https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Mon, 13 Apr 2026 17:30:29 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/with-all-of-these-amusement-park-accidents-lately#post-2603224 Fri, 12 Aug 2016 11:10:46 +0000 BSB 2603224@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@T.H.O.U.: Yeah, I wonder what types of standards Disney has. They probably helped set the bar for FL amusement parks. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/with-all-of-these-amusement-park-accidents-lately#post-2603203 Fri, 12 Aug 2016 10:38:35 +0000 T.H.O.U. 2603203@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@bluestriped bee: I will look at that site. But I know for FL we have a state division of ride inspections. They do carnival pop up rides, theme park rides and water parks. So any data of accidents is reported through them. Again something like a serious injury or death isn't going to be able to be covered up. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/with-all-of-these-amusement-park-accidents-lately#post-2603192 Fri, 12 Aug 2016 10:29:26 +0000 BSB 2603192@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@tlcbaby: Yeah, the only thing is airplane travel is highly regulated. I love flying and I know accidents happen but I still say a little prayer every time I'm on a plane. </p> <p>But for amusement park rides, I found this. "there is no consistent standard of regulation in any state for amusement parks. The federal government leaves it up to each state to decide how they want to oversee them. Some have elected to have strict regulation – like New Jersey and Pennsylvania – while others have elected to have none. " "Kansas is one of those states that falls on the lower end of the spectrum," he says. "The amusement park industry for all intents and purposes is self-regulated." "That means they get to make their own rules and they get to do as they see fit for the most part. There is limited oversight because in Kansas because they let the owner of the ride conduct their inspection and do their own accident investigations. That's nothing more than a fox guarding a hen house." "While the state does have the right to inspect amusement park rides at random, that had not been done at this park, according to an open records request from The Topeka Capital-Journal. "</p> <p><a href="http://www.people.com/article/amusement-park-regulations-by-state" rel="nofollow">http://www.people.com/article/amusement-park-regulations-by-state</a></p> <p>I did grow up in Pennsylvania and thankfully it apparently is a state with strict regulations. It just makes me pause a little if I were to go to another state and hop on a ride that I think is maintained. Scary to me. </p> <p>Also, according to this site <a href="http://www.iaapa.org/safety-and-advocacy/safety/amusement-ride-safety" rel="nofollow">http://www.iaapa.org/safety-and-advocacy/safety/amusement-ride-safety</a> , it doesn't seem to me that amusement parks have to report accidents. The one thing I noticed about this site's stats is that it's based off a survey! Meaning they asked amusement parks to answer these questions. They could have under reported the answer. Did they have to answer truthfully? No, I doubt it. I think if someone was injured, they were probably paid off to keep quiet. Just doesn't sit well with me. It seems like the amusement park industry is headed in a slippery and dangerous direction. We do have a false sense of security when we go to these places. I said it myself when the alligator death at Disney happened. Sort of unrelated to this issue. </p> <p>I know I'm hinting towards more regulations and I know it's probably never going to happen. Some schools are underfunded so I doubt they'll make room for added roller coaster regulation. </p> <p>I'm not anti-roller coaster. I used to love them. Though, with age, I've noticed that I can't tolerate them like I used to. But like I said earlier, I probably still let my kids go on rides (avoiding some of them if it doesn't look safe) and just say a prayer. </p> <p>It is evident in the water slide accident that water slides (like this one) had serious issues before it opened and in the last few months and that velcro restraint system was not working or not maintained. </p> <p>I do completely agree with part of your comment... "I think it just takes some common sense and learning from personal anecdotes and recent events to decide what is best for your kids."</p> <p>@T.H.O.U.: I found this. "The chance of being seriously injured on a fixed-site ride at a U.S. amusement park is 1 in 16 million" Like I above, the data is taken from a survey! Amusement parks aren't required to report accidents. So this statistic could be wrong. Probably in the grand scheme of thing, it might be 1 in 10 million... which I know is small. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/with-all-of-these-amusement-park-accidents-lately#post-2603173 Fri, 12 Aug 2016 10:10:19 +0000 tlcbaby 2603173@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@808love: I thought about this, too. Even though it is relatively rare, maybe this will cause them to take a look at safety guidelines and regulations. It can't hurt. