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WDW: Guest loses fingertips on Pirates of the Caribbean


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Disney spent big money making sure all of its boat ride stations had safe, gapped, rubberized docks after this happened to a young person at Disneyland's Storybook Land Canal Boats. Unfortunately, not every part of the ride can be retrofitted in that way. I would guess for that reason alone that it probably was on a drop. No where else does the boat come into such tight contact with a guide track or wall.

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It's easy to think this is a "fail" or a joke, but imagine if it were you. This gentleman shouldn't have had his hand outside of the boat. Yep. I'm sure he agrees. But if he absentmindedly was holding onto the edge of the boat or something, that's hardly something idiotic and "facepalm" worthy.

This isn't one of those people who was "asking for it." At least, not that we know.

I doubt it's funny to him and his family... Seriously guys. If it were one of us... And don't say it wouldn't be, because we don't know that the guy was doing something outrageous.

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Anyone who puts their hand outside the boat for any reason after being told not to deserves a facepalm in my book. It's not that hard to follow simple instructions. And if he's so absentminded that he can't prevent himself from randomly grabbing the outside of the boat, then perhaps he shouldn't ride until his head clears up to the point that he can consciously follow those instructions.

In a case like this, the rider is responsible first and foremost for his own safety. The rider FAILed in that simple responsibility, and therefore gets a facepalm from me.

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His or her parents should stress the importance of following directions to them. And if the child cannot understand that, and cannot be trusted to follow instructions, then his or her parents should not allow them to ride until such time as he or she can be trusted to follow instructions.

And if the parents let the six-year-old kid ride anyway, and this happens, then my facepalm is directed at the parents and kid equally.

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There's some element of the responsibility question here. If this happened at Disneyland, the ride would probably be closed until the contact point in question was covered.

But again, we don't know that this guy was doing the equivalent of "standing up in the boat" (that is to say: something obviously and outright dumb). Perhaps when the boat tipped to fall down, he simply gripped the edge of the boat. In the mind of a non-enthusiast, doing so probably doesn't count as "not keeping your hands and arms inside the boat at all times." Not to mention it might've been instinct, not a deliberate thought of "Oh, I'll go ahead and place my hand on the outside of the boat now." Now, maybe he WAS reaching into the water or doing something stupid. I don't know. Do you?

Until we do, let's just not make fun of the situation, like this guy is an idiot or something.

If you went to the park with, say, your father, and he gripped the side of the boat and lost his fingertips, you likely wouldn't "facepalm." Rider error? Yep. But it's a terrible and horrific accident that will impact this man for the rest of his life, not a "well, he clearly deserved it!" scenario.

Is responsibility on the rider? Sure. But c'mon. The sense of superiority and the eye rolls are uncalled for.

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^^Actually, mermaids would be an interesting addition to that ride. It would be kind of eerie to hear mermaids singing that "Jolly Sailor Bold" song and hearing it echo in the distance. Just a thought cause I actually quite enjoyed the "On Stranger Tides" addition to the Pirates series.

(edit)

Maybe the part that repeats "Dead men tell no tales" could be replaced, partially, with the Mermaids theme from On Stranger Tides. It's an amazing theme and it has a haunting melody. Then you could hear the mermaids singing in the distance briefly.

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^^Actually, mermaids would be an interesting addition to that ride. It would be kind of eerie to hear mermaids singing that "Jolly Sailor Bold" song and hearing it echo in the distance. Just a thought cause I actually quite enjoyed the "On Stranger Tides" addition to the Pirates series.

Disney beat you to it. There are mermaids on Magic Kingdom's Pirates of the Caribbean.

They're hard to see in video, but they project them onto underwater bubble screens. It's actually very beautiful and interesting in person.

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More info, not for the squeamish: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2688908/Disney-goer-gets-two-fingertips-sliced-Pirates-Caribbean-log-flume-putting-hand-not-been.html

'He was very calm and not freaking out, and the medics said he said the accident was his fault as he had his hand where it should not have been.

'He was very calm and just said he needed band aid for his fingers. He did not want a fuss made and kept repeating he had his hand where it should not have been.'

'The man lost the tip of his ring finger down to the bottom of the nail, while the little finger was about down to the first knuckle. From the medical reports they were sliced clean off.'

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Just asked for a Bandaid? Who was this, Chuck Norris?

You freak out a bit with cuts like that. I once sliced the side from my finger cutting a mat for an illustration, realized I ruined the mat with the excess color of red, and then casually asked my mother,

"What do you think I should do about this?", while holding out a red towel with my hand in it, still in my mind wondering if I had anymore Canon board in the back room to cut another mat.

I think in a moment like that, you can't believe you did something so stupid, so you blow it off as a scratch.

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Speaking of keeping your hands and feet inside the ride vehicle at all times, isn't that technically required by law in Ohio? I assume all manufacturers of rides recommend that.

I think what you're thinking of is a park's responsibility to follow manufacturer recommendations (i.e. the direction a train should face, height requirements, etc that are "suggested" become "required" in Ohio, or something along those lines as I understand it).

A rider needs to follow the rules, of course, but I don't think that's the same thing.

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Uh, see the Ohio Rider Responsibility Law.

You'll be surprised.

What I meant to imply but wasn't clear about is that rider's obviously have to follow the rules and that there are legal implications otherwise, but that the thing Diamondback96 was referring to seemed to be something else - the whole operator vs. manufacturer legal requirement for "recommendations." Maybe they're all related? I'll read about it, thanks!

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