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Fantasyland is a popular region in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort — but the danger that a child was recently facing on a Magic Kingdom roller coaster was no fantasy!
Is Goofy’s Ride Really Child-Friendly?
On the Barnstormer roller coaster in Fantasyland, which is a Goofy roller coaster that is specifically meant to be suitable for children, TikTok user @shebav1 found that their child was actually not as safe as they had anticipated.
Credit: Disney
Footage can be seen in the TikTok video shown below of the child (who appears to be named Major) slipping under the lap bar in a very obvious way on the supposedly-mild Walt Disney World Resort roller coaster.
The child slides to the floor screaming, leaving his seat completely, and his mother tries to hold him down with one arm while recording his reaction.
@shebav1
“This Is Actually Really Dangerous”
The mother of Major has also faced some backlash, because (as one TikTok user wrote in response) “that’s actually really dangerous and instead of just recording, [she] should have put the phone down and put him back in correctly.”
Some other parents commiserated with Major’s mother, however. “I have this same issue with my little one,” another Disney-loving mom wrote. “Because I’m so big the restraint doesn’t hold him at all, they need individual seatbelt.”
“They need to also put a seat belt strap on that ride,” another TikTok user confirmed.
Regardless of the danger, Major seemed to recover — and judging by the next video from the family on their Disney vacation (shown below), it looks like the little boy received some special Disney gifts from the Tooth Fairy!
@shebav1
Should Lap Bars Be Extinct?
Lap bars are commonly used at theme parks, but they certainly seem less secure for roller coaster passengers than individual harnesses and bars that are altered and tightened properly for each different passenger on every ride.
Guests must be a minimum of 35 inches tall to ride the Barnstormer, but as we can see in this video, lap bars can often mean that the smaller person is still vulnerable to slipping or falling out of the roller coaster car when the person that they are sitting next to is much larger than they are.
Have you ever had any scary experiences with lap bars on a theme park ride? Have any of those experiences been at the Animal Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, or the Magic Kingdom?
