LAKE BUENA VISTA - Disney World's Mission: Space ride has some older riders gulping, "Houston, we have a problem."
In the past eight months, six people 55 or older have been taken to the hospital for chest pain and nausea after going on the $100-million ride, which simulates a rocket launch.
It is the most hospital visits for a ride since Florida's major theme parks agreed in 2001 to report any serious injuries to the state.
The only other ride approaching that number was Universal Orlando's Ripsaw Falls, which had three reported injuries in 2002.
In December, Disney began placing motion sickness bags on the ride, which uses a centrifuge to simulate twice the force of gravity.
The state may look into whether signs warn people sufficiently about going on the ride if they have health conditions found in some older adults, said Michael Rinehart, an inspector with the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs.
Disney spokesman Bill Warren said Wednesday that of the six riders who became ill, three had undergone heart surgery and a fourth was diabetic and had not been feeling well before the ride, which has 13 warning signs.
"I don't think it has much to do with age as much as it is the health of an individual," said Walt Disney World president Al Weiss. Mission: Space has become one of Disney World's most popular rides, credited with helping the park boost attendance 15 percent in the first quarter of the year.
The warning signs advise pregnant women not to go on the ride, caution about motion sickness and bar children shorter than 44 inches, but none of the warnings specifically caution older people.
