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Morbid

Amusement Park Disasters (Volume 2) : Theme Parks

22 Jun 2026

Transcription

Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.

Chapter 1: What historical events led to the rise of amusement parks?

0.031 - 5.586 Ash Kelley

Hey weirdos, I'm Ash. And I'm Alayna. And this is Malibid.

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18.34 - 25.151 Alaina Urquhart

This is morbid. Morbidito. This is going to be a morbid one for sure. Is it? It is. What are you doing?

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25.631 - 48.333 Ash Kelley

Amusement park disasters part two, baby. She takes us here again. She takes us here again. I remember last time I went to Disney and I posted, everyone was like, damn, didn't you say you were never getting on another roller coaster again? Yeah. I was like, no, I trust Disney. Okay. No. No, don't look at me like that. She just had the smuggest look on her big red head.

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48.373 - 62.32 Ash Kelley

We're doing theme parks today. You're doing theme parks? Not just amusement parks. Oh, goodness. I haven't been to... I mean, it'll be a while, I think, before I go back to Disney because I was just there. Yeah. So...

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62.3 - 65.764 Alaina Urquhart

Um, for sure. That's, see, you know what my thing.

66.185 - 66.605 Ash Kelley

Talk to me.

66.645 - 71.431 Alaina Urquhart

I'm realizing more and more that I, and this is not everybody's bag, obviously.

Chapter 2: What are some common causes of amusement park accidents?

72.453 - 94.643 Alaina Urquhart

I'm just like, um, a little bitch when it comes to like not wanting to die. Uh, so I am not one of those people who seeks risk in any way, shape or form. And I'm okay admitting that. I know that probably makes me a little boring and that's fine. I don't think it necessarily makes you boring. I think you're exciting in different ways.

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94.823 - 107.106 Alaina Urquhart

I think, well, I try to be, but I'm certainly boring in that way. I think because when I say don't seek out risk, I don't seek out risk in any way. If something is risky, it's a no for me.

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107.086 - 113.893 Ash Kelley

I know that's where we've always differed. Yeah, we differ violently in that. My God, I was risky business as a younger gal.

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114.013 - 124.363 Alaina Urquhart

And I've never been a risky business person. I've always had a really healthy, maybe unhealthy at times, respect for my mortality.

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124.443 - 149.26 Ash Kelley

Your chart in general, though, and it makes so much sense because even just like even just looking at your big three, you are a Capricorn sun. So you are so rooted to this earth. You don't want to go. Yeah, no. You are a Virgo rising. So the older you get, even less likely you are to seek that out. Which is so true. And then you're a Cancer moon. So you're like...

149.611 - 175.208 Ash Kelley

like you're good where you are yeah you know what i mean like you like your home yeah you like your things you like your creature comforts i like my routines yeah like my yeah that's how and also like you're not i mean you're a goat you're a crab and i forget what represents virgo a virgin There you go. Not willing to change. Stubborn and unwilling to change. Yeah. That's me. Yeah.

175.549 - 193.776 Alaina Urquhart

And it's, I think finally I've realized like, like I'm like, all right, yeah, that's just who I am. Cause I've always been like, I know I just don't like it and I don't know why. And then I was finally like, I don't, I swear you hit a certain age and you're just like, oh yeah, fuck it. Like, cause I was just like, oh yeah, that's just, I'm boring and that's okay. Yeah.

193.756 - 195.079 Alaina Urquhart

I don't think you should say it like that.

195.139 - 196.822 Ash Kelley

Yeah, because I don't think you are boring.

Chapter 3: What was the first major safety incident at Disneyland?

223.219 - 240.182 Ash Kelley

Like I do... Personally, I really do think you require thrills because you love a haunted house. Yeah. And you love a scary movie. So that's a different kind of thrill. That in and of itself is a thrill. It's just a different kind of thrill. I don't... I think you don't need like life-threatening thrills. No, I absolutely do not. And I think some people like...

