Amusement Park Disasters (Volume 2) : Theme Parks

This is Molvid, Molvidito, who's gonna be a Molvid one for sure, isn't?

It is, what are you doing? A amusement park disasters, part two, baby. She takes us here again. She takes us here again.

“I remember last time I went to Disney, and I posted everyone was like, damn, didn't you say you were never going to have a full poster again?”

Yeah. I was like, "No, I trust Disney. Uh, the one. Okay." No. No, don't look at me like that. She just had the smuggest look on her big red head. We're doing theme parks today. You're doing theme parks. Not just amusement parks. Oh goodness. I haven't, I haven't been to, I mean, it'll be a while, I think, before I go back to Disney, because I'm just just there. Yeah. So, um, for sure.

Let's see, you know what my thing talked to me. I'm realizing more and more that I, and this is not everybody's back, obviously. I'm just like, um, a little bit when it comes to like, no wanting to die. Uh, so all that's because I am not one of those people who seeks risk in any way, shape or form. And I'm okay admitting that. I know that probably makes me a little boring, and that's fine. I don't think it necessarily makes you boring. I think you're exciting in different ways.

I think, well, I try to be, but I'm certainly boring in that way. I think because when I say, don't seek out risk.

I don't seek out risk in any way. If something is risky, no, I don't know for me. I know that's where we've always different.

Yeah, we differ violently in that. My God, I was risky business as a younger guy. And I've never been a risky business person. I've always had a really healthy, maybe unhealthy at times, respect for the, uh, for my mortality. Your chart in general, though, and it makes so much sense, because even just like, even just looking at your big three, you are a capricorn son. So you are so rooted to this earth. You don't want to go. Yeah, no. You are a Virgo rising. So at the

older, you got even less likely you are to seek that out. And then your cancer, uh, moon. So you're, like, like, you're good where you are. Yeah. You know what I mean? Like, you like your home. Yeah. You like your things. You like your creature comfort. I like my routines. Yeah. Yeah. That's how, and also like you're not, I mean, you're a goat. You're a crab. I forget what represents Virgo. A virgin. There you go. Not willing to change. Yeah. It's stubborn and unwilling to change.

Yeah. That's me. Yeah. And it's, I think, finally, I've realized like, like, I'm like,

yeah, that's just who I am. Because I've always been like, I know I just don't like it. And I don't

know why. But then I was finally like, I don't, I swear you hit a certain age and you're just like, oh, yeah, fuck it. Like, because I'm just like, oh, yeah. That's just, I'm boring. And that's okay. I don't think you should say it like that. Yeah. Because I don't think you are boring. I'm just not

“risky. You're not a thrill seeker. No, I think that's really that's what you need to say. What it is.”

You're not a thrill seeker. I have, absolutely. When I tell you that not one selling my body feels like I need any kind of thrill, I can't stress it out. Well, no, no, that's not true. That's not true at all. But no, but like, to seek out thrill. I feel like I have you see, but you seek out a different kind of thrill is the thing. Like, I do, I personally, I really do think you require thrill, because you love a haunted house. Yeah. And you love a scary movie.

So that's a good enough itself as a thrill. It's just a different kind of thrill. I don't, I think you don't need like life threatening thrill. No, I absolutely do. And I think some people, like, I also think, like, you're a very, like, is the word pragmatic? Like, yeah, that's the word, and like, my headache analytical. Like, I think you think of the risks and the pay off for me is right. And I don't think necessarily everybody is as analytical as you

are as pragmatic when it comes to those things. So there, it's not that they need, like, like, they're not like, I would love to have a life threatening experience to a little freer

“with, with how they could. That's how I feel. Like, which is not a bad thing. That's the, no,”

I don't think it is either. Like, I think we're just different. I think this makes me understand the other side of it a little better. Yeah. Once I understand, because I understand my point of view a little better, because for so long, I've been like, I don't understand why you want to do these things. And I still don't, like, I can't, like, put myself in that place to understand it, but I can sit there and look at my point of view and go, well, it's just the complete opposite

point of view. Well, now it's also valid. It is valid. Yeah. You know, however you want to do with

give you art time, exactly. But are we talking about, like, thrill rides, right? It's like a place

“that are, that are risky business. See, I think a lot of people, myself included, just are like,”

oh, that'll be so much fun. And people do that all the time. Like, what's the likelihood of anything going wrong? Whereas you actually think about, like, data. Yeah. And, like, probability and, like, you're getting out your marbles from, like, fifth grade when we learned about probability, your thought is, oh, what's the likelihood that anything could go wrong? My point of view is there's a likely likelihood that something could go wrong. There is likelyhood period. Right. Like, yours is like,

what's the likelihood of? Like, how is, though, period? Yeah. And so it's like, those are two, it's so funny. Like, it's like, it's like, it's like, what are the odds? And you're like, there are all. And I'm like, well, the odds exist. Yeah. It's like, what's it not in my favor? Which is crazy. Yeah. I also just think, well, and I think having kids has a lot to do with this, too. Yeah. Like, I think I think, I think you've gotten even, and I think that's probably why you're even more comfortable,

like, with the way you aren't, though, because you're like, well, I've kept it. Yeah, I'm like, I'm not going to do anything. I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to do be different with humans. But I do wonder if I'll feel different. Because like, even when we go to the beach, like, if like, we go on like a friend's like, voter something like that, like, you don't want them

tubing or like, yeah, like, you don't enjoy that. And I'm always like, oh, like, it's fine. I'll go with them.

