Walt Disney World representatives are still gathering facts today about the death of a 4-year-old boy who rode on the Mission: Space attraction at Epcot Monday.

Orange County detectives say Daudi Bamuwamye of Sellersville, Pa., boarded the ride with his sister and mother, Agnes, 40, Monday afternoon. According to officials, the 4-year-old met the 44-inch height requirement for the ride.

The family arrived at Epcot at about noon Monday and rode several rides before heading to Mission: Space at about 2:30 p.m., according to an Orange Sheriff's report. They got on the ride at 3:14 p.m., with the boy sitting between his mother and sister.

Toward the end of the ride, Agnes Bamuwamye noticed her son's body was rigid and his legs were extended straight out, the report says. She thought Daudi was frightended and grabbed his hand, but when the ride ended, Daudi was "limp and unresponsive in his seat," the report says.

Witnesses saw the mother carry the boy out of the attraction after the ride was over, a sheriff's spokesman said. Epcot employees helped her place him on a nearby bench then called Reedy Creek paramedics, who arrived within minutes. The boy did not have a pulse and was not breathing, and two Disney employees did CPR until paramedics arrived.

The boy was transported to Celebration Hospital where he was pronounced dead just before 5 p.m. The cause of death will be determined by the county medical examiner. An autopsy this afternoon did not reveal any obvious cause of death, such as trauma. The office now will do more tests on the boy to determine exactly what caused the death -- a process that could take four to 12 weeks.

This morning, the Mission: Space ride is opening on schedule at the theme park, according to Disney officials.

The ride, which uses spinning centrifugal force to simulate the feeling of a rocket launch, was briefly shut down Monday afternoon. Disney said in a statement that "we are providing support to the family and are doing everything we can to help them during this difficult time."

In 2003, Disney began placing motion sickness bags in the $100 million ride. During an eight-month period in 2003-04, six people over age 55 were taken to the hospital for chest pain and nausea after riding it, though none of them was found to have any serious injuries.

It was the most hospital visits for a single ride since Florida's major theme parks agreed in 2001 to report such problems to the state.

The Florida Bureau of Fair Rides Inspection said today that the last reported incident from Disney about Mission: Space was in the third quarter of 2004, when a 40-year-old woman fainted on the ride and was transported to a hospital.

Florida's large attractions are exempt from state regulations on ride inspections but voluntarily report basic details about incidents that require hospitalization, or cases that require transportation to hospitals, said Allan Harrison, an operations and management official with the ride inspection agency.

Harrison said Disney has reported seven such health-related incidents regarding Mission: Space since the third quarter of 2003 when the ride opened. Most of the incidents occurred before the end of the first quarter of 2004, leading to speculation that Disney may have slowed the rate of spinning. Disney representatives said that no "material change" was made to the ride itself, but extra signs were installed around the ride to more fully explain how it mimics the feel of a launch.

The signs warn visitors about the intensity of the ride. "For safety you should be in good health, and free from high blood pressure, heart, back or neck problems, motion sickness or other conditions that can be aggravated by this adventure," one sign on view last year said.



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