So sad :(:(

[sparklymieow]

there should be a age restriction on this

[SoupDragon]

Very sad but very rare given the number of children who go on the ride each year. DS1 went on it aged 5 and thought it fantastic.

[SoupDragon]

Actually, he was under 5, 4y 8m.

[sparklymieow]

Is the ride very scary?

[Chandra]

That's so sad. The truth is that these attractions replicate conditions to which an average human being won't be exposed ih his/her lifetime, and surely, being all of us so different something is meant to happen sooner or later. . It is impossible to know if something within yourself will be more sensitive to these things until something like this happens.

[SoupDragon]

I didn't go on it as I had to stay with DS2 but I believe it "just" launches you with a large g-force as if you were being launched into space, then it's a fairly standard ride I think and you have to perform a mission (ie press a button at the right time). Presumably it's the large g-force at the start that causes most problems.

[SoupDragon]

Can't have been that scarey as DS1 wanted to go on it again.

[shalaa]

In the papers today a 12 year old girl went on the Alton Towers 'Rita queen of speed' ride and it broke both her wrists with the acceleration force.

[Caligula]

What's a large g-force? Surely not the same as if you were actually going into space? Don't cosmonauts or astronauts or spacemen or whatever they're called (I'm a little hazy on these professions) have to train for months for their bodies to be able to cope with this kind of thing? Surely commercial rides sold to children and lardies can't be up to that kind of standard?

[shalaa]

Yep the lardies must really suffer with that g-force

[helsi]

How very very sad.
I think 4 years old is a ridiculous age to have a child on a ride like that. They should be enjoying magic tea cups and log flumes at a push but nothing like a space shuttle at that age.

[Hulababy]

I have been on it and it does make you feel rather sick at times, and the g forces are strong enough to hold you right back in your seat, but we could move our hands and arms - to complete the missons set.

The g forces are a bit like that fair ground ride, which makes you spin round and stick to the wall - you know what I mean? Or like some of the fast roller coasters. This ride has the same effect.

There is a height restriction on the ride, but not an age restriction. And it is then down to parental guidance.

There are warnings outside of what the ride entails and the fact that is will make you suffer from motion sickness, etc.


I suspect it is just a very tragic accident As soupdragon says, loads of people - adults and children - go on this ride, and the ride attendants are strict about height restrictions, and there is normally no problems at all.

Very sad for this family

[SofiaAmes]

It is a tragic accident, but I think there needs to be responsibility given to the parents as well.
In fact, we are moving back to los angeles this summer and I have told my ds (4) that he will not be able to go to disneyland until he is 5. The reason is that I don't want to have to go through constantly telling him that I don't think he is old enough or emotionally ready for some of the rides. However, my dd who is only 2.5 will be more than ready for many of the rides that my ds is not ready for at 4.5 (he still gets sick on swings at the playground).

[expatinscotland]

A g-force is a gravitational factor, Caligula, and yes, it's the same one astronauts and fighter pilots experience when they accelerate rapidly into space. Gravity tries to hold us down and pull us down to Earth. On rides you experience it when you drop down and feel as it something is tugging at you or weighting your chest against your seat.

[tallulah]

We got to the front of the queue for Mission Space & I realised I couldn't do it (hadn't realised until then that it spins really fast). They took me out another door & I waited on a bench with 2 American men who had also decided not to do it

Very sad that someone has died. I wonder if it was one of those conditions you don't know you have, like when young footballers drop dead mid-game without warning?

[marthamoo]

Very sad. But I can't understand why anyone woud go on a ride where they provide you with sick bags. Aren't these things supposed to be fun?

[essbee]

Message withdrawn

[sunchowder]

Anyone with heart problems is not supposed to go on the ride, there are many, many warnings about this. I had the experience, I would not do it again, but it was really something. I have never felt anything like it and I know that I will not want to do any further space travel. I feel terrible for the family also. It was a terrible shock to them.