Man loses prosthetic leg on Dueling Dragons

Posted | Contributed by Strijder

Hawley Webb of New Port Ritchie was riding Dueling Dragons at Universal's Islands of Adventure when his prosthetic leg somehow slipped off. The park believes the leg fell in a pond underneath the ride but divers have not been able to locate. The park said that it will replace the leg if the original cannot be found.

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I guess that (sort of) answers the question we have seen here, "Is it OK for a person with prosthetic limbs to ride coasters?"

;)

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--George H

That's a nice gesture of the park to replace his leg if the old one can't be located.

I saw a man with a prosthetic arm on Phantom's Revenge the other day. He was riding with both "hands" up, having the time of his life. Good for him (and no, the prosthetic arm wasn't about to fly off, it was quite securely strapped on)

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--Greg, aka Oat Boy
My page
"What do you want, you moon-faced assassin of joy?" -- Londo Mollari, Babylon 5

Well, that is a bummer. I stumbled across a lot of unusual things underneath rides in my days as a ride operator but never a prosthetic leg. I do recollect finding a pair of women's underwear (can't imagine how it got there) and a knife.
Busch Gardens Williamsburg makes a queue announcement about securing prosthetic limbs on Apollos' Chariot. I always thought this humorous because it seems like common sense. Perhaps BGW's announcement was spawned by a similar incident?
Well, as long as everyone concerned and the ride is ok, it's time to have a bit of giggle about it!! Is it just me who thinks it's ironic that a prosthetic leg is lost on a ride with one of the longest queue turnstiles in the world (1/4 mile?).

You'd think that things being cast into a lake fits in with the whole concept of Knights and Dragons theming rather well. However, I could be wrong, but according to the myth wasn't it supposed to be Excaliber that was cast into the Lake! I really don't think a prosthetic limb is an adequate substitute for a sword when it comes to legends of Knights and Dragons! :-) Perhaps someone can persuade Merlin to bring it up from the depths :-)

It is nice of the park to offer to replace the limb, but dare I be a cynic in suggesting that you just can't buy publicity like that! :-) That said, if a park's profile benefits from a good deed, then I see nothing wrong with that at all.

Best wishes.

He obviously didn't listen to his elementary school teachers, who always ask kids to "keep their arms and legs to themselves."

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Is that a Q-bot in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?

I remember while working at SFGAM something like this happened. I was walking to lunch in the service corridor near the end of Batman and a prosthetic leg flew off someone that was riding and landed a few feet from me. One of the funniest things I had ever seen. The person was pretty embarased about the whole situation.

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BMCOASTER

bmcoaster@wi.rr.com

I don't think IoA should have to search for the limb or replace it. As the ride warning goes, "Please secure all personal items before boarding the ride". It isn't the parks fault that the man lost his fake leg... the guy should have removed it before boarding to prevent this occurence or atleast have tightened it... don't ya'll agree?
nascartheridein05?

I'm sure that they are not legally obliged to replace the man's limb, but that's exactly why they've offered. This incident has generated free publicity for the park and they are using the opportunity to present theselves as sympathetic and caring towards a customers misfortune and will be seen as being generous under the circumstances.

The headline: 'Man looses prosethic leg on ride, park says: tough luck, you should have secured it properly' makes the park appear callous and uncaring, which is hardly good promotion!!

Regards
*** This post was edited by BeyondOblivion 8/14/2003 11:41:32 AM ***

Jeff's avatar
No, he wouldn't "have a leg to stand on" [rimshot] to demand the replacement of his leg, but the park is in the business of showing people a good time, and I'm not a bit surprised that they would replace it.

I know this has happened on Raptor as well, which could be even more scary to me because there are so many places to watch the ride that are tangents of pull-outs (i.e., trajectory paths for things coming off of the train).

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com - Sillynonsense.com
DELETED! What time does the water show start?

Obviously, I think it's a nice gesture for the park to replace the leg. Those things cost several thousand dollars. However, I pity the people in guest relations who have to explain to 100 people per day why they won't replace their sunglasses or hats even though they replaced the leg.


*** This post was edited by Jim Fisher 8/14/2003 3:56:49 PM ***

rollergator's avatar
"I'd give my left leg for a front-row ride on Fire Dragon"...;)
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"The robot mafia is running numbers?"
"Well, nothing fancy, mostly just ones and zeroes"...;)
I'm really sorry, but I find that absolutely helarious. (working at a hospital kinda makes that kind of thing funny after a while)

It's a good thing it didn't slip off during the loop, though. That would have been Very Bad Things (tm).

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- John
I snap flyers.

I guess people are going to peices over Dueling Dragons. (sorry couldn't resist)

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This ain't no book you can close, when the big light hits your eyes. Cropduster-Riot Act-Pearl Jam

So, Jeff, are you saying this act of good will gives IOA a leg up on the competition?

:)

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--Maddie--
What do I Listen-To?
May the Schwarz be with you.

Vater's avatar
Maddie, I may be going out on a limb here, but I think you're right.

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-Mike B.
Son of Hulk
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This is why parks make money. The nicer they are to the guest the more the guests will want to return, henceforth giving the park more reveune.
Wow, I always wondered if this ever happened on any of the other inverts. Oh, and Jeff, from what I heard from crew members that were there, the leg came off on Raptor on the zero-g roll and did go into the midway. Luckily, it didnt' hit anyone.

We had a couple season pass holders at CP with prosthetic legs. They would always remove them and hand them to us to put up by the control booth. It was quite odd the first time I experienced this. It's not every day that someone hands you their leg.

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Kyle
-Raptor Crew-
2000-01

The leg costs $13,000, in case anyone was wondering. The guy said so himself on a TV interview shown on my local news.

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