What could be more fun and frivolous than an outing to an amusement park? When all goes well, we experience a few seconds of thrills, chills and adrenaline surges that are well worth the ticket price. Tragically for some, however, a day at the park wasn’t so amusing. There have been plenty of macabre deaths and serious injuries in these pleasure grounds due to ride malfunctions, human errors, acts of arson and stupid patrons. One loose screw can make the difference between life and death. To be fair, more people enjoy these midway thrills unscathed than not. However, when a mishap occurs, the results can be devastating and squeals of joy can quickly turn into screams of terror. Here are 10 theme park disasters that have occurred around the world that just might turn you off rides forever.
1. No Smiles at Alton Towers
Most recently, the Alton Towers theme park in Staffordshire, UK experienced a horrendous crash on their prized roller coaster, The Smiler. This twisty ride zoomed along at 53mph with a record 14 inversions and was one of the main attractions in the park. However, on June 2, 2015, sixteen people were injured when the white-knuckle train collided with an empty carriage, resulting in significant leg injuries, a collapsed lung and a leg amputation. Adding to the horror, the victims were left dangling upside down 25ft in the air for four hours before rescue workers could extract them. Shockingly, this wasn’t the first incident on The Smiler. Just two months after it opened, a bolt fell out and left a gap in the track, and 48 patrons had to be rescued. Four months later, some wheels fell off and hit passengers. In fact, seven incidents have occurred since the ride opened two years ago, which is a pretty appalling track record for such a high-profile park.
2. Scared to Death in the Haunted Castle
You expect to have a fright when you enter a haunted castle ride. However, back in May of 1984, eight young visitors were literally scared to death in New Jersey’s Six Flags Great Adventure theme park. You’d think you’d be safe in a walk-thru attraction as opposed to a risky high speed, gravity-taunting thrill ride. However, an inferno broke out, spreading rapidly due to flammable materials in the castle. There were 29 patrons inside the haunted halls at the time, but one group couldn’t make it out to safety. They were overcome by asphyxiation and charred to the point that workers originally thought they were burnt mannequins. The investigation showed that the Haunted Castle was in violation of twelve state fire codes. Six Flags was charged for lacking safety precautions like smoke detectors and sprinklers, but got off because the castle was a “temporary structure” and suspected arson was at play.
3. Space Journey has a Crash Landing
Despite being given an A-level safety rating by the China Special Equipment Inspection and Research Institute, the Space Journey ride in Shenzhen’s Eco-Adventure Valley amusement park plunged to the ground with over 40 people aboard, killing six back on June 29, 2010. This popular attraction near Hong Kong was a multi-car centrifuge flight simulator that gave the sensation of a rocket launch. Space images were projected on a wide screen dome while thrill-seekers whirled 360 degrees and whipped up and down. Somehow a screw came loose, a car ricocheted around the chamber and sparked a deadly electrical fire.
4. King’s Island Has a Particularly Bad Track Record
Yikes! June 9, 1991 was a bad day at this Mason, Ohio theme park. First, a man fell into a pond near the Oktoberfest beer garden and two people jumped into to save him. Tragically, all three got an electric shock and the two would-be rescuers died. A mere hour later that very same day, a 32 year old woman fell to her death from the Flight Commander ride. The world’s tallest, fastest and only looped wooden roller coaster, Sons of Beast, had six incidents involving injury since it opened back in 2000. One 2006 oopsie sent 27 people to the hospital due to a “design flaw” that caused a wooden beam to crack. The mega-coaster was closed and dismantled in 2012.
5. Trouble on the Trebuchet
Considering a trebuchet is a medieval siege weapon designed to fling boulders into castle walls, perhaps it wasn’t the best idea to hurl human missiles 100 feet into the air from one. However, Middlemoor Water Park in Somerset, England, thought they had come up with an awesome daredevil thrill which unfortunately catapults them onto our list of theme park disasters. Several members of the Oxford Stunt Club took flight from this contraption, but not all participants came to a safe landing on the net. A Bulgarian-born undergraduate, Kostadine Yankov, died after missing the target and splatting into the ground in 2002. An inquest showed that a new strop rope used that day had not been sufficiently tested, however the operators were cleared of manslaughter charges. These are the risks when you choose to partake in such a crazy stunt.
6. Action Park is Known as Traction Park
This waterpark in Vernon, New Jersey, has had countless injuries and a few fatalities since its 1978 opening. 110 were reported in one year alone, including 10 fractures and 45 head injuries. Its Cannonball Loop opened in 1985 and is legendary for its appalling safety record. It only stayed open for a month, as many sliders came out with hurt backs and broken noses. Some required rescue after getting stuck in the tube. The park’s turbulent wave pool earned the nickname of “grave pool” after several drownings and someone was even electrocuted on the kayak ride. The park shut down in 1996 due to various lawsuits, but reopened under a different name. It now operates as Action Park again, and rumor has it they want to resurrect the Cannonball Loop, only this time with design improvements and better safety standards. We’re not sure the the breakneck speeds required to clear the loop is worth literally breaking your neck over.
7. Oakwood Theme Park Lax on Safety Checks
A 16 year old girl on the Hydro roller coaster in this Welsh park flew out of her seat and plummeted 100 feet to her death. The investigation showed that employees routinely failed to check seat belts and safety bars, and was fined £250,000 for negligence. After a year, the ride reopened under a new name, Drenched. Fingers crossed they take a little extra care with their patrons’ safety these days. It makes you wonder how many other theme park disasters are waiting to happen, with low paid and poorly trained staff at the helm of these G-force thrill rides.
8. No Batman to the Rescue for this Poor Kid
The Batman roller coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia turned deadly for one 17 year old in 2008. Granted, he violated signs warning him not to climb two fences into a forbidden area, so the park isn’t really at fault here. Apparently his hat flew off when he was on the ride, and he went to retrieve it despite the warnings. We wandered onto the path of the coaster and was decapitated on impact. Seriously dude, losing a hat isn’t worth losing your head over. A groundskeeper had met a similar fate six years prior, when he went into this danger zone and was clipped in the head by a passing passenger’s leg. The moral? Take these “do not enter” warning signs seriously as they’re not there for decoration.
9. Bad Call at Gulliver’s World Ferris Wheel
In the summer of 2002, a 15 year old girl with Down’s syndrome was told she was too big to share her mother’s gondola. She was put on her own, then sadly clamored out of her seat and fell to the ground shortly after rising into the air. The Warrington, England theme park was fined for safety violations, even thought the lap bar was found in the locked position. Sadly, the girl and her mother didn’t speak fluent English, and in the boarding confusion couldn’t insist they ride together.
10. Mind-blowing Accident on the Mindbender
This triple loop roller coaster in West Edmonton Mall’s Galaxyland indoor amusement park is the world’s largest. Sadly, it is also the site of one of the deadliest theme park disasters in Canada. Just one year after its 1985 opening, missing bolts caused a four-car train to derail, fishtail and fall backwards into a loop before crashing into a concrete pillar. This horrific incident killed three people, and gave a packed concert audience a grisly show as riders were thrown off the ride while the band played on. Seven months later, the ride re-opened and has been accident-free ever since. However, knowing that you’re life could be lost by a loose screw like this, is the thrill really worth it? Millions of amusement park daredevils obviously think so.
