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Vjeard
02-26-2002, 07:33 PM
Hey,


I dont think Splash needs safety restraints, its a fast moving ride, and difficult (although not impossable I suppose) to stand up / hop out. Pirates however I think does. It goes back to a incident I witnessed on my last trip, which was about 3 years ago.
We had completed our entire journey around the ride, and we were one of the boats in line to reload.

There was a family in front of me, a mother and a child, a little boy around I would say 6. The mother was not watching him very closely and he was leaning over the side of the boat to dip his hand in the water. As anyone who has been on the ride knows, the loading mechanisim speeds up the boat to pull it into dock. Anyway, during this process the child still had his head over the side, and he pulled himself in just barely in time to miss hitting the wooden loading deck. I think that if he had waited just a few milliseconds longer it could have broken his neck or caused serious facial injuries.

Now, I agree here that the fault lies with the parent for not watching him, but in a case like this, do you really expect Disney to win? And I have also heard lots of tales of people standing up during the drops on this board, so many in fact, to think its a common place thing. I do see the lack of restraints as inadiquate. Maybe during the time when people watched their kids / didnt act like baffoons, when the ride was built it wasnt but nowadays it most certianly is. The minimum injury would inflate the company's insurance rates, the maximum could bring a lawsuit of millions.

Oh, and hello there im new around the pad, but ive been following the sites since way back in Als AOL days. Im a Californianer but dont get to go to DLand much because Im in the desert. Glad to be posting to all of you.

tabacco
02-26-2002, 08:08 PM
Disney does not win and Disney does not lose. Disney settles.

Vjeard
02-26-2002, 08:16 PM
Well.. when you "settle" for as much as you would have sued for.. I call it a win..

MouseWife
02-26-2002, 08:40 PM
I have to agree with the issue of the parents not taking care of their kids.

These days, it seems that parents are more proud of their kids who pull pranks or who act cute and they expect to get their way.
As opposed to a parent who can be proud of their child who does follow the rules and behaves themselves.

I don't know how many times I have told my kids they couldn't do something and then other kids do it and no one stops them.

Dawnie
02-26-2002, 08:50 PM
Originally posted by tabacco
Disney does not win and Disney does not lose. Disney settles.

Yup. That's how you do business as a multi-billion dollar corp. Keeps things quiet.

mrfantasmic
02-26-2002, 09:29 PM
In that ride, it is strictly Parent-child.

Darkbeer
02-26-2002, 09:48 PM
I liked the suggestion I read on a recent thread....

You should be required to were Velcro pants, so every time you sit down on a ride, you become "attached"..... The lawyers would love it, and so would the Merchandising dept, The admission is $43, plus either $45 for a pair of "Disneyland" Shorts, $60 for a pair of pants ($10 extra for larger sizes), or you can get a special "limited edition" faux leather pair of slacks for just $350 (and if you buy the faux leather, we highly recommend if you plan on riding any "water" rides, Scotchgarding for an extra $60).

Oh, you already have a pair, welll there is the required "safety" check, just step over to this line, for $5, your pants will be verified as still being "adhesive" enough for the day....

gautry
02-27-2002, 07:22 AM
disney needs to start trying some of this cases most of the time like the roger rabbit incident and the one you speak of on potc are the parents fault not disney. Disney made or makes the park as safe and can be if idoits how have no brains bring kids to the park than it is there own fault not the fault of disney. at all

mousey_girl
02-27-2002, 08:23 AM
Originally posted by MouseWife
I don't know how many times I have told my kids they couldn't do something and then other kids do it and no one stops them.

This drives me crazy!! I always try to be a responsible parent. I know where the boy and whst he is up to every second when we are away from home. He is a typical active and curious 5 yr old. In lines he likes to climb and jump on the rails, rocks, walls, whatever is near by. Both myself and my hubby do our best to keep in under control. If it is an unsafe situation we tell him that he is going to get hurt (even it it isnt unsafe we often tell him that to get him to knock it off). Unfortunatly, we will usually see other parents who either arent paying attention or dont care, and he will promptly pull the "but those kids are doing it." My response to that is a deliberatly loud, "THEN THIER PARENTS MUST NOT CARE IF THEIR KIDS GET HURT, WE LOVE YOU AND DON'T WANT TO SEE YOU BLEED." :D This usually attracts the attention of the other parents who promptly reign in their kids and The Boy is happy to see that they didn't get away with something he cant do.
My biggest peeve is on both pirates and small world, when the kids sit on the outside of the seat and want to drag their hands in the water. The Boy tried this on our last trip during SW. We ended up having to put him in the middle of the boat and it wasnt until the end of the ride as the boat went up the loading ramp that he realized that his hands really could get smashed. I don't think restraints are the answer, I just feel that the parents need to be more aware. Even a remark from a CM that small kids should sit in the middle of the seats could help, but this shouldnt all fall on them either.

hbquikcomjamesl
02-27-2002, 11:21 AM
I'm rather reminded of a relative who used to coach boys' PE. He told the kids that if they didn't wear a jock, they would get hurt, and that if necessary, he would hurt them.

LKSearcy
02-27-2002, 01:40 PM
mousey_girl: I love how you refer to your son as "the boy" - we have a columnist here who refers to his wife as "the woman who lets me live with her."

Two years ago I took my oldest son (11) to DL and he was riding Splash Mountain [by himself - I don't like the drop]. While waiting to leave the ride, he was turning around and talking to the person behind him. The CM told him this was not allowed (because it was still moving forward) and that he couldn't come back to the ride anymore that day. He didn't argue and apologized; he then gave her his unused FastPass for SM that he was going to use right after the ride. She told him thanks for being honest, and that she was surprised that he did so. If I had thought about it, this is a time I would have gone and City Hall and complimented the CM about this.

Ace
02-27-2002, 04:46 PM
If anyone had any common sense this wouldn't be an issue.

HTHBellcaptain
02-27-2002, 07:22 PM
I understand that people aren't as responsible as they used to be, but I would hate the idea of having to have a restraint on Pirates. It just would seem wrong. I think I would feel like a prisoner. I whole heartedly agree with restraints on thrill rides, but not on Pirates.

Ace
02-27-2002, 08:34 PM
that's insane. That's along the lines of this: A man falls down inside a McDonalds. He sues McDonalds.

Ghoulish Delight
02-28-2002, 07:30 AM
Originally posted by Squinky
that's insane. That's along the lines of this: A man falls down inside a McDonalds. He sues McDonalds.

Ummm, not really. Someone walking around McDonalds is under their own control, so it's entirely their own fault if they fall (unless some crazy McDonalds janitor got overzealous with the floor buffer or something). On amusement rides, however, the ride is in control, so a lot of the responsibility lies with the park.

But there is still a distinction. I think that the park is responsible for making sure that when the ride is ridden as instructed and designed, injuries do not happen. But they should absolutely not be responsible for people sticking their arms over the side, or standing up, etc. This is the equivalent of someone purposely running head first into a counter at McDonalds, or putting their hand in the french fry oil to see if it's hot.