Expedition Everest Death

[Mr. Toad]

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/200 ... titialskip

[indianajdp]

Hate to see this anywhere obviously, but why does it seem it's always in a Disney park?

And how many of you, when you first heard there was another Disney fatality, assumed this was another Mission:Space event? I surely did. We last visted Orlando in April of 2006, just missing the opening of this ride at Animal Kingdom. Those of you in the know...how violent is it? Compare it, if you can, to The Matterhorn in Anaheim.

[Disney-Fan]

It's not always at Disney. It just gets more coverage, sadly.

[Siren]

I'll still ride both rides when I go. So far, most (if not all) of the deaths have not been a fault of the ride. Either its been some employee who shouldn't have been where they were or underlying health issues.

[AwallaceUNC]

I was on Expedition Everest about 25 minutes before this happened on Tuesday, though I was already out of the theme park by the time it occurred. To think that I might have been in the same line as someone who was living his last moments, unbeknownst to him, is unsettling. It's very sad and my prayers are with the family.

IJDP, I've ridden Everest many times and don't consider it to be "violent" at all. Granted, I'm no roller coaster aficionado, but Everest feels very smooth and gentle to me. There are some thrills, to be sure -- a drop, a backwards fall, and some high-speed curves and inclines -- but no launch start, no sudden jerks, or anything that would make it especially daring. In short, it's an exciting experience, but there's nothing about this ride that leads one to wonder if thrill rides have gone too far (the way that Mission: Space arguably might). The latest reports are that it was a pre-existing heart condition that led to the death and not a problem with the ride itself. The ride does contain a visual surprise at the end of the ride (and the reports indicate the death came at the very end of the ride) which could easily startle someone; I wonder if perhaps that had anything to do with it.

Here's an article on the cause of death: http://www.nwfdailynews.com/article/10832

-Aaron

[Prince Charming 12]

I figured that this fatality was related to personal health problems and not the attraction malfunctioning. I have ridden Everest several times over the past two years and found the ride comparable to Big Thunder Mountian in the Magic Kingdom. You can feel the G-force through some of the sharp turns and descents , but nothing like, for example, the Incredible Hulk at Universal. It basically is listed as a "family style" coaster, with the official stats of an 80 foot drop and obtaining speeds at around 55mph. When compared to the coasters at Cedar Point, it is quite tame.

My condolences to the family.