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jcruise86
11-05-2006, 08:47 AM
Not everything can be perfectly safe, and I feel safer inside of Disneyland than outside, but I was thinking, how is a Disneyland guest most likely to be seriously injured in the future?

My awful predictions:

1. A child could fly out of the Dumbo ride. An ad for Huggies shows a pic of the WDW version, and it looks like a door closes over the entry, but in Anaheim the force moves one toward an open entry space.

2. Someone might fall out of Tarzan's Treehouse. I don't have much fear of heights, but as I was high up in this attraction I was careful to walk where I was supposed to.

Again, if we wanted perfect safety everywhere we'd never drive over 15 mph. David K's excellent book, "Mouse Tales," details many injuries that have happened, and unfortunately it is certain that more will happen in the future. Perhaps your prediction/paranoia will prevent an injury or death in a way that won't detract from any fun.

P.S. safety rant: I really miss the People Mover (TTA?) and Skyway as great ways to kick back and enjoy views of the park. Most of the people injured on these attractions seemed like they were at fault--so I am disappointed that they were removed, especially if safety considerations played a role. (The train stops too often for too long, and the views of the woods aren't exactly breath taking.) Bring back a mellow, great view of the park ride--even if it's dangerous for foolish people!

barely
11-05-2006, 11:23 AM
You're right. Your predictions are awful. So, what's your point?

jcruise86
11-05-2006, 11:39 AM
One of my points is that I don't want to have had a terrible thought about how someone could be seriously hurt, and then later on read that someone has been hurt this way--when this injury could have been prevented without too much expense and without making Disneyland less fun. I hope no one is ever injured at Disneyland again, but if I imagine how it could be safer (again, with <$ & =fun), I would feel worse if someone were hurt and I had never mentioned this to anyone.

If this thread contains some helpful safety suggestions I promise to mail it to the new D.land prez. and ask him to forward it to operations/lawyers, or whomever can help implement these suggestions.

If someone had noticed and reported that someone could have been hurt because the docking rope for the Columbia was secured while the boat was moving too quickly, Disneyland might have had one less death.

Readers, please read my first entry before you jump in and criticize this one. (I'm not saying that Barely did this--I've just seen too many inaccurate responses in the past.)

mommy-san
11-05-2006, 11:51 AM
I agree about Dumbo... my 2 daughters and I went on it, and I had to try to hold onto a wiggly 18 month old while not freaking out about the 5 year old that could easily slip out under the seat belt. The belt was so loose around her because i am a big person. Freaked me out.

disneyhound
11-05-2006, 11:59 AM
You're right. Your predictions are awful. So, what's your point?

Agree; accidents happen, why try to predict them? Seems morbid...

jcruise86
11-05-2006, 12:25 PM
. . .accidents happen, why try to predict them? ...
To prevent them.

Back when I was a Jungle Cruise Guide (pause for sighs of admiration) and worked on the Submarine Voyage (pause to smell the fumes), I always concentrated on safety. Maybe that stayed with me too much. My wife does the same thing. When we rode the London Eye, she spent much of the trip imagining evacuation scenarios.

Not surprisingly, my favorite ride is the Haunted Mansion.

barely
11-05-2006, 01:12 PM
Maybe it did...certainly seems a morbid pastime. Whatever...

barely
11-05-2006, 01:14 PM
I'm just curious...anyone know of anyone (child or adult) having fallen out of the Dumbo ride since 1955?

ima_mickeyfan
11-05-2006, 02:59 PM
is this the what if game???

The old man
11-05-2006, 03:52 PM
and I thought I started controversial threads.

But I'll play...someone could trip on an untied shoelace and skin their nose. Less chance of this if all of DL had grass instead of pavement. :)

DangerMouse
11-05-2006, 04:08 PM
Not really understanding this thread, but I'll add:

After an early morning rain, my mother slipped on wet pavement on Main Street, and fell on her bottom/tailbone. Preventable? :confused:

Jcruise, ever consider a job in risk management?

jcruise86
11-05-2006, 04:51 PM
Jcruise, ever consider a job in risk management?
In law school I took a torts class and our final exam (worth 100% of our grade) was to read a story written by our teacher and list all the people in the story who could be sued and all the reasons why. (We didn't spend a lot of time learning arguments against torts.) Interestingly, the characters in the story were all Disney characters.

Like Mammy-san above, I really did spend too much time on Dumbo concentrating on keeping my daughter safe. If there had been a closed door--as there appears to be on the WDW Dumbos--I would have felt safer.

That said, I hate that hotels no longer have diving boards because they fear lawsuits. I'm bothered that the price of a small plane is so inflated by the manufacturers' need to spend so much on liability insurance, and that many ob/gyns (including one of America's best specialists at delivering triplets) can no longer deliver babies because malpractice insurance is so high. I'm not arguing that Disneyland should be perfectly safe, but if we who love Disneyland could prevent an accident, that would be a good thing.

If this thread is too morbid, just ignore it and it will quickly fade into page three and beyond. (I recently wondered in a thread whatever happened to the woman who tried to ride Peter Pan last every night, but everyone ignored that thread and so it vanished pretty quickly.)

Opus1guy
11-05-2006, 07:09 PM
My awful injury prediction is that some bean counter from Corporate will get hurt when a thought suddenly strikes them.

