4-year-old dies after riding Disney attraction

[coldfire409]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/06/14/disney ... index.html

A 4-year-old boy died after passing out aboard Walt Disney World's "Mission: Space," a ride so intense that it has motion sickness bags and several riders have been treated for chest pain.

Daudi Bamuwamye passed out Monday afternoon on the attraction, which simulates a rocket launch and trip to Mars. The Orange County Sheriff's Office said his mother carried him off the ride and employees helped her place him on a bench.

Paramedics tried to revive him, but he died at Celebration Hospital.

The sheriff's office said the boy did meet the minimum 44-inch height requirement for the ride at the Epcot theme park, which uses centrifugal force to simulate twice the normal force of gravity.

An autopsy was expected Tuesday to determine the cause of the boy's death.

Officials said the boy from Sellersville, Pennsylvania, was on the ride with his mother, Agnes, and a sister.

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

In 2003, Disney began placing motion sickness bags in the ride.

During an eight-month period in 2003-04, six people over age 55 were taken to hospitals for treatment of chest pain and nausea after riding "Mission: Space," though none of them was found to have any serious problem.

At that time, it was the most hospital visits for a single ride since Florida's major theme parks agreed in 2001 to report such problems to the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Updated figures were not immediately available.

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 at the Magic Kingdom. A medical examiner's report said her death "was not unexpected."

Signs warn visitors about the intensity of the "Mission: Space" ride.

"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," one sign on view last year said. Signs also warn pregnant women not to go on the ride.

Florida's major parks are not directly regulated by the Department of Agriculture; state law exempts large, permanent amusement parks that have their own inspectors from state oversight. But the parks agreed to share safety information in 2001.

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

[Anna]

I just wanted to give you all some support after the death of the child on Mission:Space. Even though it is through no fault of your own and most likely no fault of WDW, it is never easy to deal with a death of a guest. A family member of mine witnessed the fall of the guest on Revenge of the Mummy at Universal studios. The guest later died and it was very hard to deal with even though no one was really at fault. Take time to deal with any pain/guilt you may be experiencing. Shit happens and even though you had no fault in this, it is still painful.

[IndyandMarion]

While I normally feel no simpathy for people who go on rides that state "Could aggrivate these conditions" simply because I think that if you have one of those conditions, you should have the common sense to think of that chance, no matter how small and opt out of any ride. In this case I can't say much about the boy yet since the results aren't out yet.

However, Im interested to see the results tomorrow morning. While talking to a few people I know, they agree that a four year old would have to be pratically growing like 5 inches a day to be 44'. I still think that someone wasn't checking the height properly (Tip toes, stuffing shoes).

Still, there might have been some condition that the boy had that was there, but his doctor or parents never caught it. Guess we'll have to wait.

Never heard about the 77 year old woman on Pirates though...

[pnutshuman]

you never know about height. my son turned 2 in april and is 37 inches tall already, he is very tall for his age. we have already decided we wont take him on a ride just because he is tall enough, he has to be both physically and mentally ready for it. im interested in the results as well.
Marci

[leftcoaster]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - A 4-year-old boy died after passing out aboard Walt Disney World’s “Mission: Space,” a ride so intense that it has motion sickness bags and several riders have been treated for chest pain.

Daudi Bamuwamye died Monday afternoon on the attraction, which simulates a rocket launch and trip to Mars.

The Orange County Sheriff’s office said the boy met the minimum 44-inch height requirement for the ride at the Epcot theme park, which uses centrifugal force to simulate twice the normal force of gravity.

An autopsy was expected later Tuesday to determine the cause of the boy’s death.

Boy was rigid, then limp

Officials said the boy, from Sellersville, Pa., was on the ride with his mother, Agnes, 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 ended, the victim was limp and unresponsive in his seat,” according to a sheriff’s office report.

Paramedics tried to revive him, but he died at Celebration Hospital.

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

Motion sickness bags

In 2003, Disney began placing motion sickness bags in the ride.

During an eight-month period in 2003-04, six people over age 55 were taken to hospitals for treatment of chest pain and nausea after riding “Mission: Space,” though none of them was found to have any serious problem.

