Discussion: Girl Critical After Riding Disney's 'Tower Of Terror' Ride (WDW)

[Darkbeer]

http://www.local6.com/news/4713504/detail.html

A 16-year-old girl is in critical condition after riding the "Twilight Zone Tower Of Terror" ride at Disney-MGM Studios at Walt Disney World, according to Local 6 News.

Officials said a girl from Britain exited the ride Tuesday at about 9:50 a.m. and complained that she was not feeling well, Local 6 News reported.

She sat down with her mother in the theme park but her condition continued to worsen, an Orange County Sheriff's spokesman said.

Disney medics came out and treated her and she was transported to Celebration Hospital where she was unresponsive, Local 6 News learned.

Orange County Sheriff's Office will be investigating.

In June, a 4-year-old boy died after passing out while aboard Walt Disney World's "Mission: Space" attraction -- an Epcot ride that has caused previous concerns because of its intensity.

On the ride, guests are seated aboard a freight elevator that glides through hotel passageways.

The elevator enters a pitch-black shaft and launches guests skyward unexpectedly. The vehicle then drops 13 stories.

[figment1986]

Re: Discussion: Girl Critical After Riding Disney's 'Tower Of Terror' Ride (WDW)

This is terrible... I hope she gets better...

[slowbee]

Re: Discussion: Girl Critical After Riding Disney's 'Tower Of Terror' Ride (WDW)

That sounds like a pre-existing condition vs. a problem with the ride. I hope she will be ok.

[Pacha]

Re: Discussion: Girl Critical After Riding Disney's 'Tower Of Terror' Ride (WDW)

My thoughts and prayers are with her and her family.

[ttztotdca50]

Re: Discussion: Girl Critical After Riding Disney's 'Tower Of Terror' Ride (WDW)

ooooohhh my... :unsure:

[Darkbeer]

Re: Discussion: Girl Critical After Riding Disney's 'Tower Of Terror' Ride (WDW)

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-bk-tower071205,0,2961245.story?coll=orl-home-headlines

A British teen, 16, is at Celebration Hospital in Kissimmee after falling ill at the Tower of Terror ride at Disney-MGM Studios, said Orange County Sheriff's office spokesman Jim Solomons.

The teen, whose identity has yet to be released, was exiting the ride with her mother at 9:50 a.m. today when she complained she was feeling unwell. Disney employees approached the girl and called paramedics because she needed medical attention, Solomons said. Paramedics arrived at 9:57 a.m. to transport her to the hospital.

The teen lost consciousness and heart function, but medical personnel revived her, Solomons said. She is being evaluated for a prior medical condition, and the ride is being tested for malfunctions.

The incident comes less than a month after a 4-year-old boy from Pennsylvania collasped on Epcot's Mission: Space ride and later died. The boy, Daudi Bamuwamye, was visiting the park on June 13, and authorities are awaiting results of an autopsy before saying what caused his death.

[cellarhound]

Re: Discussion: Girl Critical After Riding Disney's 'Tower Of Terror' Ride (WDW)

This is going to fuel people calling for some regulatory body to be formed... It is a good thing that it does...

[figment1986]

Re: Discussion: Girl Critical After Riding Disney's 'Tower Of Terror' Ride (WDW)

I am seeing something more than DOSH(Department of Safety and Health.. I think) is in CA... and It might come either national.. or just to FLA...

[cellarhound]

Re: Discussion: Girl Critical After Riding Disney's 'Tower Of Terror' Ride (WDW)

I don't follow Florida politics, but this is a subject to watch... Hopefully I can find a way to put out a news tracer or something...

I know it has been discussed nationally... But you know, untill there is a great outrage I don't see congress pressing the matter...

[keith - SuPeR K!]

Re: Discussion: Girl Critical After Riding Disney's 'Tower Of Terror' Ride (WDW)

just curious how all of you anti-mission:space micechatters feel about this? i mean this ride has been around for over 10 years and this is just now happening... do you feel this any more/less safe than mission:space since it took longer for some sort of disaster to happen? just curious as to all your thoughts...

best wishes to the girl and her family that all turns out okay for them...

[dramaqueen]

Re: Discussion: Girl Critical After Riding Disney's 'Tower Of Terror' Ride (WDW)

That sounds like a pre-existing condition vs. a problem with the ride. I hope she will be ok.

Agreed- I used to work in a cardiology clinc- cardiovascular events are rare in those so young unless she had an undetected congential condition. The ride does warn those with heart conditions not to ride.

She will be in my prayers, I hope she is able to recover. I just don't know if this will be the kick congress needs to take action.

I urge all Floridians to get in touch with your congressman and urge them to take action. They don't have any reason to do so unless you contact them. (Not that any sort of oversight department might have prevented this as Disney may not be at fault here, but I think we can agree that it is time for some national laws so that the standard of safety is the same everywhere)

[sediment]

Re: Discussion: Girl Critical After Riding Disney's 'Tower Of Terror' Ride (WDW)

just curious how all of you anti-mission:space micechatters feel about this? i mean this ride has been around for over 10 years and this is just now happening... do you feel this any more/less safe than mission:space since it took longer for some sort of disaster to happen? just curious as to all your thoughts...

best wishes to the girl and her family that all turns out okay for them...

