A 44-year-old man has died after riding the Expedition Everest roller coaster at Disney's Animal Kingdom today.
Jeffrey Reeb, of Navarre, was unconscious and unresponsive when his ride vehicle pulled into the unload area, around 11:25 this morning. (Editor's Note: Earlier versions of this story contained incorrect information on the victim's name, which was provided by the Orange County Sheriff's Office.)
Another park guests who is a registered nurse and a Disney employee began cardiopulmonary resuscitation until Reedy Creek Emergency Services paramedics arrived and took over, said Assistant Fire Chief Bo Jones.
The man had no pulse when paramedics arrived, Jones said. There was no apparent trauma and "no obvious signs of any cause," Jones said. The paramedics transported him to Celebration Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Walt Disney World officials said the ride was inspected this morning and was operating properly, but is currently closed while Disney officials reconfirm the ride's status.
The Florida Bureau of Fair Rides Inspection and the Orange County Sheriff's Office were notified.
A Disney spokeswoman said the company has offered the man's family "our deepest sympathies" and offered assistance.
The death is the first associated with the roller coaster Expedition Everest, which opened in early 2006. That ride includes tight twists and turns and some backwards travel but is not a particularly fast or steep roller coaster and has no loops.
The death is the third death associated with a Disney attraction this year and the first since March, when a man died after collapsing at the Downhill Double Dipper at Blizzard Beach.
cause was released today (happened a few days ago) had had a preexisting heart condition for which he had been recieving treatment. I forget the exact cause though, but I think it was Enlarged Heart Muscle or Abnormal Heart Muscle (I skimmed the report)
Favorite Wood Coasters: The Voyage, Ravine Flyer II, Thunderhead, Balder Favorite Steel: Voltron Nevera, Steel Vengeance, Expedition GeForce, Olympia Looping Parks visited: 232, Coasters Ridden: Steel: 894, Wood: 179, Total: 1073
I don't know how many people read the warnings posted at the entrance before they board the ride, but they mean what they say. This stuff happens often. I blamed the ride at first for 'safety issues' but it was a medical condition the man had. This shows anyone with heart issues should not just not ride the ride, but they should avoid it at all costs.
R.I.P. Splashwater Falls and Space Shuttle America. Deja Vu, enjoy Idaho.
Hear ye, hear ye: "After 45 years, Six Flags has stopped smoking."
See things like this really worry me. My boyfriend says he has a small heart condition but he says it's not serious and that it's totally okay for him to ride the rides. But every time something like this happens I have doubts and I get kind of worried.
ttd rox wrote:Me too Cycamps.^ It seems like almost every problem when some one dies on a thrill ride these days it's because of serious heart conditions.
Anywho, we rode it twice yesterday, ran very well. Things weren't that rough on it, but slightly rougher than the summer, but not bad at all. It's sad to see these things happen but people should really take into account all the risks and warnings before riding.
Universal Orlando Mechanical Engineer Marathon down, Goofy to go.
The tourist who died this week on a roller coaster at Walt Disney World had a known heart condition and suffered from an enlarged heart, authorities said Wednesday.
Favorite Wood Coasters: The Voyage, Ravine Flyer II, Thunderhead, Balder Favorite Steel: Voltron Nevera, Steel Vengeance, Expedition GeForce, Olympia Looping Parks visited: 232, Coasters Ridden: Steel: 894, Wood: 179, Total: 1073
Rode EE 9 times Wednesday. Everything was running as normal with 5 train OP
http://themeparkcritic.com/scripts/profile/ViewProfile.asp?ViewID=2909 A furious storm once roared `cross the sea, catching ships in its path, helpless to flee. Instead of a certain and watery doom, the winds swept them here to Typhoon Lagoon!
^WDI sets their ride systems to resume operation immediately after the next block clears. At SF someone has to reset the ride if there is a set up. Everest did set up a few times, but resumed as soon as block 3 (top of mtn) cleared. It will also hold at 3 and 4 until the following block is clear.
http://themeparkcritic.com/scripts/profile/ViewProfile.asp?ViewID=2909 A furious storm once roared `cross the sea, catching ships in its path, helpless to flee. Instead of a certain and watery doom, the winds swept them here to Typhoon Lagoon!
^ That system works for Disney, but I can't see it working at six flags. It's bad enough that people get scared if a coaster is "stuck" due to some stop being pressed...
Imagine how much more freaked out they would be if they were told..."yeah, Raging Bull stopped at the top for a few seconds due to the fact that the computer system sensed trains were too close together."
Rajun Cajun seems to do that to a point, bunch of times I've been stopped in the final block right by the station and without any intervention (seemingly) from maint. or a sup the ride starts again.
Though I'm sure if it was bad enough to the point where the ride sets up beyond that like 2-3 blocks become occupied the computer may have something to say about that, though then again maybe not.
Favorite Wood Coasters: The Voyage, Ravine Flyer II, Thunderhead, Balder Favorite Steel: Voltron Nevera, Steel Vengeance, Expedition GeForce, Olympia Looping Parks visited: 232, Coasters Ridden: Steel: 894, Wood: 179, Total: 1073
I don't remember how RC's system works. I know brake 7 would release once 8 and 9 are clear, but we were told to prevent set-ups on 7 as much as possible. Brake 7 (next to the station) would trouble light every now and then. SFGAm really doesn't have any coasters where the system WDW uses would work. Raging Bull is really the only coaster which would benefit from WDW's system. It really only helps when there are more than 3 trains.
http://themeparkcritic.com/scripts/profile/ViewProfile.asp?ViewID=2909 A furious storm once roared `cross the sea, catching ships in its path, helpless to flee. Instead of a certain and watery doom, the winds swept them here to Typhoon Lagoon!
FParker185 wrote:Rajun Cajun seems to do that to a point, bunch of times I've been stopped in the final block right by the station and without any intervention (seemingly) from maint. or a sup the ride starts again.
Though I'm sure if it was bad enough to the point where the ride sets up beyond that like 2-3 blocks become occupied the computer may have something to say about that, though then again maybe not.
For Cajun the trains will move as soon as the 2 blocks in front of them become clear. The only time the trains will not move again is because of a trouble light. The reason for not wanting to stop the train in brake 7 is its slow speed will cause a trouble light for the train taking too long to get from brake 7 to 8, this then causes a ride induced Ride Stop.
