Whether it’s a roller coaster or a water slide, nothing gets your heart pounding like a high-octane, theme park ride! But, for all the seatbelts, lap bars, and warning signs, they’re not always as safe as they seem. From poor maintenance and sheer negligence to utterly insane designs, there have been many rides that were just accidents waiting to happen! Let's explore even more theme park rides that had to be shut down.
The Sand Blaster
Daytona Beach’s Boardwalk is a famous Floridian amusement park, although one of its rides made national headlines for all the wrong reasons several years ago.
The Sand Blaster, which was a fairly standard, 53 ft steel roller coaster built back in the 1970’s, had been operating on the boardwalk since 2013. But in June 2018, disaster struck when the coaster’s front car suddenly derailed,
throwing two riders 34 ft to the ground! That’s like being shoved out of a 3-story building!
Miraculously, no one died! The incident immediately shut the ride down, and Floridian officials began to investigate, but what they found shocked them to the core. A little over a year before, inspectors assessing the ride had ordered it to stop immediately after finding not one, not two, but more than a dozen violations! These included damaged seats, excessive corrosion, and even a large crack in the track. These weren’t just things a lick of paint could fix, so the ride was shut for some serious maintenance and re-opened five months later. But then in May, less than a month before the accident, the ride failed its inspection again due to more excessive corrosion! After even more maintenance, another inspector gave it the green light to re-open. But just a few hours later, this terrible tragedy struck! Had that inspector been wearing a blindfold?
Ultimately, the investigation revealed that the cars had been hitting the corners way too fast at a whopping 22 mph, causing the derailment! To make matters worse, engineers also found evidence on the tracks that The Sandblaster had derailed several times in the past without ever being reported to the state! The dark history and clear negligence the Sandblaster boasted sealed its fate, and the ride was torn down in 2019.
The Vortex, Thorpe Park
Thorpe Park likes to market itself as the UK’s most thrilling theme park. And that’s technically true, if by thrilling they mean terrifying, thanks to an accident that occurred there back in 2018! Their ride "The Vortex" is designed to whirl riders around on a large mechanical arm that pivots on an axel. So, while they’re being whipped round, riders are also swung side to side up to 65 ft in the air!
But back in 2018, it was people watching the riders that felt sick. As the arm swung its screaming riders round, something huge suddenly ripped off the ride! It plummeted towards the riders on the downswing and, thankfully,
missed them by mere inches!
Scary moment part of a seat flies off Thorpe Park’s Vortex ride narrowly missing thrillseekers by News World Operators shut the ride down immediately, fearing that it could have been a piece of critical machinery, and that the ride might break apart above them any second! But, on closer inspection, they realized that it was just a piece of foam that had flown off one of the ride’s seats that was out of order. Relieved, they performed a few routine safety checks before re-opening the Vortex just 15 minutes later.
The Vertical Accelerator
In 2019, two steely-nerved gents got into the seats of The Vertical Accelerator, a slingshot ride at Florida’s Cobra Adventure Park. They were being recorded by their friends, who were teasing them about their upcoming 160 ft skyward trip! Just as the operator was about to pull the release lever, something truly shocking happened.
Slingshot ride cable snaps causing scare in Florida by 6abc Philadelphia That was one seriously close call! If that ride operator had noticed the shredding cord even a second later, those gents might have been flung to their deaths! Luckily, no one was hurt, and the ride was closed immediately. You’d think Cobra Adventure Park would’ve launched a full investigation into this near miss! However, they only
released a statement claiming all their attractions, and I quote, "always maintained the highest safety standards." Well, a quick glance on
google maps shows that, today, the Vertical Accelerator is still standing!
Coney Island Cannon Coaster
The very concept of a track-jumping roller coaster is something that true adrenaline junkies dream about! But such an insane-sounding ride doesn’t exist, and probably never will thanks to a little-known thing called physics! Because roller coaster trains don’t have engines, they rely on a delicate and ever-changing balance of inertia, gravity, and energy to keep them rolling.
So, without the track, they’re completely unpredictable and uncontrollable. However, this limitation hasn’t stopped people from bringing a trackless loop-the-loop to life with some top tier visual effects! The clip below looks so realistic it actually went viral! But if it was real, the slightest breeze would knock that train off course and send it crashing to the ground!
Rollercoaster Tycoons by RocketJump
With all that being said, no-one would ever be dumb enough to try and make a train-jumping track, right? Well, back in 1902, the Coney Island Cannon Coaster was originally going to include a track that genuinely jumped a gap! Trains would have been hauled up to the crest of a hill, rolled through a large, cannon shaped tunnel, and then propelled over a gap in the track at the end! This death-defying stunt was meant to make riders feel like they’d just been shot out of a cannon.
