Accidental death at Schlitterbahn in Kansas City.

[neil009]

Not sure why Schlitterbahn couldn't get this right. I made water slides with insane airtime all the time in Roller Coaster Tycoon, and as long as I made the top of the hill enclosed, no one ever died.

[coasterbill]

Not sure why Schlitterbahn couldn't get this right. I made water slides with insane airtime all the time in Roller Coaster Tycoon, and as long as I made the top of the hill enclosed, no one ever died.

 

This is essentially what most people in this thread have been saying, but unlike you they're being entirely serious and speaking with tremendous authority.

[ahecht]

Not sure why Schlitterbahn couldn't get this right. I made water slides with insane airtime all the time in Roller Coaster Tycoon, and as long as I made the top of the hill enclosed, no one ever died.

You forgot the sarcasm emoji.

[coasterbill]

Not sure why Schlitterbahn couldn't get this right. I made water slides with insane airtime all the time in Roller Coaster Tycoon, and as long as I made the top of the hill enclosed, no one ever died.

You forgot the sarcasm emoji.

 

Good sarcasm doesn't need a sarcasm emoji. Some (stupid) people won't pick up on the sarcasm and that just makes it even better.

[snapfordakids]

Put me down for this ride never operating again. The death was just too horrific and the ride is so unnecessary. RIP

[cfc]

^Fujin Rajin II at Expoland in Japan was removed following a fatal accident. (The park is gone, too.) Willard's Whizzer at Great America in Santa Clara was removed, as well, following a fatal accident.

Edited August 10, 2016 by cfc

[coasterbill]

Has a ride that killed someone ever been removed because of that reason? Trying to think of one but can not.

 

In the last decade or so I can't think of much... Superman Tower of power at Kentucky Kingdom was removed for doing far less, but I can't think of any others off the top of my head. If Tsunami isn't removed from M&D's that would be shocking though.

[robbalvey]

^Why is the ride unnecessary?

 

I would think the world's tallest water slide is a pretty good marketing tool, no matter how much enthusiasts may dislike gimmicks.

Add me to the list of who are shaking their heads every time someone says this ride is "not necessary" because using that logic rides like Millennium Force or Formula Rossa or Kingda Ka are not necessary either so you might as well tear them down.

 

But then I have to remind myself that we now have a lot of insanely stupid people on our forums who are unable to construct a rational intelligent thought so they just vomit words at the screen thinking that by writing anything it will make them appear as though they have some sort of knowledge on the subject.

 

Take solace Jake that not only are you not alone in thinking these people are total morons but you're actually one of the smarter people on the forum now! Imagine that! lol

Edited August 10, 2016 by robbalvey

[DirkFunk]

^Why is the ride unnecessary?

 

I would think the world's tallest water slide is a pretty good marketing tool, no matter how much enthusiasts may dislike gimmicks.

 

I hope they are able to find out what happened, fix it, and reopen the slide next season. I would hate to see it get removed. Has a ride that killed someone ever been removed because of that reason? Trying to think of one but can not.

 

Wild Wonder at Gillian's, Opa at Mt. O (though that was only via crippling) are the only ones I can think of immediately in the US (sonmeone mentioned Expoland already, but Japan is a different universe for this). I'm not sure if the St. Louis Skyway ever ran after the accident there before it was removed. Someone else would know. Old Indiana Fun Park is the classic example where rider death ended up clearly killing the park.

Edited August 10, 2016 by DirkFunk

[SixFlagsAstroworld]

Has a ride that killed someone ever been removed because of that reason? Trying to think of one but can not.

 

In the last decade or so I can't think of much... Superman Tower of power at Kentucky Kingdom was removed for doing far less, but I can't think of any others off the top of my head. If Tsunami isn't removed from M&D's that would be shocking though.

 

I would think Rail Blazer at SFSTL, but I think I also heard that it was scrapped because the stand up cars didn't work well with the ride too.

[robbalvey]

Superman at Kentucky Kingdom and Fujin Raijin II were also not signature flagship attractions at either park. And also a death or injury of any sort in Japan is taken far more seriously than any accident in the states. Having said that though, I'm not sure how I would predict the outcome of the ride's future. Look at the Smiler accident. While no one was killed in that the media blitz behind it was absolutely CRAZY and that ride still re-opened. And I'm sure that because it was a signature flagship attraction at the park had a lot to do with it re-opening.

