Celestial Park - General Discussion Thread

[lowbudget]

How do you get blunt impact injuries on a roller coaster that severe? Surely the design team runs test with limp necked test dummies. I would assume that someone passing out on the lift hill from fear or hyperventilation has to be accounted for. And I'm sure someone has passed out on Stardust prior to this incident.

I'm not disputing the medical examiner, I'm just struggling to understand how it could get to that point.

 

[Disneyhead]

This is...bad.

 

[JohnHammondsCane]

Not here to speculate, just sending condolences to the family of the victim, as well as everyone there last night.

I appreciate this board's ability to have respectful discussions on topics like this, in a mature, adult way.

Seems like a horrific accident. Please be careful browsing Reddit, as there's a detailed post which may be upsetting to some

 

[Brian G.]

I know everyone wants answers, but we have to let the investigation and everything take its course, and then we can discuss it further. The bottom line is that someone is now gone.

Our deepest condolences to Kevin's family and loved ones.

 

[Amsterdaam]

Wouldn't you receive multiple injuries if you'd passed out on a ride and had your head jostled around between the seat restraints for a few minutes?

That's a scary thought. I would hope that they would anticipate the possibility of someone passing out and design the ride vehicle in such a way that it keeps your head safe in that situation.

 

[Yung1522]

I've been seeing more and more comments saying that he was a wheelchair user which may be entirely fabricated at this point. It did get me wondering though if Universal offers any supplementary body harnesses like Sea World does with disability passes. Anyone know if they offer that at all?

 

[Jwhee]

I've been seeing more and more comments saying that he was a wheelchair user which may be entirely fabricated at this point. It did get me wondering though if Universal offers any supplementary body harnesses like Sea World does with disability passes. Anyone know if they offer that at all?

I would have to guess that this would be a requirement of the ride manufacturer and not necessarily a decision of the park

 

[Yung1522]

I would have to guess that this would be a requirement of the ride manufacturer and not necessarily a decision of the park

I remember Six Flags and Sea World working on it so I do think some parks took it upon themselves. I know B&M offers it on most of their coasters. I've seen it in action at Hershey and Busch Gardens. I didn't notice any missing limbs either time which seems to be the most obvious use case.

Here's an excerpt from an IBCCES article in 2022 saying that, at that time, 98 percent of Six Flags rides offered additional harnesses -

Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, (NYSE:SIX) the world’s largest regional theme park company and the largest operator of water parks in North America is now the world’s first theme park company to revolutionize and design a specialized restraint harness that allows access to ALL Six Flags Thrill Rides for guests with physical disabilities.

In addition, as the world’s first theme park company to be accredited, at all properties, as Certified Autism Centers™, autistic guests and their families can now explore more inclusive options while visiting the parks. This accreditation is in partnership with the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards (IBCCES), the only credentialing organization providing this form of certification. As part of the program, park leadership is trained and additional support elements are identified to have for guests. The development of specialty guides has also been designed to highlight the various sensory impacts of each ride or attraction to help with planning a day at a Six Flags park.

Six Flags leads the industry as the first theme park company to manufacture and offer a custom restraint harness, with multiple sizes that are able to accommodate riders with physical disabilities such as a missing limb or appendages starting at 54” tall. Approximately 98 percent of all Six Flags theme park rides are equipped with an individually designed harness. Certain rider restrictions and qualifications will apply.

 

[Mad Dog]

I just looked at the TP app and it's showing Stardust running at 15 minutes standby. Is that a tech mistake, or is it really back up and running?

 

[DK745]

I just looked at the TP app and it's showing Stardust running at 15 minutes standby. Is that a tech mistake, or is it really back up and running?

Universal app shows it as Closed Today.

 

[AvoidTIMtation]

I saw a news clip from an official news station this morning on Youtube where they interviewed a "tiktok reporter" who said--and I'm quoting here--"there was a big piece of metal detatched hanging off the coaster", which sounds like complete BS. Misinformation being given legitimacy by official news sources is one of the biggest problems we have with social media and it really makes me miss the days were we ONLY had forums and message boards like this one.

 

[maxairmike]

How do you get blunt impact injuries on a roller coaster that severe? Surely the design team runs test with limp necked test dummies. I would assume that someone passing out on the lift hill from fear or hyperventilation has to be accounted for. And I'm sure someone has passed out on Stardust prior to this incident.

I'm not disputing the medical examiner, I'm just struggling to understand how it could get to that point.

That's a scary thought. I would hope that they would anticipate the possibility of someone passing out and design the ride vehicle in such a way that it keeps your head safe in that situation.

This seat and restraint design is standard across Mack’s coaster lineup and has been in use since at least 2009 with Blue Fire. Given the overwhelming number of riders to use this system across 16+ years, I don’t see the vehicle design as a problem. Also, OTSRs of various designs (Intamin/B&M/Vekoma) would likely have their own potential worst case issues in a situation where one loses the ability to brace/control themselves, and Mack hasn’t had any vehicles with OTSRs in a long time (if ever).