While the track was built to spec, several tests done with sandbags resulted in a catastrophic number of crashes, and the idea was thankfully abandoned. The track was filled in, but at just 40 ft high with no real speed, the resulting Cannon Coaster was pretty boring, even by 1902 standards! This led to its closure a mere 5 years after it was built!
The Tsunami
With a name like ‘the Tsunami’ you be forgiven for thinking this next ride was some sort of insane wave pool. But surprisingly, it was an inverted steel roller coaster based in M & D’s Theme Park in Scotland!
The ride had travelled around the country as part of M & D’s carnival, before arriving at the park back in 2004. Even though the 66 ft high coaster was well-loved, it didn’t have the best track record. In 2011,
it broke down leaving riders stranded 60 ft in the air for 8 long hours. They were eventually rescued by being abseiled out of their seats! As heart-attack-inducing as it sounds, that event paled in comparison to the disaster that occurred in June 2016. That afternoon, the Tsunami’s yellow train was running along the tracks when, suddenly, the entire thing derailed! It struck a support beam at a shocking 40 mph and plunged down 30 ft below, landing in a devastating heap in front of the ride.
M&DS Scotland tsunami crashes roller coaster crash by liam mackinnon Two adults and eight children were injured in the crash, but despite the drastic scenes, no lives were lost! A health and safety investigation was launched into the devastating accident, but investigators weren’t prepared for what they found. Repairs had been carried out on the axels of the passenger cars several days before, however the welding metal that’d been used was totally incompatible! This meant that when the train had entered a critical turn, the axels failed, derailing the entire thing.
And to make matters worse, a ride inspector had approved the works just 16 days before the incident! In the end, the inspector was banned from working, the Tsunami was removed from the park, and M & D were fined just under $100,000 for health and safety breaches. It may not have had anything in common with a real Tsunami, but this ride sure ended being one serious disaster!
Hypersonic XLC
The Hypersonic XLC at Kings Dominion Amusement Park in Virginia had a bad reputation for having a 2-hour-long wait all for a 20-second-long ride. Using a prototype air-compression system, riders were launched from 0 to 80 mph in just 1.5 seconds, accelerating up a 165 ft hill before plummeting vertically down the other side. And, as this lady is about to demonstrate, it was just as fast as it sounds.
HyperSonic XLC @ King's Dominion by Elisabeth Epps
Opened in 2001, this unique prototype attraction became a seriously popular coaster. However, rumors began to surface that passengers who put their hands up at the start would frequently suffer from dislocated shoulders, just from the sheer force of the launch. Apparently, this resulted in several lawsuits that were so damaging to King’s Dominion, the ride was forced to shut down for good in 2007. That’s just 6 short years after it was opened. But here’s the thing: there aren't any records of the lawsuits, or even the injuries, at all! It turns out the real reason the ride was shut down wasn’t because it was dangerous, but because it was unreliable.
Because it was a prototype, the ride had to undergo months of downtime every season for maintenance. Being a huge drain on the park’s finances and resources, it was eventually put up for sale. But no other parks were willing to take on such a risk of a ride, and so it was dismantled and sadly forgotten.
The Emerald Plunge
The opening day of any amusement park usually has riders screaming in excitement, but the opening day of The Wave waterpark in Dublin, California, left one rider screaming in pain.
Back in 2017, a 10-year-old boy decided to try out the brand-new Emerald plunge slide, which dropped riders almost vertically down 48 ft onto a shallow pool below. He was well within the height and weight limits, but when he reached the bottom, he skidded over the water and was sent careening over the side onto the bare concrete!
Boy flies from Dublin's Emerald Plunge water slide by Mercury News
Even though he wasn’t seriously injured, the ride was closed just 90 minutes after it had opened for the first time. Investigators were brought in to figure out what had gone wrong and sent a 78 lb sandbag, which weighed the same amount as the boy, down the slide. But when it hit the pool, they watched in horror as it too was sent flying over the sides! They concluded that the deep pool of water at the bottom of the flume caused a fast stop for lighter riders. This was a basic error that should have been picked up during testing!
The Plunge’s manufacturer, WhiteWater, insisted it undertook extensive testing of all its rides, but the thorough investigation determined that was a huge lie. Not only that, but it also revealed they’d arbitrarily taken the height and weight restrictions from common rollercoaster requirements without any proof they kept people safe on their slides! The boy’s family filed a lawsuit and settled with the manufacturer, who begrudgingly took full responsibility. The slide eventually re-opened in 2018 following some small water flow changes, and this time, it managed to stay open for more than 90 minutes!
