Theme Park Ride Accidents and Injuries
Okay, so let me tell you how I got to this point today:
1) Watching Code Geass with Ashley (nekogonya)
2) The asshole fansubbers (who suck with font and modesty) decide to post a link to snopes saying how "Nu uh! We were right to spell this word you don't care about this way" even though I don't give a flying fuck about it.
3) We humor ourselves by going to the URL... after we had to decode it since their skills suck so bad they couldn't properly embed it in the video.
4) We fuck around on Snopes some more
5) We end up at a snake section, and it mentions snakes causing calamity in amusment park rides.
6) All the stories are stupid and false, but I know I have a specific example of a true one, the only problems being remembering the exact incident and finding proof.
7) My mom comes in the room, and I mention something about Six Flags Great Adventure, but she says it was at King's Dominion.
8) Ashley and I begin the hunt
9) I'm still hunting, but remembering a beloved pastime...
Since I'm creepy and wierd, I love anything defunct along with anything involving freak accidents. This being so, I used to go out of my way and look up sites describing and listing ride accidents and defunct park locations. I would always just look at the pictures and soak up the creepy wonder of it all, like it's a deranged fantasy, or a nightmare, brought into physical being. Now I'm reliving that love, and it's so much fun!
King's Dominion has to be my favorite, with all its mishaps over the years, even though it is (thankfully) still functional. A few:
"During that same year a man died after being decapitated on Galaxie, which was removed the following year [1983-84]." FUCKING AWESOME... actually, not so much. The scary thing about this one is that the person was following any instructions he had been given, wasn't tall, and did nothing wrong, and got his head ripped off. Not only that, but when KD sold the ride, the buyer had the nerve to open it at another location and keep it running for years.
"On August 23, 1999, a 20-year-old man failed to follow safety instructions on Shockwave. He deliberately, but for an unknown reason, freed his body from the restraints, and resultingly flew from the train's final turn at speeds of 40mph. He sustained fatal head injury upon contact with a steel catwalk." I remember hearing about this one all over the news. It was amazing how the coaster became taboo after that, but I've ridden it and I still love it.
On a kind of sucky note, I found out that an incident at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom where a girl got her feet severed in a Superman style ride freak accident caused many other coasters of the type to be shut down. I don't know if they reopened or not, but it just seems like a waste to me. I'm pretty sure they reopened them, though, since the one at Great Adventure is still going strong.
To make this post even more ridiculously long, this is why water rides scare me much more the rollercoasters:
"Saturday, May 17, 1980 - A 13-year-old boy was killed during a ride on a water slide in Texas. He lost both of his legs during the accident and finally drowned."
"Saturday, July 9, 1994 - In an accident in Spartansburg, South Carolina, a 6-year-old girl drowned after a fall from a bumper boat amusement ride. She landed in water, where she got caught in the ride's propeller."
Last but not least, some interesting avoidable accidents:
Wednesday, July 9, 1980 - A 26-year-old male was killed at an amusement park in Missouri when the ride operator of a roller coaster mistakenly assumed that the train in which the victim was riding was empty, and switched the track to direct the train into a service area. The area in which the service track ran through was of low clearance, and the victim's head got jammed between the back of his seat and an overhead wooden beam. At least one other person was injured in the accident.
Wednesday, June 17, 1987 - A 19-year-old girl was killed after falling from the Lightnin' Loops shuttle loop roller coaster ride at Six Flags Great Adventure theme park in Jackson Township, New Jersey. An investigation by the State Labor Department concluded that the ride itself was operating properly, but that the ride operator started the ride without having made sure that all of the passengers were secured by the safety harnesses. The Department's Office of Safety Compliance further concluded that the accident would not have occurred had proper procedures been followed.
The park was found to be in violation of the Carnival/Amusement Ride Safety Act and was subsequently charged with the maximum state fines of $1,000. The ride was reopened on Saturday, October 10, 1987, with the permission of the Labor Department, but was eventually dismantled and no longer operates at Great Adventure.