Yeah. And I know that makes you feel better. Yeah. Which, like, which, like, I do. So, like, because I know that'll, that'll be taken as like a lane. It doesn't. Yeah. And then she let my Americans do anything about what them and it's great. I, what you, what Ash is saying, it's like, I don't love it. Like, you're scared of the experience. I don't watch them doing it and be like, wow, how free and exciting. Yeah. My nervous system feels like I'm being hunted for sport during the whole

thing. I'm always glad I did it because they had fun and whatever. But like, I don't enjoy watching people I love do risky things. Yeah. I know you don't. Like, I, it's, I'm, I'm strange. But I don't, I don't necessarily think you are because I think a lot of times when people become moms, they, they do change. Like, yeah, they're, they're views on a lot of our stuff. So I wonder because like, yeah, two years ago, I'd be like, come on lane. Like, it's fine. Yeah. But like, the

older that I get and like, maybe the closer I get to have in kids. I'm like, I wonder if I'll feel that way. Yeah. And I think I might change it. Oh, yeah. It might, it might not change it a lot. It might not, you know, yeah. But even like, you're fear of flying. I know that got so much worse after you and kids. Yeah. And I know I've heard of a lot of other people like that happening to that, because I'm not afraid of flying at all. Yeah. But I just want to be like, yeah, like,

I always, you always have something to lose. Obviously, but you, you feel like it's even bigger.

It's just an inconceivable amount to lose when you add kids to the equation. It's interesting,

“you know. So, so that's how we feel about things. Yeah. I just, I thought it was interesting.”

So, I always go into this being like, fuck this. In which, like, I still say, fuck this, but see, and I go into this, and I'm like, you're like, oh, I'm ruining it. Oh, I just don't want you to talk about it right. I've been on. Oh, I don't think I will. Okay. I'm pretty sure. All right. We go, so we'll see. Do we have business that we need to say? Like, buy tickets to Radio City Musical. Yeah. Buy tickets to Radio City, Saturday. Is the 27th. Like, it's coming up so quickly.

There's still so much to figure out. And we're like stressed, but we're also so excited. Getting the butterflies. But we have a really good show for you. Oh, and we announce stars. By the time you listen to this, you will know that the special guest is, do you want an only Jonathan men that should be in? Like, we also just have the perfect segment plan if him. It is going to be glorious. It's going to be hilarious. And I can't wait. I can't wait. So, there's only a few

tickets left. Yeah. There's not many. So, snatch them up. And I also posted about the butcher legacy tour. I'm excited to be in August. That's going to be fun. But, but get your tickets to some stops on that because I'll be letting you guys know any updates. There might be some updates to that. And all that fun stuff. And pre-order the butcher legacy. And we're going to try to get her to fly soon. Yeah. I'll try to get to, because I know she's really trying. We talked about

it this morning. I had such a moment because I was seeing you guys be like, come to the south. Come to, you know, come to Louisiana. Like come to come to the west. Come to the west. Yeah. And I was like, I want to. And I want to see you. And I want to come sign your books and like do all that fun stuff. And I will. Yeah. I'm going to, I'm trying to make it more of a priority to like fight through the

“fear. I think you need to get hypnotized. I really feel I'm going to try it. I'll try anything to get on.”

I need somebody. Anybody knows I want to go to Scotland. That's the next big thing I want to do. We have to get to Scotland is calling me. So I feel like I want to pet a highland. That's I just, and I do realize that I can do that here. But I want to do it in Scotland. I just need to land in

Scotland, because I feel like the second I step on that. So I'm going to burst into tears. Yeah.

stay in Scotland. Just Rosie O'Donnellett. So yeah. She went to Ireland. Yeah. It's just like, let's go. See you. But yeah. So I'll figure that out. Everybody. Everybody in the club going to Scotland. I mean, they have been fucking taken over Boston. I know it's been sick. Let me tell you, any Scottish listeners, we could not be happier to have you. Could not. Boston is trying to figure out a way. It's just going to say to have Scotland come back every year. Yeah. Our governor is

literally working like literally trying to figure out a way to entice you to come back every year. Because you have healed us in a way that I can't describe. Yeah. So we love you. Let's work on that. We love you guys a lot. So let's put some haggis. Let's get to it. Shall we? I'm nervous for this one.

“This one's crazy. So he said you should be this as well. Let's start with them with Walt Disney. Shall we?”

By the time Walt Disney conceived the idea of just, you know, a massive park where, you know, parents and children's can play together in the world that was modeled by, like after his creation. Yes. amusement parks are at least something like amusement parks. We're definitely already part of the landscape around the world. But what Disney had in mind was something way more elaborate than

like Coney Island or not spary farm. When it finally opened in July 1955, the rides and attractions

Disneyland had to offer were definitely a far cry from the hyper modern rides that were in parks today. Right. That we know. The early rides included the Disneyland Railroad, which was a scaled-down version of a locomotive that carried passengers to various parts of the park. Which he still have. Yeah. There you go. Junior Autopia, a miniature car race track that operated on a rail and the Astro Jets, a rocket-themed spinning ride that lifted passengers into the air to simulate flying.

“And they still have that too in tomorrow land. Wow. It's not called the same thing. It's called”

something else. Well, the park also included boat rides, a movie theater and a metronic shows in the centerpiece of the park, a replica of Sleeping Beauty's Castle. The gorgeous. Now the construction of the castle alone created a significant amount of dirt and debris, obviously. But rather than just like hauling away, the engineers at Disneyland were like, wait a minute, we could use this stuff to build other features in the park. And in the years that followed

the dirt from the excavation of the castle site was gathered together into a massive mountain, used to hide one of the pylons of the Disneyland Skyway. They initially named the massive pile holiday hill. And then it was the lookout mountain. And finally, after many tells and design elements and details were added, it became the Matterhorn. Oh shit, named after the mountain

in the European Islands. I've never been on the Matterhorn. The Matterhorn is a big piloter.

“With that mountain complete in 1956, Walt Disney got a new idea for a new ride.”