At that time, it was the most hospital visits for a single ride since Florida’s major theme parks agreed in 2001 to report such problems to the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Updated figures were not immediately available.

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 at the Magic Kingdom. A medical examiner’s report said her death “was not unexpected.”

Warning signs

Signs warn visitors about the intensity of the “Mission: Space” ride.

“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,” one sign on view last year said. Signs also warn pregnant women not to go on the ride.

Florida’s major parks are not directly regulated by the Department of Agriculture; state law exempts large, permanent amusement parks that have their own inspectors from state oversight. But the parks agreed to share safety information in 2001.

Disney officials said in a statement after the boy’s death that they were “providing support to the family and are doing everything we can to help them during this difficult time.”

[BirdMom]

That's a shame. I feel bad for the mother, but if the child wasn't tall enough to meet the height requirement, what was he doing on the ride?

We have those same warning signs in California - I originally remember them from the 70's when our Space Mtn. first opened. They are in Indy, Star Tours - you'd have to be extremely distracted not to see a single one, because they are all over the friggen queues.

If it turns out that this was one of those cases where the parent made a stink to supervisors/lead/managers about getting the too-small child onto the attraction, the company should not be liable at all. Sympathetic, yes. Liable for big bucks, no.

I don't know how many parents we've argued with over the years about the height requirements, and for those who take the time to listen, we would tell them that the company engineers in consultation with pediatricians determine what is the minumum height out of concern for their children's safety. If a person is too small to ride, it means that their skeletal-muscular system is too immature to be subjected to the forces that the attraction will be placing on it and that the child could suffer a broken neck or worse.

I would hate to exploit this child's tragedy, but if I were still an attractions hostess and had yet another parent giving me attitude about getting their too-small kid onto my ride, I would very quietly say "sir/ma'am, I know you just want your kid to have the same fun that you're having, but our sister park in Florida had a boy who was too small for the height requirement die on Mission Space because his body couldn't take what you want to subject your own child to..." and leave it at that.

[kimpossible33]

^First post: "The sheriff's office said the boy did meet the minimum 44-inch height requirement for the ride."

[kimpossible33]

^First post: "The sheriff's office said the boy did meet the minimum 44-inch height requirement for the ride."

Fifth post: "The Orange County Sheriff’s office said the boy met the minimum 44-inch height requirement for the ride."

[BirdMom]

^First post: "The sheriff's office said the boy did meet the minimum 44-inch height requirement for the ride."

Fifth post: "The Orange County Sheriff’s office said the boy met the minimum 44-inch height requirement for the ride."

my bad - i read too fast sometimes...

[leftcoaster]

New update from a friend of mine on the East coast:

Autopsy Inconclusive In Child's Death At Epcot
Boy Passes Out On Ride, Paramedics Unable To Revive Him

POSTED: 10:26 am EDT June 14, 2005
UPDATED: 6:34 pm EDT June 14, 2005

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- It may be several weeks before Florida medical officials know why a young Sellersville, Pa. boy died after he was on a space-simulation ride at Epcot.

An autopsy Tuesday on Daudi Bamuwamye, 4, showed no trauma, so further tests will be conducted and a cause of death may not be known for several weeks, said Sheri Blanton, a spokeswoman for the Medical Examiner's Office in Orlando.

"Now it's going to be a matter of, 'If it wasn't trauma, what did it?"' Blanton said.

Bucks County neighbors of the little boy are shocked and saddened by his passing.

Those who know the Bamuwamye family told NBC 10 said they are a good, hard-working family, and the mother decided to take her children to Florida for a vacation while her husband was out of the country on business.

Daudi died Monday afternoon after going on a ride that simulates a rocket launch and trip to Mars. Officials said the boy from Sellersville, Pa., was on the ride with his mother, Agnes, and his eight-year-old sister, Ruth.

"Daudi was just a wonderful little boy," said James Nicholas, a neighbor in Sellersville. "I can't think of anything in the world that would be worse than having a child taken away from a parent."

Copyright 2005 by NBC10.com The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The same friend also mentioned that the local tv stations interviewed some of the neighbors and the kid was born pre-mature, and also had multiple health problems.