Sunday, April 30, 1989 - A 6-year-old boy died in an accident in Farmington, Utah after being struck by a roller coaster car which he had fallen from. The boy attempted to vacate his compartment after the ride had come to a stop past the normal boarding area. The operator decided to send the train around the track again, and as the ride restarted, the boy fell to the ground, which was less than four feet beneath the track. He climbed back up through the track and was struck by the car as it returned. Apparently, the operator could not have stopped the ride once the train had reached the top of the incline, as the ride was gravity-driven.
Alright, I'll stop there...
On a final note, I just recalled some interesting experiences I myself have gone through on my many rides:
1) Wildwood, New Jersey (Great White at Morey's Piers www.coasterquest.com/moreyspiers.htm) - It's a big wooden coaster that goes a bit over the ocean. Old and rickety, it only had flimsy cloth belts when I went on it. The latch on mine didn't work, and I spent the whole time holding onto my sister and any support for dear life.
2) Allentown, Pennsylvania (Sea Dragon at Dorney Park www.dorneypark.com/public/inside_park/rides/rides/sea_dragon.cfm) - Nothing I can really blame the ride for on this one. I was just tall enough to make it on, and anyone who knows me knows I'm skinny as a stick and I always have been. They sat me in a row with an obese woman, and when the ship went upside down, my ass was on top of the backrest and I was holding onto the lapbar so I wouldn't fall to the bottom of the ride support.
3) Allentown, Pennsylvania (Aquablast at Dorney Park http://www.dorneypark.com/public/inside_park/rides/water_rides/aquablast.cfm) - It's a group water slide, meant to take at least 400 pounds at time (4 adults), but ideally about 600. My group consisted of myself (about 100 pounds), my friend Brittany (same), and two young girls that were barely big enough to get on the ride, and nowhere near the weight we needed. We were lucky our tube didn't go flying over the edge, although it was more than halfway at some points. I remember seeing Brittany go over the edge completely, and dreading my turn at the next corner. It just kept getting worse throughout the ride, too.
4) Doswell, Virginia (Spiral Chute at King's Dominion (no direct link to speak of)) - The line for this slide goes (at least when I was there) high on seedy stairs, with only a little rope separating you from a plummet into a lake below. Somehow, the slides malfunctioned, and water overflowed when I was right near the top, pouring down the first section of the stairs, trying to take me with it. The rope, no matter how flimsy, ended up saving me when I held on to it. A legitimate rail would have been nice, though.
5) Las Vegas, Nevade (Manhatten Express at New York, New York Hotel and Casino (now called "The Roller Coaster" www.vegas.com/attractions/on_the_strip/manhattanexpress.html) - There was no technical difficulty here, only a matter of complete idiocy involving multiple parties. The ride policy is absolutely no loose articles whatsoever, especially not cameras. Some of brilliant genius, Idiot #1, decides to try and sneak a camera on... yet pulls it out to take a picture while the train is still in the station. A very modest attendant, Idiot #2, does something honestly not idiotic and tells Idiot #1 to put the camera in the cubbies to the side. An argument ensues, and Idiot #1 relents, but as the train was pulling away, I noticed them giving the finger to Idiot #2. When we got to the base of the hill, we stopped. Yes, dead in the track, the train fucking stopped dead. After about 15 minutes (yes, literally 15 minutes dead still above an alley behind th NYNY) someone comes out on the platform to inform us of NOTHING. They went up to the car with the finger giver, though. It turns out idiot #2 earned their name, because htey couldn't handle the insult and tattled to a boss, now dubbed Idiot #3. Instead of waiting until the ride ended and escorting Idiot #1 to do whatever they wanted, they made us sit thee for a total of 30 minutes before pulling them off the train and banning them from the ride. Way to handle it properly, champs.
