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Amputees Banned From Riding Roller Coaster at Universal Studios Hollywood

Travelers Today       By    Katie McFadden

Updated: Jul 12, 2012 09:41 AM EDT

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Roller Coaster
A new Paramount theme park in England will rial Disneyland Paris.(Photo : Reuters)

The theme park, Universal Studios Hollywood is being sued for preventing amputees from riding a roller coaster.

Two men who claim they were banned from the roller coaster because they're missing limbs are now suing Universal Studios. Angel Castelan lost his forearms in an electrical accident as a child. Marvin Huezo's legs were amputated after a car accident. Both claim that ride operators wouldn't allow them to ride the indoor roller coaster, Revenge of the Mummy: The Ride, according to the Los Angeles Times.

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In 2010, Castelan was first told he couldn't ride because he has no hands to hold onto the safety bars. In 2011, he went back to the park with Huezo and they were both told that there was a new policy in which riders must have at least one hand and one leg to ride a roller coaster, so they were unable to ride.

Both men are fans of the theme park and its rides, but not being able to ride them is very upsetting. Last month, they filed a suit in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, saying that the ban of amputees is a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

In the suit, they are seeking unspecified damages, but they do want the judge to order the park to change its polices on roller coaster access for amputees. They also want the park to makes some changes to become more accessible for guests with disabilities.

A spokeswoman for Universal Studios Hollywood said the park had no comment on pending litigation, however the park may not be completely wrong on their policy on amputees.

In 2011, Sgt. James Thomas Hackemer, an army veteran who was missing all of his left leg and most of his right one after a roadside bomb died after being flung from the Ride of Steel coaster at the Darien Lake Theme Park Resort in upstate New York.

 

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