Theme park safety for the whole family

Even though she was in the middle of Disneyland on a sunny summer afternoon, eight-year-old Erica Fieldman was not happy. She didn't want to go on the rides that her cousin and brother wanted to try. She didn't want to wait for them while they rode, either. I told her she could choose the next ride, and then I warned her about staying put until we were all ready to move on. But in the two seconds my back was turned while checking on the other kids, my niece disappeared. I was frantic—and angry.

Just as I was about to ask park security to mount an all-out search, she wandered back. "I just got tired of waiting," she said.

Talk about vacation stress. Theme parks offer plenty to see and do. Have you ever seen the exhausted, sunburned parents resolutely pushing a stroller through the crowds, determined to get their money's worth? Have you ever stood in line behind the Bickersons? And there's always the kid who decides just as you're getting on the giant roller coaster after a half-hour wait that he really doesn't want to ride after all. For this aggravation we're paying hundreds of dollars—just for one day

Don't get me wrong. Theme parks are a great way for families to share good times. But as we plunge into this year's theme park season, it's worth taking a few minutes to consider how we can keep the gang safe as well as happy at any of the country's 600-plus theme parks.

Do you have a plan in case you get separated? Set a time and place to meet. Insist that the kids carry cell phones or walkie-talkies. And should they get lost, instruct them to approach someone in a uniform. Make sure they've got the name and phone number for the hotel stashed in a pocket.

You probably didn't know that there's no federal safety regulation for theme parks. I didn't. The so-called "roller coaster loophole" took that authority away from the Consumer Product Safety Commission more than 20 years ago. Rep. Ed Markey (D-Massachusetts), who has been pushing for the regulation of theme park rides, notes that since 1987, 64 people have died on amusement park rides and thousands have been injured. In April, a German woman became ill after riding the Epcot attraction Mission: Space and died the next day.

"The amusement park industry needs a wake-up call," Markey said in an email last week. "When families visit, they expect these rides to be safe. But instead, because of a special-interest loophole in the law, amusement park rides are one of the only products that the nation's lead consumer safety agency cannot touch. No federal investigator is allowed to fly into a park and investigate an accident, even when a child has died on a ride."

Kathy Fackler, a San Diego mom, couldn't agree more. Her son David lost part of his foot when he inadvertently stuck it outside a roller coaster car. Fackler was sitting next to her five-year-old son at the time. "I didn't know I shouldn't have had him ride on the outside," she said.

David is 13 now and doing well, Fackler reports, but she was so distressed by what she didn't know about theme park safety that she started a website, SaferParks.org, and has become an expert on the subject.

"Be conservative about which rides you choose," Fackler said. That means observing the ride before you ride yourself. Will your little one be properly restrained? Will he get scared and try to get out if you let him ride alone? Don't fudge on the height and weight rules—they exist for a reason. Ride with younger children even if they insist they don't need you, and make sure that your teens understand the potential consequences if they goof around.