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Thrills And Spills - Caution Key To Theme Park Safety

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By KEITH MORELLI

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 24, 2008

TAMPA - A new generation of superfast, topsy-turvy amusement rides - often, with metal twisted to defy gravity and common sense - are getting the hearts of Florida's theme park patrons thumping.

Now and again, those gut-turning rides can end in pain, and occasionally death.

Seizures and dizziness, shortness of breath, nausea, injuries to private parts on waterslides, and leg bruises from go-cart rides fill reports of health complaints kept by the state's Bureau of Fair Rides. Most are minor injuries.

A review of these reports from the past seven years, the entire period available from the state, shows most injuries occur when people climb in and out of rides. They misstep and break an ankle, or fall and fracture a shoulder. Bumped heads are common, too.

A few are more serious.

Walt Disney World reported that 14 people have died since 2001 at its Orlando area theme parks, all while getting on or off a ride or while being near a ride. One died at a Universal Orlando park, records show.

Many of the dead arrived with existing medical conditions, such as heart ailments or terminal diseases. They ranged in age from 4 to 81. Most died after being taken to nearby hospitals, many a day or so later. The state's records do not say with precision what caused the deaths.

Army veteran and Iraq war survivor Jason Blossom escaped enemy fire but injured his spine in July 2006 on a children's slide at Adventure Island.

"It knocked me out," said 29-year-old Blossom, who says his mishap cost him nearly $100,000. "It took 14 to 15 minutes to completely come to."

Blossom of Ruskin is 100 percent disabled after his service in Iraq.

"I had been in pool therapy at the VA," he said. "I asked my physical therapist, and he said, 'Just don't go down any weird slides and you'll be fine.'"

At the bottom of the slide, a lifeguard was reclaiming inner tubes. "The lifeguard grabbed it and flipped me over backwards," he said

Blossom said he plunged into about 2 feet of water head-first and hit the concrete bottom.

The park disputes Blossom's allegation, said Gerard Hoeppner, spokesman for Busch Entertainment. He said attendants at rides and slides are trained in safety.

"The standard for us is safety in everything we do," he said. "It's a priority."

There are safety messages everywhere in the form of signs, and attendants also caution guests, he said.

"We remind our guests that they have a responsibility as well," he said. "We point out to guests with medical or pre-existing conditions ... that they shouldn't ride or they should use judgment in determining if this ride is safe for them.

"Our end of the covenant is that we design or buy the best rides in the marketplace," he said. "What we can't control is a guest's action."

Blossom's federal case is scheduled for trial in Tampa in November.

Parks Determine What To Report

Each quarter, major theme parks in Florida report to the state how many people have been injured in rides. The parks determine what to include in the reports and no independent check is made.

Busch Entertainment, for example, never reported Blossom's injury.

Tales of heart trouble, dehydration and, in some cases, broken bones do emerge from the grade-yourself report card for Florida's theme parks, made public every three months by the state's Bureau of Fair Rides.

Busch Gardens, the only Tampa theme park on the list, reported no incidents for the first half of this year. It reported two injuries, both at Adventure Island, in 2006, but not Blossom's. Busch reports injuries only if the customer spends a night at a hospital, Hoeppner said

Most ride-related injuries happen in the theme-park-rich Orlando area. One was a terminally ill 6-year-old boy who died after riding Space Mountain in August 2006. Another was a 4-year-old who lost consciousness on Epcot's Mission: Space ride in June 2005 and later died.

This year, Walt Disney World has reported 15 incidents on its rides, ranging from passengers' stomach issues at the Animal Kingdom's Expedition Everest ride to chest pain on Magic Kingdom's Splash Mountain.

Theme parks in Florida are big business. According to the Themed Entertainment Association, Busch Gardens Africa in Tampa pulled in 4.4 million visitors in 2007, ranking it 19th among the world's parks.

Walt Disney World recorded attendance of a little more than 17 million people in 2007, making it the world's most popular theme park, the association reported.

Disney spokeswoman Kim Prunty said the number of people injured compared with overall attendance is small.

"The safety of our guests and cast is our top priority," she said. "With the sheer size and scope of our operations, we recognize that a small percentage of the millions who come here will require medical attention."

Generally, said Rob Jacobs, spokesman for the Bureau of Fair Rides, carnival-type rides such as roller coasters, upside-down track rides and those that spin in the air are fairly safe.

The number of injuries on those rides, he said, "has been pretty consistent over the years. Most of the accidents are in go-cart tracks and water parks."

Across the nation, the number of amusement-ride injuries that end up with a visit to the hospital has grown steadily, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. It attributes the increase to growing park attendance and a growing number of parks. The commission calls the increases, for the most part, "statistically insignificant."

Hospital treatment of people hurt on amusement rides increased from about 15,400 in 2005 to 17,800 in 2006, the commission reported. Last year, there were about 18,800 injuries.

New Rides Safe, Expert Says

Florida is home to about 180 permanent amusement or theme parks and more than 220 traveling amusement companies.

The newer, bigger, faster rides are fairly safe in the view of Bill Avery, a consultant and risk-management expert specializing in amusement rides and former safety manager with Busch Gardens and SeaWorld.

"I've thought about the bigger, faster; the dynamics of the new rides," Avery said. "I'm not sure if any of that is a safety factor. If you look at what happens around the country, many of the incidents we are seeing are on the older-style spinning rides - the same kind that grandpa and grandma used to ride."

Newer rides feature improved safety features, including state-of-the-art restraints, and are operated by computers, "so it takes a lot of the risk out of it," Avery said. "The more decisions you take away from the operator, the better you are."

His experience bears out the Florida data showing injuries happen when people are climbing into or out of the rides.

"A lot of the smaller rides have a slight motion in them," he said. "They will move a little bit when you step up or down, and that adds to potential for injuries to happen. Plus, they are not standard steps. They are a little higher or elevated, and that makes it more dangerous."

More thorough reporting is needed in the amusement-ride industry, Avery said. Each theme park uses different criteria, and some injuries just go unreported.

"Reports are predicated on who gives the reports. Does everyone follow the same sheet of music? Absolutely not."

Avery estimated that 13 percent of accidents that require medical attention go unreported.

"A lot slips through the cracks."

Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 259-7760 or kmorelli@tampatrib.com.

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