Visiting Disneyland is a dream come true for children and adults alike, but for some, the Disneyland fantasy ends in tragedy. The safety record at the Disneyland theme park from 1955 to 1963 appears to have been outstanding. But according to John Marr, in his article, Waiting In Line i>On Day, in May 1964, the first Disneyland theme park fatality occurred on a ride known as the Matterhorn, a bobsled roller coaster to ride. The victim was 15-year-old Mark Maples of Long Beach, California.
It seems that he had argued with his girlfriend earlier about it, and rumors indicate that he was thrown out. But in the evening he was excited, he ordered to stay with friends at Disneyland to ride the Matterhorn. Riding to the top of the mountain, for some inexplicable reason, the Maples stopped, and he was thrown head first into the trail below. Disneyland theme park officials said he was “catapulted from a speeding car.” The fall crushed his skull, and he suffered internal injuries, remaining in a coma for several days until he expired.
While there are many urban legends about the death of Disneylandurban, it is true that many people have been injured there, some have. he desired death. It is very difficult to obtain certain facts accurately, and to separate rumor from truth. But in most cases, according to Snopes.com, the majority of deaths in the Disneyland theme park are due to the negligence of riders following safety instructions, or patrons who tried to “defeat” Disneyland rides, safety mechanisms.
In January, 1984, another fatal accident occurred at Disneyland on the Matterhorn. Dollie Young, a 48-year-old mother from Fremont, California, was visiting the Disneyland theme park with friends when she decided to ride the Matterhorn. The young man was riding alone in the back of the car, so the facts were difficult to come by, but Disneyland employees were sure that he was wearing his seat belt. About 2/3 of the way through the ride, he fell off the car onto the tracks. While desperately trying to recover from the fall, she was struck by another arrow and twisted under his wheels. She was dragged away and died of head and chest injuries in a gruesome scene.
In June of 1966, during the Night Walk at Disneyland, 19-year-old Thomas Guy Cleveland of Northridge, California, sneaked into the park, climbed a 16-foot-high fence, and then gained access to the Monorail tracks that ran through Disneyland. . Seeing that he wanted to jump or climb off the track and into the Disneyland park, he ignored the warnings of the security guards . (He was trying to make a quick study of the approaching company.) Cleveland managed to get down to the fiberglass canopy under the tracks, but the clearance was not enough to stop the train from hitting him and pinning him down. to trace, to tear the body.
Two months after People Motor opened in Disney’s Tomorrowland in August of 1967, another death occurred. The People Motor was not a Disneyland theme park ride (as the name probably suggests.) It moved at a very fast pace of about 2 miles per hour or less, and was not very popular with children or teenagers. But teen visitors to Disneyland often find it fun to try and create excitement on the slow train. Seventeen-year-old Ricky Lee Yama was visiting the Disneyland theme park in Hawthorne, California with friends when he decided to ignore safety rules and jump out of the car. According to Mel, author of The Disneyland Death Tour online, Yama slipped and was dragged under the wheels; before his brain was split in half.
Unfortunately, another similar incident happened at Disneyland in 1980, on Stage Night. Gerard Gonzales, San Diego, once again jumping from car to car, and he slipped and fell on the track, and was then dragged under the car. According to witnesses at Disneyland, he was still conscious when the last train passed him, only to be run over by a group of cars again, and dragged across the tracks. Adding to the great sadness of this tragedy is the fact that the People’s Motor was the slowest ride in Disneyland Park at the time.
In June of 1973, two brothers, Bogden DeLaurot, an 18-year-old boy from Brooklyn, and his 10-year-old brother, decided to stay longer than allowed at the Disneyland attraction, Tom Sawyer’s Island. They successfully evaded Disneyland security by hiding in the attic of the Injun Joseph Caves. (Some rumors say that it was only intended to watch the nighttime Disneyland theme park lights from the island.) However, the only way to get off the island was by raft, and the rafts stopped running when the sun went down. When the children realized that they were trapped on the island, they decided to swim. Unfortunately, the younger brother did not know how to swim, and Bogden decided to carry him on his back. The older brother, tired, went down, about halfway up the river, only 5 feet of water. The minor boy was dog-tethered to the swimmer and was eventually saved by a boat operator around 10 p.m. Police, firemen, and Disneyland theme park employees worked until sunrise to find Bogden’s body, which was found on the rocks at the entrance to the rapids.