This one would be designed to simulate a toboggan ride through a snowy mountain environment. It was like a combination between a roller coaster and a dark ride. The Matterhorn Bob's lads quickly became one of the park's most popular rides when it opened in 1959. It was also the world's first tubular roller coaster. They're all the way around. Which allowed passengers to go through tunnels and holes in the mountain exterior, like interior,

rather than stay on a singular open air track. Now the first major safety incident at Disneyland occurred in 1964 on the Matterhorn. Long, long ago. It was a little before 11 p.m. on May 15, when 15 year old Mark Maples boarded the sled with his friends Doug Gibbs and Gary Payne. Mark was in the middle seat with his friend seated in front of and behind him. The Bob's sled had reached the top level of the track at the top of the mountain. It was just about

to begin the steepest descent when Mark was thrown violently from the sled. Headfirst and landed beside the lower track. Now when the ride reached the terminal in the accident was reported, park attendants refused to believe the story and assumed the boys were joking. I'm sorry, woe. Yeah. It was only when the two girls riding in the car behind them confirmed the story that they rushed to find Mark in the tunnel and called parametric pieces. When they found him,

he was unconscious. He was bleeding from several wounds. He was taken to nearby palm harbour hospital,

but he never regained consciousness and died from his injuries four days later. Oh, that's awful.

He was only 15. Yeah. When Mark's friends Doug and Gary were interviewed, they both claimed they had no idea what caused Mark to be thrown from the sled. Gary said, "I was looking up, heard a noise, looked down, and recognized Mark's sweater as he was falling out of the side." Oh my god. Doug Gibbs was kind of like in the similar vein. He said, "I felt him bump into me, but there was no way to tell what he was doing. It's a bumpy ride."

According to witnesses, it appeared that Mark, quote, stood up on the ride. When it was about one

beams on the ceiling of the tunnel, knocking him out of the sled and causing severe head injuries.

Yeah. Which were obviously exacerbated when he landed head first on the walkway beside the track.

The official response from Disneyland executives stood in direct conflict to the theory that Mark was thrown from the sled. In their statement, Disneyland said Mark, quote, "Unbuckled to see

“seatbell instead up, then fell out." Okay. That's what the witnesses are saying. Okay.”

Now, on the day of Mark's death, the Orange County Corner, James Bisoner, opened an investigation to determine the circumstances of the boy's death, and whether Disneyland execs could be held responsible. The first step in his investigation was a visit to the park, and he actually rode the matterhorn himself. Wow, that was brave. I, that would suck. Imagine, if I, as in like, if I was like the medical examiner and I had to go

ride after what cost her to, I'd be like, "I don't want to do that." No. Don't make me do that.

And especially after seeing a poor young man who died from injuries on that ride. Yeah. Now after completing the ride, Bisoner determined, quote, "The boy, if strapped in, couldn't have fallen out." Okay. In addition to riding the sled himself, Bisoner had two employees about Mark's size, sit in one of the sleds, and attempt to stand or free themselves from the sled without unbuckling about. Neither of them was able to do it. Okay. Now, according to Mark's friends,

nothing seemed out of the ordinary while they waited in line to board the ride. And Mark gave no indication that he was planning to do anything reckless. Yeah. But in the days that followed, the Deputy Coroner Eugene Miller reported receiving multiple phone calls, quote, "which have indicated the accident resulted from a hazing." When asked about a potential hazing, Doug and Gary did admit

“that they were part of what they referred to as a "boy's social club," who called "fidious," I think”

it is. Okay. And two weeks earlier, they didn't bite at Mark to join, but he declined the invitation. Okay. Both denied any involvement in a hazing that or any other night. Okay. Now after the brief investigation, James Br Eisner concluded Mark Maples' death was, quote, "purely accidental." And a coroner's in question was ruled out. Okay. In their statement to the public, the coroner's office said, quote, "They found that Maples and two young companions had been engaged in so-called

horseplay, such as shoving each other, shouting at people, crowding ahead of others in the line, and that no proof has been found that it is part of any club initiation." Okay. Their conclusion was that one of the boys unbuckled the safety belt, quote, "for no

explainable reason," which ultimately led to Maples' tragic death. That's whole. So it was simply

just horseplay. Yeah. Now Mark Maples' death was just the first of several incidents in which Park Goers were injured or killed as a result of failing to follow the rules of the park. In fact, in the years that followed, there were several bizarre incidents, including park attendees, not only violating the park rules, but also violating the law in order to like impress their friends or like achieve some sort of like social status or something. Right. Now on June 18th, 1966, Disneyland held

an all-night graduation party for the graduating class of a local high school. Oh wow. The plan was for the park to close to the public at 11 p.m. But remain open the rest of the night for the graduating seniors. Do you imagine that? I'm like, "I feel like they would not do that now." Oh no, I don't think they would. Yeah. And this was 1960's. Yeah. Knowing that the party would be off limits to anyone outside the class of seniors and the chaperones, but still wanting to join his friends for the party.

19-year-old Thomas Cleveland hatched a plan to sneak into the park and join the group. Assuming no one was going to notice that he graduated the year before that. Okay. Now around 920 p.m.

“Cleveland scaled the 16-foot fence at the northern edge of the park. I think dedication. Yeah.”

Then climbed one of the pylons in order to get onto the tracks of the monorail, which was the train that carries visitors to and from various parts of the park. Yeah. It's unclear what his plan was beyond that. I guess we can speculate that he was planning to walk the length of the tracks until he reached an area where his friends were gathered. I guess. Whatever the plan was, it was quickly interrupted when Thomas was spotted by two security guards

who shouted get down, jump, get off of there. Yeah. It must not have occurred to Thomas that the monorail would still be on operation as long as the park was open. Was open or somebody was in there. Because as soon as the guards yelled, he seemed to realize the danger he was in. But rather than jump to the ground below, he fell to the fiberglass can to be between the tracks and tried to conceal himself from sight. Just as he did that, the monorail rounded the corner at about 25 miles per

hour and struck him. Oh my god. He was killed instantly. Yeah. The driver of the monorail,

Now, the coroner's office determined that Thomas Cleveland's death from crush injuries,

“where was it was purely accidental and Disneyland was not the health responsible in any way.”