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240.601 - 253.945 Ash Kelley

I also think like you're a very like... Is the word pragmatic? Yeah, that's the word I have in my head actually. Analytical. I think you think of the risks and the payoff.

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253.965 - 255.747 Alaina Urquhart

The word for me is big.

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256.167 - 266.236 Ash Kelley

And I don't think necessarily everybody is as analytical as you or as pragmatic when it comes to those things. So it's not that they need, they're not like, I would love to have a life-threatening experience today.

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266.256 - 268.378 Alaina Urquhart

No, some people are just a little freer with how they think about it.

268.418 - 269.379 Ash Kelley

That's how I feel.

269.879 - 276.025 Alaina Urquhart

Which is not a bad thing. That's the thing. No, I don't think it is either. I think we're just different. I think this makes me understand.

276.005 - 305.725 Alaina Urquhart

the other side of it a little better yeah once i understand because i understand my point of view a little better because for so long i've been like i don't understand why you want to do these things and i still don't like i can't like put myself in that place to understand it but i can sit there and look at my point of view and go well it's just the complete opposite point of view well right now so valid it is valid yeah whatever you want to do with your body as long as you're not harming somebody else is valid so like fuck anybody who's going to give you a hard time exactly but

305.705 - 308.528 Ash Kelley

Are we talking about like thrill rides right now specifically?

Chapter 4: How did Action Park's approach to safety differ from other parks?

429.871 - 447.357 Ash Kelley

their views on a lot of that stuff so I wonder because like yeah two years ago I'd be like come on Elena like it's fine yeah but like the older that I get and like maybe the closer I get to having kids I'm like I wonder if I'll feel that way yeah and I think I might change it a little yeah it might it might not change it a lot it might not you know yeah Who knows?

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447.377 - 458.336 Ash Kelley

But even like your fear of flying, I know that got so much worse after you had kids. Yeah. And I know I've heard of a lot of other people like that happening to them because I'm not afraid of flying at all. Yeah. But I wonder.

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458.356 - 468.113 Alaina Urquhart

And you just feel like you have like, I always, you always have something to lose, obviously, but you, you feel like. It's even bigger. There's just an inconceivable amount to lose when you add kids to the.

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468.093 - 493.695 Ash Kelley

yeah equation it's interesting you know so so that's how we feel about things yeah i just i thought it was interesting because i always go into this being like fuck this in which like i still say fuck this but see and i go into this and i'm like you're like i just don't want you to talk about a ride i've been on uh i don't think i will okay i'm pretty sure all right i guess we'll see you know do we have business that we need to say like buy tickets to radio city music hall

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493.675 - 515.481 Ash Kelley

yeah buy tickets to radio city next saturday you guys the 27th like it's coming up so quickly there's still so much to figure out and we're like stressed but we're also so excited getting the butterflies but we have a really good show for you oh and we announced our special guest by the time you listen to this you will know that the special guest is the one and only jonathan van ness jbn like

515.461 - 524.708 Ash Kelley

We also just have the perfect segment planned with him. It is going to be glorious. It's going to be hilarious. I can't wait.

524.888 - 534.589 Alaina Urquhart

I can't wait. So there's only a few tickets left. Yeah, there's not many. So snatch them up. And I also posted about the Butcher Legacy tour.

534.69 - 535.23 Ash Kelley

I'm excited for that.

535.25 - 549.332 Alaina Urquhart

That's happening in August. That's going to be fun. But get your tickets to some stops on that because I'll be letting you guys know any updates. There might be some updates to that and all that fun stuff. And pre-order the Butcher Legacy. And we're going to try to get her...

Chapter 5: What tragic incidents occurred at Action Park?

647.997 - 677.211 Alaina Urquhart

so let's split some haggis let's let's get to it shall we i'm nervous for this one this one's crazy um so he said you should be this is wild let's let's start with um with walt disney shall we uh by the time walt disney conceived the idea of just you know a massive park where you know parents and children can play together in the world that was modeled by his like after his creations yes

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677.191 - 690.998 Alaina Urquhart

Amusement parks, or at least something like amusement parks, were definitely already part of the landscape around the world. But what Disney had in mind was something way more elaborate than like Coney Island or Knott's Berry Farm.