Okay, I'm done now. Onward with my love of defunctionality and disfunctionality!
1) Watching Code Geass with Ashley (nekogonya)
2) The asshole fansubbers (who suck with font and modesty) decide to post a link to snopes saying how "Nu uh! We were right to spell this word you don't care about this way" even though I don't give a flying fuck about it.
3) We humor ourselves by going to the URL... after we had to decode it since their skills suck so bad they couldn't properly embed it in the video.
4) We fuck around on Snopes some more
5) We end up at a snake section, and it mentions snakes causing calamity in amusment park rides.
6) All the stories are stupid and false, but I know I have a specific example of a true one, the only problems being remembering the exact incident and finding proof.
7) My mom comes in the room, and I mention something about Six Flags Great Adventure, but she says it was at King's Dominion.
8) Ashley and I begin the hunt
9) I'm still hunting, but remembering a beloved pastime...
Since I'm creepy and wierd, I love anything defunct along with anything involving freak accidents. This being so, I used to go out of my way and look up sites describing and listing ride accidents and defunct park locations. I would always just look at the pictures and soak up the creepy wonder of it all, like it's a deranged fantasy, or a nightmare, brought into physical being. Now I'm reliving that love, and it's so much fun!
King's Dominion has to be my favorite, with all its mishaps over the years, even though it is (thankfully) still functional. A few:
"During that same year a man died after being decapitated on Galaxie, which was removed the following year [1983-84]." FUCKING AWESOME... actually, not so much. The scary thing about this one is that the person was following any instructions he had been given, wasn't tall, and did nothing wrong, and got his head ripped off. Not only that, but when KD sold the ride, the buyer had the nerve to open it at another location and keep it running for years.
"On August 23, 1999, a 20-year-old man failed to follow safety instructions on Shockwave. He deliberately, but for an unknown reason, freed his body from the restraints, and resultingly flew from the train's final turn at speeds of 40mph. He sustained fatal head injury upon contact with a steel catwalk." I remember hearing about this one all over the news. It was amazing how the coaster became taboo after that, but I've ridden it and I still love it.
On a kind of sucky note, I found out that an incident at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom where a girl got her feet severed in a Superman style ride freak accident caused many other coasters of the type to be shut down. I don't know if they reopened or not, but it just seems like a waste to me. I'm pretty sure they reopened them, though, since the one at Great Adventure is still going strong.
To make this post even more ridiculously long, this is why water rides scare me much more the rollercoasters:
"Saturday, May 17, 1980 - A 13-year-old boy was killed during a ride on a water slide in Texas. He lost both of his legs during the accident and finally drowned."
"Saturday, July 9, 1994 - In an accident in Spartansburg, South Carolina, a 6-year-old girl drowned after a fall from a bumper boat amusement ride. She landed in water, where she got caught in the ride's propeller."
Last but not least, some interesting avoidable accidents:
Wednesday, July 9, 1980 - A 26-year-old male was killed at an amusement park in Missouri when the ride operator of a roller coaster mistakenly assumed that the train in which the victim was riding was empty, and switched the track to direct the train into a service area. The area in which the service track ran through was of low clearance, and the victim's head got jammed between the back of his seat and an overhead wooden beam. At least one other person was injured in the accident.
Wednesday, June 17, 1987 - A 19-year-old girl was killed after falling from the Lightnin' Loops shuttle loop roller coaster ride at Six Flags Great Adventure theme park in Jackson Township, New Jersey. An investigation by the State Labor Department concluded that the ride itself was operating properly, but that the ride operator started the ride without having made sure that all of the passengers were secured by the safety harnesses. The Department's Office of Safety Compliance further concluded that the accident would not have occurred had proper procedures been followed.
The park was found to be in violation of the Carnival/Amusement Ride Safety Act and was subsequently charged with the maximum state fines of $1,000. The ride was reopened on Saturday, October 10, 1987, with the permission of the Labor Department, but was eventually dismantled and no longer operates at Great Adventure.
