The parents of a 4-year-old who died after riding Epcot's Mission: Space want tougher thrill-ride restrictions for small children, but Disney officials are waiting for the boy's autopsy results before deciding if changes are needed.
Moses and Agnes Bamuwamye, whose son Daudi died June 13, proposed new height restrictions in a letter their attorney sent to Disney officials last month.
Disney rejected their request to raise the bar from 44 to 51 inches, writing two weeks ago that no evidence connects the death to the ride, according to correspondence the Pennsylvania family's attorney provided to the Orlando Sentinel.
"Simply to make a change on no informed basis would be false solace to those affected and of no benefit to anyone else," wrote Margaret C. Giacalone of Disney's legal staff. "Further, the minimum height requirement was carefully considered, analyzed and established on the basis of a variety of factors."
The family's lawyer, Robert A. Samartin of Tampa, wrote Disney earlier that there are no standards to determine the danger of gravitational forces experienced by anyone under 48 inches tall on an amusement-park ride.
Without proof of safety, the theme park should not be subjecting youngsters to conditions that make some adults pass out or vomit, Samartin said Wednesday.
"The thrust of it is -- this is really not appropriate for 4- and 5-year-old kids. This is not the Tea Cups or Dumbo ride," he said, referring to rides in Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom.
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