Coaster death reignites debate over Florida’s regulation of theme parks

[Disney4me]

A man is dead after riding one of Orlando’s newest and fastest roller coasters, and now his family is asking: How many safeguards stand between thrill and tragedy at Florida’s theme parks?

Florida allows Universal Orlando and other major attractions to operate rides with minimal state oversight. It’s a system the family’s attorneys and some industry critics say leaves too much for the companies to police themselves and puts others at risk.

Universal Orlando scheduled the Stardust Racers roller coaster reopening for Saturday, less than three weeks after 32-year-old Kevin Rodriguez Zavala was found unresponsive on it and died. That decision, apparently made by park management itself, overrode the family’s wishes that it remain closed until all investigations are completed.

“Stardust Racers is evidence in an active death investigation,” family attorney Ben Crump said in a statement late Friday. “Reopening the ride before our experts can examine every component is unadulterated spoliation of evidence, a grave risk to public safety, and puts profit over people’s lives.”

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office is also still probing the death, but a spokesperson said it’s not the agency’s role to decide when the coaster should reopen.

Universal company officials said their review found the ride functioned properly, and employees followed procedures correctly. State officials observed and reviewed testing, and the ride’s manufacturer and a third-party roller coaster engineering expert validated the findings, according to a company memo.

But critics say the company drove that process, as is typical in Florida’s regulatory scheme.

“It’s the fox guarding the henhouse. That’s the best way to describe it,” said Ken Martin, a Virginia-based ride safety analyst.

Other industry experts, though, argue Florida’s regulations are adequate, and large theme parks with top-notch safety teams are better positioned than the state to inspect and monitor rides.

“It’s very bad business to hurt or kill your customers,” said Scott Smith, an associate professor at the University of South Carolina’s College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management, who has worked with large theme parks, including Walt Disney World, for decades. “The big theme parks are very much invested in the safety of their guests. They are going to be obsessive.”

Attorneys representing Zavala’s family have highlighted other issues and want state legislators to consider reforms.

Previous injury reports on Epic Universe’s Stardust Racers roller coaster are sparse and lack detail, and Universal gets to decide whether to share internal video footage that could show what happened during Zavala’s final moments on Sept. 17, the family’s attorneys say.

“Large companies such as Universal self-report and self-police themselves with respect to any type of government oversight,” family attorney Paul Grinke, a member of Crump’s legal team, said on Tuesday. “The incidents that I’ve seen of Universal self-reporting — with respect to this very ride and other rides at Epic Universe within the very short time it’s been open — have been very self-serving.”

Although the ride was scheduled to reopen, the exact circumstances of Zavala’s death remain murky. What is known is Zavala, who used a wheelchair because of a spinal condition, was found slumped over and unconscious after riding Stardust Racers. Witnesses, including his girlfriend, said Zavala’s head repeatedly hit the seat during the ride. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Oversight of thrill rides such as Stardust Racers is a convoluted patchwork of regulations. The federal government only oversees traveling carnival rides, while states take different approaches toward regulating fixed-site amusement park rides.

California, for example, requires parks to pass government checks. Disneyland even posts signs letting visitors know they can request to see certificates of compliance for the rides.

In Florida, theme parks with over 1,000 employees and their own in-house safety inspectors are exempt from state inspections, though they are still required to file annual inspection affidavits with the state. Smaller attractions, on the other hand, are subject to much more state oversight.

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is the agency in charge of overseeing amusement rides. Florida law doesn’t explicitly authorize the agency’s ride inspectors to conduct independent investigations after a death at an exempted theme park, but state officials say the industry has allowed them access, and did so after Zavala’s death.

“Following the incident, Universal contacted the department as required by Florida law and voluntarily invited the department to observe all testing and inspections, which exceeded state requirements,” Aaron Keller, an agency spokesman, said in an email.

Agency officials concurred with Universal’s findings, and Keller said they were “informed” Friday that the ride would reopen. Universal also made some changes to the operation of the ride, requiring riders who use mobility devices to have the ability to walk independently.

In a memo to employees, Universal Orlando Resort President Karen Irwin wrote the company updated “operational procedures and attraction signage to reinforce existing ride warnings and physical eligibility requirements at Stardust Racers and other rides.”

Industry insiders argue that larger operations, such as Universal Orlando and Walt Disney World, are the best in the business when it comes to safety and have every incentive to protect their reputations through high standards.

