Child dies on Epcot's Mission: Space

Wow. This is sad. I am interested in those autposy results.

Sad to hear of a tragedy for this family. This article did not mention whether the child has any kind of pre-existing conditions, so it will be interesting whether the family did not follow the ride safety rules, or whether it was a freak illness or unknown health condition that was triggered by the ride.

I know the family like wont see this but my condolences to them on this sad day.

Did anyone notice the survey question on that site?

Disney World is supposed to be a happy place.

I was surprised a 4 year old could go on Mission Space, but when I saw the height restrictions, I realized Ian would have been tall enough to ride at age 4 too.

It's sad and I feel badly for the family.

My condolences to the family. So sad when someone dies so young.

Yes, I did notice the survey question, and the results. Interesting.

I can't imagine what they're going through. 2 G's doesn't seem like a lot. Does anyone know what the average forces are on a commercial jet taking off?

2 G's are not a lot but doesn't it last a bit longer on this ride than on your typical rollercoaster?

edit: Regarding that survey question, I acutally had to vote yes. Back in Adventure World (now SFA) I got whiplash on an Arrow shuttle. It actually hurt pretty bad and after trying a few more rides, I eventually went to first aid and had to lie down for a while, got an exam, and then went home.*** This post was edited by RavenTTD 6/14/2005 12:38:08 PM ***

The forces on a commercial jet taking off are less than 1.5 g's. That's total from gravity and the acceleration. The acceleration itself is only around 0.3 g's as compared to launched coasters which can have linear accelerations as great as 2 g's. We notice the forces a lot in a plane because they are extended and in a direction different from how we normally feel gravity.

The article mentions the large number of medical issues reported from the ride. This is probably because the 2 g's is extended and also because this ride probably gets more older riders than the typical thrill ride.

This is very sad. I was on it last friday. The part of the ride that simulates a rocket launch was the most intense. But it wasn't a lot. We'll find out more when the autopsy comes out.

That's very sad news :(

That is horrible! I wondered why the ride wasn't open yesterday when I wanted to ride it after work.

Very sad, but what is a 4-year-old doing on this ride? That seems a bit young for a ride like this. I'm actually shocked.

It is possible that this person was just too young and their body possibly too small to handle the relatively minimal g-forces this ride delivers.

I was wondering the same thing. How did a 4-year old end up on the ride? What's the height requirememt?

44 inches and he was tall enough.

I think the restrictions need to be re-thought. A 4 year old, regardless of size, isn't physically able to withstand that force without some sort of pain to his body. I feel immensely for the family, this was their vacation. However, 4 seems a little young to take on a ride that has so many warnings and restrictions.

Just for comparison, does anybody (Dave?) know what the g-forces are on rides like Round-Up, Gravitron, or Rotor?

Gravitron, I believe, pulls close to 3Gs. I was under the impression that Mission: Space pulled about 3Gs also.

The media reports are saying 2 G's. Here's a follow-up describing the nonconclusive results of the autopsy:

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