;)

jcruise86
11-05-2006, 07:40 PM
My awful injury prediction is that some bean counter from Corporate will get hurt when a thought suddenly strikes them.

Funny!

briangl
11-05-2006, 08:23 PM
Far more people are going to get injured in car accidents on the way to Disneyland than in the park itself. Isn't this obvious to everyone?

jcruise86
11-05-2006, 08:43 PM
Far more people are going to get injured in car accidents on the way to Disneyland than in the park itself. . .
Ironically, that's why Disneyland accidents get so much press when they do happen. Novelty. If Three Little Pigs beat up a bratty teen, I want to know!

Rapunzelthorn
11-05-2006, 10:25 PM
Honestly, I feel totally unsafe on those Astro Orbitors in Tomorrowland! I feel like I am going to fall out when you bring them up high and are tilted at an extreme angle. My five year old son wanted to ride them in October and so I rode them with him. There is this lap belt that's supposed to keep you in, I thought it was pathetic (especially when the two passengers are of vastly different sizes!). I think that it would be extremely easy to fall out of that thing. It is worse at Disney World because last time that I rode it, the ride was way up high, not sitting on the ground like at Disneyland. I think that they should have some sort of bar that comes down over your head and shoulders. That ride freaks me out!

I Heart Disneyland!
11-05-2006, 11:10 PM
You're right. Your predictions are awful. So, what's your point?

Haha! That's kind of what I was thinking. And, I mean no offense jcruise86.

kikid
11-06-2006, 05:13 AM
My awful injury prediction is that some bean counter from Corporate will get hurt when a thought suddenly strikes them.

;)
LMHO:D

backsthepack
11-06-2006, 05:54 AM
This is a very strange post. I am a paranoid Mother to say the least. I worry about everything concerning my family. But the one place that I feel the safest in the whole world is at Disneyland.

If your kid falls out of Dumbo while riding it, chances are it is not Disneylands fault...it is your fault for not making your kid follow directions. "Please stay seated, hands and feet in the ride at all times...".

If you fall out of Tarzans tree house......well, that is just because you are not being careful. We climp that thing a ton of times and have had no falls.

My son fell over on Tom Sawyers Island in July while we were there. We told him to quit running, he wouldn't listen and boom! Down he went. Skinned up his knees pretty good. Was Disneyland at fault? Should they re-do Tom Sawyers Island in a non-slip surface for those 7 year old boys that wear flip flops and run on the smooth sandy parts of the island? Nope. 7 year old boys should just learn to listen to their parents or they will get hurt.

Now....if a ride is actually defective and someone gets hurt that is a totally different story.

Bytebear
11-06-2006, 09:04 AM
I think it is difficult to predict what the next big accident will be. Who would have guessed that a cleat from the Columbia would cause such a tragedy?

I think now that the 50th has generated so much cashflow, and that upper management has been replaced with less penny pinching merchandisers, you will see fewer accidents.

I do wish that more rides were like Pirates where you get a thrill without being locked down. Maybe that's why I like Matterhorn so much, is that it's just a simple seat belt that keeps you sitting down.

PAPACITO
11-06-2006, 12:15 PM
Wouldnt it be just wierd if what happened in the movie "Speed" happened to the Monorail and it went like 50 MPH then derailed in Fantasyland piercing the Matterhorn comming out the other side and skidding over the old people mover ride and landing by Star Tours?:confused: :confused: :confused:

jcruise86
11-06-2006, 12:33 PM
Wouldnt it be just wierd if what happened in the movie "Speed" happened to the Monorail and it went like 50 MPH then derailed in Fantasyland piercing the Matterhorn comming out the other side and skidding over the old people mover ride and landing by Star Tours?. . .
Yes, Papacito, that would be weird.

MommyTo3Boys1Girl
11-06-2006, 06:48 PM
Honestly, I feel totally unsafe on those Astro Orbitors in Tomorrowland! I feel like I am going to fall out when you bring them up high and are tilted at an extreme angle. My five year old son wanted to ride them in October and so I rode them with him. There is this lap belt that's supposed to keep you in, I thought it was pathetic (especially when the two passengers are of vastly different sizes!). I think that it would be extremely easy to fall out of that thing. It is worse at Disney World because last time that I rode it, the ride was way up high, not sitting on the ground like at Disneyland. I think that they should have some sort of bar that comes down over your head and shoulders. That ride freaks me out!
THIS is the exact reason I don't ride the Astro Orbitor.
The DLR ride use to be up high too. On that spaceship looking thing between Space Mountain and the food area near the old Buzz stage show.

mistofviolets
11-06-2006, 06:52 PM
As a parent, I often have moments where I suddenly envision the worst possible scenario.

I can only think of one time when I was really concerned at DL. I've posted it before. I had just realized we were next to Jack Sparrow at Pirates, leaned over the stroller to pull out dd, when I heard a scream and running feet. JS eyes lit with fear, a crowd descended, and he was dragged off by a bunch of young adults singing "Yo Ho". I swear I thought we'd be trampled! I think the CM did too!

The steps on Tarzans tree house are pretty steep, I think there's a greater risk of slipping and tumbling down than of someone actually falling out.