Dr. John Kuluz, an associate professor and expert in pediatric critical care and brain injuries at the University of Miami, said the mother’s report of her son’s rigidity suggests that the brain was a more likely suspect. "That episode of being rigid makes it sound as if the brain was having increased pressure," said Kuluz,… Read More »Disney World Death Update
It is difficult to speculate exactly what happened yesterday to cause the sad death of a young boy at Walt Disney World. Eventually the autopsy will reveal whether the attraction had anything to do with the death. It may not have. I do not mean to accuse the family or Disney Management of misdeeds, but I do wonder what a 4-year old was doing on Mission Space (M:S) at Epcot.
M:S is one of the most intense experiences available to guests visiting Walt Disney World. So what would lead a family to want to take their young child on it? Which warnings did they see and which did they miss? How can we give a family more information before they make their decision to join the queue? All questions that need to be answered to make the Disney World experience as safe as possible for all guests.
Twilight Zone: Tower of Terror probably qualifies as the most intense experience availabe to guests at the four Walt Disney World themeparks. Not only does the name imply its intensity, but as you approach the attraction to ride you can see exactly what happens to guests already on board as they plummet faster than gravity and then are jerked back up only to be pulled back down again repeated times. If the visual clues aren’t enough, the screams of terror is another signal. Those with weak constitutions know by these indicators to stay away. Parents with questions can see what happens during the ride and can judge if their child is appropriate for the attraction. At least that should work in theory.
Read More »Blink before riding: Steps to better decision making at Disney World
Reuters is reporting some additional details now. The family claims there was no previous history of ill health prior to the ride and that when the ride ended the child was limp and unresponsive. There is also more detail on the post-death inspection of the attraction.
UPDATE: Autopsy finds pre-existing condition (11/15/2005) The Orlando Sentinel is reporting that a 4-year old child has died after riding Mission: Space at Epcot. Although 4-years old, he apparently met the 44 inch height requirement for the ride. The cause of death has not been determined and the sheriff’s office is investigating. Also see Local10’s… Read More »Breaking: Child Dies after riding Mission: Space at Epcot
For the life of me I can’t find where Miyazaki’s latest masterpiece will be playing here in Orlando. You’d think they would have it at Disney World. In the meantime there were two great pieces on him recently, one in the NYTimes and one at NPR (audio, of course, including an interview with the master… Read More »Studio Gibli: Howl’s Moving Caslte
There’s a new blog I’ve been reading that provides supercalifragilistic insight into the world of a walk-around Disney character at Disney World. She calls herself Lauren and here’s an example of what happened one day when she played the part of Mary Poppins. I was Mary Poppins this morning at the Grand Floridian Resort breakfast… Read More »My Life as Mary Poppins…
Today, most large companies have the latest in business tools; Xerox – collators – computers – laptops – Blackberries – PDA’s – pagers – cell phones – Email – internet – video/phone conferencing – software applications for thousands of tasks – Fedex – satellite feeds – iPods to stick in your ear so you can… Read More »Imagineer: Technology getting in the way of things!
Her [Lucas’ wife] first idea was to have Threepio get shot, and I said impossible because I wanted to start and end the film with the robots, I wanted the film to really be about the robots and have the theme be framework for the rest of the movie. Talk continues in the comments over… Read More »1977 Interview with George Lucas