No. That said, the coroner's report did mention that just after Thomas was struck by a train, guard saw a quote, "two other youths who had not scaled the Disneyland fence running from the

area. They were never identified and they were presumed to just be additional friends of the graduating class."

Now, Thomas Cleveland wasn't the only person who suffered serious consequences for trying to sneak into the park on detected. In June 1973, seven years after Cleveland's tragic death, 18-year-old Bogden delirot and his 10-year-old brother Dorian attempted to stay in the park overnight by swimming across the rivers of America and hiding on Tom Sawyer's Island. Oh, God. I just think of alligators of crocodiles. Well, and it's located in like that man-made river. Now, in the evening

of June 22nd, Bogden and Dorian took the ferry across to Tom Sawyer's Island and hid from

“Park's security until after the park rose. Okay. So they were on the island. Once they were”

certain the park was closed and assumed everyone had left for the night, they entered the water and

started swimming across to reach the shore. It appears that they probably misjudged the distance from the shore to the island because it was pretty far. Yeah. Because not long after they entered the water, Dorian became exhausted and told his brother he couldn't swim any further. Oh, um, so sad. In order to help him, Bogden told his brother to put his arms around his neck and he would carry him across. Oh, but unfortunately those did. It became clear that his brother's weight was too much

to carry and he too became tired. Around 10 p.m. that evening security officers heard Dorian's cries for help and took a boat out to find where it was coming from. It didn't take long for them to find Dorian who'd managed to stay afloat by just like treading water like doggy paddling

“essentially. But Bogden was nowhere to be found. When they returned to shore park security called”

Anaheim Fire and Rescue for help. In the following morning just before 6 a.m. Bogden's body was discovered, quote, lodged in the rapid section of the river. He had drowned at some point during the night. Oh, that's so sad. Now while incidents like these are very rare, obviously they did continue to happen at the park and in 1984, for example, two drunk visitors stole a maintenance boat and took it for a ride on the rivers of America. Hello? Not long after leaving the dock, the boat hit a rock

and one of the men was thrown overboard. By the time his friend was able to get back to shore to help him, his friend is right, had drowned. Oh, man. Following the drowning death of the man who stole the boat, Disneyland managed to avoid serious accidents and deaths for nearly 15 years. And when the next death did occur, it was not a result of recklessness, but of negligence on the half of the park. Oh, no. On December 24th, 1998, Luan feed Dawson in his wife Liu Tui-Vuang. We're visiting Disneyland with

their young son and we're excited to go on the Columbia, which was a replica of an 18th century tall ship. That was described as, quote, one of the park's tamest rides. As the boat approached the dock, Luan and the other visitors waited in line while an employee threw the moring line around one of the ship's cleats, which is the metal bar where the line is tied. Before the boat had stopped moving. Now, with the line tied securely to the dock, the way to the ship pulling in the other direction,

because it was still moving. It had not stopped. Mm-hmm. With too much strain on the cleat, and the bolts holding it down sheared off. No longer bolted to the ship. The eight pound 12-inch iron cleat went flying in the direction of the crowd with tremendous force. The cleat hit park employee

Christine Carpenter in the leg first, shattering her foot and breaking her ankle. Oh my god.

Then flew into the crowd striking Liu in the face and Luan in the head. Oh, yeah. Park employees immediately called emergency services in the injured were taken to the hospital for treatment. All three had suffered serious injuries. Liu had extensive damage to her face because dirt nerve damage and paralysis. Oh my god. But Luan's were way more severe. In addition to the blunt force injuries to his skull, the impact caused severe brain injuries and injuries to the blood

vessels in his head. Dr. Richard Kim told her a reporter a few days later that the injuries were both together made it unlikely he could survive. By the time he arrived at UC Irvine Medical Center, Luan was already brain dead. He was placed on life support in order to give family time to come

surgery to repair the cuts to the right side of her face, which mind you as Christmas Day. Yeah.

“That just occurred to me because they were waiting on December 24th and line in the next day. Yeah,”

Christmas. Their family has to come say goodbye to him. Yeah. Oh my god. That poor, funny, it's horrific. And in the months after that, Liu would have several more surgeries. But it was unlikely she would ever regain full control over the right side of her face again. Wow. And following the deaths, the coroner's office began an investigation and an investigation was also opened by the Anaheim Police Department. In their official statement, Disney officials

released a pretty vague statement clearly intending to avoid, you know, incriminated language, just a kind. They said, we're checking the Columbia's mechanical instructional components. That was it. In the coroner's investigation, deputy coroner Richard Macanali determined that the accident had been caused by the Disney workers' failure to follow proper procedure with regard

“to some of the ships docking. Macanali wrote in the report, "The normal procedure when the ship”

is coming into fast is to not secure the moring line." Makes sense. Instead, Carpenter should have waited for the captain to overshoot the dock and slowly reverse into position at the dock. Right, that makes sense. Because she didn't know the captain was planning to overshoot. She threw the moring line around the cleat too soon in the tension on the rope, essentially created a high velocity projectile that was fired into the crowd. Yeah. The police investigation into the accident

also revealed somewhat troubling aspects to the park's approach to such incidents. Rather than being taken directly to the scene of the accident, when a detective arrived at the park, he was taken to a conference room where he waited for a quote a considerable time before being met by a park official. By the time he was taken to the accident site, the entire scene had been

“cleaned up by park staff and anything that could be collected was gone. A few days later,”

the debris from the accident site, which included the broken cleat that hit everybody in two teeth. We're located in a dumpster and turned over to investigators. Oh, that's fucked up. By the end of the week, the Anaheim Police Department did conclude that there was no attempt to destroy evidence or impede the investigation. Lieutenant John Herodon said, "We determined that Disneyland didn't clean it up to destroy evidence of criminal conduct. They cleaned it up in my opinion because

it was unsightly." Yeah. Which like, that probably was the reason? Yeah. More like more elite, is it maybe not put it away to give to an accident? Exactly. You know, throw it in a dumpster. Two years after the accident, Leo and her family settled with Disney, but the terms are not made public. Though it's not nearly as popular we're moving away from Disneyland. Oh, sorry. Though it's not nearly as popular we'll known as Disneyland, California's Great America amusement park

has been a heavily attended park since it opened in the mid-1970s. I've never been there. Like

