Top 5 Most Avoidable Disneyland Deaths

[bmanuhutu]

Hey guys, finally got up the nerve to post, found this article which seemed a bit gruesome yet informational at the same time.

Orange County - Navel Gazing - Dishney: Top 5 Most Avoidable Disneyland Deaths

[Mr Wiggins]

It would be nice if Ms. Chang (writer of the blog Dishney, Disney Dirt) got her facts straight.

All but one of the fatalities to take place within Disneyland property lines can be attributed to guest negligence--unbuckling this, standing up during that--the only accident that can be determined as insufficient ride maintenance happened on Christmas Eve in 1998, aboard the large sailing ship Columbia.

The piece makes no mention of the Big Thunder accident. Nor does Ms. Chang cite the sources for her recycled information.

[Eric5675]

Yeah. There are some big misleading pieces of information in that article...

Take it with a grain of salt, while all of those deaths did occur, those aren't the exact stories...

[kirsten]

This person just went to snopes and copied what was there. Some writer.

My friends mom was at Disneyland and in line to ride the Matterhorn in 1984 when that lady died on it.

[NeverNeverland]

I think it was a GREAT article.
The main theme was: sit down, listen and don't be a) dumb or b) a show off.

[SnorkletsMom]

Well, they were all avoidable, weren't they?
Poorly written and poorly researched. yay internets.

[Mr Wiggins]

This person just went to snopes and copied what was there. Some writer.

Whoah, you ain't kiddin'. Check it out:

Snopes.com:

May 1964: Mark Maples, a 15-year-old Long Beach, CA, resident, was killed when he tried to stand up on the Matterhorn Bobsleds. Maples (or his companion) foolishly unbuckled his seatbelt and attempted to stand up as their bobsled neared the peak of the mountain. Maples lost his balance and was thrown from the sled to the track below, fracturing his skull and ribs and causing internal injuries. He died three days later.

Vickie Chang:

Mark Maples, 15, of Long Beach unbuckles his safety belt and stands up during his ride aboard the Matterhorn Bobsleds in May 1964. Choosing to do this exactly near the summit of the attraction, Maples lost his footing. He landed on the tracks below him and suffered a skull fracture and several other internal injuries. He passed away three days after the accident.

Snopes.com:

Bogden DeLaurot, an 18-year-old Brooklyn resident, drowned trying to swim across the Rivers of America. DeLaurot and his 10-year-old brother managed to stay on Tom Sawyer Island past its dusk closing time by climbing the fence separating the island from the burning settler's cabin. When they decided to leave the island a few hours later, they chose to swim across the river rather than call attention to their rule-breaking by appealing to cast members for help. Because the younger brother did not know how to swim, DeLaurot tried to carry him on his back as he swam to shore. Bogden DeLaurot went down about halfway across the river. The younger boy remained afloat by dogpaddling until a ride operator hauled him aboard a boat, but Bogden was nowhere to be found. His body was not located by searchers until the next morning.

Vickie Chang:

Another attraction responsible for taking its fair share of lives at Disneyland: The Rivers of America. The most tragic story involves 18-year-old Bogden Delaurot and his younger brother who had stowed away on Tom Sawyer Island past its closing time. Rather than risk getting in trouble and asking for assistance, the pair decided to swim for it instead--because the younger Delaurot could not swim, Bogden decided to carry him across on his back. Halfway across, Bogden went under water. The younger brother managed to dog paddle until help arrived. Bogden's body was found the next morning.

The rest of Chang's piece appears similarly rewritten from Snopes.com... with no credit given to her source.

Photographers are credited (including Andy Castro), but not Snopes.

[WestsideCM99]

Haha, I don't think that Ms. Chang will be getting nominated for any pulitzers anytime soon. Maybe I can get a gig at the weekly blogging about common sense too.