Guests traveling to Walt Disney World this summer may be disappointed to learn that one of the resort’s roller coasters will remain closed throughout the busy summer season.
Primeval Whirl, a wild mouse-style roller coaster, which features cars that spin as they move along the ride’s tracks, has been closed for maintenance since January, and was supposed to reopen in April. However, following the death of a park employee, Russell Roscoe, who sustained a fatal head injury while working on the ride, the park decided to push back the opening date until June. Now, the ride will not reopen before September 14.
Disney states that the routine maintenance which had been scheduled was pushed back to make way for the OSHA investigation into the death of Mr. Roscoe, but that otherwise, the delay is unrelated in anyway to the close inspection of the ride.
Resort officials declined to comment on whether they are making any safety adjustments or other alterations to the ride. If that were to happen, it would not be the first time in the ride’s history that it had been retrofitted with additional safety features. Following the death of ride operator Karen Price in 2007, Disney made several changes to the ride to make the loading and unloading process safer. Still, the company faced fines of $14,250 from OSHA, who cited five safety violations as a result of their investigation.