One industry group, the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, puts the odds of being seriously injured on a fixed ride at a U.S. amusement park at 1 in 15.5 million rides, meaning that the public has a far greater chance of dying in a car crash on their way to a theme park than on a coaster or thrill ride.

But consumer advocates like Martin argue deep-pocketed theme park giants and cadres of lobbyists have thwarted government oversight for decades, and putting teeth into Florida’s regulations would save lives, bring accountability and increase transparency.

Martin has also pushed for years for consistent federal regulations that would apply to every state.

“I am talking lives,” he said. “I am talking safety. I am talking preventing families being torn apart while they were on a vacation.”

U.S. Rep. André Carson, D-Indiana, has filed legislation that would enable federal investigations into ride accidents and establish a national database to track mishaps and mechanical issues. That bill, titled the National Amusement Park Ride and Safety Act, hasn’t gained traction in Congress.

In a statement, Carson said Zavala’s “tragic death is a devastating reminder of the critical need for stronger safety standards in our nation’s theme parks.”

In 2023, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suggested beefing up state inspections of Walt Disney Co.’s rides as he waged a bitter political battle with the entertainment giant. Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson backed the idea at a press conference, saying, “Where a person is injured should not determine how the state responds.”

A legislative proposal that would have allowed the state to inspect major theme parks’ rides after a complaint or reported accident was drafted, but then quickly withdrawn. The measure’s fizzling out came as little surprise given the immense political sway held in Tallahassee by the entire theme park industry, beyond just Disney.

Disney’s biggest competitor, Universal, employs a stable of lobbyists and is a regular campaign donor. During the 2024 election cycle, Universal and its parent company, Comcast Corp., spent more than $2.5 million on campaign contributions in Florida. Universal provided another $1 million in giveaways to both parties, including free theme park passes, hotel rooms and meals, according to state campaign finance data.

Lawyers who sue Central Florida theme parks say the public gets an incomplete picture of theme park injuries. Even getting a definitive count of how many people are injured on amusement rides is difficult.

As part of a 25-year-old agreement, Florida’s largest theme parks voluntarily disclose to state officials any injuries requiring at least 24 hours of hospitalization. Those reports are published on the Agriculture Department’s website, but critics say they are vague and lacking in detail.

In 2019, for example, an 11-year-old boy’s foot and leg were crushed as Universal’s E.T. Adventure ride pulled up to the exit platform. The child lost so much blood that his uncle fainted, according to the family’s attorney.

Universal reported the injury as “foot pain” to the state.

Orlando attorney Michael Damaso, who has represented clients injured at theme parks and amusement parks, said that the big theme parks should provide more information on the extent of injuries. When someone is injured, the company will immediately send out a team of employees to put together a report, he said. But the information provided to the state and made public is minimal.

“I’ve seen it countless times where it’s not complete,” Damaso said.

Attorney Ed Normand, who has litigated theme park injury cases since 1991, said he’d like to see a comprehensive database listing injuries for each ride and more rigorous follow-ups from state inspectors. He said policymakers could look to the system used for food-safety inspections at restaurants.

“I have never once had the Department of Agriculture come up to me and say, ‘Hey, what’s going on?'” Normand said. “My sense is money talks, and the theme parks have a lot of power in the state and there really isn’t any incentive for a regulator to step up.”

When someone is injured on a ride and files a lawsuit, the theme parks will often agree quickly to a private settlement that keeps secret the details of the injury and any assessment of what went wrong.

Last week, for example, a Sanford woman reached an agreement with Universal just two days after filing a lawsuit that claimed she suffered bad whiplash, severe headaches and permanent injuries after riding Stardust Racers in April. No additional details of the incident were made public.

Attorneys for Zavala’s family say they want an open and transparent investigation. Orange County’s medical examiner determined he died of multiple blunt force trauma and ruled the death an accident.

Questions have been raised about whether a pre-existing spinal condition may have contributed to Zavala’s death. Scrutiny has also been directed at the ride’s lack of shoulder restraints.

Others, though, are satisfied with how Universal and the other large theme parks have handled safety issues over the years.

Karyn Locke, a travel journalist and blogger from Pittsburgh, Pa., who is a frequent visitor to the parks, was at Epic Universe on Sept. 17 when Zavala died.

“When I walk into a theme park, I want to feel safe the minute I walk through the turnstiles,” she said. “With the amount of people [visiting] the major theme parks every day, and the small amount of injuries, I think they are doing a really good job in keeping everyone safe.”

View the full article