Credit: DisneyA child was recently hospitalized after an incident at Magic Kingdom Park, and more information has reportedly come to light.
Florida theme parks, including Walt Disney World Resort, Universal Orlando Resort, and SeaWorld Orlando, which employ over 1,000 staff members and have trained experts for continuous maintenance, enjoy exemptions from certain state regulations. Normally, the Florida Department of Agriculture sets safety limitations and mandates regular reports and inspections for such establishments. However, these privately-owned theme parks take responsibility for their own maintenance teams and safety reports.
In return for this exemption, these large theme parks voluntarily submit quarterly reports. Nevertheless, these reports typically consist of brief descriptions and are not subject to follow-up investigations. In cases of theme park injuries, many incidents are reported as “pre-existing conditions,” without further elaboration. Theme parks are only required to report an incident if it involves an incident that resulted in a Guest being hospitalized for at least a 24-hour stay.
The newest attraction at Walt Disney World Resort is TRON Lightcycle / Run, which is located in Tomorrowland at Magic Kingdom Park. The attraction is only available by Virtual Queue or by purchasing an Individual Lightning Lane pass, which can be found in the Disney Genie+ section of the My Disney Experience app. The attraction is one of the fastest Disney Park coasters in the world and has a height requirement of more than 48 inches.
More information has now been given about an incident to occur at the attraction. In the latest incident report, a child was reportedly hospitalized after riding TRON Lightcycle / Run. On May 1, the 9-year-old reportedly lost consciousness after experiencing the attraction. This is the first official reported incident to occur on TRON Lightcycle / Run, which opened this past April.
The most tragic incident to occur in the quarterly report involved a 44-year-old man who collapsed and later passed away after riding Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in Magic Kingdom. In addition, Disney reports that two Disney Park Guests had seizures– one on Avatar Flight of Passage and another on Frozen Ever After– in April. One 41-year-old man reportedly fell and suffered a fractured elbow on Tomorrowland Speedway, and one 27-year-old male experienced chest pains and illness after riding Test Track in EPCOT.
Two incidents were reported at Universal Orlando Resort, both of which involved motion sickness for one Guest who rode Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, and another who experienced Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit.
Inside the Magic will keep you updated on the latest developments coming out of Walt Disney World Resort and much more.