Death in the Magic Kingdom

Millions of visitors come to Disneyland each year without incident to enjoy one of California’s leading tourist attractions. On Christmas Eve, one couple’s unlucky fate was to be in line to board the tall ship Columbia when a metal cleat torn from the ship by a rope struck and severely injured both. The man later died from his injuries.

Perhaps this sad story is just an example of how accidents can happen anywhere at any time. A ride on the Columbia is about as sedate as it gets at today’s gee-whiz theme park environments. Generally when we think of safety issues at amusement parks, we imagine ourselves hanging upside down on some high-tech speed ride.

However, Frontierland, where Columbia docks, is one of Disneyland’s oldest attractions, and that raises concern not only about the newer parks but about the older ones. For an attraction that has offered family entertainment since 1955, the passing decades necessarily have meant aging infrastructure.

While Disneyland has often cited its safety record and says the park is well maintained, it has been criticized by some frequent park-goers and employees who complain that it has cut back on resources devoted to upkeep. The fact that Disneyland officials are not forthcoming about such matters doesn’t contribute to a clearer public understanding.

In fact, there will be an outside investigation of this accident by Cal-OSHA, but only because a park employee was also hurt. Moreover, while the state does review traveling carnival equipment, efforts to subject theme parks to regular state inspections have faltered in the face of industry opposition.

Theme parks may have reliable internal safety review mechanisms, but they are also operated for profit. To guard the public’s interest, it is worth revisiting the issue of outside oversight, as is being considered in Sacramento. Prudent steps would ensure that rides both old and new are not more accidents waiting to happen.