Disney unveils park and resort safety initiative

[mattjs]

AP article

The Walt Disney Co. will give consumers and investors a backstage look at safety measures at its domestic theme parks, including precautions taken after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The new initiative includes a 30-page report, which will be made available Tuesday on the Internet, and the naming of a first-ever chief safety officer to oversee ride safety at Disney parks around the world.

Here's a link to a Pressler release letter where the full report can be download:
Disney Parks and Resorts Report on Safety

 

[larworth]

Printed mine off and hope to read it on the train home tonight. I have no doubts Disney is a good steward in this regard. With ride safety in the press getting more attention doesn't hurt to reinforce their image.

I wonder who they expect will actually read this. Mostly, concerned parents, the press? Maybe it is targeted for the activist community who they hope read it and walk away thinking there are better targets.

Can't see how it might help stem litigation claims. If anything could it set up certain operating practices (training, inspection) as being targets for non-compliance when an accident does happen?

Someone finds that an operator "only had 4 days of safety training instead of the 5 days as clearly stated on page X of your own published safety document". Sure the lawyers spent a few hours on this one.

 

[Another Voice]

This issue has made its way onto the local news in Los Angeles with some interesting twists. There was a news conference today at Disneyland with the new Security head and with Paul Pressler himself.

The local ABC affiliated showed excerpts from the speeches by both gentleman and many video-press kit clips of all the new cattle gates they’ve been adding to the load stations on all the park’s attractions. A very positive piece about how Disney was so “progressive” in their safety management. Interesting, the report did not include the standard disclaimer that both the ABC network and KABC-TV are owned by The Walt Disney Company.

The other network stations should various helicopter shots of the recent accidents at the park. And the NBC affiliate also mentioned that Disney released word it had reached an out of court settlement with one of the guests suing over the ‘Indiana Jones’ attractions. The case is mostly noted for the court fines and injunctions because Disney has repeatedly destroying evidence and for failing to deliver subpoenaed material.

Also, ‘Splash Mountain’ has just reopened out here with the modified logs. It’s widely rumored that the changes Disney made are less than what the state wants, but that Disney is hoping the government will look the other way “during these difficult times”.

I think this whole matter could be more of a public relations campaign than any serious attempt to improve the safety at the parks.