Sunday, April 30, 1989 - A 6-year-old boy died in an accident in Farmington, Utah after being struck by a roller coaster car which he had fallen from. The boy attempted to vacate his compartment after the ride had come to a stop past the normal boarding area. The operator decided to send the train around the track again, and as the ride restarted, the boy fell to the ground, which was less than four feet beneath the track. He climbed back up through the track and was struck by the car as it returned. Apparently, the operator could not have stopped the ride once the train had reached the top of the incline, as the ride was gravity-driven.
Alright, I'll stop there...
On a final note, I just recalled some interesting experiences I myself have gone through on my many rides:
1) Wildwood, New Jersey (Great White at Morey's Piers www.coasterquest.com/moreyspiers.htm) - It's a big wooden coaster that goes a bit over the ocean. Old and rickety, it only had flimsy cloth belts when I went on it. The latch on mine didn't work, and I spent the whole time holding onto my sister and any support for dear life.
2) Allentown, Pennsylvania (Sea Dragon at Dorney Park www.dorneypark.com/public/inside_park/rides/rides/sea_dragon.cfm) - Nothing I can really blame the ride for on this one. I was just tall enough to make it on, and anyone who knows me knows I'm skinny as a stick and I always have been. They sat me in a row with an obese woman, and when the ship went upside down, my ass was on top of the backrest and I was holding onto the lapbar so I wouldn't fall to the bottom of the ride support.
3) Allentown, Pennsylvania (Aquablast at Dorney Park http://www.dorneypark.com/public/inside_park/rides/water_rides/aquablast.cfm) - It's a group water slide, meant to take at least 400 pounds at time (4 adults), but ideally about 600. My group consisted of myself (about 100 pounds), my friend Brittany (same), and two young girls that were barely big enough to get on the ride, and nowhere near the weight we needed. We were lucky our tube didn't go flying over the edge, although it was more than halfway at some points. I remember seeing Brittany go over the edge completely, and dreading my turn at the next corner. It just kept getting worse throughout the ride, too.
4) Doswell, Virginia (Spiral Chute at King's Dominion (no direct link to speak of)) - The line for this slide goes (at least when I was there) high on seedy stairs, with only a little rope separating you from a plummet into a lake below. Somehow, the slides malfunctioned, and water overflowed when I was right near the top, pouring down the first section of the stairs, trying to take me with it. The rope, no matter how flimsy, ended up saving me when I held on to it. A legitimate rail would have been nice, though.
5) Las Vegas, Nevade (Manhatten Express at New York, New York Hotel and Casino (now called "The Roller Coaster" www.vegas.com/attractions/on_the_strip/manhattanexpress.html) - There was no technical difficulty here, only a matter of complete idiocy involving multiple parties. The ride policy is absolutely no loose articles whatsoever, especially not cameras. Some of brilliant genius, Idiot #1, decides to try and sneak a camera on... yet pulls it out to take a picture while the train is still in the station. A very modest attendant, Idiot #2, does something honestly not idiotic and tells Idiot #1 to put the camera in the cubbies to the side. An argument ensues, and Idiot #1 relents, but as the train was pulling away, I noticed them giving the finger to Idiot #2. When we got to the base of the hill, we stopped. Yes, dead in the track, the train fucking stopped dead. After about 15 minutes (yes, literally 15 minutes dead still above an alley behind th NYNY) someone comes out on the platform to inform us of NOTHING. They went up to the car with the finger giver, though. It turns out idiot #2 earned their name, because htey couldn't handle the insult and tattled to a boss, now dubbed Idiot #3. Instead of waiting until the ride ended and escorting Idiot #1 to do whatever they wanted, they made us sit thee for a total of 30 minutes before pulling them off the train and banning them from the ride. Way to handle it properly, champs.
Okay, I'm done now. Onward with my love of defunctionality and disfunctionality!