Disneyland and many other parks, they've had their fair share of tragic accidents over the years. Developed by the Marriott Corporation and opened to the public in the spring of 1976, Great America was just trying to capitalize on the growing popularity of amusement parks and compete with the parks like Disneyland and California and King's Island in Ohio. Although it never really reached that level of popularity, Marriott did successfully open a second park less than two

months later and eventually both were sold to six wags. Now among the parks most popular rides was Willard's Wizard. A speed racer model steel roller coaster with a height of 70 feet and a stop and a top speed of 45 miles an hour. Despite being the park's biggest and most popular traction, the Wizard had a myriad of problems from the start. Among the biggest issues was the ride's braking system. Oh, which would occasionally fail to engage as quickly or fully as necessary. Wow

and trains would sometimes bump into one another at the terminal. That feels like a big deal. It feels like a big one. Between the opening of the ride in 1976 and in a valuation in 1979, it was found that the malfunctions had resulted in 11 reported incidents of injury, but the extensive those

injuries was not detailed. The first fatality occurred on March 29, 1980. Under similar circumstances

to those known to be problems on the Wizard. That afternoon 13 year old Kyle Foss waited in line with friends, and when the car train pulled up to the terminal, he and the other passengers were given the go ahead to climb on board. Just as Kyle was climbing onto the last car in the train, a second train pulled into the station, although it was only traveling between three and six miles

knock Kyle off balance, and he fell between the two crane trains and was crushed to death. Oh my god,

of the six passengers already seated in the train, three were ejected from the ride and landed in a pond. Oh my god. Yeah. That thought of being ejected from a rollercoaster. Yeah. One of

“this scariest thing. That's what keeps me off rollercoaster. I have to tell you, like nothing that”

happened to me by any means, but the Velocicoster at Universal goes so fucking fast and you go over water and you're like upside down and it's just I thought I was a cool cool girl who could do cool rollercoasters. I can't fucking handle that one anymore because I'm being ejected into a cool cool pond. No. No. No. No. I can't see that one problem. I can't. The possibility is there.

Once I'm out. I can't really fuck with water near ride now. It's it's enough. Which like you would

think like the thought of like plummeting to the ground as much worse, which obviously it is, but something about like a ride that goes like through the water or something like that. It looks like a plane and people on a plane they say there's more scared to fly of the ocean. Yeah. Then land when like in reality, which one it would really say for land. It's just something

“about water. Yeah. I don't know. I'm not supposed to really be in it. No. I know. That's the same.”

Like we know it. Somewhere in our cell. It's true. But so in their response to this tragedy, officials from Great America were surprisingly terse after confirming the death, the park released an official statement, the press that read simply, quote, in order to avoid possible conflicting information, unnecessary speculation and any further confusion, we will not have any further comment at this time. Oh. Whether they wanted it to

or not, speculation quickly followed. Just going to say, and many started to blame the ride's breaking system for the accident. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, one park employee told a reporter, quote, two systems had to break down for this to occur. The odds against that must be astronomical. Yeah. I would think so. After a two-month investigation into the cause of

“Kyle's death, the park reported that quote, nothing was what was wrong with the wizard. And none of”

it systems had malfunctioned. Not true, though. Despite that, Vice President of the park, J. Robert Schultz went on to say, quote, a false electrical signal made the wizard's safety system think it was holding a train in an automatic braking system at almost the same moment the real train signals that it was coming into the same braking system. So that's a problem. The specifics of the explanation are like a little difficult to follow. They are. But essentially, when the system

realized it had made a mistake, it released the braking system to clear out this fake train that it thought was there. Exactly as the real train was coming into the station. The fluke caused the system to be opened right when the real train pulled into the station. Although the braking system did catch the mistake, it only managed to slow the train down before it hit the car. Right. Where Kyle was climbing into? Right. The entire accident unfolded in like less than

three seconds. Wow. In the aftermath of Kyle's death, the ride underwent several upgrades to its safety systems and seat belts were added to the cars. I feel like seat belts should only

be at the cars. Kyle's parents filed suit against Marriott asking 11 million dollars in damages.

The result of that suit is unknown. Okay. With the exception of an accidental drowning at the water park in 1989, Great America managed to avoid any catastrophes for almost two decades. Wow. Until a bizarre accident put them back in the spotlight in 1998. Now around 230 pm on September 7, 25-year-old Hector Mendoza, his wife of two months and his brother-in-law, rode the top gun roller coaster. Now called flight deck. Okay. During this experience, Hector's baseball

cap was blown off his head and landed somewhere on the ground below. After getting off the ride, the three decided to retrieve the hat. So they either climbed or otherwise got past the security fence around the perimeter of the ride, either ignoring or possibly not understanding the sign ordering visitors to stay out. Okay. The area would have been dangerous regardless of the model of the ride, but as an inverted roller coaster, in where like passengers hang from the rail in the

seats, the danger was much greater here. Yeah. It didn't take long for Hector to find his hat, but just as he went to pick it up, the coaster came around the corner. And Hector was struck in the head by the dangling foot of a passenger. The force of the blow killed Hector and it also broke the passenger's leg. Oh my god. Yeah. Holy shit. The day after the incident park inspectors tested the ride and determined that top gun, quote, "in no way malfunctioned or experienced end of

had entered an area off limits to park guests. We aren't entirely sure how Mr. Mendoza got into the area, but he went through a clearly marked gate and over a six foot locked fence marked with bright red warning signs." That's according to them. Sure. Now although the situation seems straightforward, Hector's family described things differently. A lawyer speaking on behalf of a family said, quote, "The gate and the fence was either open or wide enough to go through very easily.