I'm anti-Mission:Space, but not because a child died on it. I didn't like it the first and only time I rode it. It was poorly themed, it was immersive the way a sleeping blinders are, and I really don't want to feel that way after a ride. In a word: sucks.

When Hank Gathers died during a basketball game, was it LMU's fault? Was it the players he was playing against's fault? Was it the court's fault for being so hard? Should someone be sued? Should there be laws banning the game, forcing the court to be softer, that players have to play nicer and less vigorous, that all players need full body scans before being eligible to play?
No. Hank had an undetectable heart problem, and anything could have triggered it eventually.

Same here. There are freak occurrances when time and space collide. in this case, a girl from Britain with what appears to be a heart condition (I'm no doctor) met an attraction that puts unusual pressure on the heart, either by the physical forces or by the anxiety and endorphin rush.
Just because it's not safe for a few people (so far) doesn't mean it's not safe for everybody. It's tame enough as it is.

[sediment]

Re: Discussion: Girl Critical After Riding Disney's 'Tower Of Terror' Ride (WDW)

Corrections on Hank Gathers, after actually doing some research: He and LMU knew about the condition. He had blacked out in a game earlier in the season and had been on medication. I now recall that the medication made him not as effective a basketball player, and he had cut back or had stopped the medication.

[Not Afraid]

Re: Discussion: Girl Critical After Riding Disney's 'Tower Of Terror' Ride (WDW)

I wonder what the outside temp was in Florida that day? I know my own heart starts racing and by BP goes up in the extreme head and humidity (I don't normally have BP issues). Add a good dose of fear and who knows.

[Cmash95]

Re: Discussion: Girl Critical After Riding Disney's 'Tower Of Terror' Ride (WDW)

two things. first if you come to WDW in the summer It's always always, ALWAYS, hot. no ifs ands or buts about it. and it can be 80 degrees in the morning. That is why almost every afternoon in july and August we have thunderstorms. It's not only hot but it is HUMID too. It is very important to drink , drink, drink water, even if you aren't thursty. I am not saying she had heat stroke but it can come up on you at a moments notice even that early in the day. especially if you drink any kind of milk in the morning. those two things never go together,
second, my son rides TOT all the time and nothing has ever happened to him. He is 18 and has been riding it since it was built. It and Rocknrollercoaster are his favorites.
Some times people go on vacation and they get so caught up in the excitement of being somewhere they forget everything else. I am not saying that happened here and my prayers go out to this girl and her family, just as it goes out to the parents of the little boy. I hope they find what caused her illness so things can be taken care of quickly and she gets better soon

[Mrs.Newseditor44]

Re: Discussion: Girl Critical After Riding Disney's 'Tower Of Terror' Ride (WDW)

That is so sad. My thoughts and prayers are with her and her family.

For those that know a thing or two about medicine...its says she's from England. Do they know when she and her family flew from England to the states? I am just wondering because when you fly long distances they say to walk around the plane to prevent clots from forming in the blood vessels. I'm wondering if that could be a possibility (although we'll never know) and if going on the ride could have made it worse.

[dramaqueen]

Re: Discussion: Girl Critical After Riding Disney's 'Tower Of Terror' Ride (WDW)

The condition you are referring to is deep vein thrombosis. It usually occurs in older people who already have circulation problems. But who knows, at this point, it is as likely a cause as any. It will probably take quite a few tests to pinpoint the exact cause of the problem.

[Skippy]

Re: Discussion: Girl Critical After Riding Disney's 'Tower Of Terror' Ride (WDW)

The condition you are referring to is deep vein thrombosis. It usually occurs in older people who already have circulation problems. But who knows, at this point, it is as likely a cause as any. It will probably take quite a few tests to pinpoint the exact cause of the problem.

There are various types of genetic factors and other auto-immune blood antibodies that can make you predisposed to clots regardless of age, and typically you don't know you have them until something happens (I recently got a DVT at age 33 out of the blue). If she did have a clot and it broke loose during the ride, it could have resulted in a pulmonary embolism (the clot lodges in a lung artery) which can cause potentially fatal results, although cardiac arrest doesn't happen right away though. The report doesn't go into much detail as to what her symptoms are, but in theory it's possible. Although it would have taken a very specific sequence of events and precise timing. I would lean toward a previously unknown heart condition instead.

[Nephythys]

Re: Discussion: Girl Critical After Riding Disney's 'Tower Of Terror' Ride (WDW)

of course some people will only be happy if they shut down the ride for a while out of "respect"

I certainly hope she will be ok......

[WDW1974]

Re: Discussion: Girl Critical After Riding Disney's 'Tower Of Terror' Ride (WDW)

Why do I have a 'here we go again' feeling?