EPCOT Disney space attraction sends some to the hospital

The ride is not for everyone, a doctor says.
ORLANDO SENTINEL
ORLANDO, Fla. -- The complimentary barf bags provided the first clue that Epcot's Mission: Space was an unusually intense Disney ride.
The second clue came Wednesday, when state theme park safety records revealed that six Mission: Space riders have been hospitalized with chest pains or nausea since the rocket simulator opened last summer.
Only one other theme park ride has caused more than two hospital visits since Florida's largest theme park companies began voluntarily reporting injuries to the state in 2001 -- Universal's Ripsaw Falls, with three. The Mission: Space hospitalizations were first reported by The Associated Press on Wednesday.
"Part of the thrill of Mission: Space is that it is an intense attraction. ... Clearly it's not an attraction for everyone," Walt Disney World spokeswoman Rena Langley said.
All older
All six hospitalized riders were over age 55. According to state records, three were hospitalized with "chest pain," two with "nausea" and one who "didn't feel well."
Disney said Wednesday that four of the six had pre-existing medical conditions -- one with diabetes and three who had undergone heart surgery -- though the company declined to provide supporting medical records.
The $100 million ride, perhaps the most intense Disney offers, simulates the weightlessness of a rocket launch by spinning guests seated inside small "ships" at high speeds.
A total of thirteen signs warn guests of high g-forces -- double normal gravity -- advising those prone to motion sickness, high blood pressure, heart and other medical problems to skip the ride.
Likely to suffer
People over 55 are more likely to suffer from such ailments, said Dr. Santiago Mesorana, an emergency medicine physician at Florida Hospital Celebration Health in Osceola County near the theme parks.
"Not everybody's made for that kind of ride," said Mesorana. "Not everybody is an astronaut -- an athlete. The results are what we see, people coming in with a lot of complaints: chest pains, vomiting, dizziness and headaches."
He said it's the combination of factors -- such as the high g-forces, the spinning and speed -- that trigger the ill effects. Also, people can get anxious on amusement park rides. Those feelings of anxiety, fear and excitement can lead to chest pains.
"Basically, it's just that it pushes a person who is not fit for that type of ride right over the edge," he said.
Besides the six hospitalized riders, 3 million people have passed through Mission: Space since it opened last summer, Langley said. It's unclear how many needed the barf bags Disney installed in each "ship" last year after long cleanup times caused ride delays.