This is a summary of notable incidents that have taken place at various independently owned amusement parks, water parks or theme parks. This list is not intended to be a comprehensive list of every such event, but only those that have a significant impact on the parks or park operations, or are otherwise significantly newsworthy.
The term incidents refers to major accidents, injuries, deaths and significant crimes. While these incidents are required to be reported to regulatory authorities for investigation, attraction-related incidents usually fall into one of the following categories:
On April 20, 2005, an 18-year-old woman and her 11-year-old cousin were stranded several hundred feet in the air for nearly an hour and a half when the ride triggered an emergency stop due to strong winds. They were rescued by employees. [296] [297] [298]
During the late evening hours of August 8, 1938, the Ravine Flyer coaster failed to clear the hill following the bridge crossing Peninsula Drive. As the train continued to travel back and forth over Peninsula Drive, passenger Mary Sersch became hysterical. Her brother, 19-year-old Clarence Sersch then rose out of his seat in an attempt to calm her. He lost his balance, which resulted in the fall to his death in the middle of Peninsula Drive. [305] [306] Ravine Flyer was shut down for further investigation. One investigation into the coaster determined that a locked wheel had caused the train to lose speed over Peninsula Drive, but other reports have stated that the ride was cleared of any wrongdoing. Regardless, it was dismantled at the request of then-park owner Alex Moeller's wife, who was distraught over the incident.
On June 28, 2019, the Chaos ride was going through its usual cycle. At around 1:30 p.m., the ride became stuck upside-down for about two minutes. There were no injuries reported during this incident. The ride was closed for the rest of the day and reopened the following day with the upside-down feature removed. On July 3, the cause of the malfunction was stated to be because of loose wires. The ride was opened to its full ride cycle on July 4 without further issues. [307]
In the evening of August 17, 2024, the Flying Swings ride failed to slow down as it was brought back to the ground, causing several riders to hit their legs on the fence surrounding the ride. The ride reopened several days later without further issue. [308]