that All deaths for a certain amount of time after any hospitalization are tracked by someone or another, this is a factor in how hospitals are rated
So in theory, if a patient dies of unrelated causes a few weeks after being hospitalized for a roller-coaster boo-boo, the hospital rating gets affected.....

[drcorey]

and a lot of this is caused by free trips,
people should try to look where they are going....