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691.197 - 713.466 Alaina Urquhart

When it finally opened in July 1955, the rides and attractions Disneyland had to offer were definitely a far cry from the hyper-modern rides that were in parks today that we know. The early rides included the Disneyland Railroad, which was a scaled-down version of a locomotive that carried passengers to various parts of the park. Which they still have. Yeah, there you go.

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713.486 - 723.942 Alaina Urquhart

Junior Autopia, a miniature car racetrack that operated on a rail. And the Astrojets, a rocket-themed spinning ride that lifted passengers into the air to simulate flying.

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724.182 - 727.869 Ash Kelley

And they still have that, too, in Tomorrowland. Wow. It's not called the same thing.

727.889 - 737.145 Alaina Urquhart

It's called something else. Well, the park also included boat rides, a movie theater, animatronic shows, and the centerpiece of the park, a replica of Sleeping Beauty's castle.

737.406 - 738.147 Ash Kelley

Gorgeous.

738.127 - 752.089 Alaina Urquhart

Now, the construction of the castle alone created a significant amount of dirt and debris, obviously. But rather than just like haul it away, the engineers at Disneyland were like, wait a minute, we could use this stuff to build other features in the park.

752.109 - 773.83 Alaina Urquhart

And in the years that followed, the dirt from the excavation of the castle site was gathered together into a massive mountain used to hide one of the pylons of the Disneyland Skyway. Oh! They initially named the massive pile Holiday Hill, and then it was Lookout Mountain. And finally, after many design elements and details were added, it became the Matterhorn. Oh, shit.

Chapter 6: How did the public perceive Action Park's safety standards?

959.086 - 970.077 Alaina Urquhart

Wow, that was brave. That would suck. Imagine, if I was like the medical examiner and I had to go ride a roller coaster, too, I'd be like, I don't want to do that. No. Don't make me do that.

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970.057 - 973.842 Ash Kelley

And especially after seeing a poor young man who died from his injuries on that ride.

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974.183 - 1004.745 Alaina Urquhart

Yeah. Now, after completing the ride, Beisner determined, quote, Okay. Okay. Now, according to Mark's friends, nothing seemed out of the ordinary while they waited in line to board the ride. And Mark gave no indication that he was planning to do anything reckless.

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1005.225 - 1024.438 Alaina Urquhart

But in the days that followed, the deputy coroner, Eugene Miller, reported receiving multiple phone calls, quote, which have indicated the accident resulted from a hazing. When asked about a potential hazing, Doug and Gary did admit that they were part of what they referred to as a, quote, boys social club.

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1025.34 - 1025.5 Ash Kelley

Ew.

1026.141 - 1028.165 Alaina Urquhart

Called Phidias, I think it is.

1028.646 - 1028.746 Ash Kelley

Okay.

1028.766 - 1033.134 Alaina Urquhart

And two weeks earlier, they'd invited Mark to join, but he declined the invitation.

1033.696 - 1033.896 Ash Kelley

Okay.

Chapter 7: What led to the eventual closure of Action Park?

1279.73 - 1294.07 Alaina Urquhart

Oh, God. I just think of alligators or crocodiles. Well, and it's located in like that man-made river. Now, on the evening of June 22nd, Bogdan and Dorian took the ferry across to Tom Sawyer's Island and hid from park security until after the park closed.

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1294.25 - 1294.55 Ash Kelley

Okay.

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1294.57 - 1309.508 Alaina Urquhart

So they were on the island. Once they were certain the park was closed and assumed everyone had left for the night, they entered the water and started swimming across to reach the shore. It appears that they probably misjudged the distance from the shore to the island because it's pretty far. Yeah.

