Robert Niles Editor, ThemeParkInsider Wednesday, July 02, 2003; 3:00 p.m ET
After the roller coaster became stuck for two hours Tuesday at a Six Flags in Largo, Md., people wondered about the safety of roller coasters and theme parks. In the U.S., there is no official national source for recording theme park accidents. Robert Niles, editor of ThemeParkInsider.com, a site devoted to reviewing and discussing theme parks, will discuss roller coaster safety. A part of his site is devoted to the discussion of accidents and them park safety. Submit your questions and comments before or during the discussion. Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.
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washingtonpost.com:
Thanks to Robert Niles of ThemeParkInsider.com for joining us today.
I think one of things people want to know is how common is it for roller coasters to get stuck?
Robert Niles: Very common, actually --though most of the time, folks aren't dangling in the air, or hanging upside down. When I worked at Walt Disney World, we'd see trains stopped every day. Usually, they stop out on the track because other trains didn't leave the loading station on time -- due to crying kids or a variety of other reasons. If the loading station's not empty, another train can't come into it. Once in a while, though, a train will stop out on a track due to a system glitch. However, it is better for a train to stop when it is not supposed to than for one not to stop when it should.
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Manassas, VA: How easy is it for the roller coaster car to derail. Is it easier to derail if it is upside down?
Robert Niles: It is next to impossible for a roller coaster train to derail. The only circumstance I can envision would be if a train collided with another train, or something else, and the force of the collision pried the train off the track. If you ever get the chance to look closely at a roller coaster from underneath, you'll see a set of wheels that run underneath and to the side of the track, in addition to the normally visible ones one top. These units are very stable. When injuries do happen on a coaster, it is almost always due to a passenger doing something stupid, or the ride's momentum banging a passenger into the restaints in an odd way.
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Washington, DC: Robert, have YOU ever gotten stuck on a ride?
Robert Niles: Yes. Several times. Once, when I was working as the lead (e.g. foreman) at Pirates of the Caribbean at Walt Disney World, I took a ride during the middle of the day to check on the animation and sound. Sure enough, about halfway through, a boat ahead of mine gets stuck. We're in an evacuation situation and the lead who is supposed to organize the evacution -- me! -- is stuck in the ride! So I (don't try this, folks) pulled my boat back to an evacuation point by leaning over and grabbing the flume wall. There, I hopped out, and headed back to the control tower.
I've been stuck on rides at Disney World, Disneyland and Universal's Islands of Adventure within just the past two years. But, remember, I go on a lot of rides. The vast majority of the time, everything goes fine.
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Me@nowhere..: I am coaster lover and I know that there are back-up procedures and systems in case of disasters,which makes me feel comfortable to ride a coaster. But, still systems are systems, built by humans, prone for problems. How far are we in terms of safety, comparing with the ride on an elevator?
Robert Niles: If you follow the park's safety rules, and demonstrate some common sense, the risk in riding a theme or amusement park attraction is infinitesimal. But that's a BIG if. Too many people do not follow safety rules, and do not demonstrate common sense. Please, don't try to cheat to get your too-short kid on a coaster. Or don't try to loosen a restraint for a bigger thrill.
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Washington, DC: What is the latest on the status of Cedar Point's new coaster, the Top Thrill Dragster?
Robert Niles: According to some of our correspondents on Theme Park Insider, http://www.themeparkinsider.com/news/response.cfm?ID=1181, Cedar Point's trying to get the ride repaired, but if it can't do it within the next couple weeks, the park's gonna call it a year and try again for next summer. Basically, for those who don't know, Top Thrill Dragster's a launch coaster than sends you out of the station at over 100 mph straight up a 400-foot hill. Obviously, that requires a technically sophisticated system that must be highly durable to operate hundreds of launches a day. Cedar Point appears to have encountered problems with reliability on the new coaster, so that's why they've shut it down pending repairs and improvements. Magic Mountain encountered similar problems with reliability on its prototype "X" coaster last year. The so-called "Coaster Wars" have encouraged parks and designers to push new coasters to the very limits of current technology. That's why I don't recommend people plan a vacation around a new prototype coaster right when they open.
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Kansas City, MO: Do you have any dialogue with theme park representatives? Is Theme Park Insider a voice for change? What is your role in any change or reforms in theme park safety?
Robert Niles: Theme Park Insider is, ultimately, a news organization. It is not a traditional news organization in that we don't hire reporters, but it is instead a community-driven, cooperative site where readers do the reporting for other readers. Our members are collecting accidents reports, which we publish on the site, and discussing safety. I hope that other people will read this information, become better educated, and take steps to keep themselves and their families safer the next time they visit a park.
Beyond that, we hope that by bringing attention to safety issues, we'll influence parks to keep safety at the forefront of their decisions. But neither I nor the site gets involved in lobbying or anything like that. We're here to cover the industry -- not participate in it.
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orlando, florida:
what should one do when stuck on a ride?
Robert Niles: Stay where you are. Don't try to get out. Wait for a park employee to arrive, and follow his or her instructions. Try your best to relax. Talk with other folks on the ride, maybe. If you're stuck for a long time, try to exercise your arms and legs a little bit by squeezing the muscles, so your limbs don't "fall asleep." But don't try to figure out what to do. "Backstage" areas on rides can be deceptive and confusing. Wait for an employee to guide you.
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Vienna, VA: Which kind of roller coaster is safer, old-time wooden or the metal? Also, do you get to test roller coasters?