 

[DK745]

I saw a news clip from an official news station this morning on Youtube where they interviewed a "tiktok reporter" who said--and I'm quoting here--"there was a big piece of metal detatched hanging off the coaster", which sounds like complete BS. Misinformation being given legitimacy by official news sources is one of the biggest problems we have with social media and it really makes me miss the days were we ONLY had forums and message boards like this one.

That just popped up on my Youtube feed too. I watched it and there was that, along with an interview talking about possible manufacturing issue/defect with ride and Universal doing its own inspections, all ending with "again we don't know of any defects at this point."

 

[devinp267]

I saw a news clip from an official news station this morning on Youtube where they interviewed a "tiktok reporter" who said--and I'm quoting here--"there was a big piece of metal detatched hanging off the coaster", which sounds like complete BS. Misinformation being given legitimacy by official news sources is one of the biggest problems we have with social media and it really makes me miss the days were we ONLY had forums and message boards like this one.

I wouldn’t be so sure, not saying you or them are wrong but, there’s two live guest news interviews saying the same thing. I also see today it confirmed he was a wheelchair user, I wonder if the incident happened in one of those new modified seats?

 

[tyro]

I saw a news clip from an official news station this morning on Youtube where they interviewed a "tiktok reporter" who said--and I'm quoting here--"there was a big piece of metal detatched hanging off the coaster", which sounds like complete BS. Misinformation being given legitimacy by official news sources is one of the biggest problems we have with social media and it really makes me miss the days were we ONLY had forums and message boards like this one.

Not saying the metal part is wrong, but if this is the same “tik toker” that I have seen, he spent more time in his video complaining how he couldn’t get his belongings in a timely manner and how freaked out the TMs were in the station more so than actually reporting what happened….

 

[MrRoamer]

Not saying the metal part is wrong, but if this is the same “tik toker” that I have seen, he spent more time in his video complaining how he couldn’t get his belongings in a timely manner and how freaked out the TMs were in the station more so than actually reporting what happened….

I saw that one too, I didn't really think it was too credible but he kept going back to the unprofessionalism piece which made me feel like it may have had some truth to it? It felt weird that the incident was the nonchalant part and what he was really upset about was that he had to go to lost and found to get his phone.

I'm not big on the new breed of big boy coasters and haven't been on velocicoaster yet, but I don't see how none of these would account for someone passing out. An old coworker of mine actually has a condition that with quick acceleration he passes out no matter what. We had no idea until we saw the picture of himself on rocket (definitely out like a light) and then he realized he always falls asleep on flights during takeoff.

 

[tyro]

I saw that one too, I didn't really think it was too credible but he kept going back to the unprofessionalism piece which made me feel like it may have had some truth to it? It felt weird that the incident was the nonchalant part and what he was really upset about was that he had to go to lost and found to get his phone.

I don’t fully disagree that there were some TMs being “unprofessional” in the moment, but at the same time even if this is something Universal trains for (I’m sure they train about medical emergencies, but not to this extent) all of that goes out the window when you see something as traumatic as what was described and you can’t fault the TMs for that.

 

[Clive]

I don’t fully disagree that there were some TMs being “unprofessional” in the moment, but at the same time even if this is something Universal trains for (I’m sure they train about medical emergencies, but not to this extent) all of that goes out the window when you see something as traumatic as what was described and you can’t fault the TMs for that.

Yeah, I think we can give people some grace here...

 

[Jake S]

Yeah, at both Disneyland and Knott's we were trained to call an in-park emergency number or 911. That's about it. And even if we had been trained to handle the unthinkable, I'm not sure how different the result would be. It is, to state the blindingly obvious, incredibly difficult to witness something this traumatic. It's even more difficult to do so and then do your job.

 

[Rhian]

I'm not big on the new breed of big boy coasters and haven't been on velocicoaster yet, but I don't see how none of these would account for someone passing out. An old coworker of mine actually has a condition that with quick acceleration he passes out no matter what. We had no idea until we saw the picture of himself on rocket (definitely out like a light) and then he realized he always falls asleep on flights during takeoff.

That’s why there’s so many warnings on rides before you get on them along with instructions on how you should be seated (upright, head against headrest). In the case of your coworker, it sounds like he had a medical condition he was unaware of unfortunately until he was on a coaster. It does happen, and when you’re talking about theme park rides that push limits, that’s usually when you may find out. For most people it doesn’t end tragically, and once in a while someone underestimates how their condition may be worsened by the ride. (Mission: Space has had at least 2 such fatalities.)

It’s very tragic what happened here and I feel for everyone connected to the incident. Put against all the other guests who’ve ridden on it without [reported] issues it’s difficult to write it off as a design flaw on the part of the coaster as crass as it sounds. I’m not saying there won’t be any changes after this, but don’t be surprised if there isn’t any either.

Most of us here are very aware of Universal’s commitment to safety. Sadly this is an instance of no matter what you do there’s a small chance something bad will still happen.