Stupid Guest Tricks

Four words I don't like hearing. Usually means the ride has been E-Stopped (lovely) with guests on it ( great!).
Outdoor attraction have major drawbacks. They can not operate in certain weather, and guests find a way into the track (ride) area. Whether hopping fences that say "WARNING" "DANGER: TRAINS CYCLE WITH OUT WARNING" or just walking the off limits perimeter, they get back there.

Usually looking for a phone or hat, they are oblivious to the fact that they are no longer in the park, but on an off-stage area.

I don't get what goes through their minds as they hope a fence ( there for reason) to retrieve an article that most likely didn't survive the fall (phones).
Obviously, signs are for decoration, and fences are to climb for exercise, at least in the mind of an SG.

Teddykeiko86 wrote:I don't get what goes through their minds as they hope a fence ( there for reason) to retrieve an article that most likely didn't survive the fall (phones).

I suspect mainly air is what goes through the cavity that normally would house one's gray matter. :)

I suppose some of these folks are desperate to be nominated for a Darwin Award.

The follow-up is usually the family of the Darwin Award contestant suing the park because there were not enough signs or fences. I know of a case where the family claimed the park was in the wrong because the gates he went through (to get backstage) and the 6ft. (locked) fence he went over (into the ride area), only had signage in English. And unfortunately, they often cause others to get hurt in their attempts to retrieve the article. :mad: He died but before that happened he shattered a woman's leg (she was on the ride)with his skull. Since this occurred at the first drop of the ride, she was forced to endure the G-forces of the rest of the coaster ride with a broken leg.

techie-13 wrote:He died but before that happened he shattered a woman's leg (she was on the ride)with his skull. Since this occurred at the first drop of the ride, she was forced to endure the G-forces of the rest of the coaster ride with a broken leg.

Great googly-moogly! As if having the trauma of not only being injured on the ride, but not knowing how badly the other person was, wasn't bad enough!

If I was the park, I would be tempted to tell the family that sued them that the park, in turn, would back a suit by the injured guest against the family for the physical injuries and the mental anguish caused because this fellow couldn't figure out a locked gate and tall fence meant "keep out".

Personally I've always thought it would be appropriate for the SG (or their family, which most likely shares the same bad genes that need to be chlorinated out of the pool) to be used by the theme park and all the other guests for inconvenience, interruption of operations, loss of income and general trauma.

techie-13 wrote:The follow-up is usually the family of the Darwin Award contestant suing the park because there were not enough signs or fences. I know of a case where the family claimed the park was in the wrong because the gates he went through (to get backstage) and the 6ft. (locked) fence he went over (into the ride area), only had signage in English. And unfortunately, they often cause others to get hurt in their attempts to retrieve the article. :mad: He died but before that happened he shattered a woman's leg (she was on the ride)with his skull. Since this occurred at the first drop of the ride, she was forced to endure the G-forces of the rest of the coaster ride with a broken leg.

Sounds urban myth time.

Do you have a park and year for this? I'd love to look it up and see how stupid the court case was too.

Thanks!

MAPO

I can vouch for that one, although I can't name the specific park (but it was a Six Flags). The coaster was a Batman style...might even have been one of the Batmans. I don't have time to do my google fu right now but it's pretty easy to find. I never heard about the broken leg but sadly the rest of the story is pretty much true.

I believe it was Great America in Santa Clara, CA.

mapo wrote:Sounds urban myth time.

Do you have a park and year for this? I'd love to look it up and see how stupid the court case was too.

Thanks!

MAPO

The park was Paramount's Great America.
The ride was Top Gun

Here is a link to a story about the accident
Bizarre Coaster Accident Kills Hayward Man at Great America

And because I am an currently out of work student and I'm a cheapskate(gotta save $ for my next Disney trip) here is a cut and paste of an article... (The San Jose Mercury wants you to pay to access the actual article.)

Article 3 of 8, Article ID: 9909100019
Published on September 8, 1999, San Jose Mercury News (CA)
$1 MILLION SOUGHT OVER GUEST'S DEATH IN '98 VICTIM'S KIN SUE GREAT AMERICA
Paramount's Great America has been hit with three separate lawsuits over an accident a year ago that killed a park patron who attempted to retrieve a cap from under a speeding thrill ride.
In two complaints filed last week in Santa Clara County Superior Court, the wife and brother-in-law of Renato Suarez seek more than $1 million in damages, accusing Great America of failing to take adequate safety precautions around its rides. Suarez, 24, was killed last Labor Day -- Sept.
Complete Article, 486 words ( )


In the first article, he is identified as someone else but then they found that person alive and well. And it was never really clarified how that mis-identification occurred.

Probably had a similar-sounding name.

Have you tried http://www.themeparkinsider.com ? Click on the park or company that owns the park, and then the accident link. If it's that bad and occurred in the news, it's likely there. Best of all, it's free.