Robert Niles: Without a central, official source for theme park accident data, I wouldn't want to speculate on which type of coaster is safer. Remember, many supposedly "old-time" wooden coasters incorporate quite sophisticated technology, especially if multiple trains run on the track at once.
As for me, I don't test coasters (usually, any serious testing is done with sandbags or other weights on the trains -- not live people), but I do often go to media preview days so that I can review coasters before they open to the public.
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washingtonpost.com: When buying a ticket to a theme park, is there an implicit or explicit release of liability that would protect the owner from lawsuits? Any idea how effective those are?
Robert Niles: First, I'm not a lawyer, so I can't give an opinion on how a liability release would stand up in court. But if you look on the back of most admission tickets, or in most park's guidebooks, you'll see that same type of disclaimer language that you see on the back of other tickets. Baseball tickets talk about flying bats and balls. Hockey tickets talk about flying pucks. Theme park tickets talk about following rules, etc. Many lawyers get paid way more than I do to devise these things, and, to test them in court.
If anyone has a question about an incident involving them or a member of their family, it is best to ask a lawyer.
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Alexandria, VA: What can I tell the people in my office who are now saying they don't want to go to Six Flags for our picnic due to this ONE malfunction?
Robert Niles: Well, the people in your office probably face a greater risk driving to the park than they will face once they are there. But if someone suffers from a fear of heights, the prospect of being stuck in the air -- however unlikely -- might be enough to keep them off roller coasters. And that's fine. Most parks offer many other amusements for folks who don't want to be hundreds of feet up in the air.
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Fairfax, VA: Are there any kind of periodic government-regulated inspections of rides, or is it up to each park to decide the level of maintenance and number of inspections on its rides?
Robert Niles: It varies by state. We have a list of the various state regulations linked off our Accident Watch page at www.themeparkinsider.com/accidents
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Alexandria, VA: What is the best roller coaster you have been on??
Robert Niles: I couldn't pick one. Among my favorites are Kraken at SeaWorld Orlando, the Loch Ness Monster at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, the Beast at Kings Island in Ohio and Hulk at Islands of Adventure in Orlando. But I'm more of a dark ride fan. I love attractions with rich themes and narrative. My favorite attraction is the Spider-Man ride at Islands of Adventure, though I also like Universal Studios Florida's Men in Black and I'll always have a soft spot for Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean.
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Fairfax, VA: I was at the Six FLags in Largo on Saturday and that same coaster was out of service. Is there oversight of any sort on the decisions to run a ride? Most of the operators are young twenties or teens - who decides when a coaster is functioning properly?
Robert Niles: I haven't worked at a Six Flags park, so I can't comment on their procedures. But when I worked at Disney World, we had maintenance people who accompanied ride operators on test runs each morning before a ride opened. And we had computer systems that monitored the rides. Maintenance, ride operations or, obviously, the computer could shut down the ride at any time that any of them saw a risk. I've shut down coasters when I saw people wandering into restricted areas. I've seen maintenance refuse to clear a ride to open for the day when they weren't satisfied with something. And I've seen many, many instances when the computer shut a ride down.
Obviously, having experienced employees helps keep rides closed when they should be closed, and open when they don't need to be closed.
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Cleveland Park, DC: Robert, what is considered the state of the roller coaster art? That is, what defining characteristic, if anything, would be part of the ultimate coaster?
Robert Niles: I love these types of questions.
The answer is story, story, story. A great ride thrills the mind and imagination, as well as the body. I love to see parks involving moviemakers and other creative storytellers in ride design, and working to erase the traditional boundaries between dark rides and thrill rides. That's why I love attractions like Spider-Man and am looking forward to what Universal does with its planned Mummy rides in Orlando and Hollywood.
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Washington, DC: Is the age of a ride a factor in safety? The malfunctioning ride in Maryland was relatively new, but some of those old rides rattle around like crazy!
Robert Niles: The biggest factor affecting riders' safety is often their own behavior. People can goof off and get themselves hurt on old rides and new ones. The quality of maintenance has more to do with a ride's proper functioning than its age. Heck, think of your car. There are cars just off the lot that are lemons, and faithfully maintaining jalopies that run as sweetly as can be.
Also, don't assume that if a ride stops out on the track that it has malfunctioned. It may be that the ride is behaving exactly as it was designed. Perhaps a sensor picked up an obstacle on the track ahead and stopped the train in a "safe" zone, rather than risk a collision. In most cases, unless you work at the park, you won't know.
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Centreville, VA: How do parks typically compensate the individuals involved in non- fatal theme park accidents, such as in yesterday's incident in Largo, MD?
Robert Niles: Smart park managers don't want anyone to walk out the exit who's had less than a great time. So they routinely do what they can help people who have had a lousy time have a better day. Sometimes that means giving people advice on how to get the most out of the day, other times, such as in an incident like this one, managers might offer free tickets for a return trip or even refunds. But since no one was injured, there'd be no need to pay for medical treatement or anything like that.
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washingtonpost.com:
Robert Niles: Thanks for stopping by, and thanks to WashingtonPost.com for inviting me to chat today. I hope that folks will stop by and check out the safety tips at www.themeparkinsider.com/accidents. Theme parks can be very safe places -- if you follow the rules and use your head. Thanks again.
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washingtonpost.com: Thanks to Robert Niles for joining us today. Visit ThemeParkInsider.com for more safety tips and reviews of other themem park rides.
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