Secret Dangers of Amusement Parks?

[chickenbowl]

Everyone knows that corn dogs + funnel cakes + a ride that spins you around like crazy till the bottom falls out probably equals upchuck. And we've all heard the horror stories about people getting struck by roller coasters, stuck upside down for hours on a broken ride, or falling during a photo shoot with a Bengal tiger and getting mauled (Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, 1998). But there are lots of other dangers at the amusement park that are less well known and won't show up in accident reports, from the life-threatening to the merely smelly and inconvenient. Here are some things to watch out for.

 

Related: Theme parks opening new attractions for 2012

 

(For the record, the most recent safety report from IAAPA (International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions) shows only 4.4 reported injuries per million riders. And Gary Slade, editor of industry trade publication Amusement Today told Yahoo! Shine "People should not be concerned about safety, other than doing something stupid. You're safer at the amusement park than you are driving your car.")

 

Hurting your neck or back

"For the most part, injuries that we see are back and neck injuries, sustained on different roller coasters," says Jason Herrera, president of industry watchdog group the Amusement Safety Organization. Parks warn people with pre-existing back and neck injuries to steer clear of specific rides but, Herrera says, "healthy people get off the ride with a strained back or neck spasms, too. Let's be realistic, if you're riding a high-impact ride, you are risking injury." The ASO gathers incident reports from parks worldwide and publishes them on its website, and there are a handful of back and neck injuries daily.

 

Squashing your kid on a flume ride

"Flume" is the industry term for water rides like the ones with log-shaped floating cars. Traditionally, these cars are wide open, with no safety restraints, hand rails, or dividers between passengers. They look like pokey, slow, kid-friendly options, but the final drop is intense, and a heavier person sitting behind a lighter person (i.e., a parent with a child in their lap) can go flying forward and split the kid's lip, among other injuries.

 

Letting your kid ride alone

Small children get scared on rides, and try to stand up or get out and sometimes they succeed and injuries occur. "Ride with your kid,'" Herrera says.

 

Hurting yourself on the stairs, not the ride

"The biggest thing you see from the side of the industry," says Gary Slade from Amusement Today, "is guests running down the stairs, ramps and walkways, that will result in a cut, bruise, scrape or bloody knee." Also, caution to parents, according to Steven Ball, the general manager of Frontier City in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, younger kids may be more likely to hurt themselves through being careless and excited when they come to amusement parks, though it happens people of all ages.

 

Blacking out because you're hung over

It's surprising, but not so much when you think about it. The ASO gets "around 20 reports a year," Herrera says, of people who show up dehydrated after an admitted night of heavy drinking, and black out on their first ride.

 

Flying coasters

A new type of ride that's appeared in the past few years, a flying coaster is like a roller coaster but patrons are lying down. Herrera says that he sees more black outs, vomiting, and disorientation from flying coasters than from traditional seated ones. He speculates that it's because people aren't used to lying down while experiencing force, stress and speed.

 

Old wooden roller coasters

The Cyclone in Coney Island and the Knott's Berry Farm GhostRider are two of the top rides the ASO gets complaints about. "We see neck injuries, back injuries, bruised ribs, bitten lips, lost retainers and migraine headaches," Herrera says.

 

Being sprayed by hydraulic fluid

It's uncommon, but when cars slip their tracks, they can sever hydraulic lines, which, in a few instances, have spewed fluid on passengers.

 

Line jumpers and belligerent patrons

Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey and Six Flags America near Washington, D.C., are both known for an unruly clientele, Herrera says. Altercations tend to be over line-jumping or other minor incidents, though there was a shooting in the parking lot at Six Flags America in 2005.

 

Being hit by a cellphone or flying change

Despite lockers, ride-operator spiels and the best attempts of the amusement park industry to prevent it, stuff goes flying out of people's pockets and bags on rides. "We hear about more near-misses than people being struck," Herrera says.

 

Having to come back the next day for lost items

"It causes a big inconvenience when things land inside the ride area," says Steven Ball, the general manager of Frontier City in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. "Maintenance has to come, we have to power the ride down. It's done the next morning when the park opens."

 

Coming back, in general

Another problem Ball sees is thrill-seekers who've been at the park all day or have season passes and start to disobey the rules (stand up, climb into unauthorized areas) in search of greater excitement. Remember, it's all fun and games till someone falls on the Bengal tiger.

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Okay Yahoo, I want to know who deemed this as necessary news. It's a contradicting article that first says how unlikely it is to get hurt at a theme park, then goes about claiming all these ridiculous ways to get hurt, great job Yahoo.

[scbt]

Way to go yahoo, producing quality news material as usual. I'm surprised though that dehydration isn't on the list.

[XYZ]

Hurting yourself on the stairs? I find that to be hilarious that they had to put that on here.

 

How are line jumpers dangerous?

[NJCroMag]

For as ridiculous as this article is, they may as well list "GETTING CRUSHED BY A 500-POUND BANK SAFE FALLING FROM THE SKY" as another way to get hurt in an amusement park.

[cal1br3tto]

Well, at least they listed a bunch of little things that realistically could happen (and that some people need to be reminded about avoiding or preventing), instead of sensationalizing rare, extreme, isolated incidents.

 

But of course, with that title especially, it's only going to provide more fodder for those who seriously believe parks are dangerous.

[Ace Of Spades]

For as ridiculous as this article is, they may as well list "GETTING CRUSHED BY A 500-POUND BANK SAFE FALLING FROM THE SKY" as another way to get hurt in an amusement park.

