Injured at DCA...and no one really cared. (Mater's New Ride)

[Beatle_johnny]

First off, we just cam back from our 5 day trip and it was fantastic.

The only downside was when we rode Mater's Jambouree.

As the ride stopped, the rear swing was still out in the far left position. As I got back out... and I move slowly.... I placed one foot on the ground and shifted my 300 weight off of the rear portion of the ride.... when I shifted weight, the ride corrected itself back to the original starting position hitting my ankle with a lot of force.... enough to break the skin and bruise the area.

Now I reported it right away....it happened exactly at 3:30.... but no one seemed to care.

Then I thought to myself the most valuable thing for me and my family on our 5 day trips is time and we had fast passes to the Radiator Spring Ride and by the time that was over... something else was happening and so on.... but it still hurt.

Finally, when we left. I went to the DCA Chamber of Commerce and reported it again.

They wrote out a small yellow piece of paper and took the details but not my name.

They said if they had enoigh complaints then they would look into it. So I left but later I thought if my daughter... who was also on teh ride with me... was close enough... it would have broken her ankle.

So I am quite upset about this.

Any suggestions?

---------- Post added 08-03-2012 at 01:45 AM ----------

I suppose I shoudl add that I was not looking to sue or over react... but a more sincere aplology and maybe a VIP seat to world of Colour or Fantatsmic... (Which we missed that night - our only chance to see it) because I would not walk all the way.

[misfits138]

Re: Injured at DCA...and no one really cared. (Mater's New Ride)

There are signs posted requesting individuals in poor health or with physical conditions not to ride . You fall into this category based on your own description (slow, 300 lbs). By choosing to ride anyway, you chose to accept the risk and are soley liable for your injury. The circumstances you describe do not pose a significant risk to physical healthy individuals. So repeat occurences are not a reasonable possibility for anyone who heeds Disney's written and posted advice which can found at the ride location and in the park guide. So my suggestion is too be grateful it wasn't a serious injury and move on.

[Beatle_johnny]

Re: Injured at DCA...and no one really cared. (Mater's New Ride)

With all repsects.... and I really do mean that.... you assume too much. I am 6'6. 300 pounds does not make me obese or "catergorized". I move slow due to lack of foot/leg room for someone of my height and that I am grabbing the camera bag.

Did it pose a risk? Obviously. Cracked my ankle bone so hard it bruised the area and broke the skin.

As I also mentioned, my daughter (Age 9) was on the ride with me. If she was still standing close by, it would have struck her too.

Sorry to sound defensive but the tone of your repsonce was a little offputting. Please forgive my responce seems curt. I answer it with full repsect to you and hope you now have a greater understanding.

[PirateLover]

Re: Injured at DCA...and no one really cared. (Mater's New Ride)

Should you have gone to the First Aid station instead of the Chamber of Commerce? Maybe they make more detailed reports about injuries when they have to treat someone. It does sound like (from your own description) that you are way taller and larger than the average guest, so perhaps there is a design flaw that the imagineers didin't calculate for, with stronger/larger guests being able to shift the cart when it has stoped.

[Malcon10t]

Re: Injured at DCA...and no one really cared. (Mater's New Ride)

Now I reported it right away....it happened exactly at 3:30.... but no one seemed to care.

Then I thought to myself the most valuable thing for me and my family on our 5 day trips is time and we had fast passes to the Radiator Spring Ride and by the time that was over... something else was happening and so on.... but it still hurt.

If you were injured, you should have gone directly to first aid, or requested they come to you. But you went on about your day, doing the rest of your rides, and you waited til the end of your day.

Also, if you couldn't walk back to WoC, how would you have gotten there for VIP seating?

[ScottG]

Re: Injured at DCA...and no one really cared. (Mater's New Ride)

Seems to me that during the disembarkation process, the ride should be parked in such a way that it wont move. I don't think this has anything to do with the size of a person and I suspect DL will be doing something to immobilize the ride when people are getting off.

[explodingboy]

Re: Injured at DCA...and no one really cared. (Mater's New Ride)

If you were injured, you should have gone directly to first aid, or requested they come to you. But you went on about your day, doing the rest of your rides, and you waited til the end of your day.

Also, if you couldn't walk back to WoC, how would you have gotten there for VIP seating?

He said he reported it right away also. Maybe if they had given him the VIP seating he could have used a motorized cart if needed? There's a solution to everything.

[notlemc]

Re: Injured at DCA...and no one really cared. (Mater's New Ride)

Ive gotten bruised and have bled from riding amusement park rides before. However, I have not complained nor reported them as I though they were trivial and know that I did not get seriously injured and that they would eventually heal. Personally, I can live with some scrapes and bruises and don't feel the need to complain about them.

