[the girl] was a regular on the honor roll at Hines Middle School and at
Watkins Elementary School. In her most recent yearbook picture, she’s
shown smiling, wearing braids and a half-ponytail.On the day she died, [the girl]’s name was published in the Daily Press in a list of honor roll students at Hines. Her name was listed under the "All A’s" category.
The Orlando Sentinel and Newport Daily Press have more information on the pre-teen girl who died this week at Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon water park. The prelimiary autopsy report is also out . It revealed no signs of trama, so further tests will be needed before an official cause of death can be determine.
my daughter and i were at typhoon lagoon on monday. i noticed that there seemed to be an unusual number of yellow jackets (bees). in several areas around the walkways, yellow jackets were literally swarming in the bushes. i actually commented to her that i was surprised that disney was not doing something about all the bees – because bee stings can be very serious if you are allergic.
i think it is areas like this that disney needs to look at in order to take a proactive stance towards safety. they also need to make water more accessible. at typhoon lagoon, in the fountains where you can refill your mugs, ice water was not an option. guests that drink soda all day in the hot sun (or even worse – alcohol) can have problems. yet there are no signs advising guests to drink enough water. some may argue that it is not disney’s responsibility to educate guests about heat exhaustion – but there are serious medical complicatiosn that can occue due to heat exhaustion and dehydration (preterm labor, blood clots, heart attack to name a few) – but many guests are not from tropical climates and may not be aware of the necessity to drink.
We visited Disney World three weeks ago.
My wife broke her toe at Typhoon Lagoon on a “rock” that jutted out into the path to the top one of the inner-tube rides. The “rock” had a peculiar slope as it met the pavement so it was hard to judge and with all the bodies in line, simply hard to see.
I agree about that Disney needs to be more proactive about safety. The weather was extremely hot and humid yet nowhere (aside from making a buck selling water) did we see any sign Disney was addressing the effect of heat on their guests. When we mentioned the injury they woudn’t talk to us unless we “submitted a claim”? which we didn’t do. I’m afraid the lawyers have been all over those parks…
Typhoon Lagoon was especially taxing because it was a water park. When we left I realized the sun had really sapped me – more than at the other parks. I think that was because I hadn’t gotten body clues that I was overheated. In addition, when the waves came in at Typhoon Lagoon, the lagoon was mass of bodies hitting each other, bumping the bottom etc. Pretty rough
One thing I noticed at Disney World was the number of rides that were much rougher than the days when I was a kid and all that really existed was the Matterhorn at Disneyland. I suppose the explanation is that Disney has to compete with the Six Flags type parks.
One final observation. There are so many people in those parks that Disney is now performing an unintentional public health screening. I think they actually expose rare health issues. (Similar to the “healthy” youth atheletes that unexpectedly die.)
Our only child – a 9-year-old daughter loved Disney World (but not the heat). I can’t imagine the heartbreak those parents must feel on the loss of their child. My heartfelt sympathies to them.
My husband and I were at Epcott when the little 4 year old died in June of last summer and it was devastating to everyone in the park. Having a then 4 year old son made us stop and think about what the parents must have thought. Having looked at the situation from every angle I could see where the mistake was made. It is only natural that the mother was going to try to point blame in the most convenient direction because what else could she do? She was devastated and had lost a child. But the facts are facts, I know not of one parent of a child that age that would trust putting them on such a ride. Especially when there are so many warnings posted everywhere upon entering. They had plenty of time to contemplate in line and upon entering the ride, saw the motion sickness bags right there in front of them. The mother should have been more cautious with her little boy…period. I am not a heartless person at all. I only see that a deadly mistake was made here and that the only person with the knowledge enough to know better, did nothing to prevent this even (possibility). PARENTS…please do not subject your children to things that are so much bigger than them. This child had no idea that he could die (that there was even a possibility) when he saw so many people coming and going off of this ride. In this day and age, our children are made to believe that they are bigger and braver if they can withstand this kind of torture without showing fear. And yes…if you are outside where there is water and food, there will be bees of all sorts. This is common knowledge. The bottom line is, Disney has been an Icon to most of us since we were babies and now we want to share the magic with our babies. This is what we should do. But don’t mistake the park as a place to let your children run wild without supervision. Enjoy the park with your children and understand that Disney was not intended to be a babysitter but a magical place for us to make beautiful memories with our families. Remember – The law of averages……When you get so many people into one place at one time, someone is going to get hurt or fall victim to their own afflictions. Death waits for no good time to call. Enjoy your loved ones while you have them and Disney is a wonderful place to do this. We can’t wait to go back!
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