On June 4, 1983, another young man lost his life in the Rivers of America, at Step Night, in the Disneyland theme park. It was Philip Straughan’s 18th birthday and his graduation. He and a friend were apparently celebrating at Disneyland, drinking quite a bit that evening, when they decided to take the helper’s car they found around Tom’s Sawyer’s cove and go for a ride. Drunk and unable to control the ship, or to see the pitch black waters, Straughan was thrown into the water; when the boat struck a plaster of rock. About an hour later his body was found, submerged in less than four feet of water.
Another horrific theme of the Disneyland park tragedy involves an 18-year-old girl from Santa Ana. Deborah Gail Stone worked as a hostess at the Disneyland America Singing attraction (formerly home to the Carousel of Progress< /i>.) Surrounding environment The audience is surrounded by a fixed center in an area that introduces multiple levels. Stone’s duty was to greet the new crowd as they settled into their seats. Somehow she got too close to the area between the rotating wall and the non-moving stage wall and was crushed to death. The Disneyland attraction was closed for two days when a safety light was installed, warning the show’s promoter when anyone was getting into a dangerous area. Afterwards the walls were built and demolished, succeeding solid ones, so that the like of them should not be felled.
Rides aren’t the only hazards at the Disneyland theme park. On March 7, 1981, Honey was visiting Yorba Disneyland as part of a private celebration for the Anaheim Contractors Union. Word has it that Yorba was looking for trouble from morning to evening. While walking around Disneyland, he caught sight of a beautiful girl waiting in line, and her boyfriend, James O’Driscoll, took off after Yorba and his friends. He grabbed one by the sleeve and was then attacked by Yorba. Yorba and his friends run for the chance again, but O’Driscoll chases them. After his girlfriend noticed the offender was right, Yorba grabbed him by the shirt, and Yorba punched him again. Yorba and O’Driscoll struggled, and then fell to the ground, and Yorba (urged by his friends) tried to strangle O’Driscoll. This was when O’Driscoll pulled a hunting knife from his sock an inch from his sock, and the blade went through Yorba’s chest and stomach . (witnesses later testified that Yorba fell fighting in the mouth of the camp. Yorba applied until park EMTs arrived. Half an hour later, Yorba was pronounced dead at the hospital. O’Driscoll was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 8 years at the Disneyland theme park He was ordered to pay $600,000 to Yorba’s parents because he did not treat Yorba’s Columbia was using was thrown from a metal projectile. The box went flying through the air and two visitors who were waiting to board the ride, and a Disneyland employee. Luan Phi Dawson, 33, of Duvall, Washington was declared brain dead two days later and went off life support when her life was disconnected. (The wife was also injured in the accident.) The Disneyland theme park was responsible for this first car-related death, which was not due to visitor negligence or disobedience. According to Safetyforum.com, when the accident happened, Disneyland called the EMTs, but not notified the police. Police arrived at the Disneyland theme park about 40 minutes later, after paramedics called them, and found the scene completely cleared of everything, including blood and gore. testimony (No law requires Disneyland to leave the scene of an accident unscathed until police and the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration can investigate.) A Indiana revealed the discovery. Jones, riding a computer controlled Jeep, was responsible for hundreds of serious injuries, including a bleeding brain stem.
Note that I have only outlined the deaths that have occurred at the Disneyland theme park. There are many horrific injuries sustained by innocent visitors to the Disneyland theme park in California, as well as the Disney World theme park in Florida. What we desperately need is some kind of national training system, because this isn’t a problem that only goes with the theme of Disney, but with amusement parks. It is clear that many of these deaths were caused by negligence on the part of Disneyland guests, but many of the serious injuries that I have read are due to ride technicians. Theme Disneyland The park guest doesn’t have the responsibility to follow the park rules and read the warning signs at the park attractions. But legal experts also agree (according to Safetyforum.com) that amusement park visitors must have the right to wait. The ride must be designed and operated safely, and not cause physical harm.
Please advise children and teenagers to ride because of what is available to them, not to worry about their safety. Also, warn about responsible behavior when the theme goes, and maybe their visit will be truly magical, instead of tragic.
Sources: http://www.stim.com/Stim-x/0796July/Features/mors.html
http://www.whatever-dude.com/posts/54.shtml
http://www.safetyforum.com/amusementparks/
http://www.snopes.com/disney/parks/deaths.asp
http://www.snopes.com/disney/parks/amersing.asp
