The death of a four year old boy aboard a ride at Disney World is one of those stories that parents dread hearing. We all picture ourselves in the shoes of the parents holding their lifeless child who, only minutes before, had brought such joy into their lives. And then we say to ourselves, it couldn't happen to us. We wouldn't let it happen to us. We wouldn't let our small child on that ride, would we?
But... in March 2002 we took our 16 month old boy to Florida to see the relatives down there, and my wife and I decided to spend a day at Disney Epcot. The boy is a rather placid child, even now, and is capable of going anywhere and everywhere. While at Epcot, we checked the guide book to see what was appropriate for very small children. The World of Energy was listed as a good experience for small children, and if you can't trust Disney who can you trust?
Shortly after the ride started, Disney and Ellen Degeneres re-enacted the Big Bang at a very loud volume. There was no point in telling my child that of course there should be no sound during the Big Bang (think about it) - he was screaming his head off. However, the Disney Origin of the Universe is so loud I couldn't hear him screaming even though I was in the seat next to him. All I could do was hug him and watch the tears stream down his face. Eventually the noise died down and my child slowly recovered from the shock with his mother and I comforting him.
Unfortunately, it was a moving ride so we couldn't just walk out. Fortunately, Will decided everything was back to normal and decided to take a nap. I think he forgave me long before his mother did (The World of Energy was my idea), and all I could do was point at the guide book which stated it was appropriate for very small children.
I'm not sure what lesson I learned, or should have learned, other than there's a small boy in our house who trusts me to make the right decisions when it comes to amusement park rides and attractions. My family got off rather lightly with my mistake.