Superman: Tower of Power
The thought of being thrown from a speeding roller coaster is scary, but it’s nothing compared to what 13-year-old Kaitlyn Lassiter went through at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom. Back in 2007, Kaitlynn was getting ready to ride the park’s Superman: Tower of Power. It was a drop tower-ride which lifted riders up almost 180ft in the air before dropping them at a speedy 54 mph.
Six Flags - Kentucky Kingdom by Kristine Midwood
But as Kaitlyn was being hoisted up, the ride jolted, and she heard a sort of strange, whipping sound. Suddenly, a cable that had been lifting the ride up fell on top of her, and part of it wrapped around her dangling legs. Terrified, the people next to her screamed at the operators to stop the ride, but it was no use. The car dropped, and the cables severed both of poor Kaitlyn’s feet!
She was rushed into surgery, and doctors were able to re-attach her right foot, but her left wasn’t as lucky, and she was left with life-changing injuries. The ride was shut down, and after a thorough investigation, it never re-opened. It turned out the faulty cable had gradually deteriorated over time, something that park inspectors had suspiciously never spotted. To make it worse, the 18-year-old ride operators heard the snapping noise and failed to hit the emergency stop button in time. If they had, experts believed Kaitlyn would have come away with just a few scrapes instead of two missing feet! All these factors
fell firmly on Six Flags’ shoulders, and Kaitlyn’s family rightfully sued the park for negligence. They received an undisclosed settlement, which included around half a million dollars in medical bills alone! Left without a leg to stand on, Six Flags demolished the ride before the start of the 2008 season.
Ride of Steel
The Tower of Power isn’t the only Superman themed ride with a super-villainous past. The Ride of Steel was built back in 1999 in New York’s Darien Lake theme park, which is now also a Six Flags location! This mega coaster climbs up more than 200 ft and flies along the tracks at over 70 mph, giving riders a real taste of what it’s like to be Superman, minus the bright red cape and underpants!
However, back in 2011, chaos erupted shortly after Sergeant James Hackemer, a courageous war veteran who’d lost both of his legs defending his country, boarded the ride. Sat at the very front, the train whipped around the track and was approaching one of the smaller hills when, suddenly, Sergeant Hackemer was ejected from the ride! Sadly, he didn’t survive, and the ride was closed indefinitely.
An investigation found that in the Ride of Steel operators training manual, it’s stated that all riders must have two functioning legs. This is because the T-bar ride restraints are designed to hold riders in at the hip and shin! However, even as Hackemer’s friends lifted him into the front seat, giving operators a full view of his handicap, they did not think to stop him from boarding. Rumors then began to fly that a park employee had told Hackemer he could get on any of the rides, but this turned out to be false. He’d actually been offered a brochure of safety information about the rides but had refused it, claiming he already had a copy. Ultimately, the ride was allowed to re-open, but the blame fell on Darien Lake’s shoulders, and they ended up paying out an
undisclosed seven figure settlement! Although, this wasn’t the Ride of Steel’s first time in the media spotlight. In 1999, a man weighing more than 300 lbs slipped from the ride’s restraints and was thrown 10 ft to the ground! During an investigation, Darien Lake argued that the restraints worked as they were meant to, but they’d failed to engage properly because of his size. He was awarded $2.85 million in compensation, and the ride was started up again after more secure restraints were added to the trains. Although, clearly, they weren’t secure enough!
The Cyclone, Coney Island's Luna Park
The City of New York is home to Coney Island’s Luna Park, one of the most famous amusement parks in the world. And right at its center lies the legendary Cyclone roller coaster.
Opened in 1926, this iconic wooden coaster hauls riders up to the height of an 8-storey building before letting them loose around hills and bends at a breath-taking 60 mph. For almost 100 years, The Cyclone has been a local institution, even though it doesn’t have the greatest safety record on track. Riders are only secured by a single lap bar, which is easy for some idiots to overpower or wriggle out from. Back in 1985, a man stood up on the ride for an extra hit of adrenalin, but accidentally hit a crossbeam and was sent tumbling to the ground below. Then, in 1988, a construction worker took a turn on the Cyclone and decided he too would try standing up as the train went down a steep hill. As you might have guessed, he was also sent careening over the side.
