Accidents

Theme parks and roller coasters are statistically very, very, very safe. Out of the millions of people who ride the thousands of rides every year, there are only a small handful of incidents. You are statistically more likely to be involved in an accident driving to an amusement park than having one at a park. The rarity of accidents is one reason why the media report them, similar to plane crashes.

theme park roller coaster accidentsEvery important element of a ride is inspected on a regular basis and every ride is tested every day without passengers before it opens. A ride might not open, or a safety system might activate, if there is an imperfection. For theme parks to operate, they must obtain insurance and one stipulation is their rides are frequently inspected and signed off by a strict Health & Safety governing body. Every theme park does what they can to prevent accidents because the negative press would be bad for business.

Having said all that, theme park accidents still happen…

Fantasmic, Disneyland, Anaheim, California

Spectators at the popular show got a shock when the feature’s fire-breathing animatronic dragon burst into flames. No injuries were reported. Source

The prop dragon catches fire.

Toos-Express, Toverland, Sevenum, Netherlands

A 38-year-old woman sustained injuries after falling from the Vekoma Junior Coaster platform, dropping 8 feet (2.5 m). Paramedics transported the woman to a local hospital, where doctors determined she’d broken her lower vertebrae. Source (in Dutch)

Freizeitbad Oktopus, Siegburg, Germany

Firefighters cleared 100 people from a swimming pool after the water park experienced a deflagration in the chlorine gas system. Routine cleaning of the park’s chlorine gas systems in the basement triggered the incident. A doctor at the scene treated two people who reported respiratory irritation due to the chemicals. Source (in German)