I lost a cousin to that a few years ago. I guess that's what he deserved for attempting to play it safe.

 

*ba-dum-tish*

 

Another quality Yahoo! article as usual.

[MayTheGForceBeWithYou]

1998=old? Thanks for the heads up, Yahoo.

 

Ugh, this article is so bad, it makes me want to scream.

[A.J.]

So, we can easily sum up this entire article by saying, "follow all park rules", yeah?

[Tanks4me05]

And the only reason why I still have yahoo as my email address website is because I don't want to go through all the trouble of dealing with notifying all the clubs and companies, etc. of my changed email address. This, on top of the comments on the articles, make me want to throw up.

[larrygator]

Okay Yahoo, I want to know who deemed this as necessary news. It's a contradicting article that first says how unlikely it is to get hurt at a theme park, then goes about claiming all these ridiculous ways to get hurt, great job Yahoo.

 

You are correct! Yahoo did a great job because they got you to read the article, that's all they are looking to accomplish.

 

Not sure what you find as contradictory, the article is clearly tough in cheek and not meant to scare people away from park. If you call it contradictory based on the quote from Gary Slade, the press calls that balanced reporting.

 

Of course the writer could have referenced a more recent serious injury then something from 1998, but referencing an animal mauling is called sensationalism, a journalism tactic that has been used for over a century.

 

You want necessary "news" on Yahoo? There are dozens of better real NEWS sources to turn to for necessary news. And this article isn't even in the news area, but the parenting section of Yahoo.

 

At least everything written is correct which seems to be challenge in the world of online journalism.

Edited June 17, 2012 by larrygator

[ernierocker]

Didn't we have another thread dedicated to a Yahoo "news" article about coasters/theme parks awhile back?? Like a top five coasters that included a drop tower?

[A.J.]

Yee-up.

 

http://games.yahoo.com/blogs/unplugged/america-5-scariest-roller-coasters-175426570.html

 

Big Shot listed at #2. Superman Krypton Coaster listed at #1.

[Nibbler]

Being hit by a cellphone or flying change

 

Haha working Underworld Alley during HAUNT when we still had Invertigo, cell phones would fly by our heads on a regular basis..

[gisco]

I think it is a slow news day!

[GrapesLie]

OMG I never knew that I might get hurt on the stairs at a theme park! Well that's it I'm never going to another park! The risk is far to high! I guess I'll just go upstairs and take nap! At least I can't get hurt on those stairs!

[DarkStitch626]

I now have this smug grin on my face, trying so hard not to laugh because the TPR-censorship put NOODLES into the copy n pasted Yahoo article. 20% Cooler!

[amy_mel]

I think it is a slow news day!

Well, the Jerry Sandusky trial was in recess all day so I guess the reporter needed something to do.

[chickenbowl]

Not sure what you find as contradictory, the article is clearly tough in check and not meant to scare people away from park. If you call it contradictory based on the quote from Gary Slade, the press calls that balanced reporting.

 

If it's not meant to scare people away, then what's the point of them even publishing this article?

 

And it says roller coasters "slip their tracks" and "severe hydraulic lines." When does this ever happen? What is the point of even writing that in the article? And to also write that people "squash" children on flume rides.

 

The whole article is so stupid and pointless, just like everything on Yahoo. Of course it's not a good news source. I posted this article just to show what idiotic blabber people read and believe on the internet, and to laugh at its ridiculousness.

[Meteornotes]

Totally worth reading just for this line:

 

Remember, it's all fun and games till someone falls on the Bengal tiger.

 

Like most "news", this is sensationalistic nonsense. Plus I saw NO MENTION of the most dangerous thing in the theme park world, the Intamin Cable. So clearly whoever wrote this did not do their homework.

 

dt

[Tmcdllr]

Blacking out because you're hung over

It's surprising, but not so much when you think about it. The ASO gets "around 20 reports a year," Herrera says, of people who show up dehydrated after an admitted night of heavy drinking, and black out on their first ride.

 

I never black out, guess I need to drink more!

 

Wait a minute, so out of a MILLION OR SO park visitors each year only about 20 file a report.... that number is so small is that even worth mentioning?

[crazywolf88]

Only 20 reports a year? What's the point of the article?

 

Must have been a REALLY slow news day.

[Six Flags Enthuseast]

Are they actually saying that Ghostrider is an 'old wooden coaster'?

 

This article seems to attempt to make people think they're more aware, when really all Yahoo's doing is pointing out a few either preventable or very rare accidents. It's unfortunate that this article will probably be heeded by the general public and thus more misconceptions will be made about how unsafe theme parks are and how you'll die if you ride a flying roller coaster and blah blah blah.

 

I'm glad I'm educated enough to understand that this article is 100% crap and that I'll probably never run into any of these problems at a theme park. And if I do, I know that I can blame 1) myself on preventable accidents or 2) the Intamin cable on soaking me with hydraulic fluid.

[crazywolf88]

Is it me or is the intamin cable more viscous this year? I guess it just angry intamin is going toward LSMs

[GigaG]

This article is OK, but the hydraulic fluid one is probably the most uncommon - I've heard of that happening once (I think on Two Face - The Flip Side or some other Invertigo). I also heard that when the cable snapped on TTD, riders reported burns from an oily substance, but I highly doubt that was hydraulic fluid, since doesn't the hydraulic fluid stay inside the building with the motor in it?

[A.S.Coasters]

with no safety noodles

 

This made me laugh, since when was any part of a ride called this? It's a restraint, Yahoo.