There was no climbing or jumping on the fence." Okay. The discrepancy started a public dispute between the family and the great in Great America. In response to their claims, Shinnard gave

another public statement explaining two of our employees were the first to respond to the incident.

And the first thing they had to do to get to the victim was unlock the gate. In fact, the investigation by Santa Clara police backed up his version of events. Sergeant Anton Merex said the first

“maintenance person tried to unlock the gate but didn't have the right key. They had to wait for the”

second maintenance person to arrive. Okay. What's bizarre? Because I'm sure you're like, "Where's the bizarre?" Part of that. This is a wandering and it's very sad. A week after the accident, it was reported that the man everyone had identified as Hector Mendoza was not who he seemed to be. The identification had been made based on interviews with the family and the man's documents found

in his wallet. However, they turned out to be fraudulent and the real Hector Mendoza was alive

and living in Mexico. What? The man who died at Great America was eventually identified through fingerprints as Swara's robles. What? Following the identification, his body was released as family who returned to Barium. What? Isn't that just what? So like the family fighting and saying like no, like the gate was open? I don't know what was a man who was alive, Santa Poso. What? Yeah.

“Isn't that just bizarre? Yeah. But it's like, I didn't know where you were going with that.”

Yeah. And I feel bad for the woman who's leg hit this person as well. Like I'm saying, I feel horrible about the person who died. Yeah. Swara's, but I feel like the person who's foot leg hit his head and he died. Yeah. That's in her leg broke in the process. So it's like to have to deal with all of that. Yeah. The emotional and physical toll of all of that. Right. The whole thing is just bizarre and sad. You're like, Holy shit. That's so unbelievable. You're like,

oh, I wish somebody had stopped them. Yeah. I know. That's the thing. Like, oh, it's just really wild one. Yeah. That's wild for sure. Now the operators of Great America had been fortunate to experience a very large gap between the deaths of Kyle Foss and of Swara's robles. The next tragedy, though, occurred less than a year later. And this time it wasn't the result of any kind of like reckless

“behavior. Okay. On the afternoon of August 22nd, 1999, 12-year-old Joshua Smurfett and his family”

were winding down their visit to Great America when they decided to ride drop zone. It's a free fall tower ride where riders are taken to the top of a 224 foot tower and then dropped. Those are like some of my favorite rides could not pay me. I love those rides. After settling into the four seat coach, the ride attendant checked the seal safety harness on each rider and confirmed they were all locked in place. Then the carving in, it's a scent to the top of the tower. When the car reads

the 207 foot mark, it began its first big drop at which point Joshua slipped out of the seat

and fell 20 stories to the ground below. Oh, my God. As his family watched in horror from the waiting area. According to spokesperson Tim Shenod, the harness was checked and locked before the coach started. We simply don't know what happened. That's not settling. That said, he did acknowledge that Joshua was among the last of the riders that afternoon as the ride was being taken out of commission for what they referred to as an unrelated maintenance problem with one of the other cars.

Okay. He said there is absolutely no way it could have contributed to the accident. Oh, good. During a month's long investigation into the incident, it was determined that the ride had not malfunctioned in the ascent or descent. And they determined there was no problem with the safety harness itself. But then how did he fall out of the fucking ride? Unfortunately for all the things, the investigation ruled out experts were unable to identify how Joshua had managed to fall

out of that safety bar. Still the investigation did raise serious concerns about potential violations that could have contributed to his death. Among other things, the 900 page incident report describes quote poor training procedures and other potential problems at the park. One of those problems was that the ride attendant working the drop zone that day was 14 years old.

Like, I'm sorry. I'm not. But my life is old and the riding was riding in 14 year olds.

“And obviously, like, people riding have no idea how this has to know. Yeah, not going to be like,”

excuse me, how old are you? Like, that's holy shit. That is that would send me. I'd be like, and we're not riding that, right? So the like, if I if I didn't. The safety harness was not found to me malfunctioning. But was it secured properly? We don't know. Is the question. Oh, wow. Yeah. Oh, these 12 years, 12 years. And his family watched that. Yeah. These are so evil. In response to her son's death, Joshua's mother Tammy said she had no plans to sue the park.

Nor did she believe that they were solely responsible. She later said, all I can say is

treasure every moment with your child, because you never know when you might lose him. Oh, Joshua's

father did not rule out a civil suit. He said I'd like to see this report before I speak about it. But he the lawyer on behalf of Terry the father said, but I'll say this. If the child was strapped in properly, the accident wouldn't have taken place. It's a matter of gravity. Right. Ultimately, they did choose not to sue great America, big people, big people. Now, the relatively limited number of accidents and deaths at parks like Disneyland and Great America is due in large

part to like really high safety standards. Yeah, of course. But in the history of amusement parks and theme parks, there's one name that is so notorious for low standards that the risk of injury associated with park with the park actually being in part of its allure during its 20 years in operation.

“I've never heard of this. Tell me. This is insane. What was it called?”

Oh, I'm going to tell you. Okay. In 1976, New Jersey Businessman Eugene Malvahill was looking for a way to make money during the off season when his Vernon Township New Jersey ski resort Vernon Valley was closed. Inspired by the success of parks like Disneyland from six flags, he found a new company called Great American Recreation. And in May 1978, he opened action park in Vernon. I get so many TikToks about action park. Really? Yes. Now Malvahill's son, Andy,

Malvahill said before he opened action park, he had no experience of any kind running in amusement park. He said in contrast to Disney's carefully conceived fantasy lands, my father pieced together a series of ambitious and often ill-advised attractions on the side of a ski mountain in rural New Jersey that he had come to own virtually by accident.