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1309.528 - 1332.01 Alaina Urquhart

Because not long after they entered the water, Dorian became exhausted and told his brother he couldn't swim any further. Oh. It's so sad. That's awful. In order to help him, Bogdan told his brother to put his arms around his neck and he would carry him across. Unfortunately, though, it became clear that his brother's weight was too much to carry and he too became tired. Around 10 p.m.

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1332.03 - 1352.049 Alaina Urquhart

that evening, security officers heard Dorian's cries for help and took a boat out to find where it was coming from. It didn't take long for them to find Dorian, who'd managed to stay afloat by just, like, treading water like doggy paddling, essentially. But Bogdan was nowhere to be found. When they returned to shore, park security called Anaheim Fire and Rescue for help.

1352.77 - 1368.9 Alaina Urquhart

And the following morning, just before 6 a.m., Bogdan's body was discovered, quote, lodged in the rapid section of the river. He had drowned at some point during the night. Oh, that's so sad. Now, while incidents like these are very rare, obviously, they did continue to happen at the park.

1369.28 - 1386.521 Alaina Urquhart

And in 1984, for example, two drunk visitors stole a maintenance boat and took it for a ride on the rivers of America. Not long after leaving the dock, the boat hit a rock and one of the men was thrown overboard. By the time his friend was able to get back to shore to help him, his friend had drowned. Oh, man.

1386.642 - 1405.401 Alaina Urquhart

Following the drowning death of the man who stole the boat, Disneyland managed to avoid serious accidents and deaths for nearly 15 years. And when the next death did occur, it was not the result of recklessness, but of negligence on behalf of the park. Oh, no. On December 24th, 1998. Oh.

1405.381 - 1421.027 Alaina Urquhart

Luan Phi Dawson and his wife Liu Tui Vuong were visiting Disneyland with their young son and were excited to go on the Columbia, which was a replica of an 18th century tall ship that was described as, quote, one of the park's tamest rides.

Chapter 8: What lasting impact did Action Park have on amusement park safety regulations?

1469.232 - 1483.797 Alaina Urquhart

Oh, God. Yeah. Park employees immediately called emergency services and the injured were taken to the hospital for treatment. All three had suffered serious injuries. Liu had extensive damage to her face that caused nerve damage and paralysis.

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1483.917 - 1484.678 Ash Kelley

Oh, my God.

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1484.698 - 1507.599 Alaina Urquhart

But Luan's were way more severe. In addition to the blunt force injuries to his skull, the impact caused severe brain injuries and injuries to the blood vessels in his head. Dr. Richard Kim told a reporter a few days later that the injuries were both together made it unlikely he could survive. By the time he arrived at UC Irvine Medical Center, Luan was already brain dead.

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1508.48 - 1523.475 Alaina Urquhart

He was placed on life support in order to give family time to come to the hospital and say goodbye. And support was ended 11 hours later. The same day, Liu had extensive surgery to repair the cuts to the right side of her face. Which, mind you, is Christmas Day. Yeah.

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1524.333 - 1535.828 Ash Kelley

That just occurred to me because they were waiting on December 24th in line and the next day, Christmas, their family has to come say goodbye to him. Yeah. Oh, my God. That poor fucking family.

1536.584 - 1545.4 Alaina Urquhart

It's horrific. And in the months after that, Leah would have several more surgeries, but it was unlikely she would ever regain full control over the right side of her face again.

1545.681 - 1546.182

Wow.

1546.642 - 1568.363 Alaina Urquhart

And following the death, the coroner's office began an investigation. And an investigation was also opened by the Anaheim Police Department. In their official statement, Disney officials released a pretty vague statement, clearly intending to avoid, you know, incriminating language of any kind. They said, we're checking the Columbia's mechanical and structural components. And that was it.

1569.49 - 1588.953 Alaina Urquhart

In the coroner's investigation, Deputy Coroner Richard McAnally determined that the accident had been caused by the Disney workers' failure to follow proper procedure with regard to the ship's docking. McAnally wrote in the report, the normal procedure when the ship is coming in too fast is to not secure the mooring line.

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