Is there anyone on this site who shares my concern over the possibility of having to walk 255' down a lift hill? I love thrill rides, but am afraid of heights.
Congratulations to all of you who are fearless. I envy you. But surely it is an unfortunate event when this happens. It would be overwhelming to me to have to walk down a large lift, and terrifying to have to assist my daughter in doing so. I guess that means it wouldn't be reasonable for me to ride a hyper coaster with my daughter, as it seems I need to be comfortable walking down the lift before I ride up it. How sad; sharing my love of coasters with my daughter has been a fantastic experience for us both.
I am so glad to read the wonderful safety statics on coasters, and I would certainly not favor government legislation in the area of ride safety, but this event is quite discouraging to me. When rides don't operate consistently, it makes me feel uncomfortable both as a rider and as a parent of an avid rider.
This is especially discouraging in light of what I see at my local park, Six Flags over Georgia. On my last visit there, 5 major rides had problems, 2 of which eventually closed down for the day. No, no one was hurt as a result, and I understand that no machine is going to operate consistently 100% of the time, but it seems to me that ride maintenance is more and more of a problem -- at least at SFoG. Perhaps parks like Six Flags would do a better job with ride maintenance if there were more of an outcry from regular visitors.
Yes, it is sad the way the media has sensationalized recent events like this and the death on Goliath, but let me encourage you all to be sensitive to those who may not be comfortable with what happened on Titan.
And even more importantly, I think it is important for us to send a clear message to park management when we see ongoing problems with ride maintenance. Even if you are not concerned with the safety implications, no one benefits when one or more rides are down for the day.