Unfortunately, neither of these riders survived, but because these accidents were a result of their own actions, the Cyclone still operates to this day. But seeing the similarity of their idiotic choices, you’d think Luna Park would have refitted the trains with better restraints, right? Or, at the very least, a mandatory IQ test. Instead of that, the park operators just painted a remain seated sign at the coaster’s peak. Now that’s Health and Safety at its finest!
Cyclone HD On-Ride POV Front Luna Park & Scream Zone Summer 2017 by PivotCoasterVideos New Texas Giant
When The Texas Giant debuted in 1990, it set the astonishing record of being the tallest wooden roller coaster in the entire world. This beast was made with over 900,000 board ft of wood, making up its many heart-racing hills, drops and vertical skirting turns! And at more than 140 ft high with a top speed of 65 mph, some of its drops were like falling off a 13-story building!
As fun as it was, the wooden ride had a terrible reputation for being way too rough. This led to its renovation in 2009, and it eventually reopened in 2011 as, the aptly named, New Texas Giant. It was all going smoothly, until the events of July 2013. A larger lady was riding the giant when, after the first steep descent, she tumbled out of her train carriage and
fell a shocking 75 ft! Unfortunately, she didn’t survive, and the ride was shut down pending an investigation. Safety experts questioned the ride’s choice of restraint system, which only secured riders with a lap bar despite the high speeds and extreme turns. However, witnesses came forward claiming that before the train had left the station, the lady had alerted an attendant to the fact her lap bar wasn’t secured!
Apparently, she’d only heard the latch click once, indicating that the mechanism hadn’t locked properly. The attendant then performed a quick ‘push-pull’ test on her lap bar and, despite her size and concerns, assured her she’d be ok. Ultimately, the tragic event was put down to the victim’s size and attendants error, not the failing of her restraints. As such, the ride was closed for just 2 months, but when it re-opened it had redesigned its lap bars and added in some seat belts. Now larger patrons can ride without the fear of falling out, though whether they want to is an entirely different question!
Flight Commander
It’s no secret that Kings Island, Ohio, doesn’t have the greatest safety record. Since 1976, at least 7 people have lost their lives in the park! These incidents range from medical emergencies to lightning strikes, but one instance stands out thanks to the ride that was involved: The Flight Commander.
Secured in little pods, riders were taken up to a height of 60 ft and whirled round by mechanical arms. Each pod was connected to a rotating section at the back, and through the use of a joystick, riders could spin their own pods a full 360 degrees! It was like controlling your own little spaceship!
Flight Commander Media Promo Video by Kings Island Central But in 1991, just a year after it had opened, this spaceship fantasy came crashing down to earth. A lady had boarded the ride alone, but somehow slipped out of her pod and frighteningly fell more than 60 ft to the ground! She sadly didn’t survive, but the event had investigators scratching their heads. She’d been secured in with both a shoulder harness and a lap bar, both of which were found to be fully functional. So how on earth had she slipped out?
After more investigating, it was then discovered that the woman had been heavily intoxicated, and that’s when it all fell into place. It’s believed that, in her inebriated state, she fell limp, which, through a design flaw, allowed her to slide into the unoccupied seat beside her and wriggle her way out of the restraints.
Maybe she was going to be sick? Or perhaps she’d passed out entirely? Whatever the reason, it didn’t end well for her. The ride was closed down, but it re-opened in 1992 without any more incidents. Even so, the damage had been done to its reputation, it was shut down for good just 3 years later.
Thunder River Rapids
Just about everything in Australia is out to get you: the snakes, the spiders, even the theme park rides! The Dreamworld’s Thunder River Rapids was a pretty typical river rapid ride, with large circular rafts floating along a choppy water channel, that were lifted out of the water by a conveyor belt system. With a top speed of just 28 mph, this ride was hardly a break-neck adventure although it became one back in 2016!
That day, one of the rides essential water pumps failed, causing the water level to drop. As it did, a raft near the conveyor belt became stranded on the support rails and couldn’t make it to the unloading area. But less than a minute later, another raft came speeding up behind them, crashing into the first raft and jolting the entire thing upright! It tipped out four riders, who were either terrifyingly trapped beneath the raft, or against the moving conveyor belt.
Horrendously,
none of them survived, making this one of the worst theme park accidents in Australian history. A sweeping safety audit determined that the ride’s safety and maintenance systems were rudimentary, at best, and that a simple, inexpensive water level monitor could have prevented the entire disaster. This unbelievable oversight saw the ride demolished in 2018, and Dreamworld’s parent company, Ardent Leisure, was fined a phenomenal $2.8 million for health and safety breaches.If you were amazed at these theme park rides that had to be shut down, you might want to read
part 1. Thanks for reading!