 

So maybe the question should instead be:

has a major new signature attraction ever been removed because of that reason? Trying to think of one but can not.

Edited August 10, 2016 by robbalvey

[kyleparks77]

I think it all comes down to the findings of the investigation.

 

If they are able to pinpoint a specific cause or failure (whether it be human error or mechanical/design error) and correct it, then it could reopen.

"We found issue X and have corrected it, along with adding other safeguards."

 

But if the investigation finds that just "something'' happened by pure chance, and combine that with the ride's well-known issues before initial opening, then I have a hard time seeing it opening again.

"We're not entirely sure what happened, but we believe it's safe now."

[Hilltopper39]

^I do have a feeling that some average park guests would be more reluctant to go on this again without the park doing something than they would a coaster like Texas Giant or Ride of Steel just because of the nature of the ride. Of course that is all dependent on the results of the investigation into what actually happened but I would expect the ride to re-open eventually, and I also anticipate the park would do something with it whether that's a different type of harness or modification to the netting or removing the camel-back part all together. Honestly without the camel back it's still the worlds tallest slide and would probably be just about as fun.

[Rill'o'beily]

It really doesn't need to be torn down like probably a lot of people on facebook are yelling for, but what it certainly needs is a bit of re-engineering when they find out the full details on the accident, cause who said it couldn't happen again if they don't do something about the design.

 

EDIT: Continuation: ...to get people back to the park, since it's been proven before that people won't go on it again unless they do something to it, which makes perfect sense

Edited August 10, 2016 by Rill'o'beily

[robbalvey]

But if the investigation finds that just "something'' happened by pure chance, and combine that with the ride's well-known issues before initial opening, then I have a hard time seeing it opening again.

"We're not entirely sure what happened, but we believe it's safe now."

This doesn't make any sense at all. Are you suggesting that the ride could have just "magically" had some sort of problem that couldn't be traced back to any human or mechanical error??!!!

 

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

 

Seriously people. Are you all just TRYING to get quoted in the "dumbest thing posted to TPR" thread? Please tell me that is the case because it makes me lose sleep at night thinking people could actually be this stupid.

Edited August 10, 2016 by robbalvey

[Kinematics]

"We're not entirely sure what happened, but we believe it's safe now."

 

Chances are, some odd caveat happened, and that caveat will be added to exceptions (i.e. ride can't be operated if wind is above 30 or guest must be below 6'8).

 

It's rare to not know what happened. Analytical tools and modeling software can pinpoint nearly anything with a high degree of accuracy.

[Garet]

But then I have to remind myself that we now have a lot of insanely stupid people on our forums who are unable to construct a rational intelligent thought so they just vomit words at the screen thinking that by writing anything it will make them appear as though they have some sort of knowledge on the subject.

 

Take solace Jake that not only are you not alone in thinking these people are total morons but you're actually one of the smarter people on the forum now! Imagine that! lol

 

This is how I deal with most posts on the internet these days.

[robbalvey]

But then I have to remind myself that we now have a lot of insanely stupid people on our forums who are unable to construct a rational intelligent thought so they just vomit words at the screen thinking that by writing anything it will make them appear as though they have some sort of knowledge on the subject.

 

Take solace Jake that not only are you not alone in thinking these people are total morons but you're actually one of the smarter people on the forum now! Imagine that! lol

 

This is how I deal with most posts on the internet these days.

I like that method! Personally though my method is "just insult them enough until they either finally go away which will improve the overall quality of the posts or they will realize they are being stupid and will try harder not to be such a huge idiot in future posts."

 

Sadly the second part isn't usually what happens but I'm perfectly ok with people weeding themselves out due to the first part!

[coasterbill]

Seriously people. Are you all just TRYING to get quoted in the "dumbest thing posted to TPR" thread? Please tell me that is the case because it makes me lose sleep at night thinking people could actually be this stupid.

 

People are really this stupid. My honest opinion is that people saw your post about people "vomiting words at the screen thinking that by writing anything it will make them appear as though they have some sort of knowledge on the subject." which is an incredibly accurate description of what's going on.

 

They then decided that they needed to prove that they were they exception to the rule by vomiting more words at the screen but surrounding the words with other words like "pinpoint", "investigation" and "safeguards" to make it sound like well-thought-out word vomit so that you would realize what a stellar member of the community they were which of course leads to more asinine posts.

