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Is the all-American amusement park safe? Thousands of visitors are injured every year at amusement parks, but the industry remains largely unregulated. Injured people lawsuits ask, How much fun is too much?

Article Excerpt
Memorial Day was the unofficial kick off of the amusement-park season. As families flock to parks this summer seeking fun and excitement, government authorities and consumer advocates continue to question the safety of rides in an increasingly competitive industry.

Most people assume that these rides are safe, but public scrutiny of amusement parks has increased dramatically since 1999, a particularly deadly year for the industry:

* A 12-year-old boy fell 200 feet to his death after slipping through a harness on the Drop Zone Stunt Tower ride at Paramount's Great America Theme Park in Santa Clara, California.

* Five people were injured when a piece of wood came loose from the track of a Knott's Berry Farm roller coaster in Buena Vista, California.

* A 20-year-old man sustained fatal injuries on the Shockwave roller coaster at Paramount's Kings Dominion in Doswell, Virginia.

* A 39-year-old woman and her 8-year-old daughter were killed when their car slid backward down a 30-foot ascent and crashed into another car, injuring two others on the Wild Wonder roller coaster at Gillian's Wonderland Pier in Ocean City, New Jersey.

* A 28-year-old woman drowned when a raft capsized at Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington.

* A teenager died of internal bleeding when he was thrown from a decoupled car on Coney Island's Super Himalaya. (1)

Tragically, ride-related deaths have occurred every year since. According to the most recent figures compiled by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), in 2002 an estimated 3,800 injuries were associated with fixed-site amusement rides, 3,000 with mobile rides, and 2,500 with inflatable rides. (2)

Amusement is big business. The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA), a leading industry organization, estimates that there are 600 parks and attractions in the United States. Last year, according to the organization, 322 million people visited amusement parks, a 27 percent jump in attendance from 1990. Revenues over the same period increased much faster--revenues of $10.3 billion in 2003 were 81 percent higher than those in 1990. (3)

Although parks come in many different sizes, the industry is dominated by large, corporate-owned establishments. According to Amusement Business, an industry newspaper, nearly half of all 2003 visitors--over 155 million people--went to the 50 largest parks in North America. It is not surprising that Walt Disney Co. owns the five most highly attended parks on the list: The Magic Kingdom, Disneyland, Epcot, Disney MGM Studios, and Disney's Animal Kingdom. Six Flags Theme Parks, Inc., is another big player, with 14 parks in the top 50 for attendance in 2003. (4)

Amusement is also a highly competitive business. Customers are no longer satisfied with the quiet thrill of a spin on the...

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