Good ole family vacations filled with fun activities and great bonding conversations have been around since the 1950’s, when Americans were coming back from the war and re-gaining life back in the states. In addition, the economy was desiring a push with travel and tourism helping the aid of recovery. Since the 1950’s, U.S. families have grown accustom to vacations at least once a year, with more than 50% of the U.S. workforce traveling at least once on vacation.
Orlando is just one of the many tourist cities throughout America, but it offers experiences unlike any other location on the planet – theme and water parks infest the area. In 2011, Orlando beat out New York as the most visited destination in the country with over 50 million unique visitors throughout the year. Most of this success is due to the theme and water parks from brands like Wet’n’Wild, Disney,and Universal Studios.
But with all good things there are potential hazards – and theme parks are no different. Although theme park accidents have dramatically decreased over the last 20 years, some accidents still occur each year that keeps safety in perspective. For questions about personal injury due to theme park negligence, contact one of the local Orlando law groups – their specific knowledge of the area’s tourism scene gives an advantage for personal injury cases.
Below are just a few of the published theme park accidents of last year, so you can safely prepare for this year’s vacation.
Top Accidents of Last Year (2014)
Cedar Point Skyhawk – During the summer of last year, Cedar Point was under fire about a malfunction with one of the rides called Skyhawk. One of the electrical wires attached to the ride broke and began o spark all over the ground. It was raining outside, which exemplified the danger tenfold for park personnel attempting to get the situation under control. Luckily, only two people were injured from the accident because the rain caused many of the spectators to find cover rather than stand where the wire broke and began to spark. The two injured park-goers injured at the scene covered without complications. The situation could have been much worse, but luckily no one was electrocuted.
Six Flags – Four people were injured on the Ninja ride at the Six Flags Magic Mountain theme park earlier this year. Two of the four park-goers were taken directly to the hospital as a precautionary measure. Due a tree blocking part of the track after breaking from the trunk, the Ninja ride was found hanging off the track with passengers dangling for over 3 hours. The derailment was the third incident that occurred of the course of one week at the park, but was definitely the most high-profile for the park on the year.
Universal Roller Coaster Hoax – The only other majorly-published accident at one of the well-known theme parks last year was actually a fake. There was “shocking” viral video footage that spread throughout the online social media platforms and YouTube channels of 16 dead park-goers at Universal Orlando with 8 others listed in critical condition at an undisclosed Orlando hospital. Many internet bloggers picked up the news and ran with the assumptions and hoax. Eventually, the whole video and article was deemed a hoax and facts were straightened out.
Last year was a quiet year for theme park and water park accidents, which is always a good thing for tourist areas. Many of the smaller accidents that could from human error are not disclosed to the media, and as a result, are hard to identify. But with an improved safety industry in Orlando and New Jersey, with continuous laws and policies enforced on a yearly basis for theme and water parks, accidents should continue to fall for 2015.
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