 

I think there's a misconception out there that being intelligent means you have to be knowledgeable about everything. It doesn't. Sometimes being intelligent means knowing what you don't know and letting the people that know what they're doing (like the people performing the investigation and people who actually design water slides for a living) figure it out before jumping to conclusions.

 

There's nothing wrong with saying, "I don't know anything about water slide design. I wasn't there so I didn't see what happened. I'm going to wait for the investigation to run it's course before forming an opinion."

[kyleparks77]

I think it all comes down to the findings of the investigation.

 

If they are able to pinpoint a specific cause or failure (whether it be human error or mechanical/design error) and correct it, then it could reopen.

"We found issue X and have corrected it, along with adding other safeguards."

 

But if the investigation finds that just "something'' happened by pure chance, and combine that with the ride's well-known issues before initial opening, then I have a hard time seeing it opening again.

"We're not entirely sure what happened, but we believe it's safe now."

This doesn't make any sense at all. Are you saying that the ride could have just "magically" had some sort of problem that couldn't be traced back to any human or mechanical error??!!!

 

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

 

Seriously people. Are you all just TRYING to get quoted in the "dumbest thing posted to TPR" thread? Please tell me that is the case because it makes me lose sleep at night thinking people could actually be this stupid.

No, not at all.

Example of specific issues: restraint failure, inadequate weight, etc

Example of issue harder to pinpoint: the front of the raft lifted up due to variable forces - which there are a lot of in anything with water - aligning just right (or "magic")

I'm not saying this is what caused the accident, but there's a possibility that there was not one specific failure that can be pinpointed (happens all the time). If that's the case, it will be harder (if not impossible) to correct it, make the public feel safe, and reopen. Or maybe his restraint failed and they simply need different restraints. Again, completely dependent upon the findings of the investigation.

[lk2500]

.

Edited August 10, 2016 by lk2500

[CedarFanboy]

Speculating what happened obviously isn't helping anyone at this point. Why is it so hard to wait until they finish up their review of what REALLY happened? So far, the "issues" have been with the restraints, or the wind, or the nets, or the weight, or the design of the slide itself. Haven't we all learned from the Kings Dominion thread that speculating isn't the way to go? Just be patient and keep the family in your prayers until they gets this sorted out. You guys are gonna give poor Robb a heart attack!

[Bhamguy]

My thoughts and prayers are with the family.

 

I have no information on what occurred, or experience with the ride. But I just wanted to mention that I have appreciated the discussion of possible circumstances that could have caused this tragic accident. While nothing will bring this young boy back, I don't think it is unhealthy to discuss possible causes, realizing that the investigation may reveal something altogether different in any event.

 

Some of the possible causes don't make sense to me, but I appreciate the effort nonetheless. Thanks to all contributing.

[Morgan]

Whatever the outcome of the investigation there will be a solution, if it was mechanical (restraint failure for example) they will make changes to solve the malfunction, if it was human error they will put steps in place to ensure it cannot happen again (just like The Smiler). This ride was a huge capital investment by the park, and no matter how tragic or shocking this accident was they are not going to scrap a huge investment like this. The only way that would happen is if people actively avoided the park because of its presence, enough that the write off would be more economic, which won't happen.

 

Again using The Smiler as an example, yes it put people off from visiting Alton Towers, the park was a Ghost Town compared to normal for the remainder of last year, and it's not properly recovered yet to this day, but people still ride The Smiler and as bad as the press got for Alton Towers, it does fade over time.

 

What happened here was awful, but I don't think for one second that the slide is going anywhere anytime soon.

[CedarFanboy]

My thoughts and prayers are with the family.

 

I have no information on what occurred, or experience with the ride. But I just wanted to mention that I have appreciated the discussion of possible circumstances that could have caused this tragic accident. While nothing will bring this young boy back, I don't think it is unhealthy to discuss possible causes, realizing that the investigation may reveal something altogether different in any event.

 

Some of the possible causes don't make sense to me, but I appreciate the effort nonetheless. Thanks to all contributing.

It's not really about the effort, it's about the stupidity in some of these posts. Nobody knows what happened yet, and as you said, nothing will bring him back. All this speculation seems to be causing nothing but trouble from what I've seen. Can we rename this thread to Kings Dominion Discussion Thread 2.0?