That's his right. That's a hefty statement. Yeah. At first, the park amounted to little more

than a few go-cart tracks and miniature racing rides. But he quickly expanded to include water rides, boat rides, and musical shows like those at larger parks, but on like a smaller budget. And almost no time at all, action park grew from a few hundred visitors and it's first season to millions in the year to that followed. Andy said we went from selling off-brand soda and taking out local newspaper ads to getting a Pepsi sponsorship and seeing our logo on McDonald's

“trail liners. Wow. The key to action parks notoriety was in Malvahill's own theories about American”

society in the late 20th century. Andy said, my father seized upon the idea that we were all tired of being coddled, of society dictating our behaviors and lecturing us on our vices. In order to reject that supposed coddling, Eugene embraced risk as part of his brand, which is, this is a nightmare to me, y'all like what? He wasn't embracing his risk. He was embracing other people's risk. Is that even allowed when you own an amusement park? Well, rather than strap

riders into the boat on a waive pool, visitors would simply have to cling to the raft. Less they be thrown from the boat. Likewise, riders on an alpine slide-style ride, weren't confined to a track, they could control the speed of their car and its brakes. Wow. Of course with a guiding principle based on increased risk, rather than safety and family fun, it was only a matter of time before someone got hurt. Yep. Andy said it was not long before our

visitors reworked our advertising to better reflect their experience. That new informal slogan,

action park, where you're the center of the accident. Oh my god. The first serious accident came

in 1980, just two years into the park's operation. In July, 19-year-old George Larson was riding the alpine sled ride at the park, when about halfway down the slide, he was thrown from the car,

in the ground. Oh my god. When emergency crews arrived a short time later, Larson was unconscious

“and soon he lapsed into a coma. He died a few days later on July 16th. That's an awful way.”

George Larson's family and friends contend that the lax safety protocols at the park were entirely responsible for George's death, but Mulville in action parks, folks, people saw it a different way. Spokesperson Wesley Smith told reporters, "This is an action park where people are doing physical things to themselves. Their situation is not totally in our control." But Smith went a step further into hanging responsibilities saying, "The ride didn't earn your Larson. It was a rock 25 feet away that

hurt him. That same thing could have happened to someone falling off a bicycle." How do they get insurance for this? She smiles. Now, despite Smith's assertion that George Larson knew the risks of the ride and had in fact ignored several safety warnings, others at the park were far less convinced it was operator error. In an investigation into the accident by the office of work placing compliance

“at the State Department of Labor, investigators spoke to several park employees who had previously”

voiced concerns about public safety at the park. And on that slide specifically, one of the summer attendance said, "We knew something would happen. It could have been any of us." According to the report, there was no controls over the cart's speed on the concrete track. And any number of factors include that including whether the concrete was wet could affect how the car performed. None of which was taken into consideration by the park. The park was cited for

seven violations of safety standards, including having no access road for emergency vehicles to arrive.

You ought to be fucking kidding me. But ultimately, George's death was ruled in accident.

Wow, now in the weeks and months that followed Larson's death reports of injuries began to pile up. Andy Mulvahiller, member of Eugene's son, said they "creen down towering water sides that

“spit them into shower pools at such velocity that sometimes overshot and landed them in the dirt,”

laughing or bleeding sometimes both." They often lost their grip on swing ropes and plunged into the freezing mountain. They emerged from Lake Stinking of spilled diesel fuel from the overworked modal motorboats. This is a nightmare. You peat visitors, stuff their pockets with band-aids and sported scabs and scars along their arms and legs. And yet none of those injuries seem to keep people from attending the park. This feels like like an episode of Jack-A. Yeah, like truly

on the contrary, the rumors of heightened risks seem to be one of the reasons people are so

enthusiastic to come in the first place. Then in the summer of 1982, two years after George Larson's

death, it happened again. In late July 15, George Lopen's drowned in one of the wave pools, that same week, two men filed civil suits against the park alleging serious injuries suffered on a water slide two years earlier. Then in August, 27-year-old Nathan Langanthal collapsed while riding the white water kayak experience. Langanthal was rushed to the hospital but was pronounced dead when he arrived. In a statement to the press, action park spokesperson Diane Bochamp said,

there were reports of a possible electric shock, but no evidence of electrical malfunction has been found at the right yet. Hello? Despite the park's repeated denials that Langanthal's jet-death was due to their negligence, the Orange County New Jersey Coroner determined that Nathan's cause of death was, quote, "heart failure by electrocution." What the fuck? Still, action park refused to acknowledge reality, saying they tested all 11 fans that produced the waves and everything

was in perfect working order. Something has to be wrong. Yeah. Operations manager Adam Ringler told a reporter, "At this point, there's absolutely no malfunction." We would say it's not electrocution at this point. But there's nothing wrong with the ride. Brethren, the coroner literally said that's the case of death. Arguing with the coroner. Like, your inoperations manager, not a doctor. Kooky, kooky amusement park with no safety standards and you're telling the

coroner you are wrong. It's like in Widow's Bay, the doctor, that's all he's just like, "Where did you go to medical cell?" I love that guy. Are you sure it's not an animal wound? Does it look like it could be an animal wound? No, not to me. I love it. So funny. Watch Widow's Bay, everybody. Oh, you've got it. I watched it all in one day. So good. So yeah, in the states investigation of the ride, however, investigators discovered a short circuit in one of the fans, that mentioned that.

Action parks had no problems. Yeah, of course not. Although they could not definitively say that was what caused the death. The acknowledged it was likely what caused the electrocution. I would think. In response to the coroner's report, Eugene Mulvahill said there was nothing wrong with the ride

where did you go to medical school? The literal coroner whose job is to determine cause of death by actually looking inside of his body, said the cause of death was heart failure by electrocution.

“Eugene said, "Nah, it's a stroke." Do you understand how different heart failure and a stroke are?”

