Girl Critical After Riding Disney's 'Tower Of Terror' Ride (WDW) - WKMG, 7/12/05

[Cheshire Figment]

The current information on the local news is the family had been at WDW about a week and she had ridden the tower about six times during that period. Also that she was not feeling well (lightheaded and dizzy) before riding.

[Vegitabeta]

I really hope that she gets better soon. Reading some of your comments are putting me off riding TOT now:(. Although this hasn't happened before on this ride has it?

[fjhuerta]

http://www.gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050712/APN/507120936



Walt Disney did not immediately comment on the injury


I feel very sorry for the girl - the attraction (my favorite ride in the world) packs quite a punch - I'd say it's a bigger thrill than Mission: Space...

....but I'd feel really, really shocked if Walt Disney commented on this. :geek:

[mzloolue]

I'm wondering now.

The girl is from England, so she must have recently taken a long plane trip.
Blood clots can be a result of long plane trips.
It could be totally unrelated, but still....

Before my daughters went to France last year, my mother, a retired nurse who has also had problems due to blood clots, gave the girls a lecture, had them take aspirin, and made sure they knew that they should move their legs and feet around every little bit and get up occasionally and walk to the restroom.

[HTHBellcaptain]

I really hope that she gets better soon. Reading some of your comments are putting me off riding TOT now:(. Although this hasn't happened before on this ride has it?

I wouldn't let the media hype stop you from riding the Tower. From what a lot of the local news are saying is that it was a pre-existing condition.

If it was an aneurism, (and it most likely was because the local news has said that she went in for immediate brain surgery) it could have just as easily happened while she was eating breakfast or getting out of the car. From what I understand aneurisms are like a ticking timebomb. They don't need anything to trigger them.

Consider how many millions of people go through WDW each year. With that many people, there will be life threatening illnesses or even deaths from natural causes. Not eveything has to be somebodies fault or an attraction design flaw.

The Orange County spokesman praised the Tower cast and WDW for the way everything was handled with this situation. The fact that the Tower has reopened shows that it got a clean bill of heath from both the county and the state.

I agree with efoxx, if her health problem had happened anywhere else, no one but her family and friends would have heard about it. It is very sad, and hopefully she will be alright, but it most likely had absolutely nothing to with the attraction.

[BellhopMicah]

I really hope that she gets better soon. Reading some of your comments are putting me off riding TOT now:(. Although this hasn't happened before on this ride has it?

NO! Vegita-san! You MUST go! :(

[Mrs. Newseditor44]

I'm wondering now.

The girl is from England, so she must have recently taken a long plane trip.
Blood clots can be a result of long plane trips.
It could be totally unrelated, but still....

Before my daughters went to France last year, my mother, a retired nurse who has also had problems due to blood clots, gave the girls a lecture, had them take aspirin, and made sure they knew that they should move their legs and feet around every little bit and get up occasionally and walk to the restroom.

I thought of the same thing. Some people are prone to develop blood clots in their system and high altitudes speed up the process for some reason. Any time you fly you should walk around the cabin to get circulation moving to prevent clots from settling and possibly causing an embolism.

[Cheshire Figment]

Here is a link to a large article in today's Orlando Sentinel (http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/custom/tourism/orl-locdisneyfolo14071405jul14,0,2220337.story?coll=or l-home-headlines) with lots of (the latest) information.

[BellhopMicah]

Here is a link to a large article in today's Orlando Sentinel (http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/custom/tourism/orl-locdisneyfolo14071405jul14,0,2220337.story?coll=or l-home-headlines) with lots of (the latest) information.

The poor girl. :(

[Disney Vault]

I hope she makes a full recovery. And about that boy, when is the autopsy report or whatever they are waiting for going to be coming out?

[pisces]

I'm trying to remember: Is the first movement....a dramatic d-r-o-p??? ....Or do they whoosh you upwards?

If it's a drop.....that's not so bad, because you are going with gravity. Gravity is a natural downward movement ....though not necessrily at that speed.

What I don't like, is when they shoot you up so fast, you body doesn't have time to adjust. Where I work, the elevators climb the floors......very slowly, because those pressure changes from the extremes in elevation can be a shock to the body.

But going down, which is more natural, the elevators go fast....as the body can adjust to a downgrade much easier...than being whooshed up fast, out of nowhere.

And then there's the fact that you are in such a small space. The confinement of the seating. The claustrophobia, plus the pressure changes.

The Parachute ride at Knotts is good because they raise you up ever so slowly, and give you time to adjust, and yes.....then they drop you. And, you are not in a confined space.

But with TOT......I don't think they give you any time to adjust. :(

[SuefromRI]

I feel very sorry for the girl - the attraction (my favorite ride in the world) packs quite a punch - I'd say it's a bigger thrill than Mission: Space...

I disagree! I think Mission Space is so intense, and I feel woozy and disoriented for a while after, but have always felt fine after TOT, even after 2 trips in a row. Even though I was petrified of it when it first opened, it is now my favorite ride. My husband and I agree that we had to try Mission Space to check it out, but don't really want to go on it again.