Boy dies on Mission Space ride at Disneyworld

June 15, 2005

A 4-year-old-boy named Daudi Bamuwamye from Sellersville, Pennsylvania, died yesterday after collapsing on the Mission: SPACE ride in Epcot at the Walt Disney World Resort, Florida. His mother carried him off the ride, and after attempts to revive him at the theme park by paramedics, he was declared dead in hospital. The ride was closed after the death yesterday but, after an inspection by company engineers concluded that the ride was operating normally, re-opened. No changes were made to the ride or to the restrictions upon who may ride it.

A Disney official said in a statement that Disney officials were "providing support to the family and are doing everything we can to help them during this difficult time." Disney spokeswoman Jacquee Polak said that "We believe the ride is safe in its current configuration."

Sheri Blanton of the medical examiner's office in Orlando said that the autopsy yesterday showed no trauma, that further tests will be done, and that the cause of death may not be known for several weeks. The sheriff's office in Orlando said that the boy met the minimum height requirement (44 inches) for the ride.

The ride features 2 Gs of acceleration. While this is not abnormal for rides, several people had complained of nausea from the ride and airsickness bags had been installed on the ride itself. Houston-based theme park consultant Randy King, a former safety director at Six Flags, said "Two Gs is not that big a deal."