Orlando Sentinel

A 71-year-old man

- By Gabrielle Russon

with a pre-existing heart condition had a fatal heart attack after visiting the wave pool at Disney’s Blizzard Beach water park last month, a state report says.

A 71-year-old tourist with a pre-existing heart condition suffered a heart attack and died last month after he was in the wave pool at Disney’s Blizzard Beach water park, according to a state report released Monday.

The report said it happened June 10 at Melt-Away Bay, which Disney describes on its website as having “short, bobbing waves perfect for leisurely floating, with just enough excitement kids, teens and adults.”

The man was identified as James Persons by the OrangeOsce­ola County Medical Examiner’s Office, which could not provide additional informatio­n because the autopsy report was still pending.

Persons, of Waterford, Pa., was a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who served in Vietnam and won a long list of medals and honors, according to his obituary from Mitchell-Auxter Funeral Home. for big Disney declined to comment. In 2007, a man who also had a pre-existing heart condition collapsed on the stairs of a Blizzard Beach water slide and died from a heart attack.

Monday’s state report also said a 27-year-old woman went into labor in April after riding Kilimanjar­o Safaris, an attraction at Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World.

The sometimes bumpy ride takes passengers on a safari to see lions, elephants and other animals at the theme park.

Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando Resort, SeaWorld, Legoland and Busch Gardens are required to notify the state of any ride-related injuries or illnesses that required an immediate hospital stay of at least 24 hours.

The parks report the incidents as part of a deal they made to avoid state inspection­s.

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