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/with-all-of-these-amusement-park-accidents-lately#post-2603158 Fri, 12 Aug 2016 09:55:10 +0000 808love 2603158@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I was a very small child. My larger cousin would always want to ride in the Zipper with me and I was bruised and slammed around in the cage. I also got a few days of whiplash on a water park ride. I swore the angle of the slide or safety directions were wrong for all sizes. Since the recent events could lead to possible legislation reform it reminds me of China. I have been there three times. Their safety restrictions are virtually nonexistent so there are a higher frequency of snafus. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/with-all-of-these-amusement-park-accidents-lately#post-2603142 Fri, 12 Aug 2016 09:33:20 +0000 tlcbaby 2603142@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>It doesn't really change anything for me. I personally am not a huge fan of rides that can be folded up and put on a truck :) but I do think you have to put it in perspective -- how many millions of people ride amusement rides with no incident? </p> <p>It's like seeing one airplane crash and never getting in an airplane again. Yes, you might never die in a plane crash, but you could die choking on a carrot...there is no way to eliminate every possible danger.</p> <p>Obviously, as parents, we will be making the decisions for quite a while on what our kids can do, and I think you just have to go by the guidelines and your gut and do what you feel comfortable with. </p> <p>My husband was a very tall kid so he met the height requirements for a lot of rides when he was really still too small to be on them and had a close call once. Luckily, his dad held him in. I think it just takes some common sense and learning from personal anecdotes and recent events to decide what is best for your kids, without going to extremes. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/with-all-of-these-amusement-park-accidents-lately#post-2603129 Fri, 12 Aug 2016 09:21:05 +0000 kes18 2603129@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I don't mind rollercoasters at well-established parks. I love them for myself, personally. Most of them have been operating for many years without serious incidents. So those won't bother me (so stuff at like six flags or disney world). Except those rides that shoot you straight up into the air, I can't get on one of those since the story where the cable snapped.</p> <p>Agree with others on the traveling carnival rides- so sketchy. If my LO really wanted to go, I'd probably let them if they were old enough. Knowing that the serious accidents are incredibly rare. And it might depend on the ride lol.</p> <p>I'm still really sickened over the waterslide incident. That thing seemed to be messed up from the start. They had to demolish half of it and start over and the boats were flying off the tracks. It was delayed so many times. I don't mind heights or waterslides and I had NO desire to ride that thing. Water parks aren't really my thing anyway, so I'd rather take my kids to an amusement park over a water park. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/with-all-of-these-amusement-park-accidents-lately#post-2603128 Fri, 12 Aug 2016 09:18:31 +0000 meredithNYC 2603128@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Eh, I remember hearing about such accidents when I was a kid, so it's nothing new. Personally I don't enjoy rides because I'm afraid of most, but I actually want my kids to be more brave than I am. So I'm okay with them, knowing the risk is so small. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/with-all-of-these-amusement-park-accidents-lately#post-2603074 Fri, 12 Aug 2016 07:39:47 +0000 MrsADS 2603074@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Agree w/others - traveling fairs are a little sketchy. We live 3 hours from Disney and I'm sure LO is going to go a million times. I feel 100% safe on those rides. But will of course teach LO about safety - remain seated, always follow the instructions of the ride operators, etc. </p> <p>I'm not a huge rollercoaster person but I love theme parks/themed environments (zoos, etc). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/with-all-of-these-amusement-park-accidents-lately#post-2603055 Fri, 12 Aug 2016 07:15:22 +0000 MrsRcCar 2603055@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I am perfectly ok with amusement parks, but not crazy about traveling carnivals/fairs. I am a self proclaimed coaster junkie so I plan to let my boys ride away. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/with-all-of-these-amusement-park-accidents-lately#post-2602990 Fri, 12 Aug 2016 00:33:40 +0000 808love 2602990@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Just researched the incident I mentioned above and it was not a freak accident. It was negligence. It also mentioned there were no automatic safety guards (because of budget) and the young machine operator kept pressing the button for 10 more seconds after the screams as she wasn't told otherwise by a supervisor. Parents refused to settle as labeled as an accident. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/with-all-of-these-amusement-park-accidents-lately#post-2602988 Fri, 12 Aug 2016 00:21:18 +0000 GoGoSnoGirl 2602988@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We just drove by a traveling carnival tonight &amp; this sparked a conversation between DH &amp; I about this very topic. We don't feel comfortable with the traveling carnivals' rides, and will be cautious in visiting other amusement parks/rides. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/with-all-of-these-amusement-park-accidents-lately#post-2602984 Thu, 11 Aug 2016 23:59:27 +0000 808love 2602984@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We have been to Disney 4 times already but only once to a carnival when LO turned 5. I was relieved LO didn't want to ride anything because I too don't trust these type of quick setup rides. We just went into the fun/mirror house. Even that I was claustrophobic and freaking out that I couldn't find my way out and the sun was glaring in so hard I thought I would fry. </p> <p>Side note: I was at a major fair event where there was a freak fatal accident of a little girl due to the novelty of the ride and not enough foresight to protect people. The 10 yr old was just about my age and our family heard the screams. My cousin doesn't go to theme parks anymore and has slight PTSD from several childhood events such as that. I am ok but. I am still very cautious and DH and I never put LO on our shoulders bc of what happened. I think some people experience secondhand ptsd from reading these kinds of things and the fear stays with them so they begin to avoid more risks. :( We all are different types of risk takers and have tolerance levels based on our personality and past experiences. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/with-all-of-these-amusement-park-accidents-lately#post-2602977 Thu, 11 Aug 2016 23:42:14 +0000 Purpledaisy 2602977@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>In my opinion, the risk is so small, I have no problem with roller coasters/ rides. How I look at it is that you're more likely to die in a car accident on the way there than to die on a ride. </p> <p>I will admit that carnival rides make me nervous Because they always look so rickety! I wouldn't forbid them though unless I felt it was truly a dangerous ride. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/with-all-of-these-amusement-park-accidents-lately#post-2602703 Thu, 11 Aug 2016 15:30:24 +0000 IRunForFun 2602703@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Traveling carnivals and fairs - hell to the no. Those rides have always seemed so dangerous and rickety and haphazardly put together to me. I won't go on them and I don't think I'd let my kids either. I mean the kiddie rides maybe, but not the rollercoasters and all that.</p> <p>Established amusement parks I feel differently about. Those rides are constantly inspected and maintained and are permanent structures. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/with-all-of-these-amusement-park-accidents-lately#post-2602690 Thu, 11 Aug 2016 15:12:03 +0000 JenGirl 2602690@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Nope. These accidents are scary and flashy so they get news coverage, but in reality they are incredibly rare. A kid is far more likely to be killed or seriously injured on the drive to the amusement park than on any of the rides. </p> <p>Nothing is ever 100% safe, but in this litigious US society, amusement park go through lots of safety protocols. </p> <p>That being said, there are some things that I'd be more cautious about. Open water slides are one of those things. Big carnival rides are another. And I consider things differently if I'm in another country, as well. Not saying that I wouldn't let my kid go on rides in any of those situations, I just evaluate things a bit more critically. But a roller coaster at a large amusement park? Wouldn't give it a second thought. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/with-all-of-these-amusement-park-accidents-lately#post-2602687 Thu, 11 Aug 2016 15:02:32 +0000 autumnlove 2602687@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I am fine with rides at amusement parks and carnivals. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/with-all-of-these-amusement-park-accidents-lately#post-2602675 Thu, 11 Aug 2016 14:35:54 +0000 T.H.O.U. 2602675@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I always try to turn to the numbers on these type of things. What are the actual risks of a ride like this versus say horseback riding or natural disasters or riding in a car or plane? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/with-all-of-these-amusement-park-accidents-lately#post-2602673 Thu, 11 Aug 2016 14:34:40 +0000 PinkElephant 2602673@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I've always been uncomfortable with traveling carnival rides. I didn't grow up riding them, and will try to avoid my daughters doing so. I feel a little bit better about major theme parks (six flags, Disney), but we aren't thrill ride lovers, so I don't see these bring a huge part of family vacations in the future anyway. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/with-all-of-these-amusement-park-accidents-lately#post-2602669 Thu, 11 Aug 2016 14:29:11 +0000 Andrea 2602669@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We don't go to those traveling carnival ones, but I am fine with regular amusement parks. Accidents are pretty rare at those and would fall into the category of "freak accidents" for me. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/with-all-of-these-amusement-park-accidents-lately#post-2602663 Thu, 11 Aug 2016 14:19:28 +0000 BSB 2602663@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@snowjewelz: Yeah, this is most likely what will happen to us. I'll worry internally and say a quick prayer (I'm not religious, but I do it) and hope they are safe. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/with-all-of-these-amusement-park-accidents-lately#post-2602659 Thu, 11 Aug 2016 14:14:15 +0000 agold 2602659@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@littlebug: @bluestriped bee: I will admit that I want my soon-to-be-born baby girl to live in a bubble. My husband and I have a list that we are almost close to putting in writing of all the things she will not be allowed to do. We have lots of exciting plans for her, but some (lots) things just don't sit well with us. Add ridiculous water slides to that list. :bummed: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/with-all-of-these-amusement-park-accidents-lately#post-2602656 Thu, 11 Aug 2016 14:13:29 +0000 snowjewelz 2602656@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I don't enjoy most rides, so I probably won't exactly be encouraging my kids to go on them but I won't stop them either when they can make a choice... Probably just worry inside, and I will advise against something that I really do think is unsafe (like dingy sketchy looking local carnival ides). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/with-all-of-these-amusement-park-accidents-lately#post-2602644 Thu, 11 Aug 2016 14:01:49 +0000 BSB 2602644@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@littlebug: Agree. Agree to disagree. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/with-all-of-these-amusement-park-accidents-lately#post-2602642 Thu, 11 Aug 2016 14:00:48 +0000 littlebug 2602642@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@bluestriped bee: Ok, agree to disagree, then. I'm not going to argue about what I meant or your interpretation of it. You see it how you want to see it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/with-all-of-these-amusement-park-accidents-lately#post-2602639 Thu, 11 Aug 2016 13:59:37 +0000 BSB 2602639@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@agold: yeah, decapitated. :crying: Awful! If you see videos of the building of the water slide, they had rafts fly off the ride. They rebuilt the ride before it opened. They said they based the waterside off of roller coasters and it didn't translate well. Reminds me of my days playing Rollercoaster Tycoon but instead this is real life! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/with-all-of-these-amusement-park-accidents-lately#post-2602636 Thu, 11 Aug 2016 13:57:04 +0000 BSB 2602636@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@littlebug: Yeah, I might have but you are still implying that anyone who prevents their kids from riding these rides are raising their kids in a bubble. Yeah, not quite. There are other things they would have to do to get that label. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/with-all-of-these-amusement-park-accidents-lately#post-2602624 Thu, 11 Aug 2016 13:46:27 +0000 Bao 2602624@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We went to Cedar Point Monday (without the kids) and I said I hope they don't end up liking rides. I used to love roller coasters and now I hate them! I thought I was going to die. So safe or not, I hope to not have to take my kids often. If they want to they can go with DH I suppose..I won't rob them of the experience if that's what they want to do.</p> <p>ETA: apparently a safety line snapped on a coaster the day before. There were also 2 occasions of EMT's taking people out of rides when we were there, no thanks. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/with-all-of-these-amusement-park-accidents-lately#post-2602621 Thu, 11 Aug 2016 13:44:12 +0000 Mrs. Cheesecake 2602621@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We just went to Legoland and my 3 year old rode a kiddie roller coaster with us. DS was tall enough to ride and he sat with DH. We watched the ride it didn't look dangerous. I think it depends upon the parent to be the judge of the ride. I do agree though that rides at amusement parks seem safer than the ones at carnivals and fairs. When we went to the SD Fair DS didn't want to ride anything, just run through the "fun" houses. So no issue there with that! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/with-all-of-these-amusement-park-accidents-lately#post-2602620 Thu, 11 Aug 2016 13:44:10 +0000 looch 2602620@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>No to carnivals. They just seem sketchy to me, with all the breaking down and setting up of equipment and the touring. I feel like at actual amusement parks you get more oversight.</p> <p>We have a season pass to Six Flags, so, there you go! </p>