Child dies on Epcot's Mission: Space

What cause him to black out?

:( Very sad.

You don't really hear of that many 4 year olds dieing on an amusement park ride.

This page has a part that says that a Gravitron does 4 G's:

www.ride-extravaganza.com/rides/gravitron/

And this page says 3 G's:

http://exploration.nasa.gov/articles/07feb_stronggravity_lite.html

The Gravitron ride manufacturer's site indicates RPM's, but not the actual G's.

*** This post was edited by RideSafety 6/15/2005 12:02:15 AM ***

I simply cannot for the life of me imagine going to a park as a family and leaving without one of my family members. This is just un-real. Hopefully some answers can be achieved with the medical examinations and this will help begin the healing part of this awful situation for that family.

Over on rec.roller-coaster I estimated the force on a Gravitron based on a 45-foot diameter at 24 RPM, which is about 4.4 G outward. That said, on the Gravitron you are lying at an angle, so the rider is going to see less than 4.4G outward (because some of that force is redirected "upward") and there is also the normal force of gravity to consider. So somewhere between 3G and 4G is probably reasonable.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Thanks for the info Dave. Does anyone know or have a good guess at the duration of the G forces on Mission Space?

Some news sources are reporting that after the nonconclusive autopsy came in, it may be that the boy was truly scared to death.

This is a very sad story, and my heart and prayers go out to the family of this boy.

I am not blaming the mother, but just because a child meets the height requirement does not mean the ride is right for him. A parent really needs to take into consideration the maturity of the child. My son is tall enough for many rides, but he's not going on a lot of them because I do not feel that they are appropriate for him. A four year old can not necessarily seperate simulation from reality. Yes, he met Disney's height requirement, but come on- bringing a four year old on a ride like that is, I'm sorry, crazy. My son is tall neough for Tower of Terror, but if I took him on that ride, I'm pretty sure he would not be doing too well afterward. Parents need to make better decisions. That's my opinion, I'm sticking to it.

Honeyfetish...it is nice to see a voice of reason. For some reason the term "personal responsibility" has become extinct in the english language.

while i am very sorry for the family's loss, i totally see what Honeyfetish is saying. i never thought about the distinction between simulation and reality. i hope parents can make more educated decisions in the future about whether their child rides a particular ride, no matter what the height limit is.

In the same breath though, this is "Disney" we are talking about. Rightlyy or wrongly, the Disney name has pretty much become synonomous with "kid-friendly". Having not seen Mission Space in person, I cannot be sure, but is there anything (other than the standard warnings) that would relay to the average guest that this ride would be scary or intense?

I mean really, "Body Wars" has the standard warnings, but it doesnt seem like something *too* intense for a kid. I mean, you can look at a big coaster and understand what is about to happen, but is there anything about Mission Space that screams "Danger! Danger!"? I'm asking because I really dont know. All I know about the ride is what I've read here, but if you dont read sites like this, is there anyway to really know what the ride does?

And as for "Tower of Terror" at least the name gives a little hint. "Mission: Space" is such a generic name, it could just as well be the name for an attraction like HISTA. For that, I'll cut the parents a little slack.

I saw some "b-roll" footage the other day on the news. In the background was one of the actual signs that said something to the effect, "WARNING! Mission: Space is an intense space simulation ride." There was quite a bit more wording after that but I ask this:

Do you need to read any more to make a decision as to whether or not you will let your 4 YEAR OLD ride it?

I saw a on the local news last night a new report of the incident. They said it was a couple minutes until paramedics arrived and started performing CPR. I wonder why nobody they waited for the paramedics. Those few minutes could have been what cost the boy his life.

Just curious, Are any ride ops trained for CPR?*** This post was edited by Bartman2 6/16/2005 10:16:33 PM ***

I wouldn't base information on detailed time lines on a local news report. They are notoriously unreliable. The recent shooting incident at SFA was reported as happening at multiple locations with different injuries to victims of different sexes.

Well CPR was only performed by paramedics and it took a few minutes to get there because they aren't stationed at the ride but at the firestation.

I know the media will exagerate things to the end but they did talk to the paramedic manager.

This story is so sad, as a father of a 3 year old, I really feel for the family. I am a personal responsibility person... I really am. But, if the only requirements of a ride are 44 inches, then if my kid is 44 inches, I am going to assume that it is safe for him to go on. Ride manufacturers go to great testing lengths to come up with that number, it's not drawn out of a hat.

That being said, the autopsy said there was not trauma, it makes me wonder if the child had a pre-existing condition that lead to this tragedy. Perhaps it was unknown, but it's real scary to know that a ride could kill a healthy 4 year old.

My heart goes out to the family.

I really doubt that the ride itself killed him but the experience of it did. While a ride like that one is very tame for most of us it may have been a terifying one for a 4 y/o.

I think maybe a little of both, I mean Haunted Mansion never killed a 4 year old (I think), and it could be classified as terrifying to some, but it's not physically taxing at all.

I'm still hugging my boy extra tight,