[Quarar44]

Re: Injured at DCA...and no one really cared. (Mater's New Ride)

Am I getting this right? The ride corrects itself at the end of the ride, but because of your build it couldn't until you had stepped out? Then when you stepped out it swung and hit you? This isn't your fault, as there are no signs saying that "if you are over this weight you shouldn't ride," or "this ride may cause injury to people over a certain weight."

Obviously this is a design flaw that needs to be corrected, as people not as lucky as you CAN get seriously injured. You shouldn't have to go to an amusement/theme park (especially Disney) and return with an injury like this that was out of your control, especially on a ride that opened a month ago.

I think that VIP WOC or Fantasmic tickets was the least that they could do in the sue-happy society of today. I'm surprised they didn't give you ANYTHING.

I'm a little surpised/annoyed by some of the posts that people made above. How could anyone believe that it was this guys fault? He did the right thing (telling Disney right after the incident) and only asked for an apology and a tickets to a show. If you are 6'6 and 300 lbs it does NOT mean you are in poor health or have a physical condition. Beatle_johnny deserves a good Disney day as much as any of us, regardless of his height/weight.

[Druggas]

Re: Injured at DCA...and no one really cared. (Mater's New Ride)

DCA might not care about you, but I do.

[Mr Wiggins]

Re: Injured at DCA...and no one really cared. (Mater's New Ride)

Am I getting this right? The ride corrects itself at the end of the ride, but because of your build it couldn't until you had stepped out? Then when you stepped out it swung and hit you? This isn't your fault, as there are no signs saying that "if you are over this weight you shouldn't ride," or "this ride may cause injury to people over a certain weight."

Obviously this is a design flaw that needs to be corrected, as people not as lucky as you CAN get seriously injured. You shouldn't have to go to an amusement/theme park (especially Disney) and return with an injury like this that was out of your control, especially on a ride that opened a month ago.

I think that VIP WOC or Fantasmic tickets was the least that they could do in the sue-happy society of today. I'm surprised they didn't give you ANYTHING.

I'm a little surpised/annoyed by some of the posts that people made above. How could anyone believe that it was this guys fault? He did the right thing (telling Disney right after the incident) and only asked for an apology and a tickets to a show. If you are 6'6 and 300 lbs it does NOT mean you are in poor health or have a physical condition. Beatle_johnny deserves a good Disney day as much as any of us, regardless of his height/weight.

This.

[Malina]

Re: Injured at DCA...and no one really cared. (Mater's New Ride)

I'm a little surpised/annoyed by some of the posts that people made above. How could anyone believe that it was this guys fault? He did the right thing (telling Disney right after the incident) and only asked for an apology and a tickets to a show. If you are 6'6 and 300 lbs it does NOT mean you are in poor health or have a physical condition. Beatle_johnny deserves a good Disney day as much as any of us, regardless of his height/weight.

This. Being 300lbs. and healthy are not mutually exclusive!

Aside from that, I'm also pretty concerned that Disney didn't take this more seriously. Having a ride swing into your ankle when it is supposed to be stationary is not okay. Disney's not a street carnival and everyone should be able to ride the rides without getting bruised or broken bones!

If it's still swollen or discolored, maybe you could take a photo and email or send it with a letter it to Disneyland customer service. If nothing else, they need to know that something happened. And I hope this never happens to anyone again, but yes, going to First Aid right away is a great idea. They DO take injuries seriously and will document it for you.

I'm also surprised that this wasn't reported. When I worked in a customer service-related area, the ONLY time we did not file accident reports was when the customer specifically didn't want one. Even then we usually documented it on a different form, so that if questions arose later, there was a written record of who/what/when/how. If someone so much as cut their finger or stumbled on their way out of the ladies' room and twisted their ankle, it had to be documented, and the Powers That Be did look to see if there were patterns or things that needed to be addressed.

Disney has hired a lot of new workers for DCA; could this be a case of newbies who don't know the protocol?

[Juni]

Re: Injured at DCA...and no one really cared. (Mater's New Ride)

If you were injured, you should have gone directly to first aid, or requested they come to you. But you went on about your day, doing the rest of your rides, and you waited til the end of your day.

Also, if you couldn't walk back to WoC, how would you have gotten there for VIP seating?

This. First aid takes their job super seriously. I went to first aid for a friggin tylenol and it was taken very seriously. I had wrenched my neck on Screamin, nothing serious but it was hurting. They took a full incident report asking exactly when it occured, what ride it was on, what I thought caused it, etc etc.

