Disney Removes Life-Threatening Safety Warning From Attraction

When guests visit Disney World, or Disneyland, many expect a certain level of safety. Most recently, some guests have noticed the deterioration in ride safety, after a previous element was removed from one of the more dangerous attractions at Disneyland.

While Walt Disney World Resort features Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom, it is not the original Disney park, and not one that Walt Disney was ever able to actually enter.

Disneyland Resort was created in 1955, and would change the future of theme parks forever. Walt cared heavily about theming, and wanted to bring the outside world details and experiences to his park in new ways. He would travel the world, and bring back aspects of his travel with him as a source material to create his next attraction.

For example, while in New Orleans, Walt bought a bird cage which then inspired him to build The Tiki Room. While the theme park shattered expectations, during the earlier days, safety was a little more questionable than today.

The theme park opened with iconic attractions like Autopia, the Disneyland Railroad, Jungle Cruise, King Arthur Carrousel, Mad Tea Party, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, and more. Luckily, while some of these rides had faster movement, none of them were roller coasters and did not need excessive restraints as we see on certain attractions today.

One of the first injuries to take place at Disneyland Park, far before the construction of Disney California Adventure happened in May 1964. A 15-year-old boy named Mark Maples, hailing from Long Beach, California, suffered an injury when he stood up in the Matterhorn Bobsleds ride at Disneyland and fell out. Reports indicated that his restraint had been undone by his fellow rider.

The boy sadly passed away from these injuries.

As the Matterhorn Bobsleds are a more thrilling ride, being a coaster, the need for proper restraints was key.

Now, as we have progressed, any Disney fan knows that safety checks are taken far more seriously.

Pulling on the yellow tab becomes second nature to those who are on vacation after a few attractions, and now, restraints and safety belts cannot be undone by others once the ride begins. Disney is able to keep restraints locked, even if a guest were to hit the release button.

This only ensures that guests will remain safe while on the attraction.

That being said, some rides at the happiest place on earth are currently suffering. Jungle Cruise has been having a plethora of issues this past week, after the ride had to be evacuated. The boats have reportedly been collapsing, and most recently, it was said that further investigation detected asbestos in the attraction which has only led to a prolonged closure.

Now, it seems like there was a removal on Space Mountain which could be life-threatening to guests.

Space Mountain is an indoor roller coaster with a space theme located in Tomorrowland. It officially opened on May 27, 1977, becoming the second roller coaster constructed at Disneyland and the second of five Space Mountain versions created by The Walt Disney Company — now, every Disney resort has a coaster that will blast you off into space.

The concept of a space-themed roller coaster at Disneyland was initially envisioned by Walt Disney himself, inspired by the achievements of the Matterhorn Bobsleds, which debuted in 1959. Nevertheless, the development of this project was delayed due to Walt Disney’s passing and the opening of Disney World.

The Disneyland version of Space Mountain also receives an overlay at times called Hyperspace Mountain, themed to Star Wars.

The attraction was recently shut down for weeks during an extensive refurbishment. While it was not clear exactly what maintenance was done, many stated that the lighting and projections have become much stronger and crisp.

On a recent ride through, one guest noticed that there was something missing from the ride.

Pepsiman12 took to Reddit to ask if the new supplies door was once a screen, and it was.

Was this a screen before?
byu/pepsiman12 inDisneyland

The guest wrote, “Hey y’all, me and my wife were on our honeymoon this past week and we wanted to know if this was open and playing the same dialog that plays on the other screens as well, if so does anyone know why they closed it? Thanks”.

Another replied, “Yup. There used to be a safety video screen up there.” They then began to quote the safety video, writing, “Space Mountain is a high speed, turbulent roller-coaster style ride in the dark…”

The ride recently underwent another emergency closure. 

It is unclear as to why Disney decided to remove this safety warning, as it helps alert guests who maybe should not ride the attraction due to illness or fear. There are signs that notate the same information; however, this warning was verbal, forcing guests to pay more attention, as written signs are easy to bypass.

Disneyland’s website notes, “WARNING! For safety, you should be in good health and free from high blood pressure, heart, back or neck problems, motion sickness, or other conditions that could be aggravated by this adventure. Expectant mothers should not ride.”

Hopefully, we are able to see this safety screen return to its former glory soon, but for now, it is no more.

What do you think about Disney removing this safety feature on Space Mountain?

Are you looking to visit Disneyland? Considering Disneyland, located in Anaheim, California, is the first ever theme park, and the only one that Walt Disney himself was able to walk through, it holds a magical spot in all of our Disney-loving hearts. Seeing Sleeping Beauty Castle is a picture-perfect moment; there is so much to do! When it comes to attractions, Guests can enjoy the spooky adventures in The Haunted Mansion during the year and Haunted Mansion Holiday (featuring the characters from Nightmare Before Christmas) during the holiday season. Pirates of the Caribbean will take you on a swashbuckling journey, and Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain provide thrills like no other. Classic rides like Matterhorn Bobsleds, Storybook Land Canal Boats, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, and Snow White’s Enchanted Wish are a must, and dining is excellent with stand-out locations like Blue Bayou and Carnation Cafe. Want to start booking so you can see Mickey Mouse in his home in Toontown? The Disneyland website has everything you need to know about the Disneyland app, hotels, tickets, and the Disney Genie+ service. Click here to check it out. 

This post originally appeared on Inside the Magic.