Woman Found Unconscious on Space Mountain

[Melanie]

From Orlando Sentinel:

Disney's Space Mountain shut down after woman found unconscious

By Anika Myers Palm, Orlando Sentinel
3:13 p.m. EDT, May 21, 2011

A woman was transported to a hospital today after she was found unconscious on the Space Mountain ride at Walt Disney World.

The ride remains closed.

Reedy Creek Emergency Services, which handles medical emergencies for Disney's parks, transported the unconscious 48-year-old woman to Dr. Phillips Hospital about 11:30 a.m.

Her current condition is unknown.

"Our thoughts and concerns are with the guest and her family," said Andrea Finger, a Disney spokeswoman. "We have sent a representative to the hospital to assist them with their needs."

After technicians have finished inspecting the ride, it will be reopened to other guests, she said.

Check back for updates on this developing story.

[Christine]

Oh dear.

It's oppressively hot out here- let's hope it's just some heat exhaustion.

And curious why they went all the way to dr Phillips? Hmmmm...

[Melanie]

Oh dear.

It's oppressively hot out here- let's hope it's just some heat exhaustion.

And curious why they went all the way to dr Phillips? Hmmmm...

Goodness, for sure Christine. It's SO hot.

Where is Dr. Phillips?

[WDWfanatic742]

Looks like a couple miles northeast of the Magic Kingdom.

It might just be the heat, this is an interesting one...

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

I hope everything is OK, nothing serious.

[Darbylew]

Sorry to hear this. Hope she is ok. I heard it
was very hot there right now so maybe it is
from the heat.

[joanna71985]

I could be wrong, but I heard she ended up passing away

[Cinderelley]

Different hospitals have different specialties. That may be why they went to that one.

[princessgirls]

So sad. Sounds like an underlying condition...not any fault of WDW or being on Space Mountain. Just terrible for her family.

Julie:mickey:

[crltkcagle]

That is so sad. Any news on her condition?

[DizneyRox]

That is so sad. Any news on her condition?
Unfortunately, we probably won't hear much on her condition(s) until the lawsuit hits.

[KylesMom]

Found an update to the story - looks like the guest's health has improved although she's still in intensive care:


Unconscious Woman On Space Mountain Improves
Woman's Condition Deemed To Be Medical

POSTED: Tuesday, May 24, 2011
UPDATED: 3:27 pm EDT May 24, 2011

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. --
The woman who was found unconscious Saturday on Space Mountain at Walt Disney World has improved, authorities said.

Miranda Baldwin, 48, was riding Space Mountain, an indoor roller coaster at Magic Kingdom, when her daughter noticed her head seemed to be lying to the side, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Office. Believing she may have been unconscious, her daughter held her head upright from the seat behind her, deputies said.

As the ride came to a stop, Baldwin’s two daughters asked park staff for assistance and their mother was transported to Dr. Phillips Hospital, deputies said.

Family members said that Baldwin’s condition is improving. She is awake, responsive and able to respond to verbal commands although she remains in intensive care, deputies said.

Officials said her condition was due to medical circumstances and the ride was re-opened Saturday afternoon.

After Baldwin was taken to the hospital, officials were called to investigate the ride. Disney officials said they wanted to inspect the ride for safety reasons although they believed the ride was working normally.

The ride is still running and no malfunctions have been reported.

[darthmacho]

Well thank goodness on both accounts. Hopefully she recovers fully and doesn't sue, though if I was there I'd ask for a do-over of my vacation if it was interrupted that way.

[NewDVCowner]

I know that when I was there in December the line for Space Mountain needed to get the air conditioning going. It was hot and stuffy and I felt like I was having a hard time breathing and we were just going through the fast pass line. I can't imagine how the people felt that were waiting in the two hour line.

I haven't been to WDW all that often, more of a Disneyland person. Is that normal for Space Mountain or was it just a day when the a/c wasn't working?

[UCJen]

I know that when I was there in December the line for Space Mountain needed to get the air conditioning going. It was hot and stuffy and I felt like I was having a hard time breathing and we were just going through the fast pass line. I can't imagine how the people felt that were waiting in the two hour line.

I haven't been to WDW all that often, more of a Disneyland person. Is that normal for Space Mountain or was it just a day when the a/c wasn't working?

I don't go on Space Mountain, but when we went last August for our annual trip, I remember feeling a lot warmer on rides than on previous trips. I remember Spaceship Earth feeling really warm.

[Ramblingman]

We were there the day it happened. We went to Carousel of Progress for our first ride as my wife always likes to do that first. Then we went to get Fast Pass tickets for Space Mountain. We noticed then that they were not letting people in right then. We took our FP and did a couple of more things.

When we went back, they told us the ride was closed but would likely reopen sometime later. We heard the rumors about the unconscious rider.

Later that afternoon, we went by again. They still had the ride closed and said we could use our FP for something else. To my knowledge, the ride did not reopen at all that day, unless it was later in the evening.

I hope the lady recovered.

[plutosnana]

Ouch!
I wonder exactly how they found her unconcious.. While the ride was going maybe? Anybody know?

[faline]

Ouch!
I wonder exactly how they found her unconcious.. While the ride was going maybe? Anybody know?

From what I understand, her daughter realized her mom had a problem during the ride and held her head until the ride ended. The daughter then requested help for her mom.

[i'm grumpy]

Oh dear such a rough ride under normal circumstances. We rode TTA that day and the lights were on.