[Malcon10t]

Re: Injured at DCA...and no one really cared. (Mater's New Ride)

I'm a little surpised/annoyed by some of the posts that people made above. How could anyone believe that it was this guys fault? He did the right thing (telling Disney right after the incident) and only asked for an apology and a tickets to a show.

I don't believe it was his fault. I feel if he was injured, instead of just saying "Hey it moved and hit me", then heading to ride Racers, and other rides, then head to Guest Relations HOURS later (as he was leaving the park for the day) to complain and want VIP tickets for his next visit is a little off to me.

[Juni]

Re: Injured at DCA...and no one really cared. (Mater's New Ride)

I don't believe it was his fault. I feel if he was injured, instead of just saying "Hey it moved and hit me", then heading to ride Racers, and other rides, then head to Guest Relations HOURS later (as he was leaving the park for the day) to complain and want VIP tickets for his next visit is a little off to me.

He specifically said that he reported it immediately when it occured. He ALSO went to guest relations hours later.

[Malcon10t]

Re: Injured at DCA...and no one really cared. (Mater's New Ride)

This. First aid takes their job super seriously. I went to first aid for a friggin tylenol and it was taken very seriously. I had wrenched my neck on Screamin, nothing serious but it was hurting. They took a full incident report asking exactly when it occured, what ride it was on, what I thought caused it, etc etc.

My nephew (aged 4) was fighting with his twin brother and fell and scratched his knee. We headed to first aid to get a band-aid, and they were VERY thorough about writing everything up, making notes on WHERE the scrape happened, full names and everything. All for a BANDAID for a self sustained injury. The injured twin got his Cars bandaid, and both twins for Honorary Citizens after promising "No more fighting"...

[Maleficent4811]

Re: Injured at DCA...and no one really cared. (Mater's New Ride)

OP, have you written an email or letter to guest services since your arrival home?
Perhaps it could let them know about your discontent for how the matter was handled and a better explaination in writing of how the ride caused the injury.

I am a big fan of putting everything in writing so that it can be read, and analyze.

Best of luck with your endever, and hope your ankle heals quickly.

[Wesley815]

Re: Injured at DCA...and no one really cared. (Mater's New Ride)

...(according to how your post sounds), you were seriously hurt, yet a few VIP tickets or FastPasses would magically heal you and make things better. $$$$ So let me get this straight- you asked the cast member for emergency medical first aid treatment and they said no?

Yes, I understand you may of actually been hurt as accidents can happen. However your post kinda speaks for itself showing a true level of integrity.

Best of luck with that hot coffee at McDonald's or the wet floor signs at your near by grocery store.

[flynnibus]

Re: Injured at DCA...and no one really cared. (Mater's New Ride)

So you got a bruise.. I'm not sure what you were expecting to happen? A ride shutdown to investigate? A stretcher? Did anyone offer to head to first aid? The last thing would be all I expect of the company. Offer the guest to head to first aid where more treatment can be offered. You obviously didn't need onsite treatment.

Curious what retribution you ask if a stroller runs into you.

And 300lbs even at 6'6' is heavy.. obese by most definitions.

[explodingboy]

Re: Injured at DCA...and no one really cared. (Mater's New Ride)

...(according to how your post sounds), you were seriously hurt, yet a few VIP tickets or FastPasses would magically heal you and make things better. $$$$

Ugh. Typical.

No need to be so abrasive. According to his post, he was injured - but not seriously enough that he couldn't continue on to make his kid's day at the Resort fun. He mentioned reporting it not once but twice - and nothing was done. He doesn't sound like he is asking for a handout by any means. In a world where people sue other people for looking at them the wrong way, I think that another FP to WoC would't be asking too much if he would have even asked for that. He was just mentioning that it would have been nice since he missed it, you are insinuating that he stormed over and demanded a FP/VIP seating.

So you got a bruise.. I'm not sure what you were expecting to happen? A ride shutdown to investigate? A stretcher? Did anyone offer to head to first aid? The last thing would be all I expect of the company. Offer the guest to head to first aid where more treatment can be offered. You obviously didn't need onsite treatment.

Curious what retribution you ask if a stroller runs into you.

And 300lbs even at 6'6' is heavy.. obese by most definitions.

I am pretty disappointed (though, not shocked) by some of the responses like this here. He just told his story and asked for our opinions. It actually sounds like he just wants this to be corrected so that nothing worse happens to anyone else later down the road. There is no need for stuff like this. Makes it real clear why some of us have stopped using MiceChat recently.