Yes. Those are two different parts of the body, babe. They sure are. Now, despite the near constant injuries to parkgoers, the popularity of action park continue to grow. Day after day in the park's wave pool swimmers were pummeled by waves that were stronger than they should have been for an amusement park. Wow. Andy Mulvahill said, "When the waves hit, their force caught our guests unprepared." Powered by the insulation sucking fans, the wave

struck with the same violent menace originally meant to create a mini a series of mini shipwrecks. What? Yeah. The fog? In fact, if there was any attraction more notorious for causing injuries at the park, it was the water slides in the wave pool. And August 1984, 20-year-old Donald depressed, drowned when he was "overcome" by the water after rocketing from a 10-foot high water slide into the pool. In response to the death, our guy Adam Ringler there said told reporters,

it was "a simple drowning." And life cards were adequately trained. Okay. However, several parkgoers were less convinced, including one man who told her reported the life cards on duty, quote, "definitely need a little more help." That's one thing that you don't want your life card to know. It's help is more help. Yeah. A few years later, in the summer of 1987, another death occurred when 18 states were so long. Well, this was when 18-year-old Gregory

Grand Champs drowned in the wave pool. As always, the park went on the defensive,

marketing director of Vernon Meritz said there was no indication that the wave had anything to do with it. But he drowned. There's actually like a pretty big indication of that. So yeah, when you're drowning in a wave pool. Yeah, he also called the death-a-quote "basic drowning." Yeah. Although they were not held liable for the death during their investigation, the prosecutors office discovered that after being pulled from the pool, life cards didn't attempt

any life-saving actions like CPR. Are they literally trained to do that? That's part of their job. Yeah. When asked about that fact, Meritz simply said, quote, "We're not quite sure he was not

resuscitated." Okay. I'd ask is everyone okay there, but you know the answer is absolutely not.

To answer, IDK. We're not real sure why they didn't try to save his life.

“Why? Why the life guards did not attempt to resuscitate his life?”

Yeah, despite the park's wild popularity, by the late 1980s, state and local officials had grown kind of tired to be constantly at the constant injuries and the constant deaths related to activities at Action Park. Andy Mulvehill said the state of New Jersey had never seen anything like it and had little idea how to control it. My father loomed large in the small town of Vernon keeping hundreds of people employed and using his political savvy as well as his sometimes questionable

legal means to make sure his passion project remained afloat. I love this kid just reading his phone reading. Action Park remained open for 20 years despite injuries being in their hourly occurrence. His his own one two years. This place was open. Finally in 1996, the year Ash Calcum I couldn't shut it down, shut it down, shut it down, shut it down. I thought I like a safe amusement park. Action Park was forced to close period. Not as a result of accident or death,

but because the company's creditors forced them into bankruptcy when they learned that they were not

“carrying any liability insurance. So that's why you smiled after when I asked that. I was sitting here”

to be like, how the fuck would any insurance company sign on to to wrap this place? Exactly. In the years since the park's closure, more information has come to light that explained at least in part some of the problems experienced at Action Park in the 20 years. In addition to limited testing of new rides, the development of those rides was often undertaken by complete non-experts.

Oh good. And they were almost always built on very small shoe string budgets or corners were

constantly being cut. Fantastic. It was also a serious problem with training. Many, if not most of the park's employees were just local teenagers who received completely inadequate training on the operations of the rides, safety protocols, life-saving techniques. But more than anything else, it was likely the liberty and attitude of the park itself that contributed to the accidents. With a park built on a quote, "enter at your own risk ideology," patrons and employees

much less the safety of anyone around them. Andy Mulvahill said that approach made us national news.

“The New York Times called our father's creation the areas most distinctive expression of the”

amusement park in our age. They also called it a human zoo. Both of things were true. That's what his son said. A human zoo? Which it kind of is. I mean, that's like, like you're seeing people at their most base behavior. Yeah. Like truly. Yeah. And reflecting on his father's creation and its legacy of risk and chaos, Andy Mulvahill summed up action park like this. It was a place that admitted anyone, misfits to clergyman, rich and poor, young and old, and told them it

was theirs to do with as they pleased. Never again, what they have such freedom in their lives.

“But the price for its success was sometimes paid by visitors, not all of whom came out alive.”

And now like America kind of feels like action park right now. It absolutely does. Yeah. That's absolutely. We are. We are action park right now. And we got to get. Because that quote, I was just like honest with you. He was like, never again in their lives. I was like, ah, they made it this far. They'll still see it again. Yeah. Life kind of feels like a human zoo. That is amusement parks.

Part two. Period. Wow. So those are some crazy. Well, I'm happy that I've never gone on any

of those rides. No. Um, no action park. No action park. It doesn't exist anymore. No, I would not be. I would not be trying to go to action park. I don't. I like safety precautions. I like the real love safety for us. I like a thrill with a safety precaution in back into the place. You know,

“that's that's what I don't love a thrill. But I love safety precaution. But you like a haunted house”

a scary movie thrill. Yeah. Yeah. A thrill that does not cause me bodily harm. Yes, yes, yes. Wow. All right. Well, that was a fun episode. Pretty intense. Do I have to get us a fun fact? Yeah. I guess I got them fun fact. All right. Cows have regional accents and they form tight friendships and get depressed if they're separated. So cows over here would just be like, "Mokehead, move it. Get out the way." And then they're like, "Mube it." Maybe it's one move. Yeah.

I love that. I'm obsessed with it. Funny because this all just came full circle. I'd like to pet a highland cow. There you go. I cannot do a Scottish accent though. I don't quite

Scottish. Yeah. I've never been able to. I've never been able to. I'm really only due.

It's a hard one to do. I got three accents. That's it. All right. Really, love you. We hope you keep listening and we hope you keep it. We're not so good that you separate cows and it makes them sad. Yeah. And then they have to move in their different languages. Or have really no safety protocols at a park you open. Yeah, open a safe park if anything. Yeah, or just don't open them. Yeah. She was like, "Okay, I have enough. It's fine."

[Music